READING COMPREHENSION

MINERVA C. DAVID
 Objectives

• recall the reading comprehension sub-skills

• strengthen reading comprehension skills

• understand the reading process

• prepare an English Proficiency Course Program

in Reading Comprehension
 Priming

Data Processing
Directions:
1. Divide the participants into groups of five with 12 members.
2. List of “data” will be given.
3. Participants shall process the “data” by themselves.
4. Clap if the group has already “processed” the correct data.”
5. The group that correctly “processes” the given “data” wins.
 Activity

Directions:
Form five groups. On meta cards, list
down as many reading comprehension sub-
skills as you can. On the board, each group
shall arrange the skills according to their level of
difficulty. The group leader shall explain the
group’s choice of arrangement.
Testing Reading Skills
Subskills
Identify main facts &details
Relate cause & effect
pronunciation Identify sequence of events
Predicting outcomes
Inferring meaning from
contextual clues
Reading WHAT TO TEST?
Aloud Silent Reading

Reading levels
Literal comprehension
Stresses
Reorganization
& Intonation
Inferential Comprehension
Evaluation
Appreciation
Bloom's Taxonomy

Old Version
Bloom's Taxonomy

New Version
OLD VERSION NEW VERSION
Group Task. Group into 6. (maybe by Grade Level)
Match the 6 levels of objectives of Blooms Taxonomy with the verbs
nd gerunds at the right , Write it in a cartolina strip then pair it level with the
bjective it defines. Use the arrows as guide to make pairs.

Recognizing, Recalling

Differentiating, Organizing, Attributing

Executing, Implementing

Interpreting, Classifying, Summarizing,

Inferring, Comparing, Explaining

Checking, Critiquing

Generating, Planning, Producing

Generating, Planning, Producing

Checking, Critiquing

Differentiating, Organizing,
Attributing

Executing, Implementing

Interpreting, Classifying, Summarizing,

Inferring, Comparing, Explaining

Recognizing, Recalling
Reading is the active search for answers.
 A 1993 investigation revealed that 40
to 44 million Americans had only the most
basic reading and writing skills (Kirsch,
Jungeblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993).
Another 50 million Americans not only
lacked the skills to function successfully in
a literate society, but also were not aware
of their inadequacies.
Importance of Reading

The job market now demands a

workforce that is more highly educated than
ever. For example, assembly line workers
must interpret manuals in addition to
operating machinery. These workers must be
able to read, write, analyze, interpret, and
synthesize information (Hay & Roberts,
1989).
Skills that Need to be Strengthened

Your ability to read a variety of materials.

Your ability to understand and remember what
you read.

Your ability to effectively communicate what

you've learned from your reading.
What is reading comprehension?
-is "the capacity for understanding fully;
the act or action of grasping with the intellect;
to receive or take in the sense of (as letters or
symbols) by scanning; to understand the
meaning of written or printed matter; to learn
from what one has seen or found in writing or
printing.” (Webster’s Dictionary)
Comprehension Regulation Strategies
- is a method for consciously controlling the reading process. It
involves the use of preplanned strategies to understand text. It is a plan
for getting the most out of reading.

• Setting goals based on your purpose for reading

• Previewing the text to make predictions

• Self-questioning

• Scanning

• Relating new information to old

 Characteristics of the Reader:

• Background knowledge (how much you already know

about the material or related concepts)
• Reading ability - vocabulary and comprehension

• Attitude
• Interest
 Skills for Being an Effective Reader
and for Increasing Comprehension

• Finding main ideas and supporting

• details/evidence
Making inferences and drawing conclusions
• Recognizing a text's patterns of organization

• Perceiving conceptual relationships

• Testing your knowledge and understanding of the
material through application
 Plan to Use When Comprehension Fails

• Use structural analysis and contextual clues to identify

unknown vocabulary words.

• Read more critically - ask questions while you read

• Summarize or outline main points and supporting details

• Reread the material.

• Do a "think aloud“.

The think-aloud strategy asks students to say out loud what they are thinking about
when reading, or simply responding to questions posed by teachers or other
students.
 How to Strengthen Your Reading Comprehension

1. Analyze the time and place in which you are reading.

2. Rephrase each paragraph in your own words .

3. Read aloud sentences or sections that are particularly

difficult.
4. Reread difficult or complicated sections.

5. Slow down your reading rate.

How to Strengthen Your Reading Comprehension

6. Turn headings into questions.

7. Write a brief outline of major points.

8. Highlight key ideas.

9. Write notes in the margins.

10. Determine whether you lack background
knowledge.
Five Thinking Strategies in the Reading Process

1. Predict: Make educated guesses.

Good readers make predictions about

thoughts, events, outcomes, and conclusions. As
you read, your predictions are confirmed or denied.
If they prove invalid, you make new predictions.
This constant process helps you become involved
with the author's thinking and helps you learn.
Five Thinking Strategies of Good Readers

2. Picture: Form images

For good readers, the words and the ideas
on the page trigger mental images that relate
directly or indirectly to the material. Images are like
movies in your head, and they increase your
understanding of what you read.
Five Thinking Strategies of Good Readers

3. Relate: Draw comparisons.

When you relate your existing knowledge to
the new information in the text, you are
embellishing the material and making it part of your
framework of ideas. A phrase of a situation may
remind you of a personal experience or something
that you read or saw in a film. Such related
experiences help you digest the new material.
Five Thinking Strategies of Good Readers

4. Monitor: Check understanding.

Keep an internal summary or synthesis of the

information as it is presented and how it relates to the
overall message. Your summary will build with each
new detail, and as long as the message is consistent,
you will continue to form ideas. d.
Five Thinking Strategies of Good Readers

5. Correct gaps in understanding.

This may mean rereading a sentence or looking back
at a previous page for clarification. If an unknown word is
causing confusion, the definition may emerge through further
reading. When good readers experience gaps in
comprehension, they do not perceive themselves as failures;
instead, they reanalyze the task to achieve better
understanding.
Classification According to the Level of Thinking

1. Literal (Reading the lines)

2. Inferential (Reading between the lines)
3. Critical (Reading beyond the lines)
Literal Reading

- what is actually stated.

• Facts and details

• Rote learning and memorization
• Surface understanding only
Inferential Reading
-what is implied or meant, rather than what
is actually stated.

• Drawing inferences
• Tapping into prior knowledge / experience
• Attaching new learning to old information
• Making logical leaps and educated
guesses
• Reading between the lines to determine
what is meant by what is stated.
Critical Reading

-taking what was said (literal) and then what

was meant by what was said (interpretive) and
then extend (apply) the concepts or ideas beyond
the situation.

• Analyzing
• Synthesizing
• Applying
General Manifestations of Comprehension
1. Noting details
2. Getting the main idea
3. Inferring
4. Predicting outcomes
5. Drawing conclusions
Noting Details

-is a factual type of reading

comprehension in which the reader is
directly concerned with remembering
items within the passage
Pointers in Reading for Details

1. Be definite about your purpose in reading

a selection.
2. Read the passage slowly and carefully.
3. Remember the details in relation to ideas you
want to remember rather than as isolated bits
of information.
4. Be able to distinguish main ideas from sub-
ideas.
 The five key elements of a story
 Character: Depending on the nature of the story, characters are most often
people or animals. Writers use characters to perform the actions and speak the
dialogue of a story. They move a story’s plot forward. They are the who of a story
 Setting: A story’s setting refers not only to the physical location but also to the
time the action takes place. It is the where and the when of a story.
 Plot: The plot relates to the events that happen in a story. The plot can be further
divided into sub-elements such as introduction, rising action, climax, falling action,
and resolution. It is the what of the story. The plot usually begins with a problem
and ends in the story’s resolution
 Conflict: Every story worth its salt requires conflict. This conflict can be thought of
as a challenge or problem that drives the story’s action. No conflict, no story.
Setting up a series of cause and effect events, conflict gives these events their
why.

5. Theme: a little more abstract than the previous elements, the theme refers to the
underlying insight, moral or idea that the writer is expressing through the story. It is
often thought of as the ‘message’ of the story.

WHY ARE STORY ELEMENTS IMPORTANT?

There are many reasons students need to be well-versed in identifying the

elements of a story, not least of which is the deeper levels of comprehension
and enhanced appreciation this brings. Understanding how a story is
organized is necessary for students to access the highest levels
of comprehension of that story. Understanding how a story is organized also
provides students with a frame of reference that significantly assists with
recall. Often necessary, especially where exams are concerned, the
implications here for subjects outside the English classroom are apparent
too.
Suggested Strategies and Activities

Story Plot
Title
Setting
Character Theme
Story STAR
Character

Character
T-Chart and H -Chart

K W L
Activity 1: Read, Roll, and Retell
This simple activity is a fun way for
students in a group to review material
they have recently read. It begins with a
student rolling a die or dice. The number
they roll corresponds to a list of questions
on each story element.
For example, the student rolls a three,
which corresponds to a question on the
setting, such as Where and when did this
story take place? The student then
answers in as much detail as possible
READING SKILLS TO BE DEVELOP
Getting the Main Idea

-is similar to finding the most

important thing an author is trying to say
 example

The rules of conduct during an examination are

clear. No books, calculators or papers are allowed in the
test room. Proctors will not allow anyone with such items
to take the test. Anyone caught cheating will be asked to
leave the room. His or her test sheet will be taken. The
incident will be reported to the proper authority. At the end
of the test period, all materials will be returned to the
proctor. Failure to abide by these rules will result in a
failing grade for this test.
Pointers in Getting the Main Idea

1. Find out what common elements or ideas

the sentences share.
2. The presentational style may provide clues
in finding the main idea
3. Remember that a well-written paragraph
is written about someone or something.
Inferring

-is reading between the lines using

some clues, linking them to your own
experiences and arriving at the “new”
desired information
example

A surgeon, an engineer and a politician were arguing on

what profession was the oldest.

“Eve,” said the surgeon, “was made from Adam’s ribs and
that was a surgical operation.”

‘But prior to that,” replied the engineer, “the order was

created out of chaos, and that was an engineer’s job.”

“But even before that,” the politician insisted, “somebody

must have created the chaos.”
Pointers in Inferring

1. Read the selection carefully.

2. Take note of the explicitly stated idea.
3. Ask yourself constantly why the author
is saying this and that.
4.Make use of your prior knowledge or
background of experiences whether direct or
vicarious, in interpreting what you read.
Pointers in Making Generalizations
1. Know what topic is being discussed.

2. Take note of the facts presented whether implied or

directly stated.

3. Find out how the sentences are related to one

another.

4. State a general idea that will include all the sub-ideas

expressed in each sentence.
Making Generalizations

-is a specialized form of summarizing

Predicting Outcomes

-is considered active reading in which the

reader assumes an attitude of anticipation
Pointers in Predicting Outcomes

1. Examine the available data and their

relationships.
3. Make conclusions or generalizations about
the topic.
4. Anticipate a possible outcome based on what
you have read.
Comprehension Drill
Directions: Read the passage given you and answer the 12- item
question based on the reading selection. Each group shall write the
answers on manila paper to be posted on the board. The group with
the most number of correct answers wins.
Application
• Submit a proposed English Proficiency Course
Design Program (Reading Comprehension)
for Grades I and II teachers in your Division .
• Time frame shall start during the October 2012
semestral break.
• Use the NAT results as basis.
• The target is to improve the reading comprehension
skills of your Grades I and II teachers.
Course Design Program

It shall have the main components of a

course design program: target outcome
goals, target population. a syllabus outline
based on your target outcome goals, the
duration of the program, allotment of funds,
length of sessions, class size, instructional
approaches, placement consideration,
program personnel, assessment plans and
so on.
A single moment
of understanding can flood
a whole life with meaning.
Thank you!