English Language Arts and Reading.6.5.I

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The student is expected to

monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.

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.

Pair students and have them each read the same text, annotating comprehension strategies they use while reading. Then, have students talk with their partners about the comprehension strategies they used. Students can determine whether the strategies they use are working to make appropriate connections or draw reasonable conclusions. Then, engage students in a dialogue about strategies used by class members.
 

Further Explanation

This activity requires students to independently choose strategies to check for understanding. Students should know how to actively think not just about the literal meaning of the text as they read but also whether they are making appropriate connections and drawing reasonable conclusions. Continually monitoring for understanding while reading allows students to apply focused strategies when breakdowns in understanding occur. Monitoring comprehension requires students to internalize the comprehension strategies that are taught in SEs 5.5.–5.5.H.

interact with a text by adding notes or comments to the text in order to record significant features and/or personal commentary or reactions that may enhance one’s understanding of the text while reading
Students are expected to make adjustments or self-correct when they determine their understanding of a text has broken down. Students should know how to revisit the text in a purposeful and methodical way to identify where the misunderstanding has occurred. If students do not adjust how they are extracting meaning from the text, the disconnect will only increase, causing the text to become more difficult to comprehend.
When students monitor their comprehension over time, they independently choose strategies to check for understanding. Students should not only actively think about the literal meaning of a text as they read but also assess whether connections are appropriate and conclusions are reasonable. Continually monitoring while reading allows students to apply focused strategies when understanding breaks down.

Research

1. Evans, B. P., & Shively, C. T. (2019). Using the Cornell Note-taking System can help eighth grade students alleviate the impact of interruptions while reading at home. Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education, 10(1). Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?q=questioning+strategies+for+middle+school+reading&pr=on&ft=on&id=EJ1205170

Summary: As part of the study, students were taught the Cornell note-taking system. As part of this system, students are required to write questions about the main ideas of the notes and answer those questions, along with writing a summary. This study shows that middle school students will be able to make the adjustment from note-taking instruction on paper to computer. Additionally, middle school students can handle using a traditional high school and college aged note-taking strategy like the Cornell system. The study found that the Cornell system can be used to alleviate the impact interruptions have on students’ working memories and comprehension.

2. 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.