Reading comprehension involves various mental activities that are developed over time through practice. Effective strategies to improve comprehension include generating questions, cooperative discussions, using context clues, and employing graphic organizers. Techniques such as summarizing and the PQ4R method further enhance understanding and retention of the material.

1. READING COMPREHENSION
STRATEGIES
INGLÉS 78.01
CURSO 06
PROF. ALEJANDRA JOURDAN

2. WHAT IS READING COMPREHENSION?
• READING COMPREHENSION IS THE RESULT OF MANY DIFFERENT MENTAL
ACTIVITIES BY A READER, DONE AUTOMATICALLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY,
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING COMMUNICATED BY A TEXT.
• READING COMPREHENSION IS NOT LEARNED IMMEDIATELY, IT IS A
PROCESS THAT IS LEARNED OVER TIME. IN OTHER WORDS, READING
COMPREHENSION TAKES PRACTICE.

3. STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE THE COMPREHENSION OF A
TEXT
1. GENERATE QUESTIONS: INSTEAD OF JUST RUSHING THROUGH A PASSAGE
OR CHAPTER, PAUSE AND GENERATE QUESTIONS.
2. READ ALOUD AND MONITOR: FOCUS INTENTIONALLY ON THE MEANING
“WITHIN THE TEXT,” “ABOUT THE TEXT,” AND “BEYOND THE TEXT” (FOUNTAS
& PINNELL, 2006). THESE INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS CAN PUSH STUDENTS FOR
DEEPER THOUGHT AROUND A BIG IDEA.

4. 3. PROMOTE COOPERATIVE TALK: STOP PERIODICALLY TO TURN AND TALK IN
ORDER TO DISCUSS WHAT HAS JUST BEEN READ CAN REVEAL ANY ISSUES WITH
UNDERSTANDING.
4. ATTENTION TO TEXT STRUCTURE: READ THROUGH ALL THE HEADINGS AND
SUBHEADINGS IN ANY CHAPTER. ALSO LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND ANY
GRAPHS OR CHARTS. THIS INFORMATION CAN HELP GAIN AN OVERVIEW OF
THE CHAPTER.
5. TAKE NOTES OR ANNOTATE TEXTS: TAKE NOTES OF THINGS YOU PREDICT OR
UNDERSTAND, WRITE DOWN QUESTIONS, CREATE A VOCABULARY LIST OF ALL
THE HIGHLIGHTED WORDS.

5. 6. USE CONTEXT CLUES: READERS NEED TO USE THE HINTS THAT AN AUTHOR PROVIDES IN A
TEXT. THEY MAY NEED TO LOOK AT CONTEXT CLUES, WHICH IS A WORD OR PHRASE DIRECTLY
BEFORE OR AFTER A WORD THEY MAY NOT KNOW. CONTEXT CLUES MAY BE IN THE FORM OF:
• ROOTS AND AFFIXES: ORIGIN OF THE WORD;
• CONTRAST: RECOGNIZING HOW A WORD IS COMPARED OR CONTRASTED WITH ANOTHER
WORD IN THE SENTENCE;
• LOGIC: CONSIDERING THE REST OF THE SENTENCE TO UNDERSTAND AN UNKNOWN WORD;
• DEFINITION: USING A PROVIDED EXPLANATION THAT FOLLOWS THE WORD;
• EXAMPLE OR ILLUSTRATION: LITERAL OR VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE WORD;
• GRAMMAR: DETERMINING HOW THE WORD FUNCTIONS IN A SENTENCE TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND ITS MEANING.

6. 7. USE GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS LIKE WEBS AND
CONCEPT MAPS CAN GREATLY ENHANCE READING COMPREHENSION. THESE
ALLOW STUDENTS TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF FOCUS AND MAIN IDEAS IN A TEXT.
8. PRACTICE PQ4R: THIS CONSISTS OF SIX STEPS: PREVIEW, QUESTION, READ,
REFLECT, RECITE, AND REVIEW.
PREVIEW: STUDENTS SCAN THE MATERIAL TO GET AN OVERVIEW.
THE QUESTION MEANS THAT STUDENTS SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES QUESTIONS
AS THEY READ.
THE FOUR R'S HAVE STUDENTS READ THE MATERIAL, REFLECT ON WHAT HAS JUST
BEEN READ, RECITE THE MAJOR POINTS TO HELP LEARN BETTER, AND THEN
RETURN TO THE MATERIAL AND SEE IF YOU CAN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
PREVIOUSLY ASKED.

7. 9. SUMMARIZING: IN CREATING A SUMMARY, STUDENTS HAVE TO INTEGRATE
THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEAS AND GENERALIZE FROM THE TEXT INFORMATION.
THEY NEED TO DISTILL THE IMPORTANT IDEAS FROM THE UNIMPORTANT OR
IRRELEVANT ELEMENTS.
10. MONITOR UNDERSTANDING: SOME STUDENTS PREFER TO ANNOTATE, WHILE
OTHERS ARE MORE COMFORTABLE SUMMARIZING, BUT ALL STUDENTS MUST
LEARN HOW TO BE AWARE OF HOW THEY READ.
SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.THOUGHTCO.COM/READING-COMPREHENSION-STRATEGIES-7952