Putting the Pieces Together: Reading Comprehension

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Putting the Pieces TogetherReading Comprehension

• Theresa Cowart
• Ashley Kirby

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Did You Realize?

• On your own, take a few minutes to hypothesize
  reading statistics in the United States today.

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Essential Question

• How can we as guidance counselors equip teachers
  and students with research-based strategies to
  improve reading comprehension?

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• Reading is the most complex neurological task a
  person undertakes in his lifetime. That human
  beings are able to read at all is a miracle. Yet,
  most of us are able to do it so effortlessly that
  we fail to realize how difficult it is.
• R.M.N. Crosby and Robert Liston

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Three Cues to Reading
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Three Components to Comprehension
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(No Transcript)
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What?

• Academic Vocabulary consists of the terms in each
  subject that students must understand in order to
  master the content.
• Terms, that without a basic knowledge of,
  students will have difficulty understanding
  content they read, hear, or learn
• Terms that provide a background knowledge and
  build the picture of the content

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Why?

• On your own, take a few minutes to read the
  ScienceDaily article and highlight any unfamiliar
  terms.

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Examples

• Weight Training endurance, muscle strength,
  anabolic steroids, motor skills
• Drawing dimensional, Realism, Formalism,
  abstract, composition, intended meaning
• Orchestra intonation, embellishments, vibrato,
  staccato, contact point, parameters

• Chemistry nomenclature, property, reactivity,
  synthesis, kinetic, functional groups
• Physical Science disparity, precision, control,
  bias, synthesis, phenomenon
• Foreign Language intonation, mechanics, tense,
  figurative language, subtleties

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How?

• It Fits
• Academic Vocabulary Log
• Similarities and Differences

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What?

• If I cant picture it, I cant understand it.
• Albert Einstein
• The ability to build mental pictures while
  reading, listening, and talking
• Directly related to reading comprehension
• Most likely a strength or a weakness

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Why?

• When a reader can visualize what is happening,
  comprehension improves. These images can help
  readers make a video in their head. If they can
  see it, they often understand it.
• Cris Tovani

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How?

• Filmstrip 101
• Filmstrip 102
• Filmstrip 103

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(No Transcript)
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What?

• By applying the knowledge from the reading and
  using that knowledge meaningfully, students
  deepen their understanding of the content and
  continue to make connections between new and old
  learning.
• S. Beers and L. Howell
• Deciding which parts of the material are
  important versus trivial
• Rewording some ideas
• Deleting and reorganizing information

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Why?
Category Rank ile Gain
Similarities Differences 1 45
Summarizing Note-taking 2 34
Reinforcing Effort Providing Recognition 3 29
Homework Practice 4 28
Nonlinguistic Representations 5 27
Cooperative Learning 6 27
Setting Objectives Feedback 7 23
Generating Testing Hypothesis 8 23
Questions, Cues, Organizers 9 22
based on Robert Marzano
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How?

• Cut the Fat
• Bookmarks
• Thinking Options
• Fix-Up Strategies
• The Top Three

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Final Thoughts

• Quick fix versus lifetime help
• Student has to own it
• Choose carefully
• Multiple exposures
• Tip of the iceberg
• Next steps

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Dedication

• Think of a student who could benefit from one or
  more of these strategies. On the provided book,
  write his or her name and one strategy you plan
  on sharing with this student.