ELAR Reading (Comprehension)

A teacher wants to encourage her students to think critically about a text. Which activity below would help develop this reading skill?

writing notes and annotations while reading

Ms. Smith is trying to help her student's distinguish between fact and opinion. She assigns an article and asks them to underline facts and circle opinions. What instruction could she give to help her students distinguish between the two?

A fact is something that could be proven true or false, even if the supporting evidence isn't included in the text.

Which of the following statements describes the main differences between a literary and a non-literary text?

A literary text relies on figurative language and imagery to tell a story, while a non-literary text uses facts and details to inform the reader on a particular topic.

A teacher notices that her students are struggling with visualizing a story as she reads it aloud. Which of the following strategies could she implement to help students improve in this area?

After reading a section of the story out loud, the teacher asks the students to draw what they "saw" in their minds on a blank piece of paper.

While reading aloud to her students, Ms. Cearing hopes to improve students' reading comprehension. Which activity could she choose to accomplish this goal?

Ask students to pause and visualize what was just read in their minds.

A fifth-grade teacher has decided to repeat a novel she taught the year before but is hoping to improve the way she structures instruction with the first portion of the book. The first chapter contains long paragraphs that describe the setting and introduce many characters, and this seemed to frustrate and confuse her class. It wasn't until the characters and conflict were well established that they enjoyed the book. The teacher would like to minimize the negative initial responses this year. Which of the following activities may help her students get off to a better start?

Ask the students to draw visual representations of the setting and/or characters described in the first chapter.

A 6th-grade teacher is asking students to compare a pair of persuasive articles about global warming. She would like to incorporate at least one question from each level of reading comprehension. Which of the following questions would fall under the category of evaluative comprehension?

Choose one article and explain the author's point of view. Then compare it with the point of view of the other article. Which do you agree with and why?

Which of the following should a teacher do before giving the first science textbook reading assignment to a class?

Go through the text with the class pointing out headings, pictures, key words, definitions, and other assistance available on the page.

Mr. Hendrix, a third-grade English Language Arts teacher, wants to support his students in becoming self-directed critical readers. Which of the following activities would best help Mr. Hendrix accomplish this goal?

Have students use a Venn diagram to identify and compare the character traits of the protagonist and the antagonist of three different narratives.

A teacher is asking students to evaluate an argument in a persuasive text. Which of the following sentence stems would best support this goal?

In my opinion...

A sixth-grade teacher uses the following excerpt as part of an activity to expose her students to various forms of informational text. If you look at a map of the World, you will see, in the left-hand upper corner of the Eastern Hemisphere, two islands lying in the sea. They are England and Scotland, and Ireland. England and Scotland form the greater part of these islands. Ireland is the next in size. The little neighbouring islands, which are so small upon the map as to be mere dots, are chiefly little bits of Scotland,—broken off, I dare say, in the course of a great length of time, by the power of the restless water. After reading the excerpt together once, the teacher asks her students to read the paragraph again on their own and create a rough sketch of the described map. In what way will sketching the map support student comprehension of the text?

It requires the student to reread and visualize the image being described by the text.

Which of the following activities would most help Mr. Hanson's students work on inferential comprehension skills?

Mr. Hanson asks various students to explain possible effects of different events in the narrative.

A fourth-grade teacher is planning a lesson to help facilitate student use of metacognitive skills to require students to self-monitor while they are reading a text. Which of the following activities would she use in this lesson?

Pair students and require them to stop at multiple preselected locations in the reading of a text to perform "think alouds."

A fifth-grade class is beginning a research project in which the students will be independently reading information about an assigned topic. Which of the following reading activities would best support student comprehension of this new information?

Paraphrase difficult sections of the text.

In order to help her students with their overall study skills now and in the future, Mrs. Gibbs, a fourth-grade reading teacher, decides to teach a variety of strategies. Which of the following would be the least effective strategy for Mrs. Gibbs to include in her activity?

Practice answering literal questions at the end of the chapter after reading about a topic.

While reading a fiction piece, students are asked to complete a few prompts and charts. Here is a sample of one row of student work. Based on the information in the chart, what would be a logical title for column one?

Prediction

A fifth-grade teacher provides a challenging primary source letter considering the causes of the American Revolution. Which of the following will best help students to follow the causes and effects of the events while reading?

Provide a graphic organizer for students to complete while they read.

After reading a text that describes the process of mailing a letter from one location to another, a student is struggling to summarize the steps included in the text. Which of the following strategies would best support this student's reading comprehension?

Provide the student with a sequencing map graphic organizer to complete while reading the text.

A teacher wants to model for students how to pull the main idea(s) from a nonfiction text. Which activity below would be the most effective way to demonstrate this for the students?

Read a text that's projected for the class and take notes in the margins while reading.

In order to improve reading comprehension, Mr. Parks should encourage his students to do which of the following before reading a narrative text? Select all answers that apply.

Read the "About the Author" section. Preview illustrations, the title, or bolded vocabulary words.

A first-grade teacher is reading a narrative text aloud to her students. Which of the following instructional approaches would support the students' ability to make predictions about a text?

Stop reading after the main problem has been introduced. Ask the class, "What are some possible ways this problem could work out? Which one seems most likely?"

An ESL teacher is reading a narrative with her class of English language learners. She provides the students with only the first half of the reading and then asks them to write an ending to the story with a partner. After reading their endings aloud to the class, she then asks the students to explain what details in the story helped them to write their endings. This strategy is likely to be most effective in promoting which of the following English-language proficiency standards in reading?

Students will make predictions about and draw conclusions from a text.

A third-grade teacher is facilitating literature circles for her class with books that tie into their current social studies unit. The class will be allowed to choose a title from a set of books that she has pre-selected. The teacher introduces each option by showing the front cover, reading the title, and reading the back of the book. Once students choose their book and begin reading it, they will be given opportunities to meet with other students who are reading the same book. All group members are encouraged to use direct quotes from the text to support the ideas they share with their group. Which of the following best describes the teacher's motivation for choosing books based on the current focus of their social studies curriculum?

The cross-curricular focus will both provide students with applicable background information for the text and extend their understanding of the topics being discussed in social studies.

Which of the following is a reason that paired student discussion of a text would improve their reading comprehension of the text?

The student must clarify their own understanding in order to explain it to someone else

A teacher projects a nonfiction article about dolphins while the students view the same article at their desks. As a class, they preview the images and read the section headers. The teacher asks students if the headings and subheadings bring any questions to mind. As students volunteer questions, the teacher writes them on the board. What is the most likely purpose for creating these questions?

The students are setting a purpose for reading by creating questions to guide them through the text.

Mrs. King tells her fifth-grade students that she is going to explain and model a strategy that should help them learn how to self-monitor their own comprehension. Which strategy would be most effective to introduce this strategy?

The teacher starts reading aloud as she is displaying the text on a slide or students are following along in a book; the teacher then pauses and asks a question aloud to herself about what she is reading.

A sixth-grade teacher had decided to use literature circles with her class to work through a new fiction text they're reading. She will provide the groups with guided questions and discussion ideas to complete during and after their reading sections. Which question stem would encourage students to use context clues to increase their vocabulary?

The word "_____" means ______. I know because in the text it says, "_____."

A reading teacher has designed a lesson focused on skimming and scanning texts for significant features. What is the purpose of developing this skill?

This skill will help students locate information more quickly.

How does identifying transition words help readers construct meaning?

Transition words clarify how ideas relate to one another

Mr. Simmons wants his class to compare and contrast information about a subject using a variety of genres. Which of the following instructional strategies should Mr. Simmons use?

Venn diagrams

A sixth-grade teacher had decided to use literature circles with her class to work through a new fiction text they're reading. She will provide the groups with guided questions and discussion ideas to complete during and after their reading sections. Which question stem would encourage students to relate their own lives to the reading?

When ____ said _____, it reminded me of when I _____.

A teacher wants to model for students how to determine the meaning of words within a nonfiction text. Which activity below would be the most effective way to demonstrate this for the students?

While reading aloud to the class, the teacher pauses to define vocabulary terms using context clues.

A second-grade classroom with multiple Spanish-speaking English language learners is working on literary analysis. The class reads aloud a short story in which the main character, Lisa, visits Mexico while on vacation. Lisa struggles to fit in at first because she does not speak Spanish. Over the course of the book, she learns new words and phrases to use during her trip. During and after reading, the class discusses various aspects of the text and answers general comprehension questions posed by the teacher. One of the areas the teacher wants to focus on is generating a well-constructed summary of the story. The teacher provides a graphic organizer for students to complete as a whole group before writing the actual summary. Which chart or organizer would be most beneficial for the class to complete in order to achieve this goal?

a Somebody-Wanted-But-So-Then chart

A fifth-grade teacher is beginning the school year by reading a poem in which the speaker describes all of the conflicting feelings she has about summer ending. Before reading the poem, the teacher asks her students to consider their own feelings and write down all of the feelings that they have felt or are feeling about the summer ending. Which would most logically facilitate this pre-reading activity for these students?

a concept map

Which of the following skills best demonstrates successful reading comprehension? Select all answers that apply.

accurate decoding of new words connecting previous reading experiences and life experiences to the reading

A third-grade teacher is assigning an informational text that compares the education system in the United States to that of another country. Which of the following would be a useful strategy to use while they read the informational text?

add details to a Venn diagram

Which of the following texts would be the most likely to contain a bar graph?

an article discussing graduation rates in local school districts

An example of evaluative comprehension is when a reader:

analyzes the word choice of the author.

A first-grade class has recently finished reading the story The Three Little Pigs. After reading, the teacher asks students to complete the organizer below with their table partners. After completing the organizer, the teacher asks several students to share the sentence they wrote. One student shares the following sentence: "The pigs wanted to build houses but the wolf wanted to blow them down." The teacher then says, "So, then what happened?" By asking this follow-up question, the teacher is furthering the student's oral language development by:

asking the student to verbally articulate a concise summary of the story.

Which of the following strategies would help promote a preschool student's comprehension skills? Select all that apply. Select all answers that apply.

asking the student what happened in the beginning and end of the book asking the student to use small toys or figurines to reenact a short book that was read aloud

A fifth-grade class is preparing to read a passage about endangered animals. Before beginning, the teacher asks the class if they have heard the words "endangered" or "extinct." They discuss the words' meanings and some animals that are currently endangered and some that were once endangered but have been removed from the list because their population has increased. Which of the following best describes the teacher's purpose for this prereading activity?

build students' schema

A third-grade teacher is going to read a story about two children visiting the aquarium. Which of the following activities is the best way to introduce the text to promote comprehension?

complete a KWL chart

After finishing a short story, a student is having trouble answering comprehension questions about the plot. Which strategy would be most beneficial for this student?

completing a graphic organizer

In order to help students learn to use metacognitive strategies during reading, a teacher should:

conduct a think-aloud while reading, focusing on asking questions and making predictions.

A first-grade teacher would like to model metacognitive reading strategies with her students. Which of the following activities would be best for the teacher to implement to accomplish this goal?

conducting a think aloud in which the teacher reads the text orally, stopping along the way to ask questions and model making predictions

Before reading a literary piece, an elementary teacher will ask the class, "What do you know about...?" Which of the following best describes the purpose of this question?

connect to the student's schema

In order to write an effective summary of a text, a student must first be able to do which of the following?

correctly paraphrase information

Students are conducting short research papers on an endangered species of their choice. Which activity would be best for students to complete before starting their research?

create a KWL chart

Students are instructed to write a summary of a section of the story they have just finished reading. Before being able to summarize, students first must be able to:

delete extraneous information and determine main idea.

While preparing students for a statewide assessment, a teacher encourages students to cross out answer choices that are obviously a distraction. This test-taking strategy is known as:

eliminating wrong answer choices.

A first-grade teacher is looking for a new way to help students with literary analysis of complex texts. She decides to reread a text multiple times, each time asking the students to analyze the text in a specific manner. For example, after the first reading the teacher checks for comprehension. Then she reads it again, this time focusing on plot structure. Once the students have completed their study of characterization, the teacher reads the text one more time. While reading, she asks the students to close their eyes. Once the reading is over, the teacher prompts the students to choose one scene from the story they found most interesting and draw it. Students then share their drawing with a partner and discuss why they chose that scene. This activity can help students to understand complex texts by:

encouraging them to visualize the text to create understanding

A teacher assigns a passage written to convince children of the importance of drinking plenty of water every day. After completing the passage, the teacher begins their discussion by asking, "Are you convinced?" and "What was the most convincing part?" What level of comprehension will her students demonstrate by responding to these questions?

evaluative

A third-grade teacher is introducing a unit on plants. Part of the unit plan calls for students to read complex texts on the topic, many of which contain unfamiliar vocabulary words. The teacher takes the students on a nature walk to sketch several types of plants and talk about their favorite ones. The teacher also takes the class out to the school vegetable garden to discuss the differences and similarities between the different plants. These pre-reading activities will help the students:

gain additional background knowledge before reading the texts.

A fifth-grade class has recently started a unit on rainforests. The teacher puts the students into small groups and asks them to list everything they know about rainforests. The teacher then leads a group discussion in which students share the content of their lists and make their ideas into a web, shown here: Making a content web as a class is likely to further students' ability to remember and utilize academic information they have read by:

helping students categorize their thoughts to better comprehend what they have learned about a new topic.

A class is reading a short story about two friends, Alastor and Vlad, on an adventure. At one point in the story, Vlad steals fruit from a village shop. Later, an upset Alastor sneaks away in the night while Vlad is sleeping. The teacher pauses the reading and asks, "Why does Alastor decide to leave while Vlad is still asleep?" This question requires students to use what type of thinking?

inferential

After completing a read-aloud, the teacher points out one important decision that the main character made in the story. She asks her students to write a paragraph explaining why they think the character made that choice. What level of comprehension is the teacher asking her students to use while answering this question?

inferential

After reading a short story in which a character gets ready to go on an adventure, the teacher asks students to create a list of the steps taken by the character in order. This activity requires students to use which comprehension level?

literal

A reading class will be beginning a new short story about surfing and life on an island. Students are asked to write a response to the following questions. Have you ever been to the ocean? Have you ever wanted to go surfing? Why or why not? What would make living on an island challenging? This activity encourages a student to:

make connections to the text.

A second-grade teacher seats students in partners according to ability levels. Each pair receives one of three differentiated fictional texts. After they have had an opportunity to read the story, each pair completes the sentence stems below. Then, the teacher holds a whole group discussion in which the students share their findings. This story reminds me of a time when ___________. I felt like that character when ____________. If I were that character I would _____________. I am like_________(character name) because we both _________. If ___________ happened to me I would __________. These sentence stems prompt students to

make textual connections.

A teacher is reading "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs. The teacher pauses at the end of the following passage. Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously. "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. "It seems to me I've got all I want." "If you only cleared the house, you'd be quite happy, wouldn't you!" said Herbert, with his hand on his shoulder. "Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then; that'll just do it." His father, smiling shamefacedly at his own credulity, held up the talisman, as his son, with a solemn face, somewhat marred by a wink at his mother, sat down and struck a few impressive chords. "I wish for two hundred pounds," said the old man distinctly. Which reading comprehension strategy would be the most likely for the teacher to demonstrate here?

making predictions

A teacher is reading aloud to the class from a retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk," and during the reading she pauses to think aloud. Below is part of her think-aloud along with the text she is reading. The teacher's dialogue is italicized. Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Jack. He and his mother lived in a tiny cottage on a farm near the outskirts of town. They didn't have much money, and the shelves in the pantry were bare. The harvest was over, but not much food was saved for the winter. Oh no, what will they do in the winter without food? I wonder how they can get some money. Maybe they have crops from the harvest to sell. Jack's mother decided that they must sell their cow. "Please take the cow to town and sell her so we can buy some food," Jack's mother said. So off Jack went with the cow in tow. I bet a cow will sell for $400. They'll be able to buy so much food! On his way to town, Jack met a man on the side of the road. "Hey there, lad, that's a nice looking cow! I'd like to buy it! Here are five magic beans that, when planted, will grow to reach the sky!" Jack was amazed, and quickly said yes. He held the magic beans in his hand and thought, "Wow! Magic beans! Mother will be so happy." Hmmm...I wonder. I think my mother would be very disappointed and sad if I came home with only five beans instead of money. Do you think his mother will be happy with Jack? During this think-aloud, the teacher is modeling which of the following text analysis skills?

making predictions

Individual expository reading in the fourth-grade classroom often requires students to use which of the following strategies to promote their success as they are reading content information?

mapping information from the text

A teacher reads aloud to the class from an article about volcanoes. As he reads, he pauses to say, "Wait a minute. What did that section say? I'm not sure I understood. I'll reread it." He rereads the section, and then says, "Oh, okay. I always thought volcanoes existed on land, but this part here says they can also be found under the water! I wonder what makes them different than land volcanoes. I'll keep reading to find out." In this scenario, the teacher is modeling:

metacognition.

Mrs. Mathers is reading aloud with her class. As she reads she periodically stops and asks students questions about the text to clarify important plot developments and to explain the main ideas in the text. Which of the following is Mrs. Mathers most likely trying to accomplish?

monitoring students' comprehension of the text

A class is reading a nonfiction text about life in Switzerland. Which of the following would be most beneficial for helping students comprehend the text?

photos related to content mentioned in the article

Students who need assistance comprehending expository texts should receive instruction in how to

pre-read text features and scan for organizational patterns.

The statement, "Ask students to recall a time when they felt disappointed and what they did to feel better" is most appropriate in which of the following sections of a kindergarten language arts lesson plan?

pre-reading strategy

A third-grade teacher reads the following passage from a story: "As Jimmy was brushing his teeth before going to bed, he heard a terrible roar come from the garage. Jimmy didn't know what could be making that terrible noise, but he left a light on in the closet while he slept that night." The teacher then asks students questions about their thoughts on the events of the passage and what might be happening. Which of the following would this activity best promote?

predicting

During a reading, a teacher asks students to pause. She then asks students to reread that paragraph and write down what they believe the character will do next and cite textual evidence for their responses. This is an example of students:

predicting.

A sixth-grade teacher allows her students to choose a persuasive text from a few preselected options. Regardless of the article they choose, each student will receive the following post-reading questions: What is the topic of the article? What is the author's opinion or perspective on this topic? What reasons does the author present to support his perspective? Does the author provide any evidence? If so, where did the author find the evidence? Do you find the author's perspective, reasons, and evidence persuasive? Why or why not? When viewed collectively, what is the instructional purpose of the post-reading questions?

promoting close reading of persuasive texts

As part of a unit on weather systems, a first-grade class will be reading a scientific, informational text with many new, tier-three vocabulary terms. Before this reading takes place, the teacher has students write about their favorite type of weather, identify the current weather outside over the course of a week, and watch a few videos depicting different types of weather systems. The main purpose for these pre-reading activities is to:

provide students with ample opportunities to activate and build upon background knowledge before reading the complex text.

A third-grade class has been studying mammals and reptiles, and the teacher would like to help students synthesize all the information they have learned about both types of animals. The teacher seats students in pairs and asks them to fill in a blank Venn diagram. Next, the teacher conducts a class discussion in which each pair of students shares their organizer and she records their findings in a whole-group version, shown here: The teacher distributes another blank copy of the organizer to each student, along with two articles to read, one on amphibians and one on crustaceans. Using this organizer could help students retain the new information they learn by:

providing a system for recording commonalities and differences between the topics.

A fourth-grade teacher has assigned the independent reading of a section from the social studies textbook in order to evaluate her students' ability to comprehend informative nonfiction texts. Of the various reading comprehension skills, which of the following will be specifically important for comprehending this text?

recalling key details from the text

The development of reading comprehension skills is important in elementary students. Which of the following is the LEAST important strategy in promoting reading comprehension among elementary students?

relate oral language to semantics

Before reading a nonfiction article, the class reads the title and subheadings and writes down predictions about what the text will be about. The teacher asks what students know about the topic of the article, and the class brainstorms a list of questions they have about the topic. This lesson best demonstrates which component of reading comprehension?

schema development and prereading

A fourth-grade teacher incorporates reading fiction and nonfiction passages aloud to her class regularly. When she reads a particularly dense or confusing paragraph, she will comment on it to the class, something like, "Whoa, that was a lot of information." Then she will try to paraphrase and go back to reread if necessary. What skill is the teacher modeling for her students?

self-monitoring

A third-grade class has been studying mammals and reptiles, and the teacher would like to help students synthesize all the information they have learned about both types of animals. The teacher seats students in pairs and asks them to fill in a blank Venn diagram. Next, the teacher conducts a class discussion in which each pair of students shares their organizer and she records their findings in a whole-group version, shown here: Creating this type of graphic organizer will help students develop their reading comprehension skills by:

showing them how to compare and contrast differences and similarities.

A teacher has chosen a fable to read to their class. Before the teacher reads the fable, they hand out a chart to students with three questions. One chart from a student is below: When students used the chart, they were practicing the skill of:

synthesizing.

A teacher reads a non-fiction passage aloud to her class. She occasionally stops and asks questions that relate the text to concepts taught in the previous week. The students are using the skill known as:

synthesizing.

A few times a week, a fifth-grade teacher reads a complex informational text with a small group of students. One day, a student says, "When I read from the top to the bottom of the page, I don't always remember what it said." The best way for the teacher to help this student would be to:

teach the student self-monitoring text strategies such as rereading and notetaking.

After reading a science article, the teacher divides students into small groups and gives each group a copy of the chart. Within each group, the students discuss the main idea and supporting details present in one of the paragraphs of the article. After each group has an opportunity to record their thoughts on their copy of the chart, the teacher puts each group's chart up on the board in the same order as the article. Finally, the teacher leads a whole class discussion on the findings of each group. This activity is likely to develop students' reading abilities by:

teaching students a method of summarizing the main points in a longer text.

Which of the following reading instructional strategies would be most beneficial for providing a student with multiple genres to read while researching a topic?

text sets

Reading comprehension is:

the process through which a reader creates meaning and understanding from a text.

A third-grade teacher assigns students an expository text to read with a set of five questions. More than half the class misses the same question about the article's main idea. Which of the following topics should the teacher cover to help students with this concept?

the purpose of titles, subtitles, and topic sentences

Which strategy would best help students to self-monitor and reflect upon a text during reading?

think-aloud

Which of the following is the most appropriate use for a Venn diagram?

to compare and contrast two texts written about the same topic

Inferential comprehension is when a reader:

understands information that is not stated explicitly.

Literal comprehension is when a reader:

understands the facts or ideas in a piece of writing.

A third-grade class has just finished reading an informational text about emergency services and first responders and a second article on natural disasters. The class is then broken up into small groups to discuss the texts and answer some comprehension questions. Each group is provided with a handout listing the following sentence stems: In paragraph ___, the author says ... According to the text ... For example ... The reading says ... The teacher reminds the students to use the sentence stems while answering the comprehension questions. Providing students with these stems will best encourage them to:

use evidence from the text to support their answers.

A fifth-grade class has recently started a unit on rainforests. The teacher puts the students into small groups and asks them to list everything they know about rainforests. The teacher then leads a group discussion in which students share the content of their lists and make their ideas into a web, shown here: Following the whole-class discussion of the organizer, the teacher distributes a copy of it to every student in the class. Throughout the unit, the teacher can help students utilize the web to continue their learning by showing them how to:

use the web to monitor their reading comprehension by adding new information to it after each reading assignment.

Mrs. Jones is teaching her students how to use graphic organizers to assist with understanding different texts. Which of the following would be the least effective activity?

using a timeline to show the sequence of events in a persuasive text

Which of the following will best enhance reading comprehension in a sixth-grade classroom?

using graphic organizers to compare two reading selections

Mrs. Jones is a fourth-grade reading specialist and has been asked by a number of teachers how to enhance the comprehension skills of their students, especially with expository text. Mrs. Jones checks for the teachers' understanding of various comprehension strategies. Which one of the following responses is NOT a comprehension strategy?

using phonological awareness skills