READINING & LISTENING

COMPREHENSION

WHAT IS IT? - Reading Comprehension: is measured when the pupil reads on their own
and subsequently answers questions relating to the text read. Listening Comprehension: is
measured when the pupil is being read a text and subsequently answers questions related to the
text they have just heard.

PURPOSE – The purpose of reading and listening will help you develop language intuition.
It’s all about putting lots of correct sentences in your head. Then your brain can imitate them,
producing similar sentences to express the meaning you want. Research indicates that among
many students, especially those who are not yet proficient readers, listening to a passage often
results in better comprehension than reading the same passage.

INTENTION- The intention is to help students to develop higher levels of comprehension

both reading and listening. It also gives students a new set of comprehension skills such as:
improved reasoning skills, better, more insightful writing, faster reading, and better
performance in many subjects.

MESSAGE OF WRITER - A writer's message is the "big idea" of the text or a part of the
text. It is what the author wants the reader to learn or take away from reading the text. There
may be more than one message in a text. An example of a writer’s message may be a life
lesson: The moral, or lesson, that stories like fables are trying to teach readers.

ATTITUDE OF WRITER- An author's attitude, or their tone, tells the reader how the
author feels about the subject he or she is writing about. An author's tone can be seen in the
figurative language, sentence structure, and diction that they use, as well as in the details,
descriptions, reasons, and evidence given. Some examples are: depressed, sympathetic,
cheerful, outraged, positive, angry, sarcastic, prayerful, ironic, solemn, vindictive, intense,
excited.

INTENDED AUDIENCE- An intended audience refers to the demographic that writers

expect will read and interact with their work, whether it be an article, research paper, or book.
When reflecting on your intended audience, consider factors such as age, geographic location,
culture, and education. Some examples are: children, young adults, or adults.

LITERARY DEVICE- A literary device is a writing technique that writers use to express
ideas, convey meaning, and highlight important themes in a piece of text. Some examples of
literary devices are: Similes, metaphors, imagery, foreshadowing and flashbacks.
EFFECTIVENESS OF LITERARY DEVICES - Literary devices can easily grab readers'
attention and keep them reading your narrative. Moreover, it makes it easy for them to establish
a stronger connection between characters and themes in a narrative on a deeper level because
they understand the message you're trying to communicate.

APPROPRIATNESS OF LITERARY DEVICES - A literary element refers to

components of a literary work (character, setting, plot, theme, frame, exposition,
ending/denouement, motif, titling, narrative point of view).

LEVELS OF COMPREHENSION

The three levels of comprehension are the literal level, inferential level and the
critical/evaluative level.

LITERAL LEVEL- Literal comprehension occurs at the surface level when a reader/viewer
acknowledges what they can see and hear. The details are stated and clear for anyone to
identify. Literal comprehension is often referred to as 'on the page' or 'right there'
comprehension. The answers to questions based on literal meaning will always be found in the
text. For example: Billy built a tower out of blocks. Who was building the tower? The answer
would be Billy.

INFERENTIAL LEVEL- Inferential comprehension requires the reader/viewer to draw on

their prior knowledge of a topic and identify relevant text clues (words, images, sounds) to
make an inference. Inferential comprehension is often referred to as 'between the lines' or 'think
and search' comprehension. Examples include: "How did you arrive at that conclusion?" and
"Why does salt cause ice to melt?" Asking how and why questions helps you weigh the merits
of the answers. From there you can develop evaluative questions and responses that do include
your own thoughts and ideas.

EVALUATIVE LEVEL- Evaluative comprehension requires the reader to move beyond

the text to consider what they think and believe in relation to the message in the text. It is at this
point that readers/viewers are required to justify their opinions, argue for a particular viewpoint,
critically analyze the content and determine the position of the author. Evaluative
comprehension is often referred to as ‘beyond the text’ and includes ‘big picture’
comprehension. Often there is no right or wrong answer but rather justification for thinking in a
particular way. An evaluative question asks the reader to decide whether he or she agrees with
the author's ideas or point of view in light of his or her own knowledge, values, and experience.
For example: What did Sarah eat for breakfast? What harmful chemicals can enter water.
 COMPREHENSION SKILLS

FINDING MAIN IDEA - The main idea is at the beginning of paragraphs. The first
sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage. In the concluding sentence of
a paragraph. The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the
paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph. For example: There are
many kinds of unusual plants. Cactuses, for instance, can survive in the great heat of the desert
sun at noon and in the bitter cold of the desert at night. Instead of regular leaves, they have
needles that serve as a defense against hungry animals. Their stems are full of hollow cells that
store enough water to last for months. These features make the cactus a remarkable plant, able
to live in one of nature’s harshest environments. The main idea in this passage would be ‘these
features make cactus a remarkable plant, able to live in one’s nature’ harshest environments.

CONTEX CLUES - Context clues are hints found within a sentence, paragraph, or passage
that a reader can use to understand the meanings of new or unfamiliar words. Context clues can
also take the form of synonyms, antonyms, word-structure clues, comparisons (such as
metaphors and similes), and contrasts. For example: Synonym context clues offer words nearby
with the same meaning: Synonym: The annual bazaar is scheduled for the last day of school. It's
always a fun festival.

COMPARING & CONTRASTING - Comparing involves identifying similarities and/or

differences (e.g., apples and oranges are both fruit) whereas contrasting involves comparing two
or more objects or events in order to show their differences (e.g., an apple has a thin skin that
we can eat; an orange has a thick skin that we cannot eat).

SUMMARIZING - summarizing is a synthesis of the key ideas of a piece of writing,

restated in your own words – i.e., paraphrased. You may write a summary as a stand-alone
assignment or as part of a longer paper. Whenever you summarize, you must be careful not to
copy the exact wording of the original source. An example of summarizing is writing a three or
four-sentence description that touches upon the main points of a long book.

POETRY COMPREHENSION
Poetry utilizes various poetic elements and devices that can aid in comprehension. But a reader
has to be familiar with them before they can help them understand poetry. Rhythm, rhyme,
personification, simile, metaphor and a host of other literary devices help with comprehension
of a poem.

TONE - The poet's attitude toward the poem's speaker, reader, and subject matter, as
interpreted by the reader. Often described as a “mood” that pervades the experience of reading
the poem, it is created by the poem's vocabulary, metrical regularity or irregularity, syntax, use
of figurative language, and rhyme. Some examples are: dry, assertive, lighthearted, regretful
and nostalgic

MOOD - Mood is the feeling you get while reading a story. This could be happiness, sadness,
darkness, anger, suspicion, loneliness, or even excitement. You can think of mood as the
atmosphere of the story. To describe mood, you should think about the setting and the language
used by the author. Some examples are: cheerful, reflective, gloomy, humorous and
melancholy.

DONE BY: MICHAEL J. BAILEY

CLASS: 4 RED
TEACHER: MS. E FOSTER