Comprehension Processes

Comprehension Involves both the written word as well as the reader’s knowledge of the world “a process of using one’s own prior expectations and the writer’s cue to infer the author’s intended meaning.” Comprehension = Printed word + Prior Knowledge

Comprehension Processes A cognitive process or model Cognitive= processes or results of recognizing, interpreting, judging, and reasoning; knowing 5 Cognitive Processes in Comprehension

5 Comprehension Cognitive Processes Pre-comp Processes 1. Decoding (a process, but not a comprehension process) 2. Vocabulary-understanding the meanings of individual words (not a comprehension process but HIGHLY Related) Comprehension Processes 1. Understanding Sentences 2. Connecting sentences 3. Understanding the whole 4. Elaborating 5. Metacognition

1. Reading or Understanding Sentences Chunk the words in sentences together into meaningful phrases – They were terrifying monkeys. Selecting important information-idea units – The boy is little. – The little boy chopped wood. Good readers select important information. Less strong readers select interesting information.

2. Connecting Sentences Text-based inferences made across sentences. – drawing a conclusion about an occurrence in the text that was not directly stated in the text 1. Pronoun (anaphora) Connections – anaphora-use of a word, usually a pronoun as a substitute for a previous word. John went to the store. He was hungry.

2. Connecting Sentences (Cont.) 2. Intersentence connections – Drawing a conclusion across sentences. John went to the store. Because. He was hungry. 3. Slot-filling inferences – Using prior knowledge to “fill-in” details not explicitly stated in the text. John went to the store. He was hungry. Stores are places where food can be obtained in most western cultures.

3. Understanding the Whole Retaining and organizing ideas in memory Using the text’s organizational pattern to assist with memory. – Cause/effect – Narrative – Description – Definition and example – Compare/contrast – Explanation

The atmosphere is made up of gases, liquids, and solids. The atmosphere is like all matter. It has mass and take up space. It is held around the earth by gravity. You know that gravity is the force of attraction between objects. You live in the layer of air that is at the bottom of the atmosphere. This layer contains dust, smoke, clouds, and invisible gases. Because of this, the lowest layer of the atmosphere often looks hazy. The upper layers of the atmosphere contain mostly invisible gases. There are few solids or liquids in those layers. Those look perfectly clear.

Two Students’ Recall of the Passage Brett It said about gravity being a force and about atmosphere being matter. It also said that there are invisible gases in the atmosphere. Gina It was about how the atmosphere is made out of matter like gases and solids and like matter is held down by gravity. The lower layer has things like smoke that made it hazy and the upper layer is clear.

Gina understood the organizational structure Brett did not understand what was important and he identified details that might have been interesting, or personally memorable but these were not major ideas. Gina understood that the first paragraph described the traits of the atmosphere and the second paragraph contrasted upper and lower layers.

4. Elaborating Not text-based or text-constrained Inferences not intended by the author Inferences not required for literal, text-based, comprehension – John went to the store. He was hungry. – What type of store was it? What might he get to eat? Active responses to texts that help us recall text or interfere with text recall Based on –emotion, mental images, prior experience, predictions, imagery

5. Metacognition Conscious awareness and control of one’s own cognitive processes. – Knowing when you don’t know – Knowing how to achieve a goal – Checking back for understanding Because teachers cannot be inside a child’s head to steer cognitive processes, helping them to steer their own processes is important.

Comprehension