I Read It, But I Don’t Get It Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers

Two Types of Struggling Readers Resistant readers-can read but choose not to Word callers-can decode words but don’t understand or remember what they’ve read Word callers can read, but don’t understand that reading involves thinking

7 strategies used by successful readers of all ages (Pearson, 1992) They use existing knowledge to make sense of new information They ask questions about the text before, during and after reading They draw inferences from the text They monitor their own comprehension They use “fix up” strategies when meaning breaks down They determine what is important They synthesize information to create new thinking

Shouldn’t they learn it in elementary school? If students can’t read your material, it is your responsibility Text becomes inaccessible when: 1.Don’t have comprehension strategies 2.Don’t have background knowledge 3.Don’t recognize organizational patterns 4.Lack purpose for reading

Teacher expectations Teachers expect students to: 1.Know how to read 2.Read faster than they did in elementary 3.Read large amounts in short amount of time 4.Gain information by reading 5.Read and understand difficult material What can you do as a teacher? 1.Be a passionate reader of what you teach. Give materials that are interesting to students 2.Model how good readers read

Reading Strategies pg.23 Give purpose for reading (activity) Step one: circle what is important Highlight parts of text that robbers would find important Highlight again what a prospective buyer would find important Which time was the hardest? Compare two lists home buyer/robber

Think Alouds (mental modeling) 1. Select a short piece of text Foresee difficulty (talk about background knowledge, predict before reading) Read the text out loud and stop often to share your thinking Point out words in the text that trigger your thinking

Marking Text Assign codes to the type of thinking in which you would like students to engage. For example, BK, Background knowledge, I, Inference or conclusion, ?, questions about the text)

Marking Text, cont. Model the coding process for students by thinking it through out loud. Give students pieces to mark on their own Use highlighters and sticky notes to use strategy.

Double Entry Diaries A way of taking notes during reading 1. Divide a piece of notebook paper in half (hot dog bun) 2. Left side, students copy sentences or words from text or summarize passage 3. Right side, students write what they think of the words, sentences or summary. Example: This reminds me of…, I wonder…, This is important…, I am confused…

Points to remember! Share real world reasons to read Establish a purpose for reading Engage in thinking process when reading Use tools to remember things read Have different strategies for different types of reading

How do I know I’m stuck? Six Signals to look for: 1.The voice inside their head isn’t interacting with the text 2.The camera inside the reader’s head shuts off 3.The reader’s mind wanders 4.The reader can’t remember what has been read 5.Clarifying questions asked by the reader are not answered 6.The reader reencounters a character and has no recollection when the character was introduced.

What to do when stuck- Are you listening? Listen to the voice in your head— What are we supposed to hear? Questions or thoughts going on in your head as you read Model megacognition

Strategies to fix up confusion Make a connection between the text and your life, knowledge or another text Make a prediction Stop and think about what you have already read Ask yourself a question and try to answer it Reflect in writing on what you have read Visualize Use print conventions Retell what you’ve read Reread Notice patterns in text structure Adjust your reading rate: slow down or speed up.

Connecting the new with the known Show how subjects overlap Activate prior knowledge before teaching to see what the student knows

Personal Knowledge/Personal Experience Personal knowledge is information readers have from movies, stories, t.v., books (secondhand) Personal experience is something the student has experienced firsthand

Modeling Personal Experience/Knowledge Demonstrate with a short reading Write or verbalize to students what the text reminds you of… either from experience or knowledge (pg 68 example) Make connections from firsthand experiences or secondhand experiences

How does making connections help the student? Relate to the characters-feeling and motivations, think about how they would react in the same situation Visualize-have a clear picture in their heads as they read Avoid boredom-if engaged in the text, won’t be bored and enjoy the text more

Making the connections cont’ Pay attention-have a purpose for reading, which keeps mind from wandering Listen to others-students are curious to see how others relate to the text, interested in others opinions Remember what they read-because it is more personalized Ask questions-questions lead to inferences

Why Teach Strategies? Entire class can work on the same strategy Strategies are applicable to all curriculum areas. We predict, hypothesize and estimate in all areas and even in real life You do not have to be a reading specialist to do this! These strategies can even help your own reading and be aware of the reading process.