Spotlight on

Comprehension
Building a Literacy of
Thoughtfulness
LINDA HOYT
with other leading experts
HEINEMANN
Portsmouth, NH
Heinemann
A division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
361 Hanover Street
Portsmouth, NH 038013912
www.heinemann.com
Ofces and agents throughout the world
2005 by Linda Hoyt
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic
or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission
in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review
and except for end of chapter assessment tools, which may be copied for classroom use.
The author and publisher wish to thank those who have generously given permission to
reprint borrowed material:
Book covers from Windows on Literacy and Reading Expeditions reprinted by permission from
National Geographic School Publishing.
Screenshots from iMovie Tutorial reprinted by permission from Apple Computer, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Spotlight on comprehension : building a literacy of thoughtfulness / [edited by]
Linda Hoyt.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-325-00719-5
1. Reading comprehension. 2. Reading (Elementary). I. Hoyt, Linda.
LB1573.7.S66 2004
372.47dc22 2004021034
Editor: Lois Bridges
Production coordinators: Abigail M. Heim and Elizabeth Valway
Production service: Patricia Adams
Typesetter: Technologies N Typography, Inc.
Cover design coordinator: Rene Le Verrier
Cover design: Jenny Jensen Greenleaf
Cover photography: Megan Hoyt (front middle photo and back), Carol Updegraff (front top
photo), Gloria Jarrell (front bottom photo)
Manufacturing: Louise Richardson
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
09 08 07 06 05 ML 1 2 3 4 5
vii
Contents
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Acknowledgments xii
Dear Reader xiii
PART ONE Laying the Groundwork for Effective
Instruction
1 Linda Hoyt
Building a Literacy of Thoughtfulness 2
2 Nell K. Duke and Julia Moorhead Reynolds
Learning from Comprehension Research: Critical
Understandings to Guide Our Practices 9
3 Ellin Oliver Keene
To Understand 22
4 Dona McIlvain
Building a Context for Strategy Instruction 40
5 Kevlynn Annandale
Comprehension Instruction: Explicit and
Multifaceted 46
6 Linda Hoyt
Many Ways of Knowing 58
PART TWO Crafting Environments That Foster
Comprehension
7 Linda Hoyt
An Environment for Thoughtful Literacy 66
8 Kathleen Francescani
The Intimate Classroom: Establishing an
Emotional Environment That Encourages
Thoughtful Literacy Learning 76
9 Jane Rambo
The Comprehension Classroom 85
10 Marge Collins, Marion Odell, and
Susanne C. Scott
Check It Out 92
11 V. Susan Bennett-Armistead
Helping Parents Help Us: Promoting
Comprehension Through Parent
Involvement 97
PART THREE Comprehending Strategically:
Questioning, Inferring, Summarizing
12 Alison Maloney
Guiding Comprehension Through Questioning
and Coaching 108
13 Joy Scurlock
The Ease of Questioning 117
14 Linda Hoyt
Partner Think Alouds 125
15 Franki Sibberson
Read It Again, Differently 130
16 Judy Wallis
Inference: A Partnership with the Author 138
PART FOUR Getting at Language: Words, Writing,
and Reading Like a Writer
17 Linda Hoyt
Comprehending at the Word Level 150
18 Linda Hoyt
Building a Robust Vocabulary 161
19 Molly House
Alphaboxes and the Two-Word Strategy . . . Not
Just for Little Kids 174
20 Mary Monroe
Language Banks, Imagery, and Poetry: Reading
from a Writers Point of View 185
21 Pat Adkisson and Joyce Price
Strategies Authors Use to Aid
Comprehension 194
22 Linda Hoyt
Interactive Paragraphs 209
23 Marissa Ochoa
Text to Tunes: Extending Understanding by
Writing Songs 217
PART FIVE Comprehension Instruction: Read
Alouds, Guided Reading, and
Independent Reading
24 Teresa Therriault
Building Comprehension Through Read Alouds
with Picture Books 226
25 Michael F. Opitz and Matthew D. Zbaracki
Listening Is Comprehension Too! 236
26 Linda Hoyt
Making Connections: Building Companion
Collections for Guided Reading 243
viii
Contents
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27 Tony Stead
Comprehending Nonction: Using Guided
Reading to Deepen Understandings 264
28 Jane Rambo
Guided Reading: More Than Just Decoding and
Retelling 275
29 Carol Updegraff
From Doubt to Celebration: Strategy Instruction
in Independent Reading 283
30 Staci Monreal and Jennifer White
Reading Partnerships: Grasping Deeper Layers of
Meaning 291
PART SIX Tackling Texts (and Tests) Across the
Curriculum
31 Linda Hoyt
The Power of Rereading Informational
Texts 308
32 Jodi Snyder
A Recipe for Success: Comprehension Strategies
Across the Curriculum 314
33 Marlee Wright
A Teachable Moment for a Teacher: Nonction for
Emergent Readers 320
34 Rachel Jordan
Science Notebooks: Developing Understanding
and Strategies 326
35 Mary Lee Hahn
I See What You Mean: Using iMovie in the
Reading Workshop 333
36 Barbara Coleman
Paint Pots of Poetry: Deepening Comprehension
Through Cooperative Poetry Discussion 340
37 Cathy Bernhard
Math + Literature = Comprehension and
Concepts! 347
38 Cathy Tower
Is Pluto a Planet? How Inquiry Curriculum
Supports Comprehension 356
39 Linda Hoyt
Comprehending Standardized Tests 363
40 Barbara Coleman
Puzzled About Comprehension and Standardized
Testing? 374
ix
Contents
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PART SEVEN Understanding Comprehension and the
Emergent Reader
41 Linda Hoyt
Comprehension for Emergent Readers 386
42 Gretchen Owocki and Camille Cammack
Comprehending the Cereal Box 397
43 Carol Imus
Making Thinking Come Alive in the Early
Childhood Classroom 406
44 Jill Hauser
You Are My Sunshine Is Not About the Sun!
Teaching Comprehension to Young Children
Through Song Lyrics 414
45 Cate Hill
Read Alouds and Retells: Building Early Text
Comprehension 425
46 Karen Lokting
Searching for a Comprehension Game-
Plan? . . . Just Follow the Yellow Brick
Road! 434
PART EIGHT Supporting Comprehension For English
Language Learners
47 Jan McCall
Frontloading for ELLs: Building Concepts and
Vocabulary Before Reading 444
48 Yvonne and David Freeman
Preview, View, Review: Giving Multilingual
Learners Access to the Curriculum 453
49 Alicia J. Bolt
Three for the Road: Strategies for Success with
Bilingual Learners! 460
50 Denise Rea and Sandra Mercuri
Scaffolding and Contextualizing: Reading for Real
with English Learners 470
51 Leslie Maricle-Barkley
Expanding the World Through Read Alouds:
Unlocking Comprehension for English
Language Learners 479
x
Contents
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PART NINE Considering Instruction That Works
52 Teresa Therriault
A Veteran Teacher Reects on
Comprehension 490
53 Amy Goodman
Aligning Strategy Instruction Across Classrooms:
The Middle School High Five 499
54 Kelli Kesler
Can I Tell You a Secret? Lessons from a Resistant
Middle School Reader 511
55 Adria F. Klein
Finding Our Way Through Diverse Perspectives:
Comprehending Points of View and
Language 520
56 Bruce Morgan
Boys Will Be Boys 527
Closing Thoughts 534
Index 535
xi
xiii
Dear Reader
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Welcome to Spotlight on Comprehension! The voices you hear in this book
represent passion about teaching, deep knowledge of the teaching and learn-
ing process, and a commitment to the unending learning journey that profes-
sional educators undertake in their effort to bring the highest-quality
instruction to children.
The authors represented in this book invite you to share with them a
belief that quality instruction is always under construction as we strive to
reach greater levels of expertise in our efforts to best support learners. It is
both our obligation and our challenge to never stop learning professionally
. . . to never stop seeing children as the center of our work . . . and to resist
being fearful of growth and change. The authors of this book share a belief
that no one set of practices, no one set of materials will meet the needs of
all children. We believe that it is the knowledgeable teacher who makes the
difference.
As you enter this book, we invite you to interact with our thinking, ask
questions of the authors, yourself, and your colleagues . . . to wonder with us
how we might bring all learners to a place where the goals of thoughtful re-
ection and deep understanding are built and nurtured.
This book is organized to support book study groups or individual
teachers working independently. The sections can be read in any order that
suits you or your book study partners. Each article includes a Meet the Au-
thor section that presents the authors background and spotlights a Focus
Quote. The end of each article will support continued reection through
the Key Questions and the array of tools that are provided for your consid-
eration. The Key Questions could be used for personal reection as you con-
sider your own practices and reect upon the unique learning needs of your
students and the curriculum of your district. If you are part of a book study
group, the Key Questions might be used to stimulate discussion and dialogue
about current practices and enticements for new practice offered in each arti-
cle. The tools are a resource that you might consider as stimulus for writing
on plain paper, as an idea that you could modify to t your own thinking, or
as reproducibles that are ready to use.
As you weave your way through the articles, it is our sincere hope that,
in addition to new perspectives, you will also nd afrmations for your cur-
rent practices. . . . Isnt it powerful to learn that other educators have found
the same or similar practices to empower readers?
These articles, while spotlighting comprehension and the environments
that support deeper thinking, are not meant to represent everything there is
to know about reading comprehension. Rather, they are a tapestry of relevant
classroom research, effective instructional strategies, and opportunities for
you to extend and rene your professional understandings.
There is no need to read these articles in order. You are encouraged to
weave in and out of the sections, selecting articles and tools of interest to you
and then making your own connections to the comprehension instruction
you strive to create for your students.
Welcome to Spotlight on Comprehension. A world of possibility awaits.
Learning from
Comprehension
Research
Critical Understandings
to Guide Our Practices 2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NELL K. DUKE AND
JULIA MOORHEAD REYNOLDS
9
MEET THE AUTHORS
Nell K. Duke is an associate professor of teacher education and
learning, technology, and culture at Michigan State University. Her
work focuses on early literacy development, especially the development
of informational literacies in young children, comprehension teaching
and learning in early schooling, approaches to addressing the needs of
struggling reader-writers, and issues of equity in literacy education. She
is co-author of the book Reading and Writing Informational Text in
the Primary Grades: Research-based Practices (Scholastic, 2003).
Julia Moorhead Reynolds is a doctoral student from Michigan
State University and she works at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. She is a former high school English teacher and a language
arts curriculum coordinator. Her research interests include secondary
literacy, comprehension, and content-area literacy.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FOCUS QUOTES
Comprehension instruction and instruction in word recognition
and decoding can occur side by side, and even work synergistically.
Research on comprehension should guide the changes in instruc-
tion to improve reading comprehension of students throughout
schooling.
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C
an you remember reading something that made you stop
because you were so unclear about what was written on the
page? All of us have become confused when reading at one time or another,
possibly even resorting to giving up, feeling frustrated, and putting the pas-
sage down. Also, can you remember reading something that made you jump
into the pages, being able to visualize the characters, the setting, and the
emotions? Hopefully, there have been times when we could easily understand
what we have read, even to the point of embracing it. What is it about com-
prehension that has enabled us to construct meaning while reading, and also
to realize when meaning breaks down? How did we come to learn about this?
Research on comprehension sheds light on these and other critical questions.
In this chapter we summarize seven critical understandings from research on
comprehension.
1.What Good Readers Do When They Read
Research has shown that good readers are active readers. From the outset,
they have clear goals in mind for their reading. They constantly evaluate
whether the text, and their reading of it, is meeting their goals. Good readers
typically look over the text before they read, noting such things as the struc-
ture of the text and text sections that might be most relevant to their reading
goals. As they read, good readers frequently make predictions about what is
to come. They read selectively, continually making decisions about their
readingwhat to read carefully, what to read quickly, what not to read, what
to re-read, and so on. Good readers construct, revise, and question the mean-
ings they make as they read. They draw upon, compare, and integrate their
prior knowledge with material in the text. For instance, they think about the
authors of the text, their style, beliefs, intentions, and historical milieu. They
monitor their understanding of the text, making adjustments in their reading
as necessary. Good readers try to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words
and concepts in the text, and they deal with inconsistencies or gaps as
needed. They evaluate the texts quality and value, and react to the text in a
range of ways, both intellectually and emotionally. Good readers read differ-
ent kinds of text differently. For example, when reading narrative, good read-
ers attend closely to the setting and characters; when reading expository text,
these readers frequently construct and revise summaries of what they have
read. For good readers, text processing occurs not only during reading as we
have traditionally dened it, but also during short breaks taken during read-
ing, even before the reading has commenced, and even after the reading has
ceased. Comprehension is a consuming, continuous, and complex activity,
but one that, for good readers, is both satisfying and productive. (Adapted
from Duke and Pearson 2002.)
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2.The Importance of Related Skills
and Dispositions
Comprehension entails a complex web of skills and dispositions. Basic under-
standings entailed include concepts of print (the direction in which print is
read, parts of a book, etc.), phonemic awareness (the understanding that the
speech stream is composed of phonemes), the alphabetic principle (that these
sounds or phonemes map onto letters), and graphophonic knowledge (specic
sound-letter relationships). Skilled word recognition and decoding and uent
reading are critical in comprehension, and indeed, problems in these areas are
a common cause of comprehension difculties (Duke, Pressley, and Hilden
2004, Pressley 2000). Importantly, however, research does not suggest that
these things should be in place before comprehension instruction occurs. On
the contrary, comprehension instruction and instruction in word recognition
and decoding can occur side by side, and even work synergistically (Pearson
and Duke 2002, Pressley and Wharton-McDonald 2002, Stahl 2004).
The Link Between Vocabulary and Comprehension
Special note should be made of the relationship between vocabulary and
comprehension. This relationship is unparalleled in strength and importance.
Ones knowledge of vocabulary relevant to a text is integrally related to com-
prehension of that text. Overall vocabulary knowledge is an excellent pre-
dictor of how strong a comprehender one is, and vice versa. And most
importantly, at least some approaches to teaching vocabulary result not only
in gains in vocabulary but in gains in comprehension as well. (See Beck and
McKeown 1991, Blachowicz and Fisher 2000 for reviews.)
Effective Vocabulary Instruction
Good vocabulary instruction includes at its base a great deal of time spent
reading and rich conversations about text. Good vocabulary instruction fo-
cuses on important words, and usually involves teaching conceptually related
words rather than individual words unrelated to one another. The maxim to
relate the new to the known is highly applicable in vocabulary instruc-
tionstudents must make connections between words they already know
and words they are learning. Exposure to words multiple times in multiple
meaningful contexts is important. And most elusively, but perhaps most im-
portantly, good vocabulary instruction raises word consciousness (Graves and
Watts-Taffe 2002). Students think about words as words, notice when they
hear or read words they dont know, and remember when they hear or read
words theyve just recently learned. They have an interest in words, in play-
ing with words, in multiple meanings of words. This picture of good vocabu-
lary instruction could not contrast more sharply with the classroom in which
students are handed a list of unrelated words, write the dictionary denition,
and use the word in a sentence. That kind of vocabulary instruction does not
11
Chapter 2
Learning from Comprehension
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appear to work. (For further reading about effective vocabulary instruction,
see Beck, McKeown, and Kucan 2002, Blachowicz and Fisher 2001, Stahl
1999.)
Reader Engagement
Many dispositions are integrally related to comprehension as well. For exam-
ple, the disposition to read like a writer (and write like a reader) likely leads
to stronger comprehension (Shanahan 1988). And being motivated and en-
gaged in reading is absolutely central. As John Guthrie and Allan Wigeld
(2000) remind us:
Within a given school at a given time, some students are intent
on reading and writing to understand. They focus on text mean-
ing and avoid distractions. These engaged readers exchange ideas
and interpretations of text with peers. Their devotion to reading
spans across time, transfers to a variety of genre, and culminates
in valued learning outcomes. In contrast, disengaged readers are
inactive and inert. They tend to avoid reading and minimize ef-
fort. Rarely do they enjoy reading during free time or become ab-
sorbed in literature. (403)
Studies of exemplary teachers indicate that there are myriad things they do to
promote literacy engagement in classrooms (Pressley et al. 2003). There are
also specic instructional approaches, tested in research, designed to promote
comprehension and engagement (Guthrie, Wigeld, and Perencevich 2004).
3.The Importance of Volume Reading
No one ever improved at playing the piano without practicing on a piano.
Athletes do not make better basketball shots, hit more home runs, or score
more hockey goals without practicing. The same goes for comprehension.
Students need to read often and practice the comprehension skills and strate-
gies that they are learning in real contexts. And reading provides benets well
beyond an opportunity to practice. Through reading, students learn new
words and encounter new meanings or connotations for previously known
words. As students read they also learn more about text itselftext struc-
tures, authors, devices, and so on. And through reading, students are able to
learn about the world around them; for example, learning about what is hap-
pening in the world through events recounted in newspapers or developing a
deeper understanding of an issue by reading multiple sources and points of
view. Indeed, wide reading is associated with greater vocabulary, textual
knowledge, and world knowledge (Stanovich and Cunningham 1993). And,
of course, greater vocabulary, textual knowledge, and world knowledge en-
able stronger comprehension. For example, research indicates that good
comprehenders have stronger knowledge of text structures than do poor
12
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comprehenders (e.g., Meyer, Brandt, and Bluth 1980). The student who does
not read often and widely will almost surely stagnate in comprehension de-
velopment.
4.The Potential in Discussion of Text
Discussion of text clearly has the potential to deepen comprehension
(Gaskins et al. 1993, Van den Branden 2000). In fact, simply asking students
questions about what they read, and creating situations in which students ask
each other questions about what they read, has been shown to improve com-
prehension (Duke and Pearson 2002). A caution here, however. It is critical
to ask a range of questions, including many higher level questionsques-
tions that get at important content or issues, that do not have an answer
right there in the text, that do not have just one answer in any case.
Think Alouds
Another important form of talk about text is the think aloud. Through think
alouds, teachers model their thought processes (Davey 1983, Olshavsky
197677), showing students, through oral presentation, what is going on in
their (the teachers) mind while reading. Students can also engage in think
alouds with one another or by themselves. This can spark interesting discus-
sion, as students begin to think aloud to each other and talk about their
thinking.
Instructional Conversations
Some specic approaches to structuring and conducting discussion of text
have been tested in previous research. One approach shown to improve com-
prehension (not just of the texts discussed but of future texts to be read) is
instructional conversations (Goldenberg 1993, Saunders and Goldenberg
1999).
Discussion is planned in advance In this approach, teachers plan dis-
cussions in advance: selecting a text, identifying a thematic focus of the dis-
cussion, anticipating possible difculties students may have (for example a
lack of relevant background knowledge), and considering ways to address
them, (thinking through directions the conversation may take, and contem-
plating possible ways of following up the discussion). The discussion itself
then has a thematic focus, involves activating relevant background schemata,
and includes, as needed, direct teaching and modeling by the teacher of
knowledge or strategies that might aid comprehension. The teacher works to
promote complex language and expression, for example, by recasting stu-
dents contributions or asking students to elaborate on their statements.
Questions to encourage connections and explanations In this ap-
proach, few questions are asked in which the answer is simple and already
known. Many questions are asked that require students to connect their prior
13
Chapter 2
Learning from Comprehension
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knowledge to the reading or to explain the basis of their statements (e.g.,
What makes you say that?). Teacher and student build upon one anothers
contributions to the discussion, though the teacher also works to maintain a
thematic focus and coherence of the discussion.
Connected discourse The result with this approach is connected dis-
course rather than the old pattern in which the teacher asks a question, a stu-
dent responds, the teacher evaluates the response, a teacher asks a new, unre-
lated question, the student responds, the teacher evaluates, and so on (known
as the IRE (InitiationResponseEvaluation) pattern; Cazden 1988). The
atmosphere for Instructional Conversations is described as challenging but
nonthreatening (Goldenberg 1993). Instructional Conversations are the
kinds of rich conversations about text that many of us revel in.
5.The Effectiveness of Explicit Instruction in
Comprehension Strategies
Perhaps the most critical understanding about building comprehension is the
effectiveness of explicit instruction in comprehension strategies. Study after
study has revealed that explicitly teaching students even one strategy for
comprehending text can improve their comprehension (National Reading
Panel 2000, Pearson et al. 1992, Pressley 2000). Lists of which strategies are
worth teaching, with respect to research-proven gains in comprehension, vary
somewhat, but usually include:
generating questions
thinking aloud
monitoring comprehension and adjusting reading as needed
attending to and uncovering text structure
activating and applying relevant background knowledge, including
making predictions
drawing inferences
constructing visual representations
summarizing (Duke and Pearson 2002)
Many studies of these strategies include the following components in their
instructional model:
1. An explicit description of the strategy, including when and how it
should be used
2. Teacher and/or student modeling of the strategy in action
3. Collaborative use of the strategy in action (e.g., students and
teacher making and justifying predictions together)
4. Guided practice using the strategy
5. Independent use of the strategy (Duke and Pearson 2002)
14
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This reects a gradual release of responsibility model, in which the teacher
increasingly hands over control for use of the strategy to the student (Pearson
and Gallagher 1983). Of course, one cycles through this release of responsi-
bility over and over as texts become more difcult, new genres or situations
are encountered, and so on.
6.The Particular Value of Multiple
Strategy Instruction
As much as we have emphasized the impact of teaching even a single com-
prehension strategy, it seems that teaching multiple comprehension strategies
simultaneously is particularly powerful (Duke and Pearson 2002, National
Reading Panel 2000, Pressley 2000), including for students with learning dis-
abilities (Gersten et al. 2001). One multiple strategy instruction approach is
Collaborative Strategic Reading (Klingner and Vaughn 1999). In this ap-
proach, which draws from past work on reciprocal teaching and on coopera-
tive learning, students work in small, cooperative groups while applying four
comprehension strategies: Preview (think about what they already know, pre-
dict what the passage might be about), Click and Clunk (monitor compre-
hension, use x-up strategies as needed), Get the Gist (glean and restate the
most important idea), and Wrap-Up (summarize, ask questions). Students in
the group have specic roles, such as leader, clunk expert, gist expert, and en-
courager, to assist in application of the strategies and, of course, understand-
ing the text. Cue cards may be used to remind students of strategies, such as
a clunk card that says: Reread the sentences before and after the clunk look-
ing for cues or a student leader cue card that says: Did everyone under-
stand what we read? If you did not, write your clunks in your learning log.
Students also complete learning logs before and after reading; this can both
support their comprehension as well as provide valuable assessment informa-
tion to the teacher. This approach has been tested in several studies and is
shown to be effective at improving comprehension in upper-grades students.
(See Vaughn, Klingner, and Bryant 2001 for a review of research on this ap-
proach; see Klingner et al. 2001, for a book on implementing the approach;
see Duke and Bennett-Armistead 2003 for a discussion of use of this ap-
proach with primary grade students.)
7.The Importance of Authenticity
Relatively recent research suggests the importance of authenticity in develop-
ing comprehension. Briey, as dened by Purcell-Gates and Duke (not yet
published), authentic literacy events replicate or reect reading and writing
purposes and texts outside of a schooling context. For example, in authentic
literacy events with informational text, students read not solely for the pur-
pose of learning to read and write or satisfying a teachers requirement, but
because they actually want or need to know somethingthe reason people
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Chapter 2
Learning from Comprehension
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read informational text outside of schools. Students write informational text
not simply to complete a report and hand it in to the teacher, but because
they have information to convey to someone who wants or needs to know
that information. Texts involved in authentic literacy events are rarely
worksheets, textbooks, or short passages followed by multiple choice ques-
tions, but rather actual trade books, pamphlets, letters, magazine articles,
and other types of texts commonly found outside of schools. In one study,
teachers who included more authentic literacy events with informational
and procedural text in science had students who showed more growth in
comprehension (and writing) (Purcell-Gates and Duke, not yet published).
Teachers used many strategies to establish authentic literacy events. For
example, they would use hands-on experiences to elicit childrens questions
about a topic, then setting the purpose for their reading and writing to an-
swer these questions. Or they would establish outside audiences for childrens
writingthe class down the hall, pen pals, a community group, a local mu-
seum or nature center, and so on.
Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI)
One research-tested instructional approach that lends itself to authentic liter-
acy events is Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) (e.g., Guthrie,
Wigeld, and Perencevich 2004). CORI centers on a conceptual theme in
science, which is usually a big idea or universal concept. Students are engaged
in hands-on experiences related to this theme, and also consult a wide variety
of interesting, often student-selected texts. Students work in groups toward
conceptual goals; for example, one group of students might work to learn
about wetland habitats and to share what theyve learned with another group
of students (perhaps one working on desert habitats, who would in turn
share what theyve learned). Students are explicitly taught comprehension
strategies, but it is done while meeting their conceptual goals. For example,
they might be taught a summarizing strategy to help in summarizing material
for their presentation. Evaluation of students focuses on the comprehension,
conceptual knowledge, as well as their engagement.
Looking to the Future
We believe that these seven critical understandings from research on compre-
hension should be reected in every classroom, in every content area, and
with students of all ages. But we worry that they are not, and even recent re-
search provides reason for our worry (Pressley and Wharton-McDonald
2002). You are reading this book, which suggests this is probably not the case
in your classroom, but outside of your own classroom, how many students
are still handed worksheets with literal questions to answer after reading a
passage? How many discussions about text mirror the I-R-E format? How
many teachers still give students a list of words on Monday to memorize and
16
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to spit back denitions on Friday? Comprehension is too important for us to
continue ineffective practices. Comprehension is too important for us to ne-
glect the practices that research has shown to be effective. Research on com-
prehension should guide the changes in instruction to improve the
comprehension of students throughout schooling.
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19
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KEY QUESTIONS
1. Of the seven critical understandings, which do you see reected in
things you are already doing in your classroom? Which need
more attention?
2. Consider trying one of the instructional approaches identied in
this chapter, such as Collaborative Strategic Reading or CORI,
during a unit of study in your classroom. What happens? How do
students respond? What type of feedback do they give you based
on their experience?
3. What do you do with vocabulary instruction? Consider ramping
up your vocabulary instruction and/or trying some new things.
What could you do to enhance or further enhance word con-
sciousness in your classroom?
4. Authentic literacy events appear to have an impact on compre-
hension. How might we ensure more authenticity with real pur-
poses and real resources for our students?
5. Focus on the discussions you have with your students. Are the
discussions teacher dominated (possibly even reecting the I-R-E
pattern)? Or do your students take a more active role in the dis-
cussions?
20 Contributed by N. Duke and J. Reynolds 2005 by Linda Hoyt from Spotlight on Comprehension. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
What Good Readers Do
Are active
Set goals
Evaluate whether the text and their reading of it is meeting their
goals
Look over the text
Notice the texts structure
Make predictions
Read selectively
Adjust reading to their purpose and the style of text
Read some things carefully while skimming others
Build and revise meaning as they read
Ask questions
Use prior knowledge to understand text
Think about characteristics and intentions of the author
Monitor their understanding
Try to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in the text
Evaluate the texts quality and value
Respond intellectually and emotionally
Read different kinds of text differently
Process text before, during, and after reading
(adapted from Duke and Pearson 2002)
Contributed by N. Duke and J. Reynolds 2005 by Linda Hoyt from Spotlight on Comprehension. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 21
Reecting on Your Practice
Critical Understanding
from Research Things I Do
Ways to Integrate This
into Classroom Instruction
What Good Readers Do
When They Read
The Importance of
Related Skills and
Dispositions
The Importance of
Volume Reading
The Potential in
Discussion of Text
The Effectiveness of
Explicit Instruction in
Comprehension
Strategies
The Particular Value of
Multiple Strategy
Instruction
The Importance of
Authenticity