Comprehension tips

Comprehension is the ability to understand what one reads. A childs ability to comprehend does
not necessarily occur naturally.

Levels of comprehension

1. The literal level is when the reader understands the basic facts. At this level the child
needs to:
Understand word meanings
Recognise the main idea of what is being read
Understand about sequence and order
Be able to recognise cause and effect when they are mentioned in the text being read

2. The inferential level is when the child needs to go beyond what has been written in the
passage and needs to add meaning or draw conclusions. The child needs to:
Make generalisations
Predict what may happen
Work out cause and effect when they are not specifically stated
Discover relationships between people and things

3. The critical level is where the child is involved is assessing and working out the (good)
sense of what is being read in the passage. The child needs to:

Think of new ideas or develop new insights that have not been explicitly stated in the
text being read.

4. The creative level is where the child takes the information and the ideas read, and then
create new ideas from them. At this level the child is:

Stimulated towards new and original thinking.

When looking at and reading a book, talk about:

The cover of the book

The title and topic of the book and the name of the author
Look at illustrations inside the book
Read a page or a chapter and ask the child what is the main idea read
Ask the child what he/she thinks may happen next
Help the child summarise what has just been read
Encourage all contributions made by the child.

The BCDE strategy

The BCDE strategy will help a child get the overall idea of a passage he/she reads.

Before reading have the child survey what he/she is going to read
Create questions have the child ask him/her self what he/she is reading
During reading have the child answer the questions
End of reading have the child summarise what he/she has just read.

The CAST strategy

When reading a narrative or a story, have the child think about the CAST strategy. You can ask
the child the following questions about the character(s), the action, the setting and what happens
at the end of the story:

Character: Who is the main character?

Action: What is the action of the main character?
Setting: What is the setting of the story?
The end: How does the story end?

The CLOZE procedure

Select a passage of between 100 and 150 words in length. Delete every fifth or sixth word,
leaving a line in the place of the missing word. All lines should be the same length. Ask the child
to read the passage and to fill in an appropriate, meaningful word where there is a blank. Cloze
passages can also be used to test any subject area.

The Fishbone graphic

The fishbone graphic can be used to help a child develop summarising skills. The child can draw
a fishbone on a whiteboard or a piece of paper, and can then individually or if working in a small
group find and fill in the answers to Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? The child can
then identify the main topic of the passage or paragraph being studied.

When the child has identified this information, he or she can use that information to write a
summary statement or to tell someone orally.

The Pause, Prompt, Praise strategy

This strategy can be used when a child is reading to someone else. It will help to improve the
childs oral reading, vocabulary and comprehension skills:

The child comes across an unknown word.

Instead of stepping in immediately and giving the word, the adult waits for a few


seconds for the child to try to work out the word.
If the child is not successful, the adult prompts and encourages the child to guess
from the meaning of the passage, or to look at the initial letter of the word, or to read
to the end of the sentence.
When the child succeeds in identifying the word, the adult reinforces and praises the
child.
If the child cannot get the word after prompting, the adult supplies the word.
The child is also reinforced and praised for self-correcting while reading.

The POSSE strategy

The POSSE strategy relates to discussing reading and the use of strategies of:

Predicting
Organising
Searching
Summarising
Evaluating

The PQRS strategy

The PQRS reading comprehension strategy gives a child a step-by-step plan of action he/she
can use when completing a reading assignment. Have the child:

P = Preview:

Scan chapter or paragraph he/she is reading

Take notice of the headings, subheadings, diagrams and illustrations he/she can see
Gain a general impression of what the text or the passage is likely to cover
Ask him/her self What do I know about this already?

Q = Question:

Generate or think about some questions to ask him/her self:

What do I expect to find out?
Will this tell me how to make the object?
Will it tell me how to use it?
Will I need to read this very carefully or can I skip this part?

R = Read:

Read the passage or chapter for information:

Are my questions answered?
What else did I learn?


Do I understand this?
Do I need to read this again?
What does that word mean?

S = Summarise:

State briefly in his/her own words what the text is saying:

What was the main idea?
Does my statement sound correct?
Do I need to add anything else?
What reaction am I getting from the person who is listening to me?

The RAP strategy

To help recall the main idea and the specific details of a text or book that a child has read, teach
the child to:

Read the paragraph or page

Ask questions about what has been read
Put the main idea and details into his/her own words and write these ideas on paper.

The RIDER strategy

This strategy can help a child remember what he/she has read. Teach the child to:

Read
Imagine
Describe
Evaluate
Report

The ultimate goal of any reading program is that the child will develop a love of books and be
able to read effortlessly, with rapid and accurate decoding of the words in a variety of different
texts types.