- Those that contribute to motivation to read. A variety of interesting topics,
acclaimed stories, and engaging activities can be highly motivational and facilitate
learning to read. In addition, texts that reflect the cultural, home, and community
backgrounds of students enable them to see themselves as part of the literate
experience and therefore contribute to the motivation to engage in reading and
other literacy experiences. (See also figure 3.2.)
A panel of experts in its report Improving Reading
Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
(Shanahan, and others 2010, 5) makes clear the importance
of meaning making as children engage with text: “Students
who read with understanding at an early age gain access
to a broader range of texts, knowledge, and educational
opportunities, making early reading comprehension
instruction particularly critical” (italics added). In other
words, young children should learn from the start that the
purposes of written language include conveying information,
sharing ideas, provoking questions, igniting curiosity,
persuading, and entertaining, and they should be provided
instruction that facilitates thoughtful interactions with text.
Such thoughtful interactions include critical thinking, a
crucial 21st century skill (see chapter 10 of this ELA/ELD
Framework). To delay instruction that targets meaning making until after children have acquired
foundational skills is to serve children poorly.
Drawing on scientific evidence, the report outlines the following five recommendations for reading
comprehension instruction in kindergarten through grade three:
- Teach students how to use reading comprehension strategies to help them understand and
retain what they read. - Teach students to identify and use the text’s organizational structure to comprehend, learn, and
remember content. - Guide students through focused, high-quality discussion on the meaning of text.
- Select texts purposefully to support comprehension development.
- Establish an engaging and motivating context in which to teach reading comprehension.
Further, the panel notes that “To be successful, these five recommendations must be implemented
in concert, and clearly explained in a rich educational context that includes the following: a
comprehensive literacy curriculum, ample opportunity for students to read and write while being
coached and monitored by teachers, additional instruction and practice for students based on the
results of formal and informal assessments, and adequate resources for students and teachers” (8).
In the following sections, the first two bulleted recommendations are addressed. The final three
recommendations are included in other sections of this chapter (specifically, in the subsection on
discussion in the section on effective expression and in figure 3.2; see also chapter 2 in this ELA/ELD
Framework).
Teaching Comprehension Strategies. The research panel identifies in its report the following
effective comprehension strategies: activating prior knowledge or making predictions; questioning;
visualizing; monitoring, clarifying and fix-up strategies; inference making; and summarizing/retelling.
... young children should
learn from the start that the
purposes of written language
include conveying information,
sharing ideas, provoking
questions, igniting curiosity,
persuading, and entertaining,
and they should be provided
instruction that facilitates
thoughtful interactions with
text.
Transitional Kindergarten to Grade 1 Chapter 3 | 139