Keeping The Focus On Comprehension

“We can’t just test comprehension, we must teach it.” 

-The Center for Literacy and Disability Studies

I’ve seen, over and over, the struggle students have with summarizing texts, be it an oral or written summary. This struggle, for some, is their lack of understanding; but for others, it’s just that they need guided questions to learn how to decipher and express key points. Either way, how they think through the comprehension questions is critical. I thought it might be helpful to give an example of some questions you could ask during and after the reading experience to teach comprehension and verbal expression. 

Keep in mind, before you read, that a student has to have a strong command of language, vocabulary, and (in upper elementary and beyond) critical thinking skills (inferencing), in order to leave the text with all that is intended for them to gain.

I wrote up this short passage to use as an example:

If you’re my student, I’m hoping you are reacting to what happened in the story because you essentially saw it happen in your mind. Those images are what you’ll use to recall the story and think critically about it. 

A very simplified explanation of The Dual Coding Theory (created by Dr. Allan Paivio) is that text is processed in words and images. Programs like Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking® apply this theory of cognition to comprehension.  The goal is that the student have a mental picture for every word, sentence, and paragraph they read. So, we want to think about those areas I mentioned earlier: vocabulary, context, and critical thinking. 

All of my questions then, focus on their picturing (remember I mentioned that last week when we discussed fluency?) 

Instead of “what was the story about?” I might say, “Tell me what you pictured happening in the story.”

When checking vocabulary, my question is not, “What does jagged mean?” Instead I ask, “what were you picturing for the jagged rocks?”

See the pattern? I hope so!

Other questions might be:

• What did you picture the lion doing once he climbed the mountain?

• What did the story say the lion saw moving? What were you picturing caused the movement?

• What did you picture for the creature? Why might the story say it was defenseless? How do you think the creature felt? What in your pictures tells you that?

• What would you picture happening if the lion had roared before leaping in the air?

My questions focus on your pictures because I want you focused on them. Think about some other questions you might ask. There are tons. You can even add onto the story by thinking about or asking, “What would you picture happening next?” We’ll chat more about these critical thinking questions and developing a main idea in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

Until then, the next time you’re reading with your kiddo, ask some questions. Engage them in that discussion about their pictures. You’ll likely be surprised either by how vividly they picture, or by how much they seem to struggle. No matter which outcome, you’ve started something that will help them so much moving forward. Keep going!

Happy picturing!

 Tia