Chapter 5: Comprehension

Comprehension is the understanding of what you read and being able to apply it to what you know or have experienced. This is a very important aspect learning and teaching reading. Every aspect of the reading process contributes to comprehension. Reading is a social-constructivist process. Constructvism is based on three core assumpions: 1) what is learned cannot be spearated from the context in which it is learned, 2) The reader's purposes or goals are central to what is being learned, 3)knowledge and meaning are socially constructed  through the processes of negotiation, evalutation, and transformation. Good readers can use comprehension strategies, know and montior their goals, generate questions, construct and revise meaning as they read of the text, know the author's style and purpose, and read widely. They give six lessons on the same theme: mystery, survival, biography, fantasy, holocaust, and poetry. The lessons go in three stages. In the first stage the teachers explains, demonstrates, guide the students, give the students pratice, and reflect as a class. In stage two they review and guide the class the class. Then give practice and afterewards they reflect. They also do student facilitated comprehension centers including mystery center, art center, and listening center. Also student facilitated comprehension routines including literature circles and cross age reading experiences. In stage three they share togeather, reflect togeather, and set new goals for the futuer. These stages stay the same for all six lessons except the student facilitated comprehension centers that might change to writing center, theme center, etc, for the difference of each lesson. The teachers in this use bookmarks, bio-pyramid, we can make connections sheets, story impressions, and draw and lable visulaitons worksheets to help teach the class.
This can help by helping kids with their reading homework or worksheets, when I'm helping with reading groups, or during reading class.
Research-Based Reading Lessons Grades 4-6 by Maureen McLaughlin, Amy Homeyer, and Jennifer Sassman.