Edok: Comprehension Strategies

Adyson Conley

APA Reference
Gregory, A. E. & Cahill, M. A. (2010). Kindergartners can do it, too! Comprehension strategies
for early readers. The Reading Teacher, 63(6), 515-520.

Main Idea
Students of all ages, including kindergarten and first grade, have the ability to use
comprehension strategies when reading texts through the teacher modifying instruction to help
guide students through discussion.

Supporting Details
Young students benefit from explicit instruction (such as using the comprehension
strategies) and are able to comprehend underlined meanings in texts by students being
actively involved in grand discussions.

It may not always be evident to determine students interpretations being comprehensive,
yet all students will be engaged in the text and be able to state their opinions on how they
comprehended the text (meaningful construction).

By simply changing the wording being used, younger students will be able to understand
what you are guiding them to converse about.

It is essential to start off the comprehension strategies by defining and explaining. It is
best to offer students a variety of materials to accommodate to each learner, such as:
posters, songs, pictures, etc.

While students are participating in grand discussions, use hand signals for students to
show how they are relating to the text, including: C for connection and V for
visualization.

Reflection
I would like to teach younger students, but worried that they wouldnt be able to
fully comprehend and be able to benefit from the reading strategies. The following article
showed first hand that the comprehension reading strategies could be modified to suit any
learner, at any age. Before beginning using the strategies, I will teach students the
meanings and use of each. I will use a range of resources to help each learner to
comprehend the material and feel confident in applying their skills. I thought the concept
of using hand gestures is a great way to get students involved in conversations and class
discussions. Each strategy can be assigned a specific signal to be used. This shows the
student understands the meaning of the strategy and is able to back it up with their
knowledge gained from the text. Comprehension strategies are a necessary in the
classroom, no matter the age. I will modify the strategies to best suit the grade level I am
teaching. Students will strongly benefit from the using the strategies to comprehend texts
at an even greater level.