1. Comprehension
Sarah Benavides, Monica Rodriguez
and
Jenny Strang!

2. What is comprehension?
• Comprehension is the understanding and
interpretation of what is read as well as to be
able to accurately understand written material. !

3. Children need to be able to
• decode what they read;
• make connections between what they read
and what they already know; and
• think deeply about what they have read.!

4. What is the difference between listening and
reading comprehension?
• When we listen and comprehend at the same time a person must
solely depend on their ears to understand what is being said.
Therefore our brain must focus more on the activity than when we
engage our sight.
• When reading the material our brain picks up the vocabulary and
helps to define it and comprehend it almost immediately. You may
rely on your sight for comprehension.

5. Why is comprehension important?
• Without comprehension, reading is nothing more than
tracking symbols on a page with your eyes and
sounding them out.
• People read for many reasons but understanding is
always a part of their purpose.
• Reading comprehension is important because without it
reading doesn t provide the reader with any
information.

6. Hieroglyphics
Imagine being handed a story
written in Egyptian hieroglyphics
with no understanding of their
meaning. You may appreciate the
words aesthetically and even be
able to draw some small bits of
meaning from the page, but you
are not truly reading the story.
The words on the page have no
meaning. They are simply
symbols.

7. What grade/levels do students
begin to comprehend?
• Learning to read is arguably the most important
work of students in the early elementary
grades.
• Learning to read lays the foundation for future
learning and understanding across all areas of
the curriculum.

8. What grade/levels do students
begin to comprehend?
• Without this foundation, students will struggle to
achieve academically in not only reading and
writing, but also in areas such as math, science,
and social studies.

9. Three Important Theories on
Reading Comprehension
• There are three important theories on reading
comprehension:
• the Schema Theory;
• Mental Models,
• the Propositional Theory,
• and four categories of strategies to improve
reading comprehension based on these theories:
Preparational, Organizational, Elaboration, and
Monitoring.
•

10. What is schema?
• Schema!Theory!is:!!
• Gunning!(1996)!defines!a!schema!as!the!organized!knowledge!that!one!
already!has!about!people,!places,!things,!and!events.!
• !Kitao!(1990)!says!the!schema!theory!involves!an!interacFon!between!
the!reader’s!own!knowledge!and!the!text,!which!results!in!
comprehension.!!
!

11. What is Schema to a child ?
• Each!schema!is!"filed"!in!an!individual!compartment!and!stored!there.!In!aLempFng!to!
comprehend!reading!materials,!students!can!relate!this!new!informaFon!to!the!exisFng!
informaFon!they!have!compartmentalized!in!their!minds,!adding!it!to!these!"files"!for!
future!use.!
• !Based!on!the!Schema!Theory,!!
depending!on!how!extensive!their!"files"!!
become,!their!degree!of!!
reading!comprehension!may!vary.!

12. What do theorists say about
Reading Comprehension?
Some!theorists!say!children!!
need!to!analyze!the!!
text!first!with!a!teacher,!before!!
reading!on!their!own.!!

13. • Others!argue!that!children!should!and!must!learn!to!decode!words!in!the
!
story!using!their!learned!phonic!skills,!then!go!back!and!reread!the!story!
just!for!comprehension.!
• Most!theorists!agree!that!young!readers!need!a!!
toolbox!of!reading!strategies!in!which!to!choose!!
from!in!order!to!comprehend!and!analyze!the!text.!!
These!tools!will!teach!the!child!how!to!self!monitor!!
so!that!the!context!makes!sense.!!

14. National Reading Panel

15. Why is Schema important to
comprehension
• Forming!a!schema!is!the!most!basic!comprehension!tool!used!by!
students.!As!they!become!more!advanced,!they!can!build!on!their!base!
of!schemas!and!create!mental!models!throughout!the!reading.!The!most!
complex!comprehension!tool!is!forming!a!series!of!proposiFons,!which!
are!constantly!updated!throughout!the!text.!

16. Why is Vocabulary important to
comprehension?
Children!need!a!reach!environment!of!new!words.!!!
!
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dr. Isabel Beck & Margaret Mckeown
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
& Linda Kucan

17. What is the difference between literal and
inferential comprehension questions?
A Literal question asks the reader to recall facts
explicitly stated in the text. The can be located On
the lines Who, what, when, where, and How.
• Who is the main character?
• What is the name of the main character?
• Where did the main character live?
• When did John visit their parents?
• How many times the main character did appear?

18. Comprehension strategy

19. What is the difference between literal
and inferential comprehension
questions?
An inferential question asks the reader to read
between the lines by:
• Comprehending using inference or inferring
main ideas, sequence, cause and effect, character
traits, and predicting outcomes. Any student, who
has previous knowledge of a lesson, is able to
answer to inferential questions.

20. What is the difference between narrative and
expository/informational text?
• A narrative text has a story; it has characters, a
setting, a problem and a solution. It is also told
from a person s perspective.
• A narrative text will always have an author s
purpose. It can also be an autobiography or
biography.
• An expository/Informational text has information
we need to learn.
The primary purpose is to convey information. It
comes in different forms as brochures, books,
magazines, Internet or a CD Rom.

21. Relationship (QAR) Question Answer
QAR: a strategy used to help students understand the
different types of questions. Before introducing this
activity the students must know the four different
types of questions they might have. Those are:
• Right There Questions: Literal questions whose answers can
be found in the text. Often the words used in the question
are the same words found in the text.
• Think and Search Questions: Answers are gathered from
several parts of the text and put together to make
meaning.
• Author and You: These questions are based on information
provided in the text but the student is required to relate it
to their personal experience. The answer is not in the text,
the student must have a connection between text to text,
text to themselves, text to the world..
• On My Own: These questions do not require the student to
have read the passage but he/she must use their
background or prior knowledge to answer the question.
There is a little bit more thinking, and analyzing.

22. Reciprocal Teaching
Reciprocal Teaching: is an instructional activity
where the students become the teacher while
doing small reading groups. Teachers model, then
help students learn to guide group discussions
using four strategies which are:
• Summarizing
• Question
• Clarifying, and
• Predicting

23. Questioning the Author
This strategy will engage students actively with a
text. Students will not be taking information from
the text; they will be formulating their own
questions to the author. This activity will help
students to learn more. Some examples are:
• What is the author's message?
• Does the author explain this clearly?
• How does this connect to what the author said
earlier?

24. KWL chart
• This chart is used to enhance their comprehension.
Students will write underneath the K, What they
know, underneath the W, what they want to know,
and at the end of the lesson as a closing activity
students are required to write what they have
learned. Students can share with their tables or
partners.

25. Venn Diagram:
• this can be used to help students understand how
some event, issues, concepts, and categories can be
different and the same as well. It can be used
with all contents.

26. Discuss different types of comprehension
activities for use by teachers

27. Discuss different types of comprehension
activities for use by parents

28. Comprehension strategies
can be taught using material that is
read to children, as well as using
material the children read
themselves
!
!

29. References
• http:/
/www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/
comprehension/
•
http:/
/www.k12reader.com/what-is-readingcomprehension/