1. Teaching Comprehension Skills
Dr Anisa G. Mujawar
Chhatrapati Shivaji College, Satara
Associate Professor and Head
Department of English

2. What is Comprehension?
Comprehension is the act of constructing meaning with text
The reader plays an active role – filtering, organising, interpreting and generating relationships with incoming information
Comprehension is an interaction between word identification, knowledge and comprehension skills
(Johnson, A.P., 1998)

3. Why comprehension skills need?
To increase the ability to create meaning with text independently.
This is best done by explicit teaching in the use of comprehension skills.
Not everyone acquires these skills naturally.

4. Purpose of Reading Narrative Texts – to enjoy the story
Expository (Information) Texts – Information/ Explanation/ Persuasion
Diagrammatic/ Representational Texts – present or illustrate information

5. What are comprehension skills?
They are the strategies a reader uses to construct meaning and retrieve information from a text
They are cognitive processes which can be broken into steps and taught explicitly

6. Three types of comprehension skills
Pre-reading
During reading
Post-reading

7. Pre-reading Skills
Pre-view/ Overview
Brainstorm

8. During – Reading Comprehension Skills
Paragraph Re-Read
Read and Pause
Note-taking

9. Post – Reading Comprehension Skills
Summarise
Article re-read
Sequencing

10. Teaching Comprehension Skills
Direct instruction and modelling
Identification of the procedural components
Scaffolded Instruction
Regular Practice
Integration across the Curriculum

11. Resources
A.P. Johnson (1998) Teaching Comprehension Skills: Reading : 32:2:98
Drumcondra Primary Reading Test:Levels 3 – 6: Administration Manual: pps.22 – 25
Drumcondra English Profiles: pps.108 – 116
English Curriculum Handbook –Teacher Guidelines: pps