1. Narrative Comprehension
Chapter 14
Marlene Mabey

2. WHAT?
Story structure
How stories are systematically organized
Story structure gives predictable meaning to stories
How stories are structured
Setting
Characters
Plot
Theme

3. WHAT?
Story structure knowledge drives the application of comprehension strategies to narrative text
Strategy Application
Recognizing story structure enhances memory
Asking questions helps promote active reading
Answering questions directed by the teacher promote deeper level of comprehension
Monitoring comprehension involves noting progression
Connecting to world knowledge enables students to understand
Predictable phrases are excellent for developing skills of prediction
Constructing mental images
Summarizing or retelling

4. WHAT? Multiple-Strategy Instruction Program: TSI
Emphasizes collaborative discussion among learners
Focuses on
Metacognition
Motivation
Reader response
Understanding text equally important to learning use of comprehension strategies
“Transactions” between text, readers, peers and teachers

5. WHAT?
Reader Response
The interaction with stories and form personal responses that influence their interpretations
Discussion-oriented instruction
Discussions supports students as they develop understanding
Writing in Response to literature
Use before, during and after reading

6. WHY?
“Strong evidence links readers’ awareness of text structure to successful reading comprehension.”
Coyne et al., 2007
Story elements provide the framework for applying comprehension strategies to narrative text.
Dickson et al., 1998
Helping students to recognize the structure inherent in text—and match it to their own cognitive structures---will help them understand and produce not only text but also spoken discourse.
Williams, 2005

7. WHEN?
Comprehension instruction should begin as soon as students start to interact with text and should continue through high school.
Duke et al, 2002
Effective teaching balances explicit comprehension strategies instruction with the literary experience of a story.

8. WHEN?
Comprehension instruction should be accompanied by reliable assessment aligned with instruction.
Informal and traditional assessments should be combined
Most traditional assessments are inadequate
1. They often confuse comprehension with vocabulary, background knowledge, word reading ability, and other reading skills
2. They fail to represent the complexity of comprehension
3. They do not distinguish specific processes that underlie comprehension problems

9. WHEN? Comprehension assessment tools
Think-aloud protocols make comprehension processes more visible
Process-focused measure may serve as useful tools for diagnosing and remediating comprehension problems.

10. HOW? Dialogic Reading: Picture Book Read-Aloud Method
Teacher become the listener and questioner
Student is the teller
Commonly used with picture books
Fosters engagement
Give access to books before they can read them independently
Uses CROWD and PEER

11. HOW? Dialogic Reading Prompts (CROWD) Completion Recall Open-minded
Who, what, when, where, why questions
Distancing –making a bridge between stories and real world

12. HOW? Interactive Instrumental Sequence (PEER)
Helps students become the teller of the story
PEER
Prompt –use CROWD prompts, student responds to a story
Evaluate—evaluate student response
Expand—expand by adding info to student response
Repeat—repeat expanded response

13. HOW?
Story Structure
Students ask and answer questions about story structure
Students use story maps after
Direct instruction
Teacher modeling

14. HOW? Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI)
Emphasizes coordinated use of strategies to help students to build and monitor comprehension
First introduce individually
Explicit instruction needed
Strategy choices shifts from teacher to student over time

15. HOW? Book Club Writing in response to literature
Provides instruction in three categories
Personal responses---relating to story personally
Creative responses---new ideas
Critical—analyzing aspects of literary works