A Closer Look large view Michael completes a story map after hearing Whistle For Willie by Ezra Jack Keats large view Joey relaxes while enjoying a book large view Sam works hard during his independent reading time large view Tony enjoys a story about Martin Luther King Jr. large view Sarah practices a book by a famous author---HERSELF! Why worry about comprehension?        Reading is more than saying the words or getting from the beginning of the book to the end. To be        successful readers, children need to be able to comprehend text.  Research has shown there are some        strategies we can share with children as we read that will help them gain more understanding.  Each       of these strategies is explained below.   These strategies are: Metacognition  Children love that word – even saying it makes them feel smarter!  All it means is being aware of your thinking.  Encourage metacognition by sharing your thinking while you read aloud.   Schema          When readers fit what they read into what they alraalready know or have experienced, they are using    schema.  As you read to or with your child, try:      1. Making Connections          Connect what you read to your own life.          Connect the reading to other books.          Connect the reading to events happening in our world. Mental Images or Visualizing           When readers can use their senses to help them imagine what they might smell,      hear, see, taste or feel as they read, they get deeper into the text.  They visualize      or picture what it looks like.  The reader can picture it in their mind's eye.  Determining Importance     Readers need to prioritize as they read.  Determining importance is    related to main ideas and identifying themes.  It is a    critical skill for students as they encounter textbooks and nonfiction.    What kind of message is the author sending?                             Prioritizing information ·        What are the critical ideas?   ·       What is just interesting without being important?           Can your student differentiate the main ideas from the supporting details?   Inferring         More than simple prediction, inferring  happens when readers can take what they know and what is written in the book to ‘read between the lines’.  The ability to infer helps the reader get to the ‘why’ of the story.         We can help our readers to use inference to: Think about why a character takes an action. How a character feels in a situation. Why an author made certain choices when writing the book. Synthesizing               When you set out to make cookies and begin to gather up the ingredients, you don’t have cookies     until the measuring, mixing and baking is done.  You begin with all the needed ingredients and     somehow you synthesize them into a tasty treat.  When a reader can use all the comprehension tools     described on this page to take a book and truly make it their own through masterful retelling,     they are synthesizing.     Questioning            When readers question the text before, during and after they read, they attend more closely to the text.  Before Reading         What do you think will happen?        Why do you suppose?        During Reading       I wonder why...       How come… A    Ater Reading         What would have happened if…       I wonder why the author…       I wonder where we could look to find out more about…       I    It is important for readers to understand that some of the most important or interesting questions they have aren’t always answered in the story.   Text to Self Connections (doc file) Use this graphic organizer to make text to self connections at home! NEED HELP DOWNLOADING: doc file: You need the Microsoft Word program, a free Microsoft Word viewer, or a program that can import Word files in order to view this file. To learn more about the free Microsoft Word Viewer, visit the Microsoft Word website.

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