Comprehension

Strategy
Workshop
By: Jacqueline DaSilva
  What is Reading Comprehension?
 What are some Reading Comprehension Strategies to help
students?
Overview:  Discuss the “High 5” Reading Comprehension Strategies (PLB,
2019)
 Suggestions of some Comprehension Activities
  Constance Weaver in “Reading Process & Practice” claims that
Reading Comprehension Strategies, “These are cognitive
What are Reading strategies that we use not only for reading but for thinking,
writing, doing mathematics and science, and making sense of our
Comprehension world. However, some students seriously need, and all can benefit
from , instructional help in developing and using such strategies,
and Strategies? especially in reading and especially since reading instruction in the
primary grades is increasingly being reduced to phonics and
fluency.” (Weaver, pg.326)
  The High 5 Reading
Comprehension Strategy is a
approach that focuses on
improving the comprehensive
ability of students. (PLB, 2019)
 The five strategies include:
 Activating Background
Knowledge
 Questioning
High 5 Reading  Analyzing text Structure
Comprehension  Creating mental
images/Visualization
Strategies  Summarizing
 When students are able to use
all five of these strategies
effectively they can continue to
grow as life long readers.
 Create a healthy and fun
relationship with reading with
your students, so they continue
to become better readers.
Background
Knowledge
 Background
knowledge, which is
also called schema,
comes from life
experiences and is
very important for
reading
comprehension.
 As a teacher, it is
important to assess
student’s
background
knowledge before
every discussion or
new topic.
 A great activity to
assess background
knowledge can be to
create a KWL chart.
  It is important for teachers to model for students how to question
information during and after reading.
 Questioning should not just be literal and expect to be found in
Questioning text alone.
 A great way to model Questioning to your students is through
“Think-Alouds”.
Examples:
Use phrases like
 “This reminds me
of…”

 ”I read another book

where the
character…”

 ”I wonder if..”

 “I think we will learn

how..”
 “Think-Alouds” can help
students predict, share
inferences, and summarize.
  Analyzing Text Structure is a
technique students use to
identify patterns found in text.
(PLB, 2019)
 Some patterns include:
Analyzing Text  Cause-effect
 Problem-solution
Structure  Descriptive patterns

 Also, students should learn

how to effectively use text
features like subheadings,
labels, captions, tables, and
graphs. (PLB, 2019)
  Visualization should always be
encouraged while reading.
 An activity to help students
with Visualization is
“Thoughts”
 Read a book to students
without showing the
pictures and then have
Visualization students tell you what they
see, hear, smell, touch, and
taste after each section.
 Students can use their
imagination and write about
what they visualized.
 Then students can compare
and contrast after teacher
goes back to do a picture walk.
 A great activity for
Summarizing summarizing is “Somebody
wanted, but so then”
 The last strategy for reading
comprehension is summarizing. Teach and model to
 Summarizing can help enhance students SWBST.
comprehension skills and help students sort
information in their minds and retell stories Students can utilize this
in their own words. strategy to help them
become better at
summarizing.
  One more activity to help with
summarizing is called the “The
Beach Ball”. (Cunningham.
2016)
 Use a inflatable beach ball
and write on the ball with
marker questions like:
More  Who are the main
Examples character?
 What is the setting?
 When does the characters
problem arise?
 Where does the story take
place?
 How did the problem get
solved?
  Comprehension is a skill that requires a lot of practice and teach
modeling.
 Without Background knowledge/Prior Knowledge comprehension
In conclusion… can not acquire.
 Questioning, Text Structure, Visualization, and Summarizing
makes good reader and helps comprehension.
  Weaver, C., & Moustafa, M. (2002). Reading process and practice.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
 Cunningham, P. M., & Allington, R. L. (2016). Classrooms that work
they can all read and write. Boston: Pearson.
References:  K12teacherstaffdevelopment.com, (2019) PLB: What is the High 5
Reading Strategy? Retrieved from
https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/what-is-the-high-5-
reading-strategy/