Reading comprehension skills

Colin Wong Farhan Adam Syukri

DEFINITION OF A PARAGRAPH A group or specially and intentionally related sentences; a thought unit; sentences that revolve around a single idea and is a writers attempt to develop an idea or part of an idea. Organization of a Paragraph 1. Statement of the main idea. 2. Elaboration of the main idea and supporting details. 3. Restatement of the main idea-summary of main ideas or conclusions.

TOPIC The topic is the subject that the selection is about. The main idea can usually be located if you can determine what the topic is. To find the topic of a selection, ask the simple question, Who or what is the selection about?

MAIN IDEA Chief point an author is making about a topic. It sums up the authors primary message. Topic Sentence; Statement of the main idea. It is the statement under which all other material in the paragraph examples, reasons, facts, details and other evidence can fit.

Location of the Topic Sentence Topic sentences are usually in the first sentence of the paragraph, but not always. They may also be located within the paragraph or at the end of the paragraph. They may even appear twice at the beginning and at the end

SUPPORTING DETAILS A paragraph contains facts, statements, examplesspecifics which guide us to a full understanding of the main idea. They clarify, illuminate, explain, describe, expand and illustrate the main idea and are supporting details. Determining Supporting Details 1. Decide which details help to further the story line. 2. Decide which details help you to understand the main idea. 3. Answer question raised by the main idea (who, what when, why or how).

Types of Supporting Materials 1. COMPARISONS in which one thing is shown to be like another. EXAMPLE: Skilled college students are like the unskilled students in their desire for a diploma. 2. CONTRASTS in which one things is shown to differ from another. EXAMPLE: Skilled students are different from unskilled students in that they use a method to read a textbook. 3. STATISTICS EXAMPLE: 75 percent of the students who do not attend class regularly receive grades of C or worse. 4. GRAPHS EXAMPLE: Figure 9-1 is one type of graph. 5. QUOTATIONS from authorities EXAMPLE: Professor Smity admits, I tell students they dont need to attend my class if they dont want to. I know, however, that if they dont come, they wont pass. 6. VIVID DESCRIPTIONS EXAMPLE: The students took the exam from the professors hand, quickly looked at the grade, gave a sigh or relief and began to smile.

Major and Minor Details There are two kinds of supporting details-major and minor. The main idea and its major supporting details form the basic framework of paragraphs. The major details are the primary points that support the main idea. Paragraphs often contain minor details as well. While the major details explain and develop the main idea, they, in turn are expanded upon the minor supporting details.

Reading for main ideas and supporting details

 It is important to find main ideas when reading. Main ideas help readers remember important information. The main idea of a paragraph tells the topic of the paragraph. The topic tells what all or most of the sentences are about.

 The other sentences in the paragraph are called details. Details describe or explain the main idea. Read the paragraph on the next page and find the main idea.

Begin your reading skill instruction with helping students identify main ideas and supporting details. I tell students the football coach at my school doesn't know what he's doing. Stunned by my audacity, they protest: "But he was named coach of the year three times and has won the state title twice!" "Let me explain," I insist, "All summer his players waste time lifting weights. I've watched a lot of football in my life and I've never seen a player bench press and get rewarded points. If I were the coach I would just have my players run the ball into the end zone for hours because that's how you score in football." Students protest more as they explain football players need to be strong in order to advance the ball into the end zone. Amazingly, half the class thinks I'm serious. I then explain to them how utilizing critical thinking and reading skills in the real world is akin to weightlifting in football. Your boss will never call you into the office and ask you questions about reading; however, the skills and brain strength you accumulate while reading will give you the necessary skills to advance in life.

Identifying Main Ideas and Supporting Details

Helping students identify main ideas and supporting details enhances achievement and improves reader confidence. Identifying main ideas and supporting details begins before reading. By activating prior knowledge students anticipate the main idea of a selection. Identifying main ideas and supporting details during and after reading solidify comprehension.

suggestions
If you want students to share prior knowledge, ask questions. Guide students to anticipate main ideas. A good guide allows the student to believe he came up with the answer himself. Instruct students to look how the author or publisher organizes the material. Headings, sub-headings and bold print highlight main ideas and supporting details. After reading a paragraph or a section, ask questions that check for understanding. For example, "What was this paragraph about?" "How does that fit into what you already know about the topic?" Stress the importance of looking at headings, captions, illustrations, and charts to help determine the main idea.

Inferencing, predicting, and drawing conclusion

Hide all sharp objects. There's thinking going on in this here classroom! Remember the first reading assignment in your first year of teaching? You were all excited about enriching young lives with the world's greatest literature and they responded with "this is stupid," or "this is boring," or "is there a movie we can watch?" or "can I go to the bathroom?" so you spent the next eight months planning your vacation to the Dominican Republic while your students read Dr. Seuss. It doesn't have to be that way. Teaching reading and thinking skills will prepare your students to read and appreciate more difficult literature (of course, it'll take all year and the teacher who has them after you will be the one who actually benefits). Let's begin with drawing conclusion and making inferences.

Drawing conclusion/summarizing Reading lesson plans should incorporate summarizing. Summarizing teaches students to reduce information and to rethink what they have read, written or learned. Summarizing prepares students to learn more, faster, to review information more effectively and to communicate more precisely. Summarizing can be utilized for reading, note-taking, or writing

suggestions
While reading in class, ask general questions: "What is this passage about?" "What just happened?" Use a fishbone diagram or some other graphic organizer that helps them organize their summary by answeringWho? What? When? Where? Why? How? Remind students to include and limit their summary to main ideas. Have students check for understandability by sharing their summary and determining whether or not it makes sense. Paragraph challenges work well. Use summarizing as a key component in note-taking.

Making Inferences Making Inferences implies thinking. More specifically, making inferences requires students to use reasoning skills and their experiences to make educated guesses. Most great literature requires the reader to make inferences to construct meaning. Here are some suggestions for teaching this valuable skill.

suggestions
Modeling: Show students how making inferences enriches the reading experience by thinking out loud. Guide students to look for clues: Encourage young readers to look for events, dialogue, or descriptions that may signal what a writer is suggesting. Access prior learning before reading. Ask questions that will inspire thought. I have found very few things that work 100 per cent of the time in the classroom. Here is an exception: use individual white boards and have students record answers, comments, or questions as they read.