Meaning Making
As noted throughout this framework, meaning making is
central to each of the strands of the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy
and all parts of the CA ELD Standards. Students read, write,
speak, listen, and learn language in all subjects to derive and
construct meaning and to communicate their understandings
and knowledge with others.
Comprehension of text is of vital importance and is given
significant attention in the ELA/literacy program and throughout
the curricula. It is the focus of the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy
Standards for Reading Literature and Informational Text.
Furthermore, it is the very reason students develop the
foundational skills. Without the ability to decode previously
unencountered words and to read fluently, children will be
unable to appreciate and gain knowledge and pleasure from
text. They will miss opportunities for inspiration and entertainment and to learn about their social and
natural worlds.
By the end of grade three, children are expected to independently and proficiently read texts
at the high end of the grades two and three complexity band (RL/RI.3.10). This requires excellent
instruction that provides children the skills to successfully comprehend challenging text. Teachers
ensure students use comprehension strategies, such as questioning, predicting, summarizing, and
monitoring. (See the meaning making section in the overview of the span in this chapter.) They
ensure that students have the requisite decoding skills and that fluency is well developed. They teach
and otherwise foster students’ vocabulary and their ability to interact meaningfully with complex
grammatical and discourse structures.
Teachers analyze texts to determine the challenges their students may encounter, and they
provide well-planned instruction to build students’ abilities to deal with the challenges. For example,
they plan lessons that prompt children to read closely to uncover layers of meaning of a text. These
lessons often include an initial reading of a text selection for the purpose of gaining a sense of the
topic. Subsequent readings of short sections prompt reading for one or more specific purposes, as
appropriate for the text and the learning objective. For example, teachers have students reread a
section to identify literal and nonliteral use of language (RL.3.4). They have students return to the
text to identify a main idea and a supporting detail (RI.3.2). They have students reread to trace the
logical connection between sentences and paragraphs in the
selection (RI.3.8). In short, teachers play a crucial role in
students’ successful interactions with challenging text and
students’ progress toward independence with increasingly
complex text.
Teachers also engage students in writing practices that
have been demonstrated to improve reading comprehension.
In their summary of the research on the effect of writing,
Graham and Hebert (2010) identify the following as having a
significant impact on comprehension:
- Writing an extended response to a text, either a personal
reaction or analysis and interpretation - Writing a summary about a text
- Taking notes about a text
By the end of grade three,
children are expected to
independently and proficiently
read texts at the high end
of the grades two and three
complexity band. This requires
excellent instruction that
provides children the skills
to successfully comprehend
challenging text.352 | Chapter 4 Grade 3