Michael C. McKenna

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Comprehension Strategy Instruction
Michael C. McKenna University of Virginia
Sharon Walpole University of Delaware
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Todays Goals

• Review history of comprehension research
• Situate comprehension within our GARF framework
• Read about scaffolding during reading
• Consider applications to information text

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Back in School . . .

• Conduct a comprehension strategy read-aloud from
  a text matched to one of the GPS standards for
  science and to the strategy instruction included
  in your core reading program
• Create materials to facilitate comprehension
  strategy instruction for your teachers

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What should we teach in the primary grades?

• Text structure elements
• Visualizing
• Summarizing
• Predicting based on prior knowledge
• Questioning
• Clarifying

AND Fluent Word Recognition
Duke Pearson, 2002
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Some History

• 1970s
• Focus on teaching study skills through a series
  of procedures
• Do you remember SQ3R?
• Research interest in very specific aspects of
  thinking and memory
• Mental images
• Summaries
• Story grammars
• Identification of skilled reader strategies

Pressley, 2002
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Schema Theory

• Comprehension involves complicated
• processing of ideas!
• We need to activate prior knowledge in order to
  really understand text
• We need to connect text ideas to what we already
  know
• We need to build meaning during reading
• Knowledge is built from these connections.

Anderson Pearson, 1984
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http//www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/ImplementA
LiteracyProgram/SchemaTheoryOfLearning.htm
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1980s Multiple Strategies
Reciprocal Teaching
Procedures can help
Discussion can help
Described in Pressley, 2002
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1980s Multiple Strategies
Direct Explanation
Focus on mental reasoning
Apply strategies to real text
Duffy, 2002
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1990s Multiple Strategies
Transactional Strategies Instruction (SAIL)
Good reader strategies can help
Thinking aloud can help
Described in Pressley, 2002
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Now Comprehension Acquisition
Interactive Read-Alouds
Spontaneous interaction is important
Information books are important
Smolkin Donovan, 2002
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• How did your teachers respond to the Duffy
  study group?
• To what extent were ideas from this book used to
  improve comprehension strategy instruction?

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Duffys Explanation Template

• What is the lesson objective?
• What is the secret about comprehension being
  targeted?
• How will you introduce it?
• How will you model it?
• How will you scaffold student application?
• How will students apply the secret?
• How will you assess their success?
• How can you have them apply the secret in writing?

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Some GARF Assumptions

• Reading comprehension strategies must be modeled
  across the elementary grades, across texts and
  text types, and across content areas
• Read-alouds are important opportunities for
  comprehension instruction and practice
• Science and social studies standards can be
  developed during read-alouds inside the GARF
  block

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How can I ask my teachers to do these read alouds
without abandoning the core?
The core provides many of the tools they need --
the comprehension strategies, the modeling talk,
graphic organizers to help -- and they can be
applied and practiced in additional contexts.
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Coaches Corner

• Has anyone been successful in supporting teachers
  to use these techniques? What are your secrets?

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• Clark, K. F., Graves, M. F. (2004). Scaffolding
  student comprehension of text. The Reading
  Teacher, 58, 570-580.

Read this article. It focuses attention on
various definitions and applications of
scaffolding, central to expert comprehension
instruction. Think about whether your teachers
are actually scaffolding student understanding
and what you might do to help them.
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Lets Plan . . .
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How could you support teachers?

• Make a calendar to summarize the strategy
  introduction from the core (so that they will
  know what has already been introduced)?
• Make some strategy-introduction cards that the
  teachers could use as they become more familiar
  with strategy instruction? (Weve brought some
  samples to share.)
• Start to share lesson plans?

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Back in School . . .
Conduct a comprehension strategy read-aloud from
a text matched to one of the GPS standards for
science and to the strategy instruction included
in your core reading program. Create materials to
facilitate comprehension strategy instruction for
your teachers. Prepare a reflection to share with
the group at our next meeting.
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References

• Duffy, G. G. (2002). The case for direct
  explanation of strategies. In C.C. Block M.
  Pressley (Eds.), Comprehension instruction
  Research-based best practices (pp. 28-41). New
  York Guilford Press.
• Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D. (2002).
  Comprehension instruction in the primary grades.
  In C.C. Block M. Pressley (Eds.), Comprehension
  instruction Research-based best practices (pp.
  247-258). New York Guilford Press.
• Pressley, M. (2002). Reading instruction that
  works The case for balanced teaching (2nd ed.).
  New York Guilford Press.
• Smolkin, L. B., Donovan, C. A. (2002). Oh
  excellent, excellent question! Developmental
  differences and comprehension acquisition. In
  C.C. Block M. Pressley (Eds.), Comprehension
  instruction Research-based best practices (pp.
  140-157). New York Guilford Press.