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.
Students make connections between what they are reading and relevant personal experiences, other texts they have read, or things from the real world they are knowledgeable about to build a framework for understanding the text they are reading. Using this background knowledge gives students a starting place for constructing meaning from the text. Students demonstrate comprehension of a text when they recognize these connections and can draw comparisons between them. For example, students reading an informational text about meteors and asteroids may make connections with a science-fiction novel or movie they have read or seen.

Research

1. Liang, L. A., & Galda, L. (2009). Responding and comprehending: reading with delight and understanding. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 330+. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A219309596/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=5634eb30

Summary: Using the book 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 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. Barbe-Clevett, T., Hanley, N, & Sullivan, P. (2002). Improving reading comprehension through metacognitive reflection. (Master theses, Saint Xavier University). Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED471067

Summary: This research reports on a plan for increasing 6th grade students' reflection and comprehension skills. The reflective process was developed through four interrelated activities taught in a specific sequence. Post-intervention data shows an increased in reading skills along with an increased emotional involvement in reading.

3. Barth, A. E., & Elleman, A. (2017). Evaluating the impact of a multistrategy inference intervention for middle-grade struggling readers. Language, Speech, & Hearing Services in Schools, 48(1), 31+. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A490475287/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=85a8099a

Summary: This study examines the effectiveness of multiple inference intervention strategies that were designed to increase inference-making and reading comprehension for struggling readers. The study focused on using text clues, activating and integrating prior knowledge, understanding character and author's purpose, and responding to inference questions. Details and lesson examples are available in the Appendix.