English Language Arts and Reading.5.6.C

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The student is expected to

make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;

comprehension TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts.

Using a picture book or an informational text that includes illustrations or images, ask students a series of questions to help them make predictions about the text.

Questions to Ask:

  • What do the title and headings in the text tell about what the text is about?
  • Are there clues in the title to indicate what might happen in the story?
  • Based on the graph in the text, what do you predict the author wants the reader to think or do?
     

Further Explanation

This assessment example requires students to use what they know about a text in conjunction with features of the text and genre to make predictions about the text. Students must be familiar with text features and characteristics of genre and understand what those features and characteristics may reveal about the story.

Each genre has a variety of characteristics, or things that set it apart from other genres. Students should recognize the characteristics that make a genre unique in order to better understand its purpose and content. For example, an argumentative text usually presents a claim or assertion about something. It also includes an opposite point of view or counterclaim. In an argumentative text, positions, claims, and counterclaims need to be supported by evidence. By identifying all these components, students increase their skills to understand this type of text. The same logic applies to all genres of reading.
Reading is an active process that involves the interaction between the author and the reader. Authors organize ideas and use them to try to convey specific messages. Then, the readers attempt to make sense of what they think the author is trying to say. Thus, readers should constantly formulate hypotheses about the text content at different stages of the reading process. Initially, readers use their prior knowledge to make predictions about texts. Readers may also use text features to refine their predictions. As they begin to read, readers correct or confirm their initial predictions. This is a continuous process.
a form of inference in which the reader examines details surrounding the title, illustrations, subtitles, etc. of a text before reading it in order to anticipate and foresee forthcoming events and information
Text structure refers to how the information within a written text is organized. There are different types of text structure. For example, a text might present a main idea and then details, a cause and then its effects, an effect and the causes, two different views of a topic, or another structure. Each form of text structure serves a particular purpose and presents central ideas and details in specific ways. The process of recognizing text structures will assist students in monitoring their comprehension of the text.
Text features refer to the components of a story or article that are not part of the main body of a text. Some examples of text features are headings and subheadings, bold words, sidebars, and photographs with captions. Text features help readers focus on important ideas and concepts of the text. When students use text features, they can make connections within the text, become familiar with the text's organization, and access important background knowledge related to the content.

Research

1. Liang, L. A., & Galda, L. (2009). Responding and comprehending: Reading with delight and understanding. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 330–333. doi:10.1598/RT.63.4.9

Summary: Using DeCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie as their focal text, the authors describe the use of predicting and visualization exercises in the classroom. Students are asked to reflect on a personal situation in which they were been new and consider how that felt and what happened. This reflection serves as a springboard for students to make predictions about what will happen in the story's narrative structure. The visualization exercise focuses on getting children to visualize images from poetry and then illustrate those images. Although the article is targeted for primary grades, it can be scaffolded for older students. For example, students could illustrate a poem through digital art or photography.

2. Risko, V. J., Walker-Dalhouse, D., Bridges, E. S., & Wilson, A. (2011). Drawing on text features for reading comprehension and composing. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 376–378. doi:10.1598/RT.64.5.12

Summary:  Whether in or out of school, students are introduced to different forms of texts that can be useful in developing comprehension and writing skills. Texts may include a sequential order of events, descriptive writing based upon history and science, poetic texts, graphic novels, juxtaposition depicted by gestures, visual images, and music. This study suggests that whether the texts are informational or narratives, students will over time develop a process to connect stories to their personal experience, personal questions, and interests. Research and accommodations for instruction are included.