Chapter 13: Comprehension: Instruction and Assessment - Before Children Read, While Children Read, and After Children Read

Question 1

Describe instructional strategies that teachers could implement before children read.

Answer 1

While it is important to know about pretending strategies, your focus in this chapter should be on the instructional strategies in Learning Outcomes 2 and 3.

KWL
Prep - Prereading Plan (PreP) 1. Associations - tell me something you think of when you hear the word pensions. 2. Reflections on the associations - asks some of the students who responded, what made you think of this 3. Organizing associations - do any of you have new or different ideas or thoughts about penguins?

Vocab instruction

Preview the text: picture walk, graphic features setting a purpose for reading

Question 2

Describe the comprehension-building instructional strategy of Question Classification/Answer Verification

Answer 2

You should be able to describe a lesson using Question Classification/Answer Verification. Choose this instructional strategy if you have a RICA question that presents a scenario in which a child, or group of children, are having a difficult time answering inferential or evaluative comprehension questions.

First ask children is this the type of question you can find in the book or in your head? And ask to classify it as follows:

Questions-Answer Relationship (QAR) - types

1. Right There - identifiable sentence in the text
2. Think and Search - in the text, but two different parts
3. Author and You - not in the text, think about what you already know and what the author said and put it together. Inferential or evaluative questions
4. On my own - the answer is not in the story. You can answer the question without reading the story. Inferential or Evaluative questions

Explain the basis of their answer. For Right There and Think and Search students must explicitly use the text. For Author and You and On My Own students must still provide textual evidence such as an incident in the story or a characters comment, but will also include their own ideas and analysis.

Question 3

Describe two instructional strategies that help children engage in strategic reading.

Answer 3

Know how to describe a lesson using the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model to help children increase their ability to read strategically. Choose this instructional strategy if you have a question that presents a scenario in which child(ren) are having a difficult time predicting, generating questions, clarifying, or summarizing.

Gradual Release of Responsibility
Over a sequence of lessons. In the first few lessons, the teacher models the target strategy and the students watch and listen. Teacher uses think-alouds. The next set of lessons the teacher releases some of the responsibility for the students. For predictions the teacher may provide choices of what makes the most sense. Final set of lessons all responsibility is on the student. Stop and predict on page 37. Teacher monitors and provides feedback for students.

Reciprocal Teaching
Follows gradual release of responsibility and is used for teaching: predicting, generating questions, clarifying summarizing. Everyone has the text in front of them
1. Teacher describes strategy and explains how to use it
2. Think aloud showing where the teacher is confused “I am going t reread the last two paragraphs because i do not know why sally wants to sell her computer
3. After lessons that the teacher has described and modeled the strategy, small group of students collaboratively practice strategy.
4. Guided practice format -with teacher feedback
5. Independently - teacher feedback on finished product

Question 4

Describe four tasks that teachers can choose from to stimulate discussion, writing, and art activities after students read.

Answer 4

While it is important to know about post reading strategies, your focus in this chapter should be on knowing very well the instructional strategies in Learning Outcomes 2 and 3.

1. Summarizing and retelling
2. Sharing personal perspectives
3. Text to self, text to text, text to world
4. Visualize/Graphic representation of what was read

Question 5

Differentiate instruction in comprehension for a struggling reading, English learner, and advanced learner.

Answer 5

Struggling readers will have a great deal of difficulty mastering the reading strategies of predicting, generating questions, clarifying, and summarizing. Struggling readers will need repeated modeling by the teacher and many opportunities to master these strategies.

Struggling Readers

1. Foundational Skills of: Building word analysis skills, fluency, vocabulary, academic language, and background knowledge
2. Access to grade-level texts through oral presentation -
3. Reteaching, additional practice, concrete examples

English Learners

1. Transfer from primary language - if they can summarize, predict, clarify, take notes in their primary language, then comprehension intervention is not necessary
2. Explicitly teach comprehension strategies that are missing

Advanced Learners

1. Increase pace
2. More advanced texts
3. Extending depth and breadth of assignments - variety of texts such as informational, biography or poetry.

Question 6

Describe the assessment devices used to assess comprehension and explain how to analyze, interpret, and use the results of those assessments.

Answer 6

All too often teachers only assess literal comprehension, and never assess the abilities of children to either (a) successfully answer inferential or evaluative comprehension questions, or (b) successfully engage in the strategic reading process of predicting, generating questions, clarifying, or summarizing.

Three Areas to Assess:
1. Determine each child’s independent, instructional and frustration reading levels: Graded reading passages of an informal reading inventory (IRI)

2. Gather data on each child’s mastery of comprehension skills at each level (literal, inferential, and evaluative): QARs with three questions of each type
3. Gather data on each child’s mastery of reading comprehension strategies:
   Oral Think-Alouds
   Written Assessments of reading comprehension strategies - but no information on the students thought process

Analyze, Interpret and Use Results
Standards, why they are below standards
Individual files
Class profiles

Question 7

12.2 Instruction to build comprehension

Answer 7

Literal comprehension - story maps
Inferential and evaluative - Question Clarification/Answer Verification:
1. Right There
2. Think and Search
3. Author and You
4. On My Own

To build strategic reading - Gradual Release of Responsibility

Question 8

12.3 Assessment for comprehension

Answer 8

Determine reading level: reading passages in an IRI

Assess literal, inferential, evaluative comprehension: ask questions using a taxonomy such as the QAR

Question 9

12.4 Differentiation for SR and EL for comprehension

Answer 9

Struggling readers - reteaching reading strategies

EL - same