Reading comprehension involves a broad spectrum

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension

Kristi Brown

EDUC 340 Professor Heather Schilling May 8, 2009

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Abstract Reading comprehension is an issue that teachers face in the classroom on a daily basis. Comprehension involves a wide range of skills which depends on a student’s reading ability before, during, and after reading literature. Knowing about and being able to teach comprehension needs to be established to help students understand and relate to the material they are reading. Comprehension is an area where students struggle to improve; finding a strategy that works to engage them in literature and to improve in the area of comprehension is a battle for teachers. By engaging students in lessons and utilizing a variety of instructional strategies can be an effective tool to help the student improve in reading comprehension.

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Reading comprehension involves a broad spectrum of critical and analytical skills that largely depend on a student’s reading ability. A skill that entails knowledge before, during, and after reading literature, reading comprehension is important for students to understand and relate to the literature that they read. The importance of reading comprehension is important because how a student reads affects their level of learning in classes across the curriculum. In order to actually process material from their textbooks, students need to be able to read to understand, not just decode the words in a sentence. The process of comprehension needs to be understood, so the best method and comprehension strategy can be implemented in the classroom. Helping students connect to the literature, engaging them in lessons, and utilizing a variety of instructional strategies are some of the ways an effective instructor can improve students’ reading comprehension. First of all, reading comprehension is an issue that all teachers face in the world of education. A growing problem for students across the curriculum, reading comprehension is an area in which many students struggle to improve. Students are often reading below grade level, but the curriculum for all of their content area classes derives from textbooks written at or above grade level. Trying to find a reading program that works or trying to find the appropriate instructional strategies to engage students in literature while helping them improve their reading comprehension has been a constant battle for teachers and educational institutions. As stated by Campbell, “It should also be noted that while any one program may help struggling readers, none is a “cure-all” solution” (Kelly & Campbell, 2009, p. 7).

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“The important point is that understanding text is not simply remembering the content that is presented, but rather involves combining this content with past knowledge to form a durable representation that can inform future behavior and learning” (Catts 2009 p.179). Several factors affect comprehension, including the reader, the text, and the activity. Thoughtful readers make connections, retrieve and activate prior knowledge. Often times, students make connections in three ways: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections. Text-to-self connections is when students think of their own life when reading a text, text-to-text connections is when a text makes a student think of another text or a type of media, and text-to-world connections are used when students think of the world as a theme or a big idea during reading (Zimmerman & Hutchins, 2003). In addition, students need to be engaged in the literature. In order to ensure students are actively and cognitively engaged, teachers should instill students with the necessary skills and comprehension strategies to promote motivation and competence. Students that can relate the literature to their own life or make significant real-world connections will be in a better condition and framework to comprehend the material. A variety of comprehension strategies and instructional methods combine to create the best possible learning environment for students. Reading comprehension is a process that builds over time and improves with practice. Many strategies encourage readers to become involved in the literature and help teachers to engage learners during the process. These strategies include “making personal connections to the text, questioning, inferring, visualizing, determining importance, synthesizing, and monitoring” (Lloyd, 2004, p.114).

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These strategies must be correctly modeled by the teacher before successful implementation can take place. Other strategies include “summarizing, monitoring, clarifying, asking questions, predicting, making connections, and monitoring and adjusting speed” (Stinnett, p.61). Four conditions for a successful comprehension program include: time spent actually reading, teacher-directed instruction, opportunities for collaboration, and structures for talking with teachers and peers about responses for reading (Stinnett). Although many strategies may be identified as comprehension strategies, teachers must know each student’s learning style in order to differentiate lessons and meet the multiple needs evident in the classroom. The summarizing strategy helps readers combine all the ideas in a text to one single idea. This helps readers remember what they have read. The monitoring strategy involves readers constantly checking their comprehension as they read which causes readers to expect they will understand the text. During questioning, readers ask themselves questions that they use to direct their reading. Readers that make predictions are able to identify a purpose for reading. Having a purpose for reading engages readers in the literature. Another way to engage readers in literature is to help them use their background knowledge to make personal connections (Tompkins, 2006, p. 229). Furthermore, graphic organizers and the use of visual images to aide students with reading comprehension are important tools to incorporate in the reading classroom. With technology constantly changing the way students learn and communicate in society, educating students through technology needs to be utilized. As Riesland (2005) stated, “By educating students to understand and communicate through visual modes, teachers

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empower their students with the necessary tools to thrive in increasingly media-varied environments” (Riesland, 2005, p. 2). Technology must be incorporated into the classroom to engage student interest. A classroom with media techniques and technology is a classroom that engages and involves today’s students. According to Riesland (2005), “Visual literacy instruction will better prepare students for the dynamic and constantly changing online world they will inevitably be communicating through” (Riesland, 2005, p. 4). Visual images, graphic organizers, and technology are strategies that the instructor should implement in order to increase students’ reading comprehension skills. Moreover, “comprehension is more than decoding and applying word meanings; it is also the construction of a Situation Model” (Stinnett p. 59). The Situation Model, constructed by Walter Kintsch in 1998, is a key part involving several parts. A reader approaches a text with a goal in mind to actually learn concepts from the text. With a specific goal in mind, readers use prior knowledge and experiences to incorporate information gained from the text. When a reader encounters a gap in the text base, inferences, including knowledge-based and past experiences, are made to create meaning of the text base. The Situation Model is “the complete structure that is composed of both text-derived propositions (the text base) and propositions (including imagery and action, which we also represent as propositions) contributed from long-term memory” (Stinnett, p. 60). Many studies have been completed by a number of different researchers. Results point towards an improvement in reading comprehension when group work or literature circles are used to present the literature. According to one researcher, “Literature circles along with traditional drill and practice should be incorporated with

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other helpful reading strategies to ensure that students like those who participated in this study will learn literacy skills” (Brown, 2002, p. 13). “Careful modeling, discussion, and coaching help us evolve thoughts or ideas. Conversation and simultaneous reflection, using the cognitive strategies, are a critical part of comprehension for most of us” (Ketch, 2005, p. 10). Discussions need to be centered on students’ understanding of the literature and directed to engage the most learners. “Creating classroom conversations, where students are authentically learning, accessing information, and reflecting on and trying out their theories about the world will create students who comprehend and think for themselves” (p. 10). Numerous reading strategies in addition to a variety of instructional strategies need to be implemented in order to reach the most learners and improve students’ reading comprehension. Both methods, comprehension strategies and literature circles, have positive results. Students’ learning styles should be considered by the instructor when making decisions regarding lesson plans. Throughout the school day, teachers see the same thing over and over: children appearing to be readers. They may seem like they are reading words and responding to simple factual questions, however, they aren’t really reading. Of course the decoding of words is there, but the engaging and thinking part of reading can still be out of reach. “Real comprehension has to do with thinking, learning, and expanding a reader’s knowledge and horizons. It has to do with building on past knowledge, mastering new information, connecting with the minds of those you’ve never met” (Zimmermann and Hutchins 7). Reading comprehension begins early in a child’s life; choosing activities that affect student comprehension and preventing reading difficulties in young children.

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Discovering the specific aspect a student is struggling with is important in order to utilize the best instructional strategy. Reading comprehension is probably better regarded as a process – rather than a particular outcome or product through which a reader interacts with a text to construct meaning. This view of comprehension emphasizes the deliberate, strategic, problem-solving processes of the reader as he or she engages with a text (Rice, 2008, p.2). Sometimes there is a focus on word level reading or the vocabulary that is used without any attention to whether readers comprehend as a whole the meaning of the text. Word recognition goes hand in hand with comprehending the text; the difference between these two aspects must be realized by the teacher in order to use the best practice available to help the students. A focus on vocabulary may increase a student’s reading fluency, but not their comprehension. A student’s level of vocabulary can be largely dependent on and directly related to the amount of reading the student engages in anyway. As Hirsch (2003) explains, “If decoding does not happen quickly, the decoded material will be forgotten before it is understood” (Hirsch, 2003, p. 2). A balance between word recognition and fluency is necessary. As Zimmermann and Hutchins stated in 7 Keys to Comprehension, “If children don’t understand what they read, they’re not really reading. If they don’t unlock meaning as they read, the words are boring babble and they will never read well or enjoy reading” (Zimmermann & Hutchins, 2003, p. 5). In order to unlock the meaning of the text, reading needs to become an interactive process. The 7 keys to unlock meaning include: create mental images, use background knowledge, ask questions, make inferences,

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determine the most important ideas or themes, synthesize information, and use “fix-up” strategies (p. 5-6). Good readers use these strategies without even thinking about it. To become a good reader, students need to be taught how to use these strategies. The strategies combine to assist students to visualize, make life applications, question and predict, identify theme, analyze the meaning, and monitor their reading in order to comprehend the text in which they are reading. Throughout a literature unit, a combination of instructional methods can be used to teach plot development and focus on reading comprehension. However, the instructor must implement the methods that are best suited for the content as well as the students. If students are interpersonal learners, the process of literature circles should be utilized to give students the chance to work in groups. Using graphic organizers, technology, or reader’s theater may be better options depending on the group of learners. Many methods could be successful, but choosing the best one for the particular group is critical. If cooperative learning groups are used, they must be carefully selected so all students have the best possible opportunity to improve their reading comprehension skills. Students’ personalities should be considered to ensure each group has a strong leader. Learning levels must also be considered so that each group has a variety of critical thinkers. Students will be able to learn from each other and if discussions are closely monitored, all students will eventually start to feel comfortable within their literature circle and begin to contribute to the group discussions. Vocabulary knowledge correlates strongly with reading and (oral) comprehension (Hirsch p. 4). The relationship between vocabulary and comprehension needs to be recognized and embraced in order to find the instructional methods that will be the most

Reading Comprehension 10 effective and beneficial for students. Concentrating on one particular method of instruction will not do justice to the students’ need of differentiated lessons with knowledge of multiple reading strategies to support reading comprehension. Instead, a combination of skills such as fostering a learning environment through cooperative learning groups, graphic organizers (story maps, concept maps, and semantic organizers), answering and generating questions before and during reading, and summarizing should be used as part of the comprehension process. Teachers often rely on post-reading questions to support reading comprehension skills (Woolley, 2008, p. 6). Instead, teachers need to also utilize pre-reading and during reading skills to teach students the process of comprehension. Woolley explains, “The more explicit the comprehension strategy and self-regulatory instruction, the higher the likelihood that students with reading difficulties will make significant gains in reading comprehension” (Woolley, 2008, p. 6). Struggling readers need differentiated lessons designed to help them better understand literary selections. Instructional strategies must be constantly reviewed and implemented to promote reading comprehension. A plethora of strategies can be utilized, but a lot of emphasis needs to be put on the diverse learning styles in the classroom. Because all students learn differently, the instructor needs to utilize a learning style survey while taking careful notes from constant observation of all students. Knowing students’ learning styles and creating differentiated learning experiences provides all students with successful learning opportunities in the reading classroom.

Reading Comprehension 11 References Brown, B. (2002, January 1). Literature Circles in Action in the Middle School Classroom. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED478458) Retrieved May 4, 2009, from ERIC database. Catts, Hugh W. (2009). The narrow view of reading promotes a broad view of comprehension. Language, Speech, & Hearing Services in Schools, 40, Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=102&sid=ac176829-f71047f2-a1ac 0ee539c31195%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3 d#db=aph&AN=37296468 Hirsch, E.D. (Spring 2003). Reading comprehension requires knowledge – of words and the world. American Educator. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/spring2003/AE_SPRNG.pdf Kelly, C. & Campbell, L. Helping struggling readers. New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/inclusion/teaching/kelly.htm Ketch, A. (2005). Conversation: The comprehension connection. International Reading Association. Lloyd, S. (2004). Using comprehension strategies as a springboard for student talk. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Riesland, E. (2005). Visual literacy and the classroom. New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from

Reading Comprehension 12 http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/riesland.htm Stinnett, Melissa (2009). Research in reading. Illinois Reading Council, 37, Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=108&sid=c98332f8-aba6420a-abe222136fbc19b6%40sessionmgr108&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3 d#db=aph&AN=36659711 Tompkins, G. (2006). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (4th ed.). New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon. Wooley, G. Research on reading comprehension difficulties after year four: Actioning appropriately. University of Canberra. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://www.canberra.edu.au/_data/assets/pdf_file/0018/27054/woolley2005b.pdf Zimmermann, S. & Hutchins, C. (2003). 7 Keys to comprehension. New York: Three Rivers Press.