Reading Comprehension: Making Sense of Literature

Close reading

A careful reading that is attentive to organization, figurative language, sentence structure, vocabulary, and other literary and structural elements of a text; concerned with meaning of text not reader resposne

True or False: According to reader response theory, understanding a text consists of determining what the author was trying to say

False

True or False: Close reading almost always requires reading a text six times.

False

True or False: Effective readers use the same comprehension processes no matter how a text is structured.

False

True or False: Good comprehension of any text occurs naturally if readers recognize the words accurately.

False

True or False: In a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity, the teacher guides students to correctly predict the next event before they read on.

False

True or False: Instruction in reading comprehension strategies is more common than word recognition instruction.

False

True or False: Only older readers can make inferences when reading a story.

False

True or False: Schemas are comprehension strategies.

False

True or False: Skilled readers can understand any text equally well irrespective of their familiarity with the topic.

False

True or False: The ABC model is a theory of reading comprehension.

False

True or False: The best questions for a shared inquiry discussion are those with a single correct answer.

False

True or False: "Story grammar" is another term for "story structure."

True

True or False: A story map is an example of a scaffolding tool.

True

True or False: Good readers reread parts of the text when the text is not making sense.

True

True or False: If students do not have the prior knowledge needed to understand a text, the teacher should provide it.

True

True or False: In a literature circle, students read and discuss the same text, and often each participant assumes a different role in the group.

True

True or False: It is possible to understand a text without knowing all the words in it.

True

True or False: Reading comprehension is an active process of constructing meaning.

True

True or False: Student self-assessment of reading comprehension is a valuable complement to teacher observation and quantitative assessment.

True

True or False: Vocabulary size affects reading comprehension.

True

An activity during which readers engage in predicting and reading to confirm predictions is ________. A. a directed reading-thinking activity B. a think/pair/share C. a literature circle D. an anticipation guide

a, a directed reading-thinking activity

A comprehension activity in which each participant in a group is assigned a different role is ________. A. a literature circle B. a shared inquiry C. a directed reading-thinking activity D. a think/pair/share

a, a literature circle

When readers understand information that is implicit in the text, they do so by ________. A. making inferences B. using structured opposites C. making predictions D. making transactions

a, making inferences

Focusing questions aim to steer students' thinking towards ________. A. the main ideas of the texts to be read B. details in the text C. key vocab D. correct answers

a, the main ideas of the texts to be read

Reader response theory

an approach to understanding literature that focuses on the role of the reader in interpreting a story rather than just relying upon the author's version

Self-assessment

ask students to observe/critique their own use of comprehension strategies. Advantage of teaching students to be mindful of reading strategies and be deliberate about their use when reading

An activity in which students discuss interpretive questions about a text they have read is called ________. A. reading for structured opposites B. a shared inquiry discussion C. a discussion web D. a debate

b, a shared inquiry discussion

In the ________ phase of a lesson, teachers should help students use prior knowledge while reading a text. A. anticipation B. building knowledge C. consolidation D. developmental

b, building knowledge

The directed reading activity should be used in the ________ phase of the lesson. A. anticipation B. building knowledge C. consolidation D. developmental

b, building knowledge

Comprehension instruction should ________. A. focus primarily on word recognition B. include explicit strategy instruction C. focus on the literal meaning of texts D. consist mostly of activities for developing reading fluency

b, include explicit strategy instruction

Mental frameworks or categories of prior knowledge stored in memory are called ________. A. taxonomies B. schemas C. hierarchies D. concatenations

b, schemas

A set of questions that students answer before and after reading a text is ________. A. a graphic organizer B. a structured overview C. a dual-entry diary D. an anticipation guide

c, a dual-entry diary

Students summarize, compare, and apply information after reading a text in the________ phase of a lesson. A. anticipation B. building knowledge C. consolidation D. developmental

c, consolidation

A model of reading comprehension suggesting that readers use prior knowledge to make sense of what they read is called ________. A. activation theory B. cognitive theory C. schema theory D. transitional theory

c, schema theory

Predictable patterns or structures of fictional texts are called ________. A. themes B. concatenated structures C. story grammars D. genres

c, story grammars

Rereading parts of the text to repair comprehension breakdowns is a behavior associated with the strategy of ________. A. engaging prior knowledge B. imaging C. making inferences D. monitoring comprehension

d, monitoring comprehension

According to reader response theory, each reader creates an individualized meaning of a text, referred to by Louise Rosenblatt as the ________. A. schema B. narrative C. gist D. poem

d, poem

Individual aspects of comprehension can be developed by:

developing skill in context of global activity, engaging in game that exercises the skill, using graphic organizer

Textual side of reading comprehension

focusing on ways texts convey meaning

Constructivist role of reading comprehension

focusing on what reader already knows about topic of text

Quantitative assessment

gather data allowing for comparison between students' performance against some standard, like grade-level expectations

Anticipation phase

immediately before reading a text, students are reminded of prior knowledge, taught pre-vocabulary, and prepared to make sense of text

ABC model

instructional choices for guiding reading comprehension; anticipation, building knowledge, consolidation

Reader response criticism

literary version of schema theory; readers create understanding of texts through interaction of textual cues + prior knowledge

Observational assessment

observe/assess comprehension as students demonstrate them in real reading time

Consolidation phase

phase immediately after reading, when readers reflect

Building knowledge phase

phase of reading text for comprehension & inquiry and thinking occurring during reading

Schema theory in reading comprehension

readers understand by finding cues in text that lead reader to summon prior knowledge

Infomral reading inventories

tests consisting of text samples and word lists with comprehension questions and measures of fluency and word recognition

Reading comprehension

using knowledge we already have to understand new information we find in text