The purpose of reading is to understand what is written in the text – comprehension. “How well students comprehend what they read has a profound effect on their entire lives” (WETA, 2015). Therefore, it is important to help students develop the skills necessary for reading comprehension.
Miller and Veatch define reading comprehension as “the process of using one’s own prior knowledge and the writer’s clues from the text to infer the author’s intended meaning” (2011, p. 54). They go on to state that there are three factors that influence comprehension: the reader, the text, and the environment.
Good readers bring prior knowledge, set goals for their reading, take note of the structure and organization of the text, determining the meaning of words and phrases quickly, connect meaning in the text to their prior knowledge, and ask questions about the content. They are also selective in what they read – skipping parts they may not find as important or re-reading others they may not fully understanding. They will also summarize information they have learned. Good readers monitor their comprehension, making adjustments when needed. This may include asking themselves questions about their understanding, rephrasing a passage, or creating an outline of the material they have read. In other words, good readers use a large range of skills to understand the text they are reading (WETA, 2015)
In contrast, poor readers tend to not set goals for a reading task, employ few strategies while reading, and have difficulty decoding. They also struggle with fluency and vocabulary. Often, poor readers will lack the prior knowledge needed to help make connections between ideas. They are usually unaware of the organization of the text and will rarely summarize or think about their reading once done. The result of these difficulties is that students who struggle with reading do not want to read, giving them less practice in reading and exposing them to less text than good readers (WETA, 2015).
In order for poor readers to improve their skills, strategies that address the following areas as needed to increase their comprehension (Miller & Veatch, 2011):
1. Activate and Build Background Knowledge
2. Use Graphic Organizers
3. Summarize
4. Ask & Answer Questions
5. Monitor Comprehension
6. Use Multiple Reading Strategies
Miller and Veatch define reading comprehension as “the process of using one’s own prior knowledge and the writer’s clues from the text to infer the author’s intended meaning” (2011, p. 54). They go on to state that there are three factors that influence comprehension: the reader, the text, and the environment.
Good readers bring prior knowledge, set goals for their reading, take note of the structure and organization of the text, determining the meaning of words and phrases quickly, connect meaning in the text to their prior knowledge, and ask questions about the content. They are also selective in what they read – skipping parts they may not find as important or re-reading others they may not fully understanding. They will also summarize information they have learned. Good readers monitor their comprehension, making adjustments when needed. This may include asking themselves questions about their understanding, rephrasing a passage, or creating an outline of the material they have read. In other words, good readers use a large range of skills to understand the text they are reading (WETA, 2015)
In contrast, poor readers tend to not set goals for a reading task, employ few strategies while reading, and have difficulty decoding. They also struggle with fluency and vocabulary. Often, poor readers will lack the prior knowledge needed to help make connections between ideas. They are usually unaware of the organization of the text and will rarely summarize or think about their reading once done. The result of these difficulties is that students who struggle with reading do not want to read, giving them less practice in reading and exposing them to less text than good readers (WETA, 2015).
In order for poor readers to improve their skills, strategies that address the following areas as needed to increase their comprehension (Miller & Veatch, 2011):
1. Activate and Build Background Knowledge
2. Use Graphic Organizers
3. Summarize
4. Ask & Answer Questions
5. Monitor Comprehension
6. Use Multiple Reading Strategies