© Leslie Shelton, Project Read
Development assistance Holly Fulghum and Joan Sheldon-Conan
"Reading does not consist merely of decoding the written word or language; rather it is preceded by, and intertwined with knowledge of the world."Paulo Freire
Comprehension is not named as a specific area in our four-part lesson plan, but it underlies all we do and we devote some specific training time to it. During our first training, we use a poster of a ballet dancer's legs, a slice of a small tree trunk and a diagram of a football play, to illustrate that we are all "readers". Some of us read print well, others read diagrams, pictures, or body language well. How we understand depends on our prior experience, knowledge, and ability to generalize, infer, predict and create.
Tutors can approach comprehension in a number of ways, starting by talking with learners about their skills and strengths. Let's say a particular learner is proud of her skill as a house painter. How did she learn her trade? What makes one paint job better than another? If money and time were not considerations, how would she proceed? How would she teach an apprentice? This information might reveal much about that person's learning style and how they comprehend best. Remember that comprehension is a life skill as well as a reading skill, and it is greatly enhanced by discussing life experiences. Preliterate peoples knew and comprehended the forces of nature and danger signs by reading their surroundings. We comprehend based on our needs and experiences. However, in a more literate society, we are more dependent on text.
Some of our textbooks seem to imply that comprehension means answering questions at the end of a reading selection. Comprehension of the written word is more than a simple understanding of the story line or answering questions that start with who, what, or when. While that's a part of the comprehending process, comprehension also includes finding personal meaning in what has been read and in discovering how the story or information applies to the reader. It means finding a truth for the self and recognizing that those truths, from individual to individual, can be very different. Your idea of what's in the reading can be very different from mine. Through discussion we can share our viewpoints, reach a common ground, and acknowledge the validity of the different views. Ultimately, comprehension means finding yourself in the written word.
INVOLVING THE INTELLIGENCES IN COMPREHENSION 2.31
LANGUAGE
Write a list of words that describes a character in a story you just read.
After reading instructions, tell someone how to perform the activity (i.e., recipe).
Explain what you like or understand in a story.
Tell which details support the main idea.
SPATIAL
Use pictures, movies to generate the discussion.
Visualize the setting of a story or what a character looks like.
Draw pictures that show how to do something.
Look at a picture and describe it in detail.
LOGIC/MATH
Make up a new title to what you've just read.
Pick out the sentence in a paragraph that doesn't belong.
Make up questions that identify sequence in a story or poem.
Tell what will happen next in the story.
Outline what you've read.
BODY MOVEMENT
Discuss what you've read while taking a walk.
Act out a story or a set of directions.
Go to a play.
Cut up cartoons and put them into a logical sequence
MUSICAL
Listen to music and write lyrics.
Listen to music and interpret its meaning.
Read poetry and song lyrics and discuss.
Read a story and write a song about it.
SOCIAL
Read a skit or play, with each person taking a different part.
Discuss what you've read with a partner.
Try duet reading with another person. (See Activities Dictionary Card.)
SELF
Connect what you've read with your own experiences.
Use imagery to remember what you've read.
Read and reflect.
NATURE
COMPREHENSION FOR MAINLY VISUAL LEARNERS 2.32
CHARACTERISTICS
Likes to visualize what is read.
Sees characters and scenes in stories.
Uses symbols to represent ideas or concepts.
Use pictures, video tapes, cartoons, etc., to discuss and interpret what you see.
Draw graphics, symbols, or pictures to represent what you've read.
Discuss a political cartoon. Collect cartoons and find news stories that match or explain.
Find a picture that matches the main idea of what you're reading.
Draw pictures that illustrate a set of instructions.
After reading a description, try to represent the details in a drawing.
After reading, visualize the story and describe how you see it.
Look at a picture and predict what will happen next.
COMPREHENSION FOR MAINLY AUDITORY LEARNERS 2.33
CHARACTERISTICS
Likes to listen to stories, music, poems and audio tapes.
Enjoys discussing ideas with others.
Learns when things are explained out loud.
Read stories out loud.
Listen to stories and lectures on tape. Discuss them afterward.
Read with another person. (See "Duet Reading" on Activities Dictionary Card.)
Listen to songs and music. Discuss and interpret the music.
Read something controversial; defend one side of the issue.
Explain what you've just read to another person.
Try echo reading. Read one sentence and ask another person to read the same sentence after you. Continue until you've finished. Discuss what you've read afterwards.
COMPREHENSION FOR MAINLY KINESTHETIC LEARNERS 2.34
CHARACTERISTICS
Likes to move objects around to remember and learn them.
Likes to move around while learning.
Show you understand something by doing it (i.e., knit, cook, do a math problem). Write out steps.
Cut up a paragraph, story, poem, a language experience story, or a cartoon. Scramble the sentences and then reassemble them.
Get a game like Boggle or Scrabble. Read and discuss the instructions and then play the game.
Take a walk and talk about what you see, hear, feel, touch, and taste. Discuss what's going on behind the scenes. For example, behind the kitchen door in a restaurant.
Play checkers or chess. Discuss strategy.
Act out or role-play situations you've read about. Take turns guessing what you're acting out.
