Reading comprehension in the secondary level.

1. READING COMPREHENSION
FOR THE SECONDARY LEVEL
Vivian Rivera Maysonet
Aidanelly Ortiz Tirado
Educ. 551: Reading Processes
Prof. Dulcinia Núñez

2. TABLE OF CONTENT
➢ DEFINITION OF TERMS
➢ WHAT IS READING
COMPREHENSION?
➢ WHY THE STRUGGLE?
➢ NEUROSCIENCE: HOW DOES THE
BRAIN LEARN?
➢ HOW TO ASSESS THE PROCESS?
➢IMPORTANCE OF READING
STRATEGIES
➢SOME READING STRATEGIES
➢VARIOUS PROGRAMS TO HELP
STRUGGLING STUDENTS
➢FREQUENT CONSEQUENCES OF
NOT READING WELL
➢CONCLUSION

3. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
1. struggling reader: student with reading difficulties
2. program: a package of components such as: materials, strategies, and protocols
prepared by an entity for improving reading proficiency
3. strategy: plan, consciously adapted and monitored for improving performance in
learning
4. teacher strategy: strategy designed to be implemented by teachers for developing
students reading ability
5. student strategy: internal procedures used by students in the process of reading
6. fluent decoding: a level of speed and accuracy of word recognition required in order
to comprehend connected text at one’s instructional level

4. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
6. linguistic knowledge: language system: semantics (meaning), phonology (sound),
morphology and vocabulary (word-level meaning), syntax (grammatical structure)
7. motivation: the intention of the reader to begin to read and to persist in the reading task
8. self-regulated comprehension: metacognitive control over language that allows the
person to know if comprehension has failed and what to do about it
9. basic decoding: the ability to recognize spoken words based on their printed
representations
10. think aloud: a form of explicit modeling in which teachers give an oral description of
the cognitive process that occur while reading

5. What is Reading Comprehension?
Reading
▪ anticipating meaning in lines from groups of words that convey meaning (Zintz, 1980)
▪ interactive process involving prior knowledge of the world (Smith,1995; cited by the
Rochester Institute of Technology)
Comprehension
▪ understanding, recalling, and transferring information previously read (Charest, 2005)
Reading Comprehension
▪ process of extracting and constructing meaning from written language (Snow, 2002; cited by
the National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults

6. Why are
students
struggling?
Low self-
esteem
Cultural
differences
Administration/
Curriculum/
Organization
Lack of
Connections
Limited
background
knowledge
Lack of
Interest in
Assigned
Themes
Language
Predicaments
Absence of
empowerment
Time
Health Issues

7. How does the reading brain work?
➢According to the OECD/CERI International Conference “Learning in the 21st
Century: Research, Innovation, and Policy” (2008): Neuroscience studies the
capacity of the brain to change. This process involves creating and strengthening
neuronal connections, and weakening and eliminating others.
✓ Speech sounds
✓ Emotional and
Cognitive
Experiences
✓ Language
Exposure
More
effective
to learn on
an early
age
✓ Vocabulary
Acquisition
Can be
learned any
time during
life

8. ✓ The brain has been biologically designed to acquire language, the younger the age
of exposure, the more successful the learning.
✓ According to this study of the OECD/CERI 2008, the “syllabic instruction”
(phonetics) and the “whole language” (semantics) approaches have to be used
simultaneously for a more balanced, holistic approach.
EARLY EDUCATION ADOLESCENCE
INSTILL THE PLEASURE TO LEARN
MANAGING EMOTIONS
(essential for an effective learning)

9. ❖NEUROSCIENCE confirms that learning is a lifelong
activity and the more you use the brain, the more effective it
is.
❖The earlier foreign language instruction begins, the more
efficient and effective it can be.

10. 1. Encourage the student to read aloud in private
meetings or
tapes.
2. Comprehension
➢Think Aloud
➢Re-tell
How can
teachers assess
students with
reading
comprehension
difficulties?
Mathew Effect (Stanovich):
Students that present reading
problems in third grade will
experience difficulties up to ninth
grade.
3. Reading Inventories

11. READING IN THE CONTENT AREA

12. IMPORTANCE OF READING STRATEGIES
❖Reading strategies assist students to understand, organize,
and restructure the information to make it easier to
remember the concepts gathered while he or she read.

13. READING STRATEGIES
(LEARNING
STRATEGY)
1. making inferences
2. making associations
3. predicting
4. generating questions
5. clarifying
6. elaborating
7. summarizing
8. evaluating
(LEARNING
STRATEGY)
1. basic decoding
2. fluency
3. making associations
4. predicting
5. generating questions
6. generating mental imagery
7. clarifying
8. elaborating
9. summarizing
10. evaluating
11. linguistic knowledge
12. background knowledge
13. making inferences
14. self-regulated comprehension
(TEACHING
STRATEGY
1. basic decoding
2. fluent decoding
3. making associations
4. clarifying
5. elaborating
6. evaluating
7. background knowledge
8. making inferences
9. self-regulated
comprehension
(STUDENT
STRATEGY)
1. fluency
2. motivation
3. basic decoding
4. fluent decoding
5. making associations
6. clarifying
7. elaborating
8. evaluating
9. linguistic knowledge
10. self-regulated
comprehension
FLUENCY
STRATEGIES
DICTATED
STORIES/LANGUAGE
COLLABORATIVE
STRATEGIC
READING
BACKGROUND
KNOWLEDGE
STRATEGY

14. GENERATIVE
VOCABULARY
STRATEGY
(STUDENT
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. basic decoding
3. fluent decoding
4. making associations
5. generating questions
6. generating mental imagery
7. clarifying
8. elaborating
9. summarizing
10. evaluating
11. linguistic knowledge
12. background knowledge
13. making inferences
14. self-regulated
comprehension
INDEPENDENT
READING
STRATEGY
K-W-L-PLUS
STRATEGY
LITERATURE-
BASED READING
INSTRUCTION
(STUDENT
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. fluent decoding
3. predicting
4. evaluating
5. linguistic knowledge
6. self-regulated
comprehension
(LEARNING
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. making associations
3. predicting
4. generating questions
5. generating mental imagery
6. clarifying
7. elaborating
8. summarizing
9. evaluating
10. background knowledge
11. making inferences
12. self-regulated
comprehension
(CLASSROOM
INSTRUCTION
MODEL)
1. motivation
2. making associations
3. predicting
4. generating questions
5. generating mental imagery
6. clarifying
7. elaborating
8. summarizing
9. evaluating
10. background knowledge
11. making inferences
12. self-regulated
comprehension
READING STRATEGIES

15. READING STRATEGIES
READER RESPONSE
STRATEGY
(STUDENT
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. making associations
3. predicting
4. generating questions
5. generating mental imagery
6. clarifying
7. elaborating
8. summarizing
9. evaluating
10. background knowledge
11. making inferences
12. self-regulated
comprehension
READING GUIDE
STRATEGY
(TEACHING
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. fluent decoding
3. making associations
4. generating mental imagery
5. clarifying
6. elaborating
7. summarizing
8. evaluating
9. linguistic knowledge
10. background knowledge
11. making inferences
12. self-regulated
comprehension
READING
WORKSHOP
APPROACH
(TEACHING
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. fluent decoding
3. making associations
4. predicting
5. generating questions
6. generating mental imagery
7. clarifying
8. elaborating
9. summarizing
10. rehearsing
11. evaluating
12. linguistic knowledge
13. making inferences
14. self-regulated
comprehension
RECIPROCAL
READING
STRATEGY
(LEARNING
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. basic decoding
3. fluent decoding
4. making associations
5. predicting
6. generating questions
7. clarifying
8. elaborating
9. summarizing
10. evaluating
11. linguistic knowledge
12. background knowledge
13. making inferences
14. self-regulated
comprehension

16. READING STRATEGIES
TEXT MAPPING
STRATEGY
(LEARNING
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. making associations
3. predicting
4. generating questions
5. generating mental imagery
6. clarifying
7. summarizing
8. rehearsing
9. evaluating
10. linguistic knowledge
11. background knowledge
12. making inferences
13. self-regulated
comprehension
VOCABULARY AND
CONCEPT MAPPING
STRATEGY
(LEARNING
STRATEGY)
1. motivation
2. making associations
3. predicting
4. generating mental imagery
5. clarifying
6. elaborating
7. linguistic knowledge
8. background knowledge
9. making inferences
10. self-regulated
comprehension
WORD ANALYSIS
STRATEGY
(LEARNING
STRATEGY)
1.basic decoding
2.fluent decoding
3. making associations
4. predicting
5. clarifying
6. rehearsing
7. evaluating
8. linguistic knowledge
9. self-regulated comprehension

17. PROGRAMS TO HELP STRUGGLING STUDENTS
1. Accelerated Reader (AR)/ Reading
Renaissance
2. Benchmark Word Detectives Program for Fifth
Grade and Above
3. First Steps
4. Multicultural Reading and Thinking
(McRAT)
5. Project CRISS (Creating Independence
Through Student- Owned Strategies)
6. READ 180 Program (Scholastic)
7. Read RIGHT
8. Reading Power in the Content Areas (RP)
9. Strategic Instruction Model (SIM)
10. Student Team Literature (STL)
11. Wilson Reading System (WRS)

18. SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT
READING WELL
1. failure to obtain a diploma
2. not being able to reach
higher education
3. underemployment
4. unemployment
5. lack of life skills to manage
personal and family
situations successfully
6. anxiety
7. low self-esteem
8. behavioral problems

19. CONCLUSION
➢ A combination of strategies and techniques should be employed during several days
allowing time to practice in class, attend multiple intelligences to assure the reading
comprehension experience.
➢ The technique “I do”, “We do”, “You do” should always be used.
➢ All content teachers should be involved in the process of teaching reading
comprehension.
➢ Achieving successful reading comprehension skills requires a combination of linguistic
knowledge and realistic management of emotions.

20. REFERENCES
Charest, D. (2005). Reading at the Secondary Level. Concerted Action to Support Reading Research. Ministere de l’Education.
Gouvernement du Quebec. Retrieved of www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/publications/menu-rapports.htm
OECD/CERI International Conference “Learning in the 21st Century: Research, Innovation, and Policy” (2008). Understanding the
Brain: the Birth of a Learning Science. New sights on learning through cognitive and brain science. Centre for Educational
Research and Innovation. Retrieved of www.oecd.org/site/educeri21st/40554190.pdf
Peterson, C.L., Caverly, D.C., Nicholson, S.A., O’Neal, S., Cusenbary, S. (2000). Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary
Level: A Guide to Resources. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Retrieved of
www.https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED458562
Rowe-Novotny, K.G. (2011). Reading Comprehension in the Secondary Classroom. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and
Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. Retrieved of www. cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds