Overview of the Essential Components
of Reading Instruction K–5
Part 3.6: Comprehension
Collaboration for Effective Educator
Development, Accountability, and Reform
H325A120003
Overview of the Essential Components
of Reading Instruction K–5
Part 3.6: Comprehension
A special thanks to the Meadows Center for Preventing Education Risk at the
University of Texas at Austin for permission to use and adapt material from a module
created by the Higher Education Collaborative: Foundations of Reading Instruction.
©2009 University of Texas System/Texas Education Agency
www.meadowscenter.org
H325A120003
Big Ideas & Questions
1. What is the idea? Why is it important?
What does the research say?
2. What should students know and be able
to do at each grade level?
3. How do we assess what students know
and the progress they are making?
Big Ideas & Questions
4. How do we teach the big idea effectively
and efficiently?
5. How do we develop instructional plans
that incorporate state standards,
assessment data, and evidence-based
instructional strategies?
6. What do we do if students aren’t learning
the big idea?
Module Outcomes
1. Design instruction for all students.
2. Differentiate instruction.
3. Use assessment data to inform
instruction; form groups; and monitor
progress.
4. Incorporate standards and evidencebased practices (EBPs).
Major Reports
National Reading Panel
Elements of Reading Instruction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Phonemic Awareness.
Phonics.
Fluency.
Vocabulary.
Text Comprehension.
The Reading Rope
Essential Components of Reading
Instruction K–5
Part 3.6: Reading Comprehension for
Primary Students, Grades K-3
Overview of the Essential Components
of Reading Instruction K-5
Part 3.6: Comprehension
A special thanks to the Meadows Center for Preventing Education Risk at the
University of Texas at Austin for permission to use and adapt material from a module
created by the Higher Education Collaborative: Foundations of Reading Instruction.
©2009 University of Texas System/Texas Education Agency
www.meadowscenter.org
H325A120003
Bang Pham, 2008
Objectives
• Define comprehension instruction.
• Discuss what the research says.
• Observe and practice evidencebased activities.
• Study an instructional plan.
Comprehension Strategies
• What are evidence-based
comprehension strategies?
• When are they taught?
• How are they taught?
Common Core Standards
10.Read and comprehend complex literacy
and informational texts independently
and proficiently.
Common Core State Standards, 2008
Common Core Standards
In your small group:
1. Highlight verbs that require
comprehension of text.
2. Note the alignment across grade levels.
3. Highlight verbs across grade levels.
Teach Comprehension . . .
• Directly.
• Explicitly.
• Systematically.
• Before, during, and after reading.
Archer & Hughes, 2011; Connor et al., 2014; Coyne et al., 2007;
Gersten et al., 2001; Moats, 2005; RAND, 2002;
Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2004
#1: Use of Strategies
• Deliberate efforts to understand what is
being read (p. 11).
• Evidence-based strategies include:
o Activating prior knowledge.
o Making predictions.
o Questioning.
o Visualizing.
o Self-monitoring.
o Making inferences.
o Summarizing.
Fisher & Frey, 2008; Mason, 2004; McKeown et al., 2009;
Shanahan et al., 2010; Vaughn et al., 2000
#2: Text’s Organizational
Structure
• Teach students a variety of text structures:
– Narrative
•
•
•
•
Fiction
Historical fiction
Biographies
Fables
– Informational
•
•
•
•
•
Expository
Descriptive
Argumentative
Persuasive
procedural
Shanahan et al., 2010
#3: High-Quality Discussions
Students should:
• Argue for or against points.
• Draw conclusions and inferences.
• Think deeply about text.
• Ask questions.
• Learn to lead their own discussions.
Shanahan et al., 2010
#4: Select Texts Purposefully
•
•
•
•
Wide range of text structures.
Rich in depth of ideas and information.
Appropriate level of difficulty.
Support goals of the lesson.
Hiebert, 2012; Shanahan et al., 2010
#5: Engaging & Motivating
Context
• Choose texts that are motivating.
• Model the importance, purpose, and
benefits of reading.
• Convey how strategies will help students
learn.
• Provide choices.
• Provide opportunities to work with peers.
Shanahan et al., 2010; Wigfield & Guthrie, 2000
Before Reading Strategies
• Set a purpose for reading.
• Provide questions and connections to the
text to increase student engagement.
• Make predictions.
• Pre-teach key vocabulary and concepts.
• Link to students’ background knowledge.
• Teach text features and structures.
Adams, 1990; Graves et al., 2001; Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2004
During Reading
• Model thinking aloud, making your
thinking visible.
• Provide guiding questions.
• Summarize main ideas of paragraphs.
• Revisit predictions.
• Sequence the events.
• Go back to text to locate evidence.
Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2004;
After Reading, Students . . .
•
•
•
•
•
Ask different types of questions.
Generate questions from the text.
Reflect on predictions.
Summarize the text.
Find evidence in the text for their
answers.
Shanahan et al., 2010; Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2004;
Support Strategy Instruction
• Provide concrete examples.
• Use think-alouds.
• Provide explicit and systematic
instruction.
• Actively engage students.
Birsh, 2011; Carnine, 2006; Coyne et al., 2007; Duke & Pearson, 2002;
Dycha, 2012; Shanahan et al., 2010
Examples of Strategies
• Make connections.
• Create mental images.
• Determine importance and summarize.
• Make inferences and predictions.
Children’s Learning Center, 2009; Dycha, 2012
Notable Quote
Although we may highlight or focus on one
strategy at a time to help clarify and make
the strategy explicit, we need to ensure
that our students know that strategies
don’t happen in isolation. We use them
automatically, interchangeably and usually,
we use more than one at a time.
Children’s Learning Institute, 2009, p. 27
Making Connections
Student-friendly definition: When we are
reading, sometimes the book reminds us of
something in our background. When
something in a book reminds us of our
lives, we call that making connections.
Connections help us to better understand
what we read.
Dycha, 2012
Concrete Example
Think-Aloud:
Making Connections
• Embed your think-aloud.
• Make it short but relevant.
• Do NOT make your statement the focus
of a discussion! Stick to the text.
Collins-Block et al.,,2004; Collins-Block & Mangieri, 2003; The
University of Texas Health Science Center, 2008
Your Turn
•
•
•
•
•
Preview a text.
Good to model making connections?
Helpful background knowledge?
Choose a place to model; tag it.
Practice with your partner.
Creating Mental Images
Student-friendly definition: a picture that
you make in your mind of something you
are reading about to help you understand
the story better.
Hibbing & Rankin-Erickson, 2003; Keene & Zimmerman,
2007; Taylor et al., 1999; Tovani, 2000
Concrete Example
• Close your eyes.
• Listen to a description.
• Create an image in your mind.
• Share your image.
Children’s Learning Institute, 2009
Your Turn
• Discuss ways to introduce creating
mental images using concrete examples.
• Be prepared to model.
Think-Aloud:
Creating Mental Images
LISTEN!
Chrysanthemum
K. Henkes (1991), pg. 20
Your Turn
• Choose an appropriate text.
• Tag a think-aloud stopping point.
• Practice modeling.
• Be prepared to share.
Determine Importance &
Summarize
Student-friendly definitions:
• Determine importance: after reading,
decide what in the text matters.
• Summarize: make a short statement
providing the important information and
not too many details.
Harvey & Goudvis, 2007; McGregor, 2007
Concrete Example
Camping Checklist
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
sleeping bag
hair dryer
flashlight
men’s suit
tent
water
curling iron
Your Turn
Discuss:
• Concrete ways to explain determining
importance and summarizing.
• Be prepared to model.
Think-Aloud
Determine importance & Summarize
LISTEN!
Chrysanthemum
K. Henkes (1991), pg. 11-13, 22
Your Turn
• Choose an appropriate text.
• Tag a think-aloud stopping point.
• Practice modeling.
• Be prepared to share.
Making Inferences & Predictions
Student friendly definitions;
• Making inferences: using clues in the
story and what we already know to
figure out things the author does not tell
us directly.
• Making predictions: using what you
already know to make statements about
what you think will happen.
Concrete Example
My friend came to see me, smiling and
holding a picture. I knew she was happy
about the birth of her first grandchild. How
did I know?
Facts Supporting My Inference
• She told me her son and daughter-in-law
went to the hospital last night.
• I knew their baby was due soon.
• She was smiling.
• She had a picture of a baby boy.
Inference: My friend was happy about the
birth of her grandson.
Your Turn
• Create concrete examples.
• Be prepared to share.
Think-Aloud: Making Inferences
and Predictions
LISTEN!
Chrysanthemum
K. Henkes (1991), pg. 24
Your Turn
• Choose an appropriate text.
• Tag a think-aloud stopping point.
• Practice modeling.
• Be prepared to share.
8-Step Comprehension Routine
1.
2.
3.
4.
Anchor experience.
Explicit explanation.
Touchstones and anchors.
Planned thoughtful teacher
questions before, during, and after
reading.
Children’s Learning Center, 2009; Dycha, 2012
8-Step Comprehension Routine
continued
5. Teacher modeling with
think-alouds.
6. Whole-group guided practice.
7. Small-group instruction and
guided practice.
8. Independent use of the strategy
with accountability.
Children’s Learning Center, 2009; Dycha, 2012
Planning Lessons
Matching Text & Strategy
Choose an appropriate text:
• Can be read in one to two lessons.
• Has three logical think-aloud points.
• Allows students to think, turn, talk.
• Is grade appropriate.
Planning, continued
• Read the book.
• Select stopping points (at least
three).
• Use sticky notes to mark.
• Write your think-aloud.
• Complete a lesson plan.
• Plan differentiation activities.
Essential Components of Reading
Instruction K-5
Part 3.6: Reading Comprehension for
Primary Students, Grades 3-5
What Is Reading
Comprehension?
Comprehension is the process of
simultaneously extracting and constructing
meaning through interaction and
involvement with written language.
RAND Reading Study Group, 2002
Instruction vs. Assessment
What is the difference between questions
that increase comprehension and those
that assess student knowledge?
Quick Quiz
Who or what is the subject of the
paragraph on the next slide? What is the
main idea?
Quick Quiz
A newspaper is better than a magazine, and on the
seashore is better than on the street. At first it is better to
run than walk. Also, you may have to try several times. It
takes some skill, but it’s easy to learn. Even young
children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are
minimal. Birds seldom get too close. One needs lots of
room. Rain soaks in very fast. Too many people doing it
can cause problems. If there are not complications, it can
be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things
break loose from it, however, you will not get a second
chance.
Bransford & Johnson, 1972
Good Readers
• Use strategies before, during, and after
reading.
• Are active readers.
• Have clear goals for reading.
• Preview the text and note text structure.
• Apply strategies selectively.
Duke & Pearson, 2002
Good Readers, continued
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ask themselves questions.
Construct, revise, and question.
Integrate prior knowledge
Note the author, context, and bias.
Monitor their understanding.
Evaluate the text’s qualify and value.
Duke & Pearson, 2002
Evidence-Based Practices
• Teach reading comprehension
strategies early, even before
students begin to read.
• Teach multiple reading strategies
simultaneously.
Reutzel et al., 2005
Students Need to . . .
• Comprehend complex text
independently.
• Summarize main ideas.
• Have metacognitive awareness and
monitor their comprehension.
• Use effective and efficient strategies to
solve comprehension problems.
Disciplinary Literacy
• Current standards emphasize expository
and informational text.
• Skills required for success in upper
grades, college, and employment.
Evidence-Based, Efficacious
Comprehension Strategies
•
•
•
•
•
•
Monitor own comprehension.
Use graphic and semantic organizers.
Answer and generate questions.
Recognize text structure.
Summarize text.
Use evidence from text to support
conclusions.
Paris & Stahl, 2005; Pressley, 200; Rand, 2002
Teaching Strategies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Develop background knowledge.
Discuss the strategy.
Model and explain the strategy.
Learn and remember the strategy.
Engage in collaborative practice.
Engage in independent practice.
Strategies for . . .
• Before reading.
• During reading.
• After reading.
Collaborative Strategic Reading
(CSR)
• A cluster of strategies.
• Promotes content learning, language
acquisition, and reading comprehension.
• Includes ELLs and students with disabilities.
• Effective with expository text.
Klinger et al., 2012
CSR, continued
• Cooperative learning.
• All content areas.
• Active teacher monitoring.
• Actively engaged students.
Klinger et al., 2012
Strategic Reading With CSR
Before Reading: Previewing
• Use background knowledge.
• Identify key words and concepts.
• Make predictions.
• Identify genre and text structure.
Klinger et al., 2012
During Reading:
Click & Clunk
• Recognize clunks—unfamiliar words or
concepts.
• Apply fix-up strategies.
Clunks
Words or concepts
that cause comprehension
Difficulties and do not make
Sense.
Klinger et al., 2012
Clicks
When students
understand text
Clunk Cards
Reread the sentence with the clunk and look for key ideas to
help you figure out the word
Reread the sentences before and after the clunk, looking for
clues
Look for a prefix or suffix in the word that may help.
Break apart the word and look for smaller words that you know.
During Reading:
Get the Gist
1. Who or what is the paragraph about?
2. What is the most important thing about
the “who” or “what”?
3. State the main idea in 10 words or
fewer.
Klinger et al., 2012
After Reading:
Wrap-Up
• Formulate questions.
• Identify the most important ideas.
• Summarize what was learned.
Klinger et al., 2012
Cooperative Groups
• Teach students to work cooperatively.
– Model learning roles.
– Provide guided practice.
– Provide cue cards.
• Assign groups and roles.
Klinger et al., 2012
CSR: Learning Logs
• Each student completes:
o Before
o During
o After
• Serves as a progress-monitoring record.
Klinger et al., 2012
Teachers . . .
Before implementing CSR:
• Teach each strategy.
• Model and provide practice.
• Have students practice roles and
responsibilities of group.
During CSR:
• Circulate and monitor.
• Provide scaffolding.
Klinger et al., 2012
Let’s Try CSR!
1–Leader
2–Clunk expert
3–Gist expert
4–Question expert
5–Encourager
6–Timekeeper
CSR Role Descriptions
• Leader: guides group about what to read
or which strategy to use.
• Clunk expert: figures out difficult words
or concepts (i.e., clunks) using the fix-up
strategies.
• Gist expert: guides the development of a
gist that includes most important ideas.
CSR Roles, continued
• Question expert: leads the development
of meaningful questions and varying
types.
• Encourager: provides positive feedback
and encourages all students to
participate.
• Timekeeper: keeps the pacing brisk and
the group from becoming bogged down.
Preview & Predict
• Preview:
o Title, pictures, headings, charts, and graphs.
o Brainstorm prior knowledge.
• Record on your learning log your
o Prior knowledge.
o Prediction.
Klinger et al., 2012
Click & Clunk
1. Read a paragraph.
2. Write clunks on your log
with the group:
1. Clunk expert: Use fix-up strategies to
figure out the clunks.
2. Write your clunk explanations on the
log; include the number of the fix-up
strategy you used.
Get the Gist
1. Who or what is the paragraph about?
1. What is the most important thing about
the “who” or “what”?
2. State the main idea in 10 words or
fewer.
Repeat Again and Again and . . .
• For each paragraph, repeat the steps:
1. Preview.
2. Read and determine clunks.
3. Write a gist statement.
Wrap-Up
Question expert: Lead the group to:
• Discuss and write questions and answers
in your learning log.
• Include different levels of questions.
• Examine all the gist statements.
• List the important ideas.
• Create a summary of two to three
sentences.
Reflections
• How do you think CSR improves reading
comprehension skills?
• How would you adapt CSR for students
who:
o Struggle with reading and writing.
o Are ELLs.
o Have limited background knowledge.
o Need acceleration.
A Final Note
Comprehension is the reason for reading . .
. Research over 30 years has shown that
instruction in comprehension can help
students understand what they read,
remember what they read, and
communicate with others about what they
read.
National Institute for Literacy, 2006, p. 48