Strategies for Comprehension and Assessment

Reading for Comprehension

We learn to read in order to make meaning of a text.  And while we are reading we are using a number of different thinking strategies to help us to uncover that meaning.  There is no one-size-fits-all approach to reading or learning to read.  That is why, when we help students with their comprehension strategies, it is important to show them a variety of strategies that they can use on their own. 

So what are these strategies we are teaching?  The comprehension strategies are ones that you and I use during our regular reading without paying much attention to them, but need to be developed in children.  The strategies include asking questions, visualizing, making connections, and drawing inferences, among others.  It is what our brains are doing while we are reading.  But, as Pat Johnson and Katie Keier explain in Catching Readers Before They Fall, the important part is not the strategies themselves, but rather the use of the strategies to create meaning.  We use multiple strategies working together at the same time to create meaning while we are reading.  This is one reason that we cannot teach the strategies as stand-alone lessons.  They should always be built into a lesson on comprehension.  So, whenever you are highlighting one strategy to model for students it is important to emphasize that what you are trying to do is uncover the meaning of the text and the strategy you are showing them may help you do so. 

When it comes time to show the students a certain method, be aware that they will need to be shown more than once.  Start by modeling how you use the strategy, then move on to a shared demonstration, and then guided practice.  The only way to determine when to move on to the next method, is to observe your students through class activities and during one on one sessions to see if they are grasping the lesson.  There is no pre-prescribed amount of time to spend on each part.  Once you see the student has grasped what you are showing, then move to the next.  Once they show the ability to apply the method, let them use it independently, but continue to monitor them in case they need additional support. 

 

Assessing Reading Ability

There are a number of different systems out there being used to assess students’ ability to read and understand a text.  Just as we wouldn’t teach just one strategy for comprehension, we shouldn’t assess just one portion of reading ability.  We need to look at comprehension, but we also need to consider the syntax, semantics and graphophonics.  Using a miscue analysis allows us to gain a fuller picture of a student’s ability by taking into consideration all of these.  A great way to present the findings of a miscue analysis is through the use of a spider chart.  In her article “A New Spin on Miscue Analysis: Using Spider charts to Web Reading Processes,” Karen Wohlwend shows how a spider chart can give a “snapshot of reading processes with a specific book in a specific moment in time.”  So while the analysis and chart are helpful, we must remember that a child’s reading system is always changing and what it really takes is a well tuned-in teacher to determine where the student’s strengths and opportunities for improvement are.  

Not about the Level, All about the Student

Listening to the podcast between Dr. Betsy Baker and Dr. Heidi Anne Mesmer about text complexity, I started thinking about leveled readers and leveled texts.  As an aunt, it was helpful to know what reading level my nieces were at, so that I could by them books that they would be able to read independently.  It was convenient to walk into a book store, seek out the Level 2 books and find one that fit my nieces’ interests. 

 

Now that I am preparing to be a teacher, I see that there is a lot more to developing readers than just matching them up with their appropriate levels.  As Dr. Mesmer said on the podcast, “leveling is a nice place to start,” and she continues by telling us that when choosing a book for a student you want to find one that is challenging and stimulating; it should be one they can read and want to read.  

So how do we find a book that is both challenging and stimulating?  We can start with the leveled books; but, as indicated by the article Let’s Start Leveling about Leveling by Kath Glasswell and Michael Ford, it is up to us as teachers to use our professional judgment to use these texts in a manner that will promote reading proficiency.  The key is actually to focus on the student, not the book, and what that student needs – work within their zone of proximal development.  Don’t be rigid in the student’s level.  If he needs more comprehension instruction, then put him in a small group with others that need comprehension instruction.  If he needs to develop self-monitoring strategies for meaning, then put him in a group with others who need to develop these strategies, even if they are not in the same level.  Whatever the needs of your students are, be sure that you have built your book collection to include various text styles as well as many different topics so that you can engage students based on their interests.

So now you might be wondering, how do I determine what type of instruction to use?  Gretchen Owocki and Yetta Goodman help us to answer that in their book Kidwatching: Documenting Children’s Literacy Development.  Chapter 6: Oral Reading and Miscues, tells us that a miscue analysis helps a teacher to understand a student’s reading strategy, and it shows which problem solving strategies they are using to decode a text.  The miscue analysis is not just for the teachers though.  It is important for the student to also reflect on her miscues and the strategies she is using to create understanding.  Going over it together will help the student to know her own processes and will build her confidence.  The teacher can then determine which small group activities will benefit the student the most and can help her to select appropriate texts, choosing not based on level, but based on her needs.

 

Don't "Dumb it Down"

How many times have you been surprised by a child who has demonstrated ability beyond what you expected based on his age?  

I experienced just that a number of years ago when I was driving around with my niece, age 4 at the time, and she pointed out a piece of construction equipment just off the road, and as she points she says to me "look a dig-dig...I mean, an excavator."  I have no idea where she learned the word, but she was absolutely correct.  The piece of construction equipment that she pointed to was most definitely an excavator!  

Too often, when speaking with children, we try to adjust our vocabulary to fit their age, when using adult language would actually be better to help them with their early literacy development.  In Dr. Betsy Baker's podcast "Using Categories to Teach Vocabulary to Preschoolers with Dr. Susan Neuman," Dr. Neuman tells us that explicit focus on vocabulary development early on is the foundation for early literacy development.  She goes on to encourage parents and teachers to use "interesting and unusual words."  This reminded me of a story my own mother likes to tell.  When I was in Kindergarten, she often wondered if I was learning anything in school.  I always came home talking about eating snacks and taking naps.  Well, one day I came home a bragged about how we were learning about the letter "O" in school and I proudly told my mom that I was "obstinate."  She never questioned my schooling again, and she learned the power of interesting words.   

Debbie Miller does a wonderful job of giving examples of using adult talk in her book Reading with Meaning, especially in Chapter 5: Schema.  In teaching children about schema and thinking strategies such as "text to self connections," Miller tells her students the names of the strategies just as she would an adult.  She does not dumb down a lesson, even for first graders.  In fact, one of the main points she makes when talking about modeling for children is "use precise language."  She explains "nothing says 'inferring' quite like 'inferring'" and that "what you say and how you say it becomes what [the children] say and how they say it!"  So call an excavator an excavator and enhance your children's vocabulary, it will only aid in their literacy development. 

More Than Just Sounding It Out

Telling a child to “sound it out” is one of the least productive ways in which to help her read, and yet it is probably the most common.  

As teachers we need to set our students up for success and use a variety of techniques to aid any student that is struggling with reading.  Naturally, the technique used will depend upon the child, his background knowledge, and where he is developmentally.  We also have to make sure that we have shown children how to use any technique prior to asking them to utilize it.  We need to model the behavior, and show them how it is done.  Let them see the usefulness of going back and rereading the sentence from the beginning, or looking at the pictures for clues.  Explain what you are doing while you are doing it (and I'll bet you’re not just sounding it out).

Now for your most challenging students, Pat Johnson and Katie Keier give some great strategies for helping struggling readers in their book Catching Readers Before They Fall. Reading through their suggestions, they all seem almost obvious, and yet I wonder if I would have ever thought of them.  For instance, knowing that you read from left to right, (directionality), is an essential piece of knowledge in order to learn to read, but I wonder if I would have noticed that a child hadn’t learned that.  Also, clearly identifying that each word spoken has a matching written word (one-to-one correspondence) is something that needs to be learned and is not just an innate ability.  So the suggestion of using texts or our morning messages with exaggerated spacing only makes sense.  

One activity I particularly enjoyed was one for children who are having extreme difficulties with letter identification.  The activity is a sorting one; and, as such, it easily ties in with skills that children need to use for math and science.  Just as you would in a science exploration, allow the child to observe the varying features of three-dimensional letters (magnetic letters).  Help her describe the letters and what they see, without naming them.  Let her explore the curves and the straight lines to become familiar with the characteristics and give her the language to describe them.  Then have her sort them in various ways, always starting with small groups and building up as she gains proficiency.  Now when you work with her on identifying letters or forming them, you have a shared language with which to work.  

With all the great suggestions that were offered by Johnson and Keier, a couple stand out above the rest.  First, “develop a ‘can-do’ attitude,” celebrate all the positives that you can and help build the child’s self-esteem.  Even Brian Cambourne recognizes this as being a condition of learning, although he calls it “expectations.”  Show him that you expect him to learn and that you believe he is capable.  His increased self-worth and positive attitude will benefit his learning.  Secondly, “Take time to reflect on what is working for these students and what needs to be adapted to better meet their needs.”  We can never forget that every child is an individual with individual needs.  What are the needs of the child that struggles to read?  How can we change our approach with her?  It all comes back to knowing your students and doing more than just “sound it out.”