LIT 101: Promoting Reading in Primary Grades

TEACHING VOCABULARY & COMPREHENSION SKILLS TO READERS

RATIONALE:
Vocabulary is one of the key components in promoting reading comprehension. A lack of vocabulary
knowledge is always a hindrance to comprehension which is the essence of reading.
In many classrooms, comprehension is tested rather than taught and so students are denied
opportunities to develop valuable comprehension skills.
Teachers need to be familiar with a wide variety of comprehension strategies, and teach these strategies
to their students so that they can become strategic readers.
Teachers also need to use a variety of assessment techniques to monitor students’ progress in
comprehension.

A. DEFINING COMPREHENSION
Comprehension is a strategic process in which the reader interacts with the text to construct or assign
meaning by using clues in the text and their own prior knowledge. It involves a five-stage model of:
 Searching for an appropriate schema, a specific “mental file folder” by paying attention to
meaning clues taken from the text (i.e. words, sentences, paragraphs)
 Selecting an appropriate schema based on the clues found in the text
 Applying the information in that mental file folder (schema) to help the reader figure out the
author’s message
 Evaluating whether the schema chosen was the correct one or if it should be discarded and
replaced with another schema that seems to make more sense
 Composing a new or revised understanding (memory) that is added to the existing schema or
used to create a new schema

B. TEACHING COMPREHENSION VERSUS TESTING COMPREHENSION

Testing comprehension is done when the teacher simply assigns a passage and asks students to read it
and answer questions.
Teaching comprehension involves a deliberate structuring of the lesson to guide students into
developing a diversity of strategies that they can use in a variety of reading situations.

C. THE ROLE OF VOCABULARY IN COMPREHENSION

Much research has consistently shown that vocabulary knowledge is a critical factor in reading
comprehension (Vacca, J. et al, 2009). Over seven decades of research show the link between
vocabulary and reading. All serve to support the view that a well-developed vocabulary is one of the
best single predictors of reading comprehension.
Vocabulary / word knowledge involves:

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1. dictionary definitions
2. contextual meaning
3. affixes (prefixes and suffixes)
4. homonyms, homophones, and homographs
5. etymology of words

D. STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING VOCABULARY

1. List Group Label (LGL)
 Designed to help students in seeing connections among familiar and not-so familiar words
(Conley, 2008, cited in Taba, 1997).
 Students talk about “Big Ideas”, connections among words and vocabulary prior to getting into
the lesson’s main components.
Steps: 1. Select a word or set of words that represent the Big Idea/s of a lesson and present it to
students asking for their thoughts about the word.
2. Have students list all the words they think relate to the word/s; write responses on the board.
3. Group words together in categories and label each category; explain this step is important for seeing
and making connections among the words which is a way to learn vocabulary in-depth.
4. Allow students to share their method of categorization for class discussion.

2. Semantic Associations
 The object is to expand vocabulary by involving children with words that share some common
feature.
 Begin this as a group or independent activity; must culminate in group discussion to be
worthwhile.
Steps: 1. Choose any word/s of interest to you or the class. They may be words from read alouds/shared
reading or from content area lesson, or from another source of common interest.
2. Write the word/s on the board before the students read text.
3. Ask half the class to write as many things they can think of about the word. Allow time for the class to
think and write independently or in groups.
4. On the board, compile lists of all the words the students thought of
5. As an additional activity, have children use six of the words in sentences.
6. Lead a discussion on the meanings and uses of any of the words that are new to any class member.

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3. Semantic Mapping/Webbing
 This extends knowledge by displaying in categories words related to another word. It differs
essentially from Semantic Association essentially by showing the categories.
Steps: 1. Select a word central to the story to be read, or from any other source of classroom interest or
need.
2. Write the word on the board.
3. Ask students to think of as many words as they can that are in some way related to the written word;
jot them on paper in categories.
4. Have students share the words they have written; write them on the board; attempt to put them into
categories.
5. Number the categories and have students name them e.g. school subjects
6. Discuss meaning and uses of new words. Be prepared for disagreements; some words may change
categories. New words can be added as the discussion ensues.
7. As the discussion concludes, focus attention on one or two categories mapped from the central
concepts.

4. Semantic Feature Analysis

 This can be done with students of any age; it capitalizes on a reader’s prior knowledge; has
considerable potential for greatly expanding vocabulary in a logical and sensible way. It stresses
the relationship among concepts within categories.
Steps: 1. Select a category (main idea or concept) such as “tools”
2. List words in the given category; can be a whole-class brainstorming activity.
3. Create a table where you list the various words associated with the concept and the various features
4. Indicate feature possession using “+” and “-“
5. Add words/features
6. Complete and discuss the word matrix created; draw comparisons and conclusions by looking at the
word grid.
7. Other activities: have students suggest more words that share some of the features; then have them
suggest more features shared by some of these words.

5. Use of Analogies
 Analogies compare two relationships, providing a basis for building word knowledge.
Steps: 1. Begin by asking students to explain the relationship between two words e.g. flower and petal.
2. Ask them about the relationship between the two words
3. Explain that an analogy is a comparison of two similar sets of relationships. Write on the board: apple
is to fruit as carrot is to …………………………...
4. Suggest to students that if apple is a type of fruit then a carrot must be a type of ………………………

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Discuss the students’ predictions, and provide additional examples
5. Note that an analogy has its own symbols: apple:fruit:: carrot: vegetable. Point out that the symbol :
means “is to” and the symbol :: means “as.” Walk students through oral reading of several analogies
telling them how the analogy reads.
6. Provide simple analogies at first and gradually increase in complexity of the relationships.
7. Develop analogies from vocabulary used in stories, content area texts or topics of interest in the
classroom.

ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF WORDS

1. Noting Words in Journals
2. Reading Aloud to Students
3. Discussion Circles
4. Word Banks, Word Files, Word Books
5. Writing e.g. Shared Writing
6. Word Expansion Activities: word maps, semantic maps, semantic feature analysis;
7. Bulletin Boards or Word Walls
9. Electronic Books or Software

E. STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING COMPREHENSION

Before Reading Strategies During Reading Strategies After Reading Strategies
Predict and preview Self-questioning Questioning
KWL Guiding questions Personal response
Quick writing Making predictions Reviewing and reflecting
Discussion Read and pause Retelling
Brainstorming Visualizing Discussion
Picture/text walk Note taking Semantic webbing
Semantic mapping Identifying Important Info Story mapping
Pre-questioning and purpose Think aloud Journal writing
setting
Semantic webbing Story framing
Anticipation guides
Story mapping Summarizing
Read-aloud (for background
Summarizing Synthesizing
knowledge)
Drawing inferences Dramatizing
Identifying important ideas Book making
Making connections

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MAJOR APPROACHES TO HELPING STUDENTS CONSTRUCT MEANING
1. Directed Reading Activity (DRA)
> It is suitable for both narrative and expository texts
> It focuses not only on understanding, but also on the various skills such as an understanding of
phonics, which strengthens reading abilities.
Steps: 1. (Pre-reading) Motivate the students to read the text using activities such as watching
tapes/audio-visual material to stimulate interest. Teach a new skill such as word-recognition strategy,
identifying main ideas or drawing inferences. The activity should be related to the text. Explore
vocabulary which should help students become familiar with the words in the text.
2. (During reading) Directed Reading: Students read aloud or silently or teacher reads. To guide their
reading and monitor comprehension, students should seek answers to the questions generated during
the pre-reading phase or check the accuracy of predictions they made earlier. Encourage them to
reformulate their questions, ask additional questions, or make new predictions
3. (Post-reading) Follow-up and Practice: discuss what was read, do skill-building activities, ask students
to do research on the topic, enrichment exercises

2. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA)

> It is suitable for expository and narrative texts
> It encourages students to generate questions that stimulate higher order thinking.
> It is encourages students to make predictions about text
> It is not as teacher-directed as DRA. In fact, after you have modelled this Approach a few times,
students would be able to apply it independently.
Steps: 1. (Pre-reading) Generating Questions and Making predictions from Text: Write the title of the
passage on the board and ask students to read it. Have a conceptual exploration of the topic e.g. using a
semantic map. Then, ask them to predict what the passage is about, or to generate questions to which
they believe the answers are in the passage, or to which they would simply like to know the answers.
Record all their questions or predictions. Conduct a discussion about the questions or predictions.
-Next, ask the students to survey the text while paying attention to features such as subtitles, pictures,
charts, and tables. Ask them to revise their questions or predictions based on the additional information.
2. (During Reading): Students read the text. They would be required to record the answers to their
questions or check the accuracy of their predictions. Encourage them to revise their questions or
predictions if they find them inadequate. You can ask them to read section by section, pausing to discuss
their revised predictions or questions. For younger children, you can do the reading and writing.
3. (Post-reading) Follow-up: Give students an opportunity to reflect on their reading by discussing how
their predictions or questions have evolved, whether the passage lived up to their expectations,
whether they got all the answer they wanted, or whether they need to do further reading.

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3. Directed Inquiry Activity (DIA)
> It is best suited for expository texts, especially those with a lot of facts.
>It requires students to use questions and predictions to promote active comprehension
Steps: 1: (Pre-reading) Predicting: Students examine features of the text such as title, illustrations,
subtitles in order to make predictions based on the questions: who, what, where, when, why, and
how. The predictions are made in an effort to answer the questions.
2: (During Reading) Read to Check Predictions: Students read to evaluate their predictions. While they
are reading, they should write down the points that confirmed or contradicted their predictions.
3. Post-reading (Analyze Predictions): Give students opportunity to analyze their predictions by doing a
discussion or letting them write their answer in their journals. They should be able to say whether or not
their predictions were reasonable, and how they differed from what they actually read. They reflect on
the activity by examining the usefulness of the text features in helping them to form their predictions or
how their previous knowledge assisted or misled them.

4. K-W-L Teaching Model

> It was designed specifically for expository texts
> K (what I Know); W What I Want to Know/Wonder); L (what I Learnt)
Steps: 1 (Pre-reading) Students discuss what they already know about the topic. Record this information
in the K column.
2: (Pre-reading) students talk about what they would like to know about the topic. This can be done in
the form of questions. Record these in the W column
3. (During reading): Students read the material and record their answers to their questions in the W
column as they find them. They can also add new questions that arise from their reading.
4. (Post-reading): students consolidate what they learnt by summarizing and recording it in the L
column.

5. Question-Answer-Relationship (QAR)
> It helps students to answer questions about the text they have read, by making use of their
background knowledge.
Steps: 1: Teach your students how to distinguish between information that is found in the text and that
which they know already (in their heads). Use a passage and ask questions and show those that can be
answered from their heads and those that have answers in the text.
2: Teach the students that the category “In the Text” is divided into two parts: at times, the answer is
stated right there in one sentence; at other times, you have to link information from different parts –
think and search or putting it together. Use a passage to illustrate this and give students practice.
3: Let students know that the category “In My Head” is also divided into two categories: “Author and
You” where you need to read the text as well as think about what you know e.g. “What would you do if
you were in Dennis’ situation?” Here, you have to read to find out what was Dennis’ situation and then

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think about what you would do. The other category “On My own” is not dependent on the text for
answers. Use a passage to illustrate and give students practice.
4. You can then make a chart and have it displayed in the classroom to remind students of the four types
of question and answer relationships

F. ASSESSING CHILDREN’S COMPREHENSION SKILLS AND PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTION

Poor comprehension can be caused by inadequate background knowledge, lack of necessary
concepts/vocabulary, lack of decoding skills or fluency, lack of concentration, poor thinking
skills, etc. Also, the passage may be too difficult or poorly written.

Teachers assess children’s comprehension in the following ways:

1. Informal Reading Inventory: a series of passages that gradually increase in difficulty, used to
assess oral reading and comprehension. There are many commercial inventories or the teacher
can construct an inventory using passages from the basal readers/texts. The IRI yields four
levels:
- Independent Level: can read on their own; can recognize at least 99% of the words;
comprehension is perfect.
- Instructional Level: 95% word recognition; 75% comprehension
- Frustration Level: 90% or less word recognition; 50% or less comprehension
- Listening Level: can understand with 75% comprehension when it is read to him/her
> When assessing reading, make sure that students are reading material at their instructional
level. If they are not able to read at least 95% of the words, comprehension will be hampered.
Also, check reading rate. If reading rate is too slow, it will affect comprehension. A slow rate is
less than fifty words a minute.
> Apart from determining who is struggling, tests should find out what is causing their
problems.

2. Observation: of the students in a discussion in class

3. Noting the students’ performance on teacher-made comprehension tests/ questions

4. Retelling: students retell the story and pretend they are telling it to someone who has never
heard it
> If it is fiction, then the students can retell in terms of story elements: setting, character, plot,
goal, problem, resolution of problem, theme

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> If the piece is informational, provide the material, observe reading, have them retell e.g. “Tell
me in your own words as much as you can,” ask follow up questions
> The teacher can list the main elements from an informational piece or story, and check them
off as students mention them. Also check:
- Are the major events highlighted?
- Are appropriate inferences made?
- Is the retelling accurate?
- Does the student evaluate information?
- Does the student use the author’s organizational pattern?
- What does the retelling reveal about the student’s oral language and presentation style?
> If student is unable to retell the selection, use probes. If probes don’t help, then use
recognition-type questions in which the student only has to recognize or select the right
answer.
> Students can also be taught how to retell a selection.

5. Think-alouds: have students discuss what is going on in their minds as they read
> Before reading, ask “What do you think this will be about? What makes you think so?”
> During reading, ask “What was going on in your mind as you read? Were there any parts
difficult to understand? What did you do when you came across hard words?”
> After reading, ask “What was this selection about?”
> You can mark off sections that you want the student to stop and discuss.

6. Questionnaires and Interviews:

> Ask questions before reading, during reading, and after reading

7. Observations
> observe students as they encounter a difficult word. What strategies do they use?

8. Anecdotal Records
> The teacher writes brief notes as they observe students.
> The teacher describes specific events, and reports rather than evaluates, and relates the events to
other information about the student

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> the teacher makes notes about students’ performance in listening, talking, reading, writing, viewing
and visually representing activities; about questions students ask; about strategies and skills they use
fluently or are confused about.
> The teacher can use a card file or spiral bound notebook divided into sections or use small sheets and
clip these into students’ assessment folder.
> The teacher documents students’ growth and pinpoint problem areas for future minilessons and
conferences.

9. Cloze Procedure
Students predict or guess the words that fit into the passage. Teacher selects a passage from a textbook
the students are using or she can compose a passage. Students complete the passage. Score students’
work: 61% or more correct – independent reading level; 41 – 60% - instructional level; less than 40% -
frustration level. It is an informal diagnostic procedure that teachers use to gather information about
readers’ abilities to deal with the content and structure of texts they are reading. Students use their
knowledge of syntax (the order of words) and semantics (the meaning of words within sentences) to
successfully predict the missing words. So, it can be used to assess students’ understanding of
grammatical elements, as well as be used to teach the use of context clues.
EXAMPLE: The leaders of a wolf pack are called the alpha wolves. There is an …………..….. male and an
alpha female. They are usually the ……………… and the strongest wolves …………………… the pack. An alpha
…………………. fight any wolf that …………………. to take over the ………………………. When the alpha looks
……………….. other wolf in the …………………., the other wolf crouches ………………….. and tucks its tail
……………………… its hind legs. Sometimes ……………………. rolls over and licks ………………….. alpha wolf’s
face as …………………… to say, “You are …………………… boss.”

10. Discussion groups: In groups, students discuss the passage. Teacher checks their understanding

11. Answering questions about text: Students answer questions about the text – type of writing, the
author’s tone, and strategies used, purpose of the writing, etc.

12. Writing in response to text: Students write how they felt about the passage, what they liked or did
not like and why, etc.