Comprehension Strategies and Background Knowledge (Schema)
Reading is thinking. Teaching the use and awareness of comprehension strategies invites students to develop as active readers; this has been found to impact the reading ability of less skilled readers (Pressley, 2006). Your child is familiar with these strategies and why skilled readers use them because we read strategically in our classroom. When you use this language at home you are sharing the common language of our classroom
Throughout the pages of this website, you will learn about a powerful way to support your child's practice of predicting, making connections, asking questions, visualizing and summarizing through an authentic activity: conversation.
Comprehension Strategies
PREDICTING: Thinking about what will follow.
MAKING CONNECTIONS: Connecting with text through knowledge, experience, other reading.
ASKING QUESTIONS: Asking questions that set purpose for reading. Asking questions for clarification.
VISUALIZING: Experiencing reading through our senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing.
SUMMARIZING: Sifting out important information and disregarding irrelevant information.
Background Knowledge (Schema)
All readers make meaning from text by using their background knowledge, also known as schema, to understand the content of the reading. Research has found that readers' schema systems make it easier or harder to understand a text (Tracey & Morrow, 2006). When schema is present for the content of the reading the reader has an easier time making connections that helps them to interpret the meaning intended. When schema is absent for a particular text the reader has no entry point for understanding. Families can support schema building by engaging exposing their children to a variety of experiences: visits to museums, zoos or art galleries; attending a theatrical production; attending sports events or playing on a team; trips to the library to find books about new and interesting topics; a walk on the beach or on a hiking trail; baking cookies; celebrating a birthday, attending a religious ceremony or cultural event, etc.
References
Pressley, M. (2006) Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Tracey, D.H. & Morrow, L.M. (2006) Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2006). Teaching for comprehending and fluency: Thinking, talking, and writing about reading, K-8. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Throughout the pages of this website, you will learn about a powerful way to support your child's practice of predicting, making connections, asking questions, visualizing and summarizing through an authentic activity: conversation.
Comprehension Strategies
PREDICTING: Thinking about what will follow.
MAKING CONNECTIONS: Connecting with text through knowledge, experience, other reading.
ASKING QUESTIONS: Asking questions that set purpose for reading. Asking questions for clarification.
VISUALIZING: Experiencing reading through our senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing.
SUMMARIZING: Sifting out important information and disregarding irrelevant information.
Background Knowledge (Schema)
All readers make meaning from text by using their background knowledge, also known as schema, to understand the content of the reading. Research has found that readers' schema systems make it easier or harder to understand a text (Tracey & Morrow, 2006). When schema is present for the content of the reading the reader has an easier time making connections that helps them to interpret the meaning intended. When schema is absent for a particular text the reader has no entry point for understanding. Families can support schema building by engaging exposing their children to a variety of experiences: visits to museums, zoos or art galleries; attending a theatrical production; attending sports events or playing on a team; trips to the library to find books about new and interesting topics; a walk on the beach or on a hiking trail; baking cookies; celebrating a birthday, attending a religious ceremony or cultural event, etc.
References
Pressley, M. (2006) Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Tracey, D.H. & Morrow, L.M. (2006) Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2006). Teaching for comprehending and fluency: Thinking, talking, and writing about reading, K-8. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.