Comprehension: What every teacher needs to know

Good readers read widely, monitor their understanding, and negotiate meaning. When good readers fail to understand they use "fix up" strategies.

rereading

using context clues

cross-checking cueing systems

Teacher's role in the reading process is to create experiences and environments that introduce, nurture, or extend students' abilities to engage with text.

modeling

scaffolding

facilitating

participating

■ Believe that all children can learn
■ Differentiate instruction and know
that motivation and multiple kinds
of text are essential elements of
teaching and learning
■ Understand that reading is a
social constructivist process
that functions best in authentic
situations
■ Teach in print-rich, concept-rich
environments
■ Have in-depth knowledge of various aspects of literacy, including
reading, writing, speaking, and
listening
■ Provide myriad opportunities for
students to read, write, and discuss
■ Teach for a variety of purposes,
using diverse methods, materials, and grouping patterns to focus
on individual needs, interests, and
learning styles
■ Understand the skills and strategies
good readers use and can teach students how to use them
■ Use the information gleaned from
formative assessments to increase
understanding of individual student’s strengths and needs
■ Monitor student learning and
adjust teaching as needed to ensure
the success of all learners

Previewing

Self-questioning

making connections

visualizing

knowing how words work

monitoring

summarizing

evaluating

Learning new concepts and words that encode them is essential to comprehension development.

■ An environment that fosters word
consciousness—“the awareness of
and interest in learning and using
new words and becoming more
skillful and precise in word usage”
(Graves and Watts-Taffe, 2002, p. 144)
■ Students who actively participate in
the process
■ Instruction that integrates
vocabulary with the curriculum
and word learning throughout the
day and across subject areas
■ Instruction that provides both
definitional and contextual
information
■ Teachers who provide multiple
exposures to words
■ Teachers who provide numerous,
ongoing opportunities to use the
words

comprehension is when readers make connections between what they know and what they are reading.

learning takes place when new info is integrated with what is already known.

Motivation is the driving force that gets students to read.

Engagement holds their interest. Inspires students to want to understand.

This is where teachers interact with students and take an active role in their acquisition of strategies by explaining, demonstrating, and guiding.

it provides students with knowledge of numerous text structures and improves their text-driven processing.