What is Comprehension?

Comprehension is the whole point of reading.  Pardo (2004) defines “Comprehension [as] a process in which readers construct meaning by interacting with text through the combination of prior knowledge and previous experience, information in the text, and the stance the reader takes in relationship to the text” (p. 272).  The important part of this definition is the making of meaning by the reader. 

Comprehension is a complex process that involves a young reader being able to recognize some words, and also decode the symbols of unknown words based on their knowledge of letter sounds.  Next, they have to attach meaning to the words and combine them to construct an understanding of the whole text.

There are three equally important factors that influence comprehension.  According to Rosenblatt (1978), how well we understand what we read depends on reader factors, text factors, and context.  These three factors are the variables that interact every time the reading process occurs.  Understanding each of the three factors helps teachers to facilitate and enhance student comprehension of text in any form. Snow (2002) expanded on Rosenblatt’s model to include the sociocultural context that includes the communities and culture that surround the reader, the text, and the activity. 

The Reader

Reader factors include background knowledge, vocabulary and fluency, use of strategies and skills, and motivation.  Each reader comes with their own background knowledge and uses that existing knowledge to make sense of new information.  This is known as schema theory where readers can draw from long-term memory to make connections to new knowledge.  If a reader has limited background knowledge about plants, then they will have a very difficult time reading about photosynthesis because they have nothing they can connect it to in their own experiences.  Teachers can help children to access and build their prior knowledge through discussions, using pictures, and asking questions.

How well-developed a reader’s vocabulary is influences comprehension as does the variety of strategies and skills they have to employ while reading and trying to understand print.  Good readers automatically apply strategies to help them figure out new words and the meaning of the text as they go.  

Of course, fluency plays an important part in how easily a reader constructs meaning because the more fluent they are, the less effort they expend trying to decode words.  We learned that the three components of fluency – accuracy, speed, and prosody – allow a reader’s brain to devote all its resources to creating meaning as they read.

Finally, a reader’s motivation is a huge influence on comprehension.  Teachers can help to motivate students by helping them find books for their specific interests, providing plenty of choices and allowing students to select what, where, and how they read, and by setting authentic purposes for reading in all content areas.

The Text

Text factors include the genre, structure, and specific features of the text. 

The three basic genres include many subcategories under fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The 12-minute video below by Michelle Oyola reviews the various genres of literature.

The two main text structures are narrative and expository. In the primary grades, we teach children that the basic text structure for narrative stories includes a beginning, middle, and end.  Typically a plot graph is used to illustrate the rise of action in a story to a climax with a resolution. Expository text, also known as informational text or non-fiction, can have a variety of structures such as descriptive, compare/contrast, problem/solution, sequential, or cause/effect. Douglas County Schools has a useful chart describing the structures of non-fiction.  For more resources on text structure, including graphic organizers and some videos, check out Reading Rocket’s “Implementing Text Structure Strategy in Your Classroom.”

There are many text features including literary devices, tables, graphs, headings, glossaries, bolded words, etc. Mrs. Warner’s Learning Community blog has some great resources for teaching text features.

The Activity

The reading activity involves the purpose for reading, the tasks associated with processing the text, and the outcome of the reading. The purpose and tasks for reading may be set by others (like a teacher), or self-selected.  The purpose may change in the midst of reading as the reader discovers new information or questions. Part of the activity is the processing of the text, from the basics of decoding to higher-level understanding of the text.  Tasks such as making connections, visualizing, and monitoring understanding may be used to process the text.  The purpose of reading interacts with the processing as readers  might skim to get the gist or find a specific answer or readers might study the text for long-term retention. Often the outcome for reading is related to the purpose, though not always. Readers may have different purposes for reading the text as compared to the expectations of the activity.  Readers may be want to increase their knowledge, get a good grade, find a solution to a problem, or just enjoy a story.

The Sociocultural Context

The sociocultural context of reading is more than just the classroom environment.  It extends into the students’ families, friends and local community and the social and historical background of the reader, text, and activity.  Contextual factors include the place, the situation, and the purpose for reading; the community and culture the activity exists within; and the historical and social context of the text – both when it was written and read.  Things like student choice, the classroom environment, and the culture and the climate all influence the sociocultural context where the reader and the text combine.  Think about the controversies about reading texts such as Harry Potter, I Am Jazz, or even Dr. Suess. Teachers can support comprehension by creating a meaningful context for reading.  We need to give students time, choice, and an inviting setting where reading can occur, and we need to model and share our own love for reading.

Comprehension Strategies

In this section, we will cover several strategies good readers use to make sense of text.  We will also discuss how best to cover strategy instruction in the classroom.  Good readers need to use these strategies automatically to suit the text and situation depending on their purpose for reading. Reading Rockets has a useful article “Key Comprehension Strategies to Teach.”  The table below highlights some of the most common comprehension strategies. 

How Do We Teach Comprehension Strategies?

Teachers should use mini-lessons and think alouds to model each comprehension strategy over time.  The Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model shared in a previous chapter is the ideal method for strategy instruction.  This would entail teacher modeling and explanation of the strategy through a read aloud and think aloud.  Next, children need guided practice where teachers gradually give students more responsibility (this could occur during small reading groups).  Then, teachers can give students independent practice accompanied by feedback, and finally, students are asked to apply the strategy along with previously learned ones in real reading situations.

Comprehension Monitoring & Fix-Up Strategies

The National Reading Panel (2000) found that teaching students to monitor their own comprehension and to notice when it breaks down is an important part of comprehension instruction.  The act of paying attention to your own understanding is called metacognition.  Have you ever been reading a page in textbook and then noticed when you got to the bottom of the page that you really did not “read” it?  You catch yourself and realize you did NOT understand what you just read and you go back and reread with a new focus.  That is metacognition, a skill that all good readers need to successfully navigate and understand texts.

Once a reader recognizes that comprehension has broken down, they need some tools they can pick from to fix it back up.  Teachers should introduce children to a variety of fix-up strategies they can use to help themselves get unstuck when the text becomes confusing.  Such Fix-Up Strategies include:

*back up and reread

*skip the tricky part and come back later

*stop and ask yourself a question

*form a mental picture or movie

A great way to introduce students to self-monitoring and fix-up tools is through an interactive read aloud where you introduce the strategy, model its use and think out loud for them to see how you use it when reading in an exaggerated way.  Then, the strategies should be revisited often to remind students to try them in their own reading.  They should also be displayed on anchor charts or posters along with the other comprehension strategies.

In the above video, Mrs. Hughes’s class reviews and models the fix-up strategies.

Cooperative Learning & Comprehension

At its core, comprehension occurs in the head of the reader.  However, most explicit comprehension instruction occurs in a social classroom setting, so we can capitalize on the social nature of learning and incorporate the benefits of cooperative learning structures into comprehension lessons.  In fact, research findings from the National Reading Panel (2000) found that cooperative, collaborative, and highly interactive discussions in which readers work together to make sense of the text is a highly effective pedagogy. 

Teachers can involve students in book clubs, discussion groups, grand conversations, and paired reading to emphasize strategy use in a social context.  Simply pairing two students and having them retell, or summarize, the events from a story, discuss their favorite character, act out a scene, or write a new ending facilitates a great deal of discussion and use of comprehension strategies.

Teaching Comprehension with English Language Learners

English Language Learns can comprehend texts, even as they are learning English. However, the teacher needs to be intentional about scaffolding texts and strategy instruction for ELLs.  Some strategies for scaffolding instruction include:

• Use visuals to illustrate vocabulary, concepts, and processes
• Use sentence frames and graphic organizers to help ELLs use the language of instruction
• Build or activate background knowledge by drawing on the students’ existing knowledge, completing text or picture walks before reading, and providing opportunities for students to talk about their knowledge in their native language.
• Check for comprehension frequently.  Rather than waiting for the end of a story, stop frequently for check-ins, through Turn and Talk, Stop and Jot/Act etc. Chunk texts for students to encourage them to stop and monitor their comprehension.
• Teach vocabulary explicitly.  Use the process mentioned in the chapter on vocabulary instruction and make sure to include images.

The video below is a 45-minute webinar by Reading Rockets and Colorin Colorado that focuses on helping ELLs with comprehension and how their first language can be used in instruction.

Reciprocal Teaching

Eventually, the goal of using comprehension strategies is to get children to use them automatically and to use multiple strategies at the same time.  Reciprocal teaching (Palincsar & Brown, 1984) is one cooperative learning method that gets students to direct their own use of multiple strategies in groups of four as they reconstruct the meaning of a text.  Each student in the group assumes the role of either summarizer, predictor, questioner, or clarifier as they discuss the meaning of the text.

Teachers introduce the “fab four” (Oczkus, 2003) as strategies that all good readers use through modeling and think alouds.  Next, they give students practice using the strategies and eventually, let students lead their own book discussion groups using reciprocal teaching.

In the above video, students take charge through reciprocal teaching to make sense of a text.

Using Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are extremely useful for helping students construct meaning in a visual and applied way.  There are literally hundreds of graphic organizers for each of the eight comprehension strategies, as well as for analyzing text structure and features.  One of the best resources for free, high-quality graphic organizers with implementation instructions is from the Florida Center for Reading Research.

Here are a variety of character map forms from the Literacy Leader for helping students examine a character in order to understand the story more deeply.

Assessing Comprehension

We typically think of answering questions as the main form of assessing comprehension, however, there are many other ways to assess students’ understanding of a text. There are many informal ways to assess comprehension.  The most obvious is to have a student read a text at their appropriate reading level and then answer factual or inferential questions about the text.  Another widely used way is to ask a student to retell the text in their own words.

Other informal comprehension assessments include:

• Informal reading inventories (IRIs)
• Cloze passages
• Retellings after any reading or after fluency checks
• Observing students’ prosody when completing fluency checks
• Picture book questioning (nonreaders)
• Observations:
  • Anecdotal records
  • Checklists
• Teacher-made tests
• Portfolios
• Learning logs and journals
• Graphic organizers

Although a secondary literacy coach, Melissa, provides an adaptable list of 6 Ways to Assess Reading Comprehension Without Making Kids Hate Reading, which includes:

1. Add variety
2. Book Talk it (FlipGrid is great for this!)
3. Discuss in groups
4. Confer individually
5. Respond to fun prompts
6. Use exit slips

Review and Questions to Ponder

Questions to Ponder

1. How would you build or activate students’ background knowledge with a narrative and an expository text?  Would you use different methods?  Why?
2. What are some ways that technology can be used to support comprehension instruction?
3. Why do some children struggle with applying comprehension strategies?

References

Oczkus, L. (2003). Reciprocal teaching at work: Strategies for improving reading comprehension. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Palincsar, A. S. & Brown, A. (1984). Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-Fostering and Comprehension Monitoring Activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1(2), pp. 117-175.

Pardo, L.S., (2004). What every teacher needs to know about comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58, 272-280.

Rosenblatt, L.R. (1978). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

Snow, C. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. Rand Corporation

Tompkins, G.E. (2017). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach. Boston: Pearson.