Anna Geiger - Science Of Reading Part 5 of 5: Reading Comprehension Strategies

Welcome to the final installment of our Science of Reading series with literacy expert Anna Geiger, M.Ed., from The Measured Mom and author of Reach All Readers!

In Part Five, we look into Reading Comprehension Strategies.

Below is an outline of the topics covered in Anna's previous Science of Reading PD Snippets: Part One: we laid the groundwork by examining the crucial interplay between Decoding and Language Comprehension. Part Two: we dove into a critical aspect of reading development: Building Comprehension at the Word Level.  Part Three: we turned our attention to another crucial step: Reading Comprehension at the Sentence Level.  Part Four: we focused on a critical component of reading comprehension: Background Knowledge If you missed any of Anna's previous PD Snippets, don't worry you can find them all on our Newsletter page - just click the button below to access them all for FREE!

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As always - Happy Teaching!
-Kayla

Today, we'll be focusing on Reading Comprehension Strategies. These strategies sometimes receive criticism within the science of reading world, which is unfortunate and really not fair. Research consistently demonstrates the importance of teaching these strategies. A reading comprehension strategy is a deliberate mental action taken to enhance understanding. The issue arises when the focus shifts from the text itself to the strategy in isolation. In the past, the emphasis has been too much on the strategy and not enough on applying it to the text.

There are many effective reading comprehension strategies, and I’m going to focus on three:

1. Comprehension Monitoring
2. Recognizing Text Structure
3. Summarizing

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1. Comprehension Monitoring: Comprehension monitoring is being aware of whether or not you understand what you're reading. Many students mistakenly believe that reading is simply about pronouncing words correctly, without considering their meaning. We need to teach them that true reading involves understanding. Here are some specific techniques to teach students: Visualizing: Encourage students to create mental images of the text. During a read-aloud, pause and ask, “Can you picture what’s happening in your mind?” Retelling: Have students retell what they’ve read, focusing on sequencing events in the correct order. For nonfiction, encourage them to pause periodically and try to recall the key information. Clarifying: Model how to handle comprehension breakdowns. When encountering a difficult word, demonstrate how to use a kid-friendly dictionary, ask for help, or reread the surrounding text for context clues. By modeling these behaviors, we demonstrate what proficient readers do to ensure understanding.

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2. Recognizing Text Structure:

Text structure refers to how an author organizes information. Narrative texts often follow story grammar, which includes elements like character, setting, problem, and solution. Research confirms that understanding story grammar improves comprehension.

A helpful tool is a “hand poster” to represent story elements:

• Thumb: Characters
• Pointer Finger: Setting
• Middle Finger: Beginning
• Ring Finger: Middle
• Pinky Finger: End

Expository texts (informational texts) typically fall into one of five categories: description, sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast, or problem and solution. While challenging for younger students, one way you can do this before students read a passage: introduce the text structure and have them read the text with a partner:

1. Introduction: Before reading a text like “Alligator vs. Crocodile,” explain that it will compare and contrast these two animals, highlighting their similarities and differences.
2. Partner Reading: Have students read the text with a partner, taking turns reading sentences. Encourage rereading if they finish early.
3. Whole-Class Discussion: Reread the text aloud as a class. Identify words that indicate comparison or contrast. Have students highlight these words.
4. Targeted Questions: Ask questions that focus on the comparison and contrast. For example, “How is an alligator’s snout different from a crocodile’s snout?” Partner-up again and have pairs exchange answers. Call on a student to share. Ask other questions using the same passage.
5. Student-Generated Questions: Encourage students to create their own comparison and contrast questions and ask their partners.
6. Self-Questioning: Teach students to ask themselves questions about the text, turn the paper over and say the answer out loud.
7. Collaborative Writing: Work together to write a paragraph using the compare and contrast structure.

These activities can be adapted for different grade levels. By second and third grade, students should be actively engaging with these structures.

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3. Summarizing:

Summarizing is a key strategy for reading comprehension: making sense of text, and building mental models.

“Paragraph shrinking” is a particularly effective summarizing technique:

1. Identify the Who or What: After reading a paragraph, ask students to identify the main topic or subject.
2. Determine the Most Important Information: Ask students to identify the most crucial information about the topic in that paragraph.
3. Shrink the Information: Challenge students to summarize the information in 10 words or less.

Using the “Alligator vs. Crocodile” example, after reading a paragraph, you might ask:

• “What’s the who or what in this paragraph?” (Alligators and crocodiles.)
• “What’s the most important thing about alligators and crocodiles in this paragraph?” (They have different shaped snouts.)
• “Now, summarize that in 10 words or less.” (Alligators and crocodiles have different snouts.)

This activity promotes precise and focused summarizing.

We’ve covered a wide range of comprehension strategies, focusing on building understanding at the word, sentence, and text levels.

Here are some additional resources for further learning:

• Recommended Science of Reading Books: This curated list includes resources for beginners, general overviews, and more advanced texts, with notes on readability and practical application.
• Science of Reading Podcast Index: This index contains approximately 500 podcast episodes from various shows, organized by topic, including comprehension, comprehension strategies, phonics, and more.
• The Measured Mom Membership: Members gain access to a wealth of printable resources categorized to help implement the Science of Reading in Pre-K through third grade.

Thank you for joining me on this science of reading journey. I hope this series has provided valuable insights and practical strategies to enhance your teaching practice.

Warmly,

Anna Geiger

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