CHAPTER 10 Comprehension, Part 2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
- 10-1 Describe ways to promote reading for literal meaning.
- 10-2 Compare and contrast interpretative reading, critical reading, and creative reading, and identify some comprehension skills related with each of them.
- 10-3 Explain how to construct effective questions for discussions and assessments.
- 10-4 Identify comprehension challenges experienced by struggling readers.
KEY CONCEPTS AND TERMS
anaphora Use of a word as a substitute for another word or group of words.
close reading An in-depth and high-level exploration of a text that encompasses both comprehension and an analysis of the author’s craft.
creative reading Reading beyond the lines.
critical literacy The examination of issues of the power that characters have or lack, and the ways that power is used by the characters, particularly to oppress others.
critical reading Reading for evaluation.
ellipsis The omission of a word or group of words that are to be “understood” by the reader.
guided imagery A comprehension strategy in which readers imagine pictures (about the characters, setting, etc.) in their minds while listening.
idiom A group of words that, taken as a whole, has a meaning different from that of the sum of the meanings of the individual words.
infer To deduce something by using clues provided in print or spoken messages.
interpretive reading Reading between the lines.
literal comprehension Understanding ideas that are directly stated
propaganda techniques Techniques of writing used to influence people’s thinking and actions, including bandwagon technique, card stacking, glittering generalities, name calling, plain-folks talk, testimonials, and transfer techniques.
question-answer relationships (QAR) A comprehension strategy that focuses on the relationship between questions and where their answers can be found: either in the book or in “my head.”
schema (pl., schemata) A preexisting knowledge structure (cluster of information) developed about a thing, place, or idea.
story grammar A set of rules that define story structures.
story schema Background knowledge associated with stories.
text-dependent questions Questions that can be answered from information gleamed from the text.
topic sentence A sentence that sets forth the central thought of the paragraph in which it occurs.
visualization Picturing events, places, and people described by an author.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
While chapter 9 focused on the role of the reader, the text, and the reading situation. This chapter’s focus is on literal and higher-order comprehension and effective questioning to foster students’ comprehension. Other topics include close reading, an approach that is related to both types of comprehension and meeting the needs of struggling readers.
Literal comprehension involves understanding information that is directly stated in the text and includes skills such as finding details, understanding sequence, following directions, and recognizing cause-and-effect. This chapter presents each of the skills listed here and provides ideas for teaching students how to improve their literal comprehension of each component.
Higher-order comprehension is based on the interpretation, analysis, and synthesis of information. This section of the chapter attends to the comprehension processes of interpretive reading, critical reading, and creative reading. Interpretive reading is reading between the lines and involves the use of making inferences about main ideas, cause-and-effect relationships, drawing conclusions, and detecting the mood of a passage and an author’s purpose. Interpretive reading is also necessary to understand anaphora, the use of a word or phrase (i.e., a pronoun or adverb) to replace other words or phrases. When ellipsis is used, the author omits words and the reader is expected to interpret the omission.
Readers engage in critical reading when they evaluate the accuracy of ideas in a text. They may evaluate the author’s purpose, point of view, style and tone, and competence. They may also evaluate the timeliness, accuracy and adequacy, and appropriateness of the text. Critical reading can also entail differentiating fact from opinion, recognizing propaganda techniques, and making value judgements. All of these factors related to critical reading are particularly important to consider when reading online material.
Creative reading prompts readers to use their imagination to solve problems and predict outcomes. Creative reading also involves visualization and can lead to the production of new creations, such as the performance of a skit, or an artistic depiction of a character or the setting of a story.
Close reading is an in-depth and high-level exploration of a text. Close reading typically involves multiple readings of the text so that the reader can get an in-depth understanding of the text, analyze the author’s craft, and make connections between the text, the reader, and the world at large. Teachers scaffold students’ close reading by asking carefully crafted questions.
Effective questioning of a text promotes’ comprehension of it, and questions should be carefully crafted to target higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy when possible. Teachers can also provide instruction to help students learn how to answer questions. This instruction can include how to interpret the question, how and where to find the information, and how to construct the answer after the information is located. In addition, when children generate questions about what they read, their comprehension is enhanced. Thus, teachers can use strategies such as QAR to help children learn how to construct questions. Struggling readers often have difficulty with comprehension. Lack of life experiences, language challenges, and difficulty with word recognition are some of the obstacles that cause this problem
Your assignment to do☹70 pts
Question 1. From Emotion to Comprehension with Stanley Greenspan and Lindamood-Bell/Autism
This video about the relationship between emotions and comprehension features Eric, a child who has been diagnosed with autism and can read words but can’t comprehend. A strategy called “floor time” is being used to increase Eric’s ability to engage emotionally. Brain research and observation display the effects of this intervention. Anthony, another child with autism, is being taught to use imagery to help improve comprehension.
Watch video below and response to questions
a. What are your thoughts about Dr. Pressley’s comment, “If you just learn to read the words, you will automatically learn how to comprehend.”
b. How are emotion and comprehension related?
c. What techniques are used with the children in the video to promote emotional connections?
d. What implications does this video have for other struggling readers
Question 2. Dr. Timothy Shanahan Explains ‘Close Reading’
In your textbook pages 304-305, focuses on the importance of closed Reading. Students are required to “Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text”. Highlight the words “read closely” and watch the video‘Close Reading’ Exto determine why this standard is relevant to close reading and to determine some traits of close reading.
After reading chapter 10 and watching the video.
a. What traits are associated with close reading?
b. What is the goal of close reading?
c. Explain the four strategies and traits to scaffold during close reading.
d. What then will you say is the difference between guided reading and close reading?
Q.3. What are the seven question types based on comprehension factors that are discussed in the chapter? How are these related to Bloom’s taxonomy?