Anna Geiger - Science Of Reading Part 2 of 5: Building Comprehension at the Word Level

Welcome back to our exploration of the Science of Reading with literacy expert Anna Geiger, M.Ed., from The Measured Mom and author of Reach All Readers! In Part One, we laid the groundwork by examining the crucial interplay between decoding and language comprehension. If you missed, Part One, don't worry - CLICK HERE and read it on our Newsletter archive!​

Next, in Part Two, we’re diving deep into a critical aspect of reading development: Building Comprehension at the Word Level.

Enjoy this second step in a powerful series you can follow right here in our Newsletter, blog, and YouTube channel.

-Kayla

As educators, our ultimate goal is for students to not just read words, but to truly comprehend what they read. But what does comprehension truly mean? Is it simply the ability to answer a set of questions after reading a passage? While that can be a measure, true comprehension goes much deeper. It involves constructing a mental model of the text – a holistic understanding that the reader carries away. This mental model encompasses the main ideas, key details, and the overall message of the text. When we ask students to summarize a story, what they share with us is their mental model. If their summary is accurate and insightful, we know they’ve successfully comprehended the text.

So, how do we equip our students with the tools to build these robust mental models? Today, we’ll focus on the foundational role of word-level comprehension in this process.

Let’s begin with a quick True/False quiz to get us thinking about vocabulary instruction:

1) Explicit instruction in vocabulary (directly teaching word meanings) leads to improved reading achievement.

• True
• False

2) Vocabulary can be learned incidentally (through exposure and context, without direct instruction).

• True
• False
  
  • • Thankfully, this is the case, as we acquire tens of thousands of words throughout our lives – far too many to be taught explicitly.

3) It’s best to rely on a single vocabulary instruction method.

• True
• False
  • • Research indicates that a varied approach to vocabulary instruction yields the best results.

4) Effective vocabulary instruction will always translate to significant improvements on general comprehension assessments.

• True
• False
  • • While strong vocabulary knowledge is essential for comprehension, teaching a specific set of words will primarily impact comprehension of texts containing those words. The effect on general comprehension assessments, which may use different vocabulary, is more moderate.

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The last question highlights an important consideration: strategic word selection. How do we choose which words to teach? I recommend selecting three to five words from your read-aloud texts. When making your selections, consider these criteria:

• Unfamiliarity: Choose words your students are unlikely to encounter or learn incidentally.
• Likely Recurrence: Select words that are likely to appear in other texts they will encounter.
• Conceptual Foundation: Choose words for which students have a basic understanding of the underlying concept. For example, if students understand the concept of “tired,” teaching them the word “fatigued” can be effective.
• Versatility: Select words that can be used in various contexts.

Let’s illustrate this with an example. Suppose you’re reading “One Potato, Two Potato” by Cynthia DeFelice. Potential vocabulary words from this book might include “discuss,” “dismay,” “trembling,” and “scold.” You might also choose a related word not explicitly in the text, such as “astonished,” to round out your selection. This is perfectly acceptable, especially if the text itself doesn't offer a wide range of challenging vocabulary.

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Now, let’s explore a practical vocabulary routine you can implement in your classroom:

1. Introduce and Pronounce the Word: Clearly pronounce the word for your students. For example, “The word is ‘discuss.’ Say it with me: ‘discuss.’
2. Provide Context from the Text: Present the word within the context of the story. For example, “Mr. O’Grady longed for a friend, someone with whom he could discuss potato weevils and root rot.”
3. Offer a Kid-Friendly Definition: Provide a simple, easy-to-understand definition. For example, “If you discuss something, you talk about it with someone.”
4. Provide Additional Contexts: Offer examples of how the word can be used in different situations. For example, “If you get in trouble at school, you might have to discuss the issue with the principal.” Or, “If my parents are planning a vacation, they might sit down and discuss the plans with us.”

Providing multiple contexts is essential for helping students understand the nuances of word meaning and avoid associating the word with only one specific situation.

For further inspiration and practical strategies, I highly recommend the books “Bringing Words to Life” and “Creating Robust Vocabulary” by Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan. These resources are invaluable for developing engaging and effective vocabulary instruction.

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Here are some examples of activities you can use to help students process word meanings:

• Sentence Completion: For the word “astonished,” you might say, “If I say something that would astonish you, say ‘astonish’ when I raise my hand. If not, say nothing.” Then, you could provide sentences like, “An elephant walks into the classroom,” or “You turn on the faucet and water comes out.”
• Word Associations: Present a question and ask students to identify the matching vocabulary word. For example, “Which word goes with sadness?” (dismay), “Which word goes with shaking?” (trembling), or “Which word goes with surprise?” (astonished).

It’s crucial to ensure all students are actively participating in these activities. Instead of relying on hand-raising, which often only engages a few students, consider using strategies like:

• Think-Pair-Share: Have students discuss the answers with a partner before sharing with the whole class.
• Dry-Erase Boards: Have students write the number of the corresponding word on their boards and hold them up simultaneously. This allows you to quickly assess understanding across the entire class.

For younger students who are not yet reading, you can adapt these activities. For example, using the dry-erase boards, you could ask them to draw a smiley face if a sentence would be astonishing and a sad face if it would not.

By focusing on building comprehension at the word level through strategic vocabulary instruction and engaging activities, we can empower our students to become confident and capable readers who truly understand the texts they encounter!

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Stay Tuned for Part 3 coming next week!

In Anna's next PD Snippet, we turn our attention to another crucial step: Reading Comprehension at the Sentence Level. See you then!