This document provides guidance on teaching comprehension of nonfiction texts. It discusses the importance of activating background knowledge before reading, using strategies like questioning during reading, and making connections after reading. Specific strategies are modeled, including using graphic organizers like KWL charts, comment cards, and anticipation guides. The document emphasizes the teacher's role in explicitly modeling strategies and encouraging student-generated questions. Overall, it promotes an integrated approach to teaching comprehension that includes preparation, active engagement while reading, and reflection after reading.

1. Comprehension and
Nonfiction Texts
Created and compiled by
Alyson Mitchell
2009

2. “I used to believe that I was teaching comprehension when I
carefully asked readers questions. Sometimes these questions
came from a teacher resource guide, sometimes I generated the
questions myself, but rarely were these the questions of the
learners. When learners ask questions before, during and after
reading they learn more. Student generated questions build
intrinsic motivation for reading, have an established purpose for
reading, increase personal connections and simulate higher order
thinking.”
(Hoyt, pg 118)

3. This
Often, when thinking about comprehension, we think that it entails answering
questions. Comprehension is much more than that. A good reader knows how
to use strategies (like answering and asking their OWN questions) as they read
the text. You have discussed comprehension in other classes, let’s review what
we know.
•Comprehension is essential…it is reading. In order to read (not decode a text)
one has to understand what is being read.
•Strategies for comprehending are taught (whether with nonfiction texts or
fiction texts).
•The level of a text affects a readers comprehension ability. When a book is
too difficult, the reader takes little away from the reading.
•Comprehending entails constructing meaning from the text and the child’s
own background knowledge.
•Comprehension is part of the Big 5 of Reading. It has to be explicitly taught
and modeled by the reading teacher.
Because we know that comprehension strategies are taught, teachers have to
model ways to access the meaning of nonfiction, as well as fiction texts.

4. One way to know how to teach children to gain meaning from nonfiction is to look at what
good readers do as they read. The chart below lists characteristics of a proficient reader.
We can teach and model to children how to apply the items on this list before reading texts,
while reading and after reading nonfiction texts.
Pike and Mumper, pg 83

5. Before the Reading of Nonfiction
Last semester you learned about the importance of a book introduction. This
is a strategic tool teachers give readers to activate schema, build schema
and encourage predictions. Whether teaching a read aloud (the teacher
reads to the children), shared reading lesson (the teacher and children
read together) or a guided reading lesson (the children read), book
introductions need to be utilized. Prompts or questions that might be
used are,
*This book is about ________ what do you know
about ________?
*Look at the picture, why do you think _______?
*What might we learn as we read this page?
*The table of contents includes a section on ________
why would the author include this section?
*What questions do you have about _____ before we read?
*Let’s read to find out why _______________

6. Before the Reading of Nonfiction
Because activating schema and building predictions is essential before reading a text, a graphic
organizer called a KWL chart might be used. This chart begins before reading a text with the
K and the W columns completed. The L section is completed after the reading. KWL stands
for…
K=what we know
W=what we want to know
L=what we learned
An example of this chart might look like
this:
With the teacher, the children came up with comments and questions to place under the K
and W BEFORE the reading. As they read and discover, the L column will be completed.

7. Before the Reading of Nonfiction
Your chapter gave an example of an
anticipation guide (pg 92). This is a great
way to encourage your students to think
before reading. It promotes students to
think about what they know and make
predictions in a risk free manner. This
guide could be completed in a whole
group format with the teacher making the
marks, in small groups or independently.
An example of an anticipation guide from Rain
Forest might look like what is seen here.
Students are asked to complete the
Before Reading column to show their prior
knowledge, marking T (true) or F (false).
Before
Reading
After
Reading
Tropical rain forests cover
2/3 of the world.
There are four layers in the
rainforest.
The biggest rainforest is in
Australia.
Rain forests are found on
either side of the equator.
A carnivore is a meat eater.
Good readers think before they read, while they read and after the reading. Let’s look at what teachers
can do to support children as they read…

8. During the Reading of Nonfiction
Whether the teacher is reading or the children are reading, it is necessary to
stop and discuss during the reading of the text. Teachers can use this time
to guide and model the type of thinking that proficient readers utilize.
When reading aloud a teacher might stop and say:
* I don’t understand what I am reading here, let me go back
and read that again.
* I wonder why…
*I am going to look at the picture on this page to see what the
author is trying to describe here.
*This is so interesting, I can’t wait to hear what else the
author teaches me.
*Why do you think …?
*This reminds me of when I…

9. During the Reading of Nonfiction
Another tool to use with children to
encourage thought during the reading
is to utilize a note taking technique
such as comment cards. These cards
teach children to take notes and make
a reaction or comment to what they
have read. These cards have to be
modeled several times to children
before you can expect appropriate comments.
An example of a first grade comment card is
shown.
(gorilla)
(cheeta)

10. During the Reading of Nonfiction
Sketching is another tool that can be utilized as children read. Again, this should be
modeled to children before asking them to try this technique on their own.
Sketching can help a reader retain the information learned and solidify their
learning (Hoyt, pg 140) An example of sketching might look like:
We have seen ways to scaffold before and during the reading. Let’s look at what
teachers can do after the reading.

11. After the Reading of Nonfiction
As you have seen from reading aloud to children, we begin a read aloud
talking and predicting about the reading and conclude the reading in the
same way, by talking. After the reading, it is a good idea to sum up what
has been read by giving time for your students to reflect and summarize
what has been taught. Prompts that you might utilize:
*We were reading to find out ______. What did you
discover?
*Tell me about what we read today.
*Which part surprised you? Why?
*What else are you wondering about _____?
*My favorite part was ____. What did you like best?
*What ideas were the most important?

12. After the Reading of Nonfiction
At the beginning of this presentation, we discussed readers use their background
knowledge to comprehend a text. Because of this, it is imperative that we model
and teach children to make connections with what has been read. Alvermann,
Swafford and Montero (pg 23) explain this as encouraging:
Text to Self connections (connections between personal experiences
and a book).
Text to Text connections (connections between one text to another).
Text to World connections (connections between a text and
someone else’s experiences)
These connections can be modeled and discussed after the reading of a book. A
teacher might say, “This page of Rain Forest reminded me of when I went to Hawaii
and drove to a rain forest. The weather was muggy and everything was green. I
saw some plants that looked similar to what I see on this page. Right now I am
making a Text to Self connection because what I saw on my trip is like what I see on
this page. What connection can you make?”

13. After the Reading of Nonfiction
Good readers also make inferences as they read. Hoyt (pg 98) states that as a
reader reads, “they make connections to what they already know, other
texts they have read and their knowledge of the world. They use these
connections to infer information that isn’t directly stated in the text.” As
with the other strategies discussed, the teacher’s role is to model and
explicitly teach this to children. In Rain Forests the text states,
“The animals of the emergent layer make their homes at the very top of the
forest.”
We can infer: Why did I infer this?
The animals that live here The text says, “their
can fly or climb. homes at the very top
Teachers can show children how to do this orally or by making charts such as
this one.

14. After the Reading of Nonfiction
Summarizing is an essential skill for readers of fiction AND nonfiction. Hoyt
(pg 193) states, “When readers summarize, they need to reflect on the
entire content and then find a way to restate the information without
including too much detail.” This can be difficult for children. Often they
want to tell all the details versus the key points. How do we teach
children to summarize? MODEL…students need to see an expert (the
teacher) go through this process and discuss what it is they are doing.
Hoyt (pg 196) shares a form that she often uses with children to model
the process of summarizing (you can see this on the next slide). This form
should be completed many times in front of children or with children
before expecting them to complete it on their own. The form on pg 101
of your textbooks “Getting the Gist” is very similar to this idea of teaching
children to find the key points or main idea.

15. After the Reading of Nonfiction

16. At the beginning of this presentation this quote was shared:
“I used to believe that I was teaching comprehension when I carefully asked
readers questions. Sometimes these questions came from a teacher resource
guide, sometimes I generated the questions myself, but rarely were these the
questions of the learners. When learners ask questions before, during and after
reading they learn more. Student generated questions build intrinsic motivation
for reading, have an established purpose for reading, increase personal
connections and simulate higher order thinking.”
(Hoyt, pg 118)
Children who are taught and encouraged to ask and
answer their own questions are excited to learn and
tend to learn more. Throughout any reading
(Before, During or After) children can be encouraged
to ask questions in order to reflect. This can be modeled
by the teacher and then the teacher can ask, “What
questions do you have before (or after) reading this text?”
Hoyt (pg 120) discusses encouraging children to verbalize
and record their questions and then as they read, noting
the answers. This can be seen on this chart:

17. We
When teaching children how to ask
their own questions, the teacher
should discuss with children that
when answering questions about
their reading, there are two places
they can look to find the necessary
information: in the book and in my head.
Reutzal and Cooter (pg 127) explain this
as teaching children Question-Answer
Relationship. Figure 4.19 shows the
learner how to determine one should
look for an answer in the text or in the
head. Teacher and students can
collaborate together to write questions
across the four different categories.

18. Throughout this module, teacher modeling and explicit teaching of strategies has
been discussed. All readers, especially struggling readers, need to understand what
strategy is being taught to them, why it is being taught and how to use this strategy
effectively. Alvermann, Swafford and Montero (pg 38) discuss that when a strategy
is being taught, it doesn’t just happen in a brief lesson and then is not discussed
again. Rather, it has to be taught and modeled and demonstrated and children need
time to practice with their teachers assistance. This should happen until the
students can use the strategy with no assistance. Then as new strategies are
introduced, the teacher encourages the students to continue using the familiar
strategies along with the new one being taught.
For example, a third grade teacher models, teaches and discusses the importance of sketching
for several weeks. The children watch their teacher demonstrate, they get to practice and they
discuss how this benefits them as readers of nonfiction. Once the teacher feels comfortable
with her students use of sketching, the teacher might introduce summarizing to the class.
Again, she models and demonstrates this process. As summarizing is discussed, the teacher can
revisit sketching and show the children how sketching the main points is similar to finding the
key words. Children can be encouraged to continue sketching while also writing a summary of
the book being read.

19. Alvermann, Swafford and Montero (pg 35) share a chart that describes
texts that are appropriate for teaching strategies.

20. Additional Strategies
• In the next succeeding slides, you will see
more graphic organizers to use as tools to
organize information and increase
students’ comprehension of nonfiction
texts.

21. Comment Card
During today’s reading I am
looking
for:
Pg. _____
Reaction:
Pg. _______
Reaction:
Pg. __________
Reaction:

22. K
Whatdoyouknow?
W
Whatdoyouwanttoknow?
L
Whathaveyoulearned?

23. Getting the Gist
Sentence
Phrase
Key Words
Adapted from Pike and Mumper (pg 101)

24. Sketching My Way Through a Text
Created by Linda Hoyt (pg 141)
1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.

26. Prediction Chart
What I predict I will
learn from this book by
looking at the title or
headings:
What I predict I will
learn from this book by
looking at the
illustrations:
What I learned from
this book:

27. Making Inferences
Adapted from Hoyt (2002)
I can infer: My inferences is based on:

28. Question-Answer Relationships
Adapted from Reutzel and Cooter (2005)
Create questions appropriate for the text and the category.
Right There: Author and You:
Think and Search: On My Own:

29. In conclusion, “although strategies have been
presented one by one, they are applied in
integrated fashion. In reading even a brief
selection, students might use three or four
strategies or more. One of the best ways to
teach children how to read difficult texts is to
model the process.”
Gunning, pg 143

30. References
Alvermann, Donna, Swafford, Jeanne, and Montero, M. Kristina (2004). Content Area
Literacy Instruction for the Elementary Grades. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Frey, Nancy and Fisher, Douglas (2007). Reading for Information in Elementary School:
Content Literacy Strategies to Build Comprehension. Columbus, OH: Pearson.
Gunning, Thomas G. (2004). Creating Literacy Instruction for All Children in Grades PreK
to 4. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Hoyt, Linda (2002) Make It Real: Strategies for Success with Informational Texts.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Moore D., Moore S., Cunningham P., Cunningham J., (2006) Developing Readers and
Writers in the Content Areas K-12. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Pike, Kathy and Mumper, Jean (2004). Making Nonfiction and Other Informational Texts
Come Alive. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Reutzel, D. Ray, and Cooter, Robert B. (2005). The Essentials of Teaching Children to
Read. Columbus, OH: Pearson.