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What Are Strateยญgies That Can Improve Readยญing Comprehension?
Readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion is a someยญwhat tricky skill to evalยญuยญate, but what eduยญcaยญtors agree on is that it boils down to getยญting stuยญdents to think sharply while they are reading.Indeed, teachยญers are covยญerยญing othยญer verยญbal skills, such as vocabยญuยญlary acquiยญsiยญtion and writยญing. But readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion preยญpares stuยญdents for varยญiยญous chalยญlenges they will face in colยญlege and beyond.Readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion is a skill set that is not limยญitยญed to Engยญlish coursยญes. In Social Studยญies, stuยญdents use it to anaยญlyze facts and detect patยญterns in inforยญmaยญtion about hisยญtoยญry. In the sciยญences, readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion also allows stuยญdents to underยญstand the relยญeยญvance of sciยญenยญtifยญic theยญoยญries to conยญtemยญpoยญrary matยญters. In all disยญciยญplines, what is imporยญtant is makยญing sure that stuยญdents are readยญing intelยญliยญgentยญly and critically.When stuยญdents masยญter readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion, they are more ready for the mateยญriยญals they will be exposed to in college.A stuยญdent with excelยญlent readยญing skills, for examยญple, can manยญage readยญing mateยญriยญals in a Reliยญgion or Politยญiยญcal Sciยญence course betยญter than a stuยญdent who has already studยญied these subยญjects but does not have sufยญfiยญcient readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion skills.Includยญing readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion in all facets of eduยญcaยญtion is vital to preยญpare stuยญdents for the subยญjects at hand. They need it to underยญstand hisยญtoยญry, comยญpreยญhend comยญplex logยญic, and masยญter sciยญenยญtifยญic concepts.
Reading Comprehension: A primer
Readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion is a skill relatยญed to the capacยญiยญty to underยญstand and process readยญing mateยญrยญiยญal. A stuยญdent with good readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion will be able to have a good overยญall grasp of a pasยญsageโs conยญtext and significance.Not just limยญitยญed to the levยญel of words and paraยญgraphs, readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion relates to the genยญerยญal mesยญsage of a text and its rhetorยญiยญcal devices. Is it perยญsuaยญsive? What is the purยญpose of the text? Does it attempt to conยญvince the readยญer of something?
Improving Reading Comprehension
In the age of smartยญphones, many parยญents report that their chilยญdren donโt like to read. That means that they are not as liable to put in the effort to underยญstand what a text means.Subยญseยญquentยญly, this leads to a drop in readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion and a vicious cycle of not likยญing readยญing. If stuยญdents donโt underยญstand what they are readยญing, they are less likeยญly to take up readยญing on their own.What can eduยญcaยญtors do to proยญmote readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion and readยญing in genยญerยญal? One of the greatยญest misยญtakes is forcยญing mateยญriยญals that are uninยญterยญestยญing to stuยญdents. That is one of the best ways to disยญsuade young peoยญple from readยญing at all.Instrucยญtors may assign a chapยญter or two about an esoยญteric topยญic to stuยญdents. Why would they dedยญiยญcate their time to readยญing about someยญthing that is potenยญtialยญly uninยญterยญestยญing to them? Why do they take pains to write notes or highยญlight key pasยญsages when they donโt care about the material?Itโs imporยญtant to think about the stuยญdentsโ points of view and the othยญer disยญtracยญtions that they have comยญpetยญing for their attention.Before they read, stuยญdents could use some guideยญlines to get them motiยญvatยญed and engaged with the mateยญrยญiยญal. When conยญfrontยญed with a big block of text, they might feel dauntยญed and not know what to do.Work on some ideas about how to creยญate a more active readยญing modยญel for your stuยญdents to get them interยญestยญed in what they are readยญing โ meanยญing that they are askยญing quesยญtions to guide the readยญing process and answerยญing them along the way.
- Reading Comprehension Questions
One of the best ways to oriยญent stuยญdentsโ readยญing is to creยญate readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion quesยญtions for stuยญdents. So they know what to look out for and facilยญiยญtate their overยญall underยญstandยญing of the text.Someยญtimes, the quesยญtions proยญvide answers by sugยญgestยญing the priยญmaยญry themes and major ideas of a passage/ Which helps stuยญdents while reading.Once the stuยญdents have comยญpletยญed the text, they can creยญate quesยญtions that the instrucยญtor can include in a quiz or quesยญtion-and-answer session.This way, the stuยญdent feels like an active parยญticยญiยญpant in the conยญverยญsaยญtion about the text rather than a pasยญsive recipยญiยญent who needs to respond to forยญmuยญlaยญic questions.
- Reading Out Loud & Engaging With the Text
Readยญing out loud may seem eleยญmenยญtary, but it gets stuยญdents involved and someยญtimes even allows them to showยญcase their draยญmatยญic talents.When teachยญers read out loud, it can keep stuยญdents interยญestยญed. And when stuยญdents read out loud, they become active parยญticยญiยญpants in the perยญforยญmance of the text and more readยญiยญly invite commentary.As stuยญdents read out loud, there are ample opporยญtuยญniยญties to stop and perยญform comยญpreยญhenยญsion checks. In these instances, instrucยญtors can ask for feedยญback from stuยญdents and demonยญstrate mulยญtiยญple ways to approach the text, from the levยญel of the indiยญvidยญual words to more conยญtexยญtuยญal commentaries.Ultiยญmateยญly, disยญcusยญsions about the text genยญerยญatยญed in this way can lead to largยญer-scale conยญverยญsaยญtions about the main ideas in the text. That often proves vital to stuยญdentsโ abilยญiยญties to make conยญnecยญtions between the mateยญrยญiยญal and othยญer texts from the course as well as othยญer courses.
- Supporting Constructive Discussion
The class disยญcusยญsion proยญvides the instrucยญtor with the opporยญtuยญniยญty to check readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion. As well as facilยญiยญtate a synยญtheยญsis of ideas that can help to idenยญtiยญfy the relยญeยญvance of the pasยญsage or pasยญsages under discussion.At the same time, such conยญverยญsaยญtions allow the instrucยญtor to highยญlight the imporยญtance of key ideas and reitยญerยญate priยญmaยญry themes.
- Close Reading Strategies
Guidยญing stuยญdents through close-readยญing processยญes helps them to see the relยญeยญvance of word choice and structure.In the process, they can also evalยญuยญate any supยญportยญing mateยญriยญals like illusยญtraยญtions or charts. All of these feaยญtures assist them in their overยญall comยญpreยญhenยญsion of the themes for a chapยญter or secยญtion at hand.When applied to a litยญerยญary text, attenยญtion to a litยญerยญary strucยญture can help stuยญdents appreยญciยญate how a text is orgaยญnized and affects readยญer underยญstandยญing. At the same time, a study of the strucยญture serves to help stuยญdents comยญpreยญhend and retain the conยญtent of a text.
- Written Forms of Responding to Texts
Stuยญdents should always have their pens ready to take notes and write down the assoยญciยญaยญtions that come to mind durยญing readยญing or discussion.They should also write down unfaยญmilยญiar words and look them up to genยญerยญate a vocabยญuยญlary list. When stuยญdents take notes, they are also betยญter preยญpared for subยญseยญquent disยญcusยญsions in class.Stuยญdents may also annoยญtate a text by writยญing in the marยญgins or highยญlightยญing. That is espeยญcialยญly helpยญful with handยญouts, but it is also posยญsiยญble with books; if they donโt want to write in a book, they can use sticky notes.They can then orgaยญnize sticky notes latยญer to group their ideas when thinkยญing about their responsยญes to a passage.
- Working From Context
To underยญstand a text overยญall, stuยญdents need to grasp the genยญerยญal conยญtext well. If they donโt underยญstand a word, for examยญple, they may be able to deduce the meanยญing based on othยญer words that come before and after.For deterยญminยญing vocabยญuยญlary, stuยญdents may also use a wordโs roots and affixes/suffixes to deterยญmine its meanยญing. Look at how the word is used in conยญtrast with othยญer words in the senยญtence or pasยญsage; deduce its meanยญing based on the rest of the senยญtence; look up a defยญiยญnยญiยญtion of a word; ascerยญtain how the word funcยญtions gramยญmatยญiยญcalยญly; or search for an illusยญtraยญtion of the word to arrive at a more preยญcise definition.
- Organizing Information Visually
Stuยญdents may find that orgaยญnizยญing inforยญmaยญtion visuยญalยญly, such as through conยญcept maps, sigยญnifยญiยญcantยญly enhance their underยญstandยญing of readยญing material.That allows stuยญdents to visuยญalยญize the conยญtent of the readยญing and underยญstand it in terms of main areas and concepts.When stuยญdents are at the high school levยญel, instrucยญtors should be able to deterยญmine which ways stuยญdents can orgaยญnize inforยญmaยญtion visuยญalยญly to facilยญiยญtate their readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion best.
- Providing Summaries
It is good pracยญtice for stuยญdents to genยญerยญate sumยญmaries of what they have read as they go along. When they write these sumยญmaries, they include the mateยญrยญiยญal they have already covยญered and idenยญtiยญfy key points from the passages.Instead of just regenยญerยญatยญing conยญtent, stuยญdents need to deterยญmine the key points to idenยญtiยญfy the major themes and mesยญsages of a passage.As they creยญate sumยญmaries, stuยญdents difยญferยญenยญtiยญate main from minor conยญtent and can come up with the major points of a passage.
Final Thought!
Stuยญdentsโ prefยญerยญences will difยญfer: some will opt for annoยญtatยญing texts, while othยญers will choose to summarize.In either case, stuยญdents need to underยญstand what their approachยญes to texts are. This way, it is posยญsiยญble for them to not only improve their readยญing comยญpreยญhenยญsion. But masยญtery over how to do it and deterยญmine which methยญods work best for them.These strateยญgies will vary from indiยญvidยญual to indiยญvidยญual, and each stuยญdent should be capaยญble of ascerยญtainยญing their best stratยญeยญgy for idenยญtiยญfyยญing and sumยญmaยญrizยญing a texยญtโs key points.
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