Reading comprehension strategies for 1st grade
First Grade Reading Comprehension Activities
First grade is an exciting time of discovery for early readers. They’re spending less time decoding and word solving and more time comprehending and making sense of the texts they’re reading. Early readers are building reading identities and reading for meaning and joy. Explicitly teaching reading comprehension strategies like making predictions, asking questions, retelling, and inferring helps young readers build the skills they need. These first grade reading comprehension activities are a good place to start.
1. String up a retelling rope
Learning how to retell a story helps young learners as readers and thinkers. It helps them organize their thoughts as they read and recognize when their thinking changes. Using these symbols representing different elements of a story, students can string up a cute retelling rope while gaining valuable comprehension skills.
Learn more: First Grade W.O.W.
2. Visualize the story with illustrations
Visualizing is an important skill for understanding what you’re reading. This blog includes two fun visualizing activities. In the first, students are given a title and are asked to draw an illustration that matches that title. In the second, students are given clues about an object and are asked to draw the object the clues are hinting at.
Learn more: You Clever Monkey
3. Make predictions with a graphic organizer
Making predictions is a just-right reading strategy for emerging readers. During a read-aloud, find a few good stopping points to ask students what they think will happen next.
Learn more: Brown Bag Teacher
4. Make a “beginning, middle, and end” flip chart
One tried-and-true way to teach summarizing to early readers is instructing them to identify the beginning, middle, and end of a story. This easy-to-make flip chart is just an 8 x 11 piece of plain paper folded vertically then divided into thirds. On the front half, students will draw a picture of what happens in the three sections of the story. Underneath each flap is a short written description.
Learn more: Bishop’s Blackboard
5. Ask questions with story sticks
Good readers ask questions before, during, and after they read. These cute story sticks make a game of first grade reading comprehension. Perfect to use with small reading groups or with partners.
Learn more: The Happy Teacher
6. Master the five-finger retell
One strategy you can teach students is the five finger retell. Each finger stands for a different part of the story. Assigning a different finger for each part gives students a kinesthetic connection and makes it easier for them to remember.
Learn more: Mrs. Wheeler’s First Grade Tidbits
7. Summarize using simple signal words
Sometimes with early readers, simpler is better. Start with these basic questions—who?, what?, when?, where?, how?, and why?—to help kids go deeper into their understanding.
Learn more: This Reading Mama
8.
Practice with story mapsThere are tons of fun tools to help students build reading comprehension, and story maps are one of them. Here are 15 free downloadable story maps to help your first graders practice going beyond just the words when they read.
Learn more: Education.com
9. Figure out problem and solution with a graphic organizer
Every fiction story has, among other elements, a problem and solution. This lesson helps students understand that a story’s problem and solution fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
Learn more: My Primary Paradise
10. Retell the story using LEGO bricks
Put two things that first graders love together: reading and building. Read a story together, then allow students to use blocks to build a scene from the story. As they build, they can describe details from the story.
Learn more: The Educators’ Spin On It
11. Retell using story cubes
Retelling is a helpful comprehension skill for readers. These six cubes encourage readers to retell the story in different ways. They are prefect for reading partners and to use with small groups.
Learn more: Every educaid
12. Play the Oh Snap! word game
Sight words (aka high-frequency words) are words readers encounter most frequently in texts. Early readers benefit from knowing a large bank of sight words, which encourages fluent reading. This fun sight word game is a great way to improve reading skills and build reading fluency.
Learn more: School Time Snippets
13. Use scooping phrases
The goal of reading fluency is better comprehension. To read with fluency or expression, readers must comprehend the story events. Teach early readers to use “Scooping Phrases” to scoop up words to form phrases within sentences. This effective strategy also works well with struggling readers.
Learn more: This Reading Mama
14. Introduce wordless picture books
As readers encounter more-difficult texts, character traits become less explicit. To determine what the character is like, the reader has to do more inferential work. Using wordless picture books is a great way to introduce early readers to making inferences.
Learn more: Ashleigh’s Education Journey
15. Inference using thought bubbles
Foundational inference activities give first graders an opportunity to practice their inferring skills. As they move into texts, first graders can infer what a character is thinking in the story and then add a thought bubble to explain it.
Learn more: The Teacher Next Door
If you like these first grade reading comprehension activities, check out our fun, printable first grade writing prompts.
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Comprehension: Activities for Your First Grader
Overview
First graders are quickly developing impressive skills as active readers! Here are some of the things your first grader can do:
- Independently read and retell familiar stories.
- Notice when a text doesn't make sense, and begins to use strategies such as rereading, predicting, and questioning to understand it.
- Read and understand fiction and nonfiction and know the difference between made-up stories and facts.
- Predict what will happen next in stories.
- Think about and share prior knowledge before reading a nonfiction book.
- Discusses how, why, and what-if questions in sharing nonfiction texts.
- Answer simple written comprehension questions.
Here are some basic things you can do to boost your child's comprehension skills:
Try to read at home together every day
Just 15 minutes each day makes a big difference! Although your first grader may be reading independently, reading aloud allows you to introduce your child to more sophisticated vocabulary and stories, including chapter books. It's also one of the best ways to help children learn about the world and make connections between their own lives and what's in the book — and that helps children see the world with empathy. And last but not least, it's a wonderful time to snuggle up with your child and share the experience of reading and discovery together.
Keep it fun
Remember that reading together should spark curiosity, joy, and a desire to explore and learn. Conversations about books should be enjoyable, and not a set of quizzes and questions. As you try some of the activities listed below, remember to keep it light and lively for your child.
Storytelling and audiobooks count, too
Sharing family stories out loud and listening to audiobooks are wonderful ways to expose your child to language, how stories are built, and knowledge about the world.
Bring in the nonfiction
There are so many great nonfiction and informational books for very young kids (such as the popular DK Eyewitness series and National Geographic series). Try to include some of these during your next trip to the public library. Children love learning about the real world and are proud to share what they know!
Explore your world together
Even a walk around the neighborhood or a trip to the grocery store can be a rich learning experience for young children. On a walk, your child may watch what's going on at a construction site, and then be able to connect it to stories about building and the big machines that make it happen — bulldozers, cranes, cement mixers, and more. These personal connections help children connect what they read with what they know — a powerful way to build comprehension skills!
Signs of good reading comprehension in first graders
Try these comprehension activities at home
"I predict ..."
When you sit down for a read aloud, look at the book's cover together. Ask, "What do you think this book might be about? Why? Can you make some predictions?" Guide your child through the pages, discuss the pictures, and brainstorm what might happen in the story. Talk about any personal experiences your child may have that relate to the story.
Five-finger retell
After reading a story together, have your child tell you five things about the story, using her fingers to talk about each one:
- Characters: who was in the story?
- Setting: where did the story take place?
- Events: what happened in the story?
- End: how did the story end?
- Favorite character or part of the story
Active reading
Model active reading when you read with your child. Talk about what's happening as you're reading. Stop and discuss any interesting or tricky vocabulary words. Help your child make pictures of the story in his mind. Ask your child, "What just happened here? How do you think that character feels? Have you ever felt like that? What do you think will happen next?" Not only will this develop your child’s comprehension, but critical thinking skills as well.
Mind movies
When you come to a descriptive passage in a book, have your child close her eyes and create a mental movie of the scene. Encourage her to use all five senses. Read the passage over together, looking for details that bring the scene to life. Ask questions like, “How do you know it was a hot day? Which words help you understand that the child was lonely?”
Tell me about it
After a read aloud, one of the best and easiest ways to check for understanding is to ask your child to summarize what the book was about in their own words. You can ask a question or two to help your child clarify her thinking or to add more detail.
Can your child tell you what happened in the story?
This video is from Home Reading Helper, a resource for parents to elevate children’s reading at home provided by Read Charlotte. Find more video, parent activities, printables, and other resources at Home Reading Helper.
Think alouds
Connect the book to your child's own life experience. For example, A River Dream: "This book reminds me of the time my father took me fishing. Do you remember the time we went fishing?"
Connect the book to other books they have read. For example, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: "This story reminds me of Cinderella. Both stories are about sisters. Do you know any other stories about nice and mean sisters? Let's keep reading to find out other ways the stories are similar."
Connect the book to big ideas/lessons. For example, Stellaluna: "This story helps me understand that we are all the same in many ways, but it's our differences that make us special."
Wordless
Wordless picture books provide your child with practice using clues to create meaning. There are no wrong stories with wordless picture books, only variations based on what the "reader" sees and puts together. Rosie's Walk, Good Dog, Carl, and Beaver Is Lost are all interesting and fun wordless picture books to explore. Find more wordless books on BookFinder.
Map this book!
Draw a map of the book's setting, and be sure to include the places where the main action happens!
Beginning-middle-end
This is a great way to see if your child understands the main parts of a story. After reading a book together, give your child three sheets of paper, with "beginning" on one sheet, "middle" on the second sheet, and "end" on the third sheet. Ask your child to think about the three parts of the story, and then draw what happened on each on the sheets. Arrange the sheets in order, left to right. What happens if you re-arrange the sheets? Does the story still make sense?
Words, words, words
Be sure to include books with rich vocabulary in your read alouds and call attention to interesting words and phrases from the story. This may include repeated phrases or idioms (such as "get cold feet" or "I'm all ears"). Offer a kid-friendly definition and connect the new word or phrase to something your child already knows. Talk about how the author used language or words to make the text interesting, informative, funny, or sad.
Illustrated timelines
After reading a story, have your child create an illustrated timeline of events from the story. Tape together five sheets of paper along the 8-1/2-inch side to create one very wide sheet that is 55 inches X 8-1/2 inches. To help plan the timeline, your child can add numbers that mark important points of the story. Then it's time to fill in the sequence of events with words and pictures. Once the timeline is complete, ask your child to re-tell the story — acting it out is okay, too! Variation: Create the timeline using Post-Its on a wall or outside using sidewalk chalk.
Talk show
Set up a talk show set with two chairs facing each other. If you like, make two microphones out of paper tubes or other craft supplies. You are the host and your child is a character from the book. Ask questions about the character, such as who you are, why you are important to the story, what happened to you in the story, what is the craziest interaction you had with another character, etc. Then switch roles!
Book trailer
Using a cell phone camera or other recording device, make a short video of your child talking about about why he recommends this book. Encourage your child to show the book cover and some of the inside pages when talking about a certain character or action sequence. Share the book trailer with family and friends!
Picture the character (Part 1)
Try this activity from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR). The FCRR "At Home" series was developed especially for families! Watch the video and then download the activity: Picture the Character. See all FCRR comprehension activities here.
Picture the character (Part 2)
Try this activity from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR). The FCRR "At Home" series was developed especially for families! Watch the video and then download the activity: Picture the Character. See all FCRR comprehension activities here.
Does your first grader read to learn about things?
More comprehension resources
Techniques for teaching the strategy of semantic reading and working with text
1. Introduction
The global processes of informatization of society, the increase in the amount of textual information every year, the presentation of new requirements for its analysis, systematization and processing speed have put theorists and practitioners of education in front of the need development of new approaches to teaching reading.
Problems:
- children have low reading speed, as a result of which they spend a lot of time doing homework,
- they often do not understand the meaning of what they read due to reading errors and incorrect intonation,
- they cannot extract the necessary information from the proposed text, highlight the main thing in the read,
- they find it difficult to briefly retell the content,
- when performing independent work, tests of different levels, students make mistakes due to misunderstanding of the wording of the task,
- rarely refer to cognitive texts.
That is, a serious contradiction arises: on the one hand, the modern world brings down a huge amount of information on us, on the other hand, our children do not read much, do not have the skills of semantic reading, and do not know how to work with information.
It is not so important to read a lot, it is much more necessary to process what you read in your mind in a quality manner. Having comprehended and structured the text in a certain way, it is much easier to convey its content and learn the main thing.
The current interdisciplinary curriculum, provided for by the new educational standards, is the program "Fundamentals of semantic reading and working with text." The program is aimed at forming and developing the foundations of reading competence necessary for students to implement their future plans, including continuing education and self-education, preparing for work and social activities. Today, reading, along with writing and computer skills, is one of the basic skills that allow you to work productively and communicate freely with different people. Reading is a universal skill: it is something taught and something through which one learns. As scientists have established, about 200 factors affect student performance. Factor #1 is reading skill, which has a far greater impact on academic performance than all of them combined. Research shows that in order to be competent in all subjects and later in life, a person needs to read 120-150 words per minute. This becomes a necessary condition for the success of working with information. Reading is the foundation of all educational outcomes.
2. Semantic reading in the context of the new Federal State Educational Standards
Federal standards include in the meta-subject results of OOP mastering as a mandatory component "mastering the skills of semantic reading of texts of various styles and genres in accordance with the goals and objectives."
Semantic reading is a type of reading aimed at understanding the semantic content of the text by the reader. For semantic understanding, it is not enough just to read the text, it is necessary to evaluate the information, respond to the content.
In the concept of universal educational activities (Asmolov A.G., Burmenskaya G.V., Volodarskaya I.A., etc.) actions of semantic reading associated with:
- understanding the purpose and choosing the type of reading depending on tasks;
- definition of primary and secondary information;
- by formulating the problem and the main idea of the text.
For semantic understanding, it is not enough just to read the text, it is necessary to evaluate the information, respond to the content. The concept of "text" should be interpreted broadly. It can include not only words, but also visual images in the form of diagrams, figures, maps, tables, graphs.
Since reading is a meta-subject skill, its constituent parts will be in the structure of all universal learning activities:
- personal UUD includes reading motivation, learning motives, attitude towards oneself and school;
- in the regulatory UUD - the student's acceptance of the learning task, arbitrary regulation of activity;
- in cognitive UUD - logical and abstract thinking, working memory, creative imagination, concentration, vocabulary volume.
- in communicative UUD - the ability to organize and implement cooperation and cooperation with a teacher and peers, adequately convey information, display subject content.
The diagram shows groups of meta-subject results related to semantic reading.
3. Strategies for semantic reading
To work with the text at each stage, the reader chooses his own strategies. Learning strategies are a set of actions that a learner takes in order to facilitate learning, make it more effective, efficient, faster, more enjoyable, aim and bring learning activities closer to their own goals.0007
The term "reading strategies" was born at the dawn of psycholinguistics, and its appearance is associated with the work of Kenneth Goodman and Peter Kolers (70s). (slide 14) The most general definition of J. Bruner became fundamental for all subsequent works: “A strategy is a certain way of acquiring, storing and using information that serves to achieve certain goals in the sense that it should lead to certain results.”
In case of success, the student remembers the ways of his actions, operations, resources used, transfers the strategy to other situations, makes it universal. The number of strategies and the frequency of their use are individual.
Strategy No. 1. Directed reading
Purpose: to form the ability to purposefully read the educational text. Ask questions and lead group discussions.
1. Update. Reception "Associative Bush": the teacher writes a keyword or title of the text, students express their associations one by one, the teacher writes down. The use of this technique allows you to update knowledge, motivate subsequent activities, activate the cognitive activity of students, set them up for work.
2. Pupils silently read a short text or part of a text, stopping at the indicated places.
3. The teacher asks a problematic question on what has been read.
4. The answers of several students are discussed in class.
5. The students make an assumption about the further development of the event.
Strategy #2. Reading in pairs - generalization in pairs
Purpose: to form the ability to highlight the main thing, summarize what was read in the form of a thesis, ask problematic questions.
1. The students silently read the text or part of the text chosen by the teacher.
2. The teacher puts the students in pairs and gives clear instruction. Each student alternately performs two roles: speaker - reads and summarizes the content in the form of one thesis; the respondent listens to the speaker and asks him two substantive questions. Next comes the role reversal.
3. The teacher invites all students to the discussion.
Strategy No. 3. Reading and asking
Purpose: to form the ability to work independently with printed information, formulate questions, work in pairs.
1. Students silently read the proposed text or part of the text chosen by the teacher.
2. The students work in pairs and discuss which key words should be highlighted in the reading. (Which words appear most often in the text? How many times? Which words are in bold? Why?
If you read the text aloud, how would you make it clear that this sentence is the main one? It is about highlighting the phrase voice, which hides an unobtrusive but reliable memorization. )
3. One of the students formulates a question using key words, the other answers it.
4. Discuss key words, questions and answers in class. Correction.
Strategy No. 4. Double entry diary
Goal: to form the ability to ask questions while reading, critically evaluate information, compare what is read with one's own experience.
1. The teacher instructs the students to divide the notebook into two parts.
2. In the process of reading, students should write down on the left side the moments that struck, surprised, reminded of some facts, caused any associations; on the right - write a concise commentary: why this particular moment surprised you, what associations it caused, what thoughts it prompted.
Strategy No. 5. Reading with notes
Purpose: to form the ability to read thoughtfully, evaluate information, formulate the author's thoughts in your own words.
The teacher gives the students the task to write information in the margins with icons according to the following algorithm:
- V Familiar information
- + New information
- - I thought (thought) otherwise
- ? This interested me (surprised), I want to know more
The essence of semantic reading strategies is that the strategy is related to choice, functions automatically at the unconscious level and is formed in the course of the development of cognitive activity. Teaching reading strategies includes the acquisition of skills:
- Distinguishing types of message content - facts, opinions, judgments, evaluations;
- recognition of the hierarchy of meanings within the text - the main idea, theme and its components;
- own understanding - the process of reflective perception of the cultural meaning of information.
Mastering strategies occurs mainly in groups or pairs, which allows students to develop not only speech, but also communicative competence.
4. Techniques for teaching the strategy of semantic reading and working with text
The strategy of semantic reading provides understanding of the text by mastering the techniques of mastering it at the stages before reading, during reading and after reading. Working with any text involves three stages: pre-text activity, text and post-text activity
Stage 1. Work with text before reading.
1. Anticipation (anticipation, anticipation of the upcoming reading). Determining the semantic, thematic, emotional orientation of the text, highlighting its heroes by the title of the work, the name of the author, key words, illustrations preceding the text based on the reader's experience.
2. Setting the objectives of the lesson, taking into account the general (educational, motivational, emotional, psychological) readiness of students for work.
Purpose of stage 1: development of the most important reading skill, anticipation, that is, the ability to guess, predict the content of the text by title, author's name, illustration.
Techniques of pre-text activity:
If earlier, according to the traditional method, only one task “Read the text” was given at the stage of pre-reading the text, and the main attention was paid to control of reading comprehension, now we know that the better organized the stage of pre-reading, the easier it is for the student to read the text and the higher the result achieved by him.
Pre-text orienting techniques are aimed at staging reading and, consequently, at choosing the type of reading, updating previous knowledge and experience, concepts and vocabulary of the text, as well as creating motivation for reading.
Most common techniques:
- Brainstorming
- Glossary
- "Landmarks of anticipation"
- Preliminary Questions
- "Dissection questions".
Brainstorming, headline prediction.
The goal is to update previous knowledge and experience related to the topic of the text.
The question is asked: what associations do you have about the stated topic?
Associations are written on the board.
The teacher can add various information.
Reading text. Comparison of information with that learned from the text.
"Glossary"
The purpose of is to update and repeat the vocabulary related to the topic of the text.
The teacher says the name of the text, gives a list of words and suggests marking those that may be related to the text.
Having finished reading the text, they return to these words (this will be a post-text strategy) and look at the meaning and use of the words used in the text.
"Landmarks of anticipation"
The purpose of is to update previous knowledge and experience related to the topic of the text. Students are given judgments. They should mark the ones they agree with. After reading, they mark them again. If the answer has changed, then the students explain why this happened (post-text strategy)
“Dissections of the Question”
The goal of is a semantic guess about the possible content of the text based on the analysis of its title. It is proposed to read the title of the text and divide it into semantic groups. What do you think the text will be about?
"Preparatory questions"
The purpose of is to update existing knowledge on the topic of the text.
Detailed reception algorithm:
1. Scan the text quickly. (Review reading.)
2. Answer the question asked in the title of the text.
Stage 2. Working with text while reading.
Purpose of stage 2: understanding of the text and creation of its reader's interpretation (interpretation, evaluation).
1. Primary reading of the text. Independent reading in the classroom or reading-listening, or combined reading (at the choice of the teacher) in accordance with the characteristics of the text, age and individual abilities of students. Identification of primary perception (with the help of a conversation, fixing primary impressions, related arts - at the teacher's choice).
2. Rereading the text. Slow "thoughtful" repeated reading (of the entire text or its individual fragments). Text analysis. Statement of a clarifying question for each semantic part.
3. Conversation on the content of the text. Summary of what has been read. Identification of the hidden meaning of the work, if any. Statement of generalizing questions to the text, both by the teacher and by the children. Appeal (if necessary) to individual fragments of the text.
Text activities include:
- Read aloud
- "Reading to yourself with questions"
- Stop Reading
- "Reading to yourself with a mark"
"Reading aloud"
The goal is to check the understanding of the text read aloud .
1. Reading text paragraph by paragraph. The task is to read with understanding, the task of the listeners is to ask the reader questions to check whether he understands the text being read.
2. Listeners ask questions about the content of the text, the reader answers. If his answer is incorrect or inaccurate, the listeners correct him.
“Reading to yourself with questions”
The goal is to teach you to read the text thoughtfully by asking yourself increasingly difficult questions .
1. Reading the first paragraph. Questions are being asked.
2. Reading the second paragraph to yourself. Work in pairs. One student asks questions, the other answers.
3. Reading the third paragraph. They change roles. They ask questions and answer.
Stop Reading
Goals - managing the process of understanding the text while reading it.
Reading the text with stops during which questions are asked. Some of them are aimed at testing understanding, others - at predicting the content of the following passage.
“Reading to yourself with notes” (“Insert”)
The goal is to monitor the understanding of the text being read and its critical analysis . This strategy is most often used to work with complex scientific texts. It is used to stimulate more careful reading. Reading becomes an exciting journey.
1. Individual reading.
While reading, the student makes notes in the text:
- V – already knew;
- + - new;
- - thought differently;
- ? - I do not understand, there are questions.
2. Reading, the second time, fill in the table, systematizing the material.
Already knew (V) | Learned something new (+) | Thought otherwise (–) | Questions (?) |
Records - keywords, phrases. After completing the table, students will have a mini-outline. After the students fill in the table, we summarize the results of the work in the conversation mode. If the students have any questions, then I answer them, having previously found out if one of the students can answer the question that has arisen. This technique contributes to the development of the ability to classify, systematize incoming information, highlight the new.
“Creating a question plan”.
The student carries out a semantic grouping of the text, highlights the strong points, divides the text into semantic parts and titles each part with a key question
Stage 3. Working with text after reading .
Purpose: correction of the reader's interpretation in accordance with the author's intention
1. Conceptual (semantic) conversation on the text. Collective discussion of the read, discussion. Correlation of readers' interpretations (interpretations, evaluations) of the work with the author's position. Identification and formulation of the main idea of the text or the totality of its main meanings.
2. Acquaintance with the writer. Story about a writer. Talk about the personality of the writer. Working with textbook materials, additional sources.
3. Work with the title, illustrations. Discussing the meaning of the title. Referring students to ready-made illustrations. Correlation of the artist's vision with the reader's idea.
4. Creative tasks based on any area of students' reading activity (emotions, imagination, comprehension of content, artistic
Techniques for post-text activities.
- "Relationship between question and answer"
- "Time out"
- "Checklist"
- "Questions after the text"
"Relationship between question and answer"
The goal is to teach understanding of the text . One of the most effective post-text techniques. It differs from the rest in that it teaches the process of understanding the text, and does not control the result (understood - did not understand), shows the need to search for the location of the answer.
The answer to the question can be in the text or in the reader's word. If the answer is in the text, it can be in one sentence of the text or in several of its parts. To answer the question, you need to find the exact answer in one sentence of the text. If it is contained in several parts of the text, such an answer must be formulated by connecting them.
If the answer is in the reader's head, then in one case the reader constructs it by connecting what the author says between the lines or indirectly and how the reader interprets the author's words. In another case, the answer is outside the text and the reader is looking for it in his knowledge.
"Time out"
Objectives - self-test and assessment of understanding of the text by discussing it in pairs and in a group.
Reception implementation algorithm:
1. Reading the first part of the text. Work in pairs.
2. Ask each other clarifying questions. They answer them. If there is no confidence in the correctness of the answer, questions are submitted for discussion by the whole group after the completion of the work with the text.
Checklist
This strategy is quite flexible. It lays down the conditions for the qualitative performance of any task. The “checklist” is compiled by the teacher for students at the first stages of applying the strategy.
Checklist "Brief retelling":
1. The main idea of the text is named. (Yes / No.)
2. The main thoughts of the text and the main details are named. (Yes/No.)
3. There is a logical and semantic structure of the text. (Yes/No.)
4. There are necessary means of communication that unite the main ideas of the text. (Yes/No.)
5. The content is presented in one's own words (language means) while preserving the lexical units of the author's text. (Yes/No.)
“Questions after the text”
The classification of questions, known as the “Taxonomy of questions”, involves a balance between groups of questions to:
- the factual information of the text, presented verbally;
- subtext information hidden between lines, in subtext;
- conceptual information, often outside the text.
These three groups of questions are now being supplemented by a fourth one - a group of evaluative, reflective questions related to the critical analysis of the text.
"Thin" and "thick" questions
After studying the topic, students are asked to formulate three "thin" and three "thick" questions related to the material covered. They then quiz each other using tables of "thick" and "thin" questions.
Thick questions | Subtle questions |
Explain why….? | Who..? What…? When…? |
- Read the text.
- What words occur most often in the text? How many times?
- Which words are in bold? Why?
- If you were to read the text aloud, how would you make it clear that this sentence is the main one?
- Noun (subject).
- Two adjectives (description)
- Three verbs (action).
- Four-word phrase (description).
- Noun (paraphrasing of the topic).
- How many paragraphs of the text?
- Pay attention to the words in thinned and bold type.
- Write out keywords.
- Coordinating conjunctions
- Intonation
- general minor member
- Explanatory words
- Comma
- Semicolon
- Dash
- No comma
- Reading 1 paragraph.
- We ask questions to the reader, he answers them.
- Reading in pairs to yourself 2 paragraphs, one student asks a question - the other answers.
- Reading 3, 4 paragraphs - students change roles.
- Give an example of a compound sentence, give a description according to the plan, draw up a diagram;
- make a mind map.
Question Tree
Crown - what? where? when? Barrel - why? How? Could you? Roots - how to relate the text to life? With current events? What is the author trying to show?
"Bloom's Cube" (Benjamin Bloom is a famous American teacher, author of many pedagogical strategies = technician).
The beginnings of the questions are written on the sides of the cube: “Why?”, “Explain”, “Name”, “Suggest”, “Think up”, “Share”. The teacher or student rolls the die.
It is necessary to formulate a question to the educational material on the side on which the cube fell.
The “Name” question is aimed at the level of reproduction, that is, at the simple reproduction of knowledge.
The question "Why" - the student in this case must find cause-and-effect relationships, describe the processes that occur with a particular object or phenomenon.
"Explain" question - the student uses concepts and principles in new situations.
Question Tree
Options for working with text.
"Questions to the text of the textbook"
The strategy allows you to form the ability to work independently with printed information, formulate questions, work in pairs.
We are talking about highlighting a phrase with your voice. Here lies an unobtrusive but reliable memorization.
Cluster
I use clusters for structuring and systematizing material. A cluster is a way of graphic organization of educational material, the essence of which is that in the middle of the sheet the main word (idea, topic) is written or sketched, and ideas (words, pictures) associated with it are fixed on the sides of it.
"Keywords"
These are words that can be used to compose a story or definitions of some concept.
"True and False Statements"
has a universal device, which contributes to the actualization of students' knowledge and the activation of mental activity. This technique makes it possible to quickly include children in mental activity and it is logical to proceed to the study of the topic of the lesson. Reception forms the ability to assess the situation or facts, the ability to analyze information, the ability to reflect one's opinion. Children are invited to express their attitude to a number of statements according to the rule: true - "+", not true - "-".
"Do you believe..."
It is carried out in order to arouse interest in the study of the topic and create a positive motivation for independent study of the text on this topic.
Conducted at the beginning of the lesson, after the announcement of the topic.
Sincwine
Develops the ability of students to highlight key concepts in the reading, the main ideas, synthesize the knowledge gained and show creativity.
Sinkwine structure:
"Mental maps" (graphic technique for organizing text),
Mind Mapping is a mind visualization technique. The applications of mental maps are very diverse - for example, they can be used to fix, understand and remember the content of a book or text, generate and write down ideas, understand a new topic for yourself, prepare for making a decision.
In the center of a landscape sheet, one word indicates the subject, which is enclosed in a closed outline. Branches are drawn from it, on which keywords are located. Sub-branches are added to branches until the topic is exhausted.
Mind maps activate memory. Lists, solid text, trees, and diagrams are the same. Mind maps, on the other hand, use every possible means to activate perception through diversity: different line weights, different colors of branches, precisely chosen keywords that are personally meaningful to you, the use of images and symbols. The technique of mental maps helps not only to organize and organize information, but also to better perceive, understand, remember and associate it.
5. Diagnosis of educational outcomes using semantic reading techniques
The network project "Techniques of Semantic Reading" [1] describes the model of V.V. Pikan, in which all cognitive levels are illustrated by exemplary examples of key questions and tasks that make it possible to diagnose the quality of mastering knowledge and ways of students' activities. Each of the cognitive levels (knowledge, understanding, application, generalization and systematization, value attitude) is assigned the number of points received for completing the tasks of the mastered level. The table below shows examples of questions and tasks, assessment criteria.
Cognitive levels and assessment criteria | Examples of key questions and tasks (beginning of formulations) |
Knowledge - 1 point | Name. .., Define..., Formulate... . Retell ... List .... Choose the correct answer…. Complete the word…. Show…, Find out...etc. |
Comprehension - 2 points | As you understand... Explain the relationship. Why ... Connect in semantic pairs .... Show on the graph... |
Application - according to sample 3 b. | Make an offer…. Identify Traits character…. Apply the appropriate rule.... Compare…. Draw conclusions.... Present your point of view... |
Generalization and systematization | Make a summary…. Make a table. |
Value attitude - 2-10 b. | What does it matter…. What do you think…. Do you like…. |
6. Implementation of semantic reading technology techniques
1. Work with text before reading. Reception dissection question.
It is proposed to read the title of the paragraph "Compound sentence", the title of the scientific style text, and divide it into semantic groups; answer the question: what do you think the text will be about?
2. Working with text while reading.
Primary reading . Review reading or introductory reading:
1. Compound
2. Communication
3. Additional communications
4. Punctuation marks
Learning reading . Rereading text
3. Work with the text after reading.
Work in groups: 1 group, using keywords, makes up a story about a compound sentence; Group 2, based on the plan for syntactic analysis of a simple sentence, draws up a plan for characterizing a complex sentence.
General job:
Fig.1. Mind map "Compound sentence" of a 9th grade student Samara D.
7. Conclusion
Semantic reading forms cognitive interest, the ability to compare facts and draw conclusions, activates the imagination, develops speech, thinking, and also teaches how to work with information. The active implementation of semantic reading strategies, technologies by all teachers of various academic disciplines will make our graduates full members of the new information society.
References and references
- Project "Techniques of semantic reading" Auth. Dozmorova E.V., Director of the Center for Innovations in Education, FPC and PC TSPU, Ph.D. - https://www.planeta.tspu.ru/files/file/doc/1464065663.pdf
- Federal State Educational Standard for Primary General Education // http://standart.edu.ru/catalog.aspx?CatalogId=959.
- Variable learning technology / under. ed. Pikan V.V. / Teaching aid.: UTs Perspektiva, 2008
- Dozmorova E.V. Development of creative thinking of students in mathematics lessons. Methodological guide for teachers of mathematics - Tomsk 2008.
- Rozhdestvenskaya L., Logvina I. Formation of functional reading skills. A guide for the teacher. – https://slovesnic.ru/attachments/article/303/frrozhdest.pdf
- Fisenko T.I. Development of semantic reading skills when working with various texts in classes in grades 5–11 - https://www.kreativ-didaktika.ru/bailainer-obuchenie/didakticheskii-tramplin/razvitie-navykov-smyslovogo-chtenija.html
- Sapa A.V. Formation of the foundations of semantic reading within the framework of the implementation of the Federal State Educational Standard of basic general education.
Strategies for semantic reading and work with text
"Strategies for semantic reading and work with text".
reading plays a huge role in education, upbringing and human development.
Every person is obliged to take care of his intellectual development.
This is his duty to the society in which he lives
and to himself.
The main way of one's
intellectual development is reading.
D.S. Likhachev
The global processes of informatization of society - the increase in the amount of textual information every year has put theorists and practitioners in the field of education in front of the need to develop new approaches to teaching reading.
It is necessary to prepare students for the rapid perception and processing of large amounts of information, mastery of modern means, methods and technologies of work.
Teaching children correct, fluent, conscious, expressive reading is one of the tasks of education. Currently, the reading skill of most children of middle school age is unconscious: this type of reading does not allow you to extract information from the text as much as possible, moreover, to understand it. There is a need to develop the skill of conscious reading.
In FGOS OOO one of the requirements for the educational process in the formation of UUD is the formation of a semantic reading strategy and work with text :
work with text: information search and reading comprehension;
work with text: transformation and interpretation of information;
work with text: evaluation of information.
In the scientific literature, “semantic reading strategies” are understood as various combinations of techniques that students use to perceive graphically designed textual information and process it into personal-semantic attitudes in accordance with the communicative-cognitive task. The essence of semantic reading strategies is that the strategy is related to choice and is formed in the course of the development of cognitive activity. The development of semantic reading abilities will help to master the art of analytical, interpretive and critical reading. Possession of semantic reading skills allows you to study productively from books always.
This means that in each subject, work should be carried out on the formation and development of semantic reading skills.
Semantic reading is such a quality of reading, in which an understanding of the informational, semantic and ideological aspects of the work is achieved.
Work on the formation of skills and abilities of independent reading and understanding of the text should be started from the 2nd grade and carried out in the system, complicating the techniques and methods of reading and processing information from class to class.
There are various ways of meaningful reading. Here are the main ones:
analytical (structural) method. In this case, the reader goes from the whole to the particular. The purpose of such reading is to understand the author's attitude to an object or phenomenon and to identify the factors that influenced this attitude;
synthetic (interpretative) method. Here the reader moves from the particular to the whole. The purpose of this method is to identify what tasks the author has set in this text and how and to what extent he solved them;
critical (evaluative) method. Its purpose is to evaluate the author's text and decide whether the reader agrees with it; determine your own attitude to the text, formulate it.
The technology of semantic reading includes three stages of working with text.
I stage. Work with text before reading.
This is anticipation of (or anticipation of the forthcoming reading; determination of the semantic, thematic, emotional orientation of the text, selection of its characters by the title of the work, author's name, keywords, illustrations preceding the text based on the reader's experience)
and setting goals for lesson , taking into account the general readiness of students for work.
Stage II. Working with text while reading.
It has three points: primary reading of the text (independent reading in the classroom, reading-listening, combined reading in accordance with the characteristics of the text, age and individual abilities of students; identifying primary perception, matches of students' initial assumptions with content, emotional coloring read text),
then re-reading of the text (slow "thoughtful" re-reading of the entire text or its individual fragments)
and text analysis , appeal (if necessary) to individual fragments of the text and expressive reading).
Stage III. Work with the text after reading.
It also has several important points: first, conceptual (semantic) conversation on the text (i.e. collective discussion of what was read, discussion; correlation of reader's interpretations of the work with the author's position; identification and formulation of the main idea of the text or the totality of its main meanings).
Secondly, acquaintance with the writer (this is a story about the writer, a conversation about his personality, work with textbook materials, additional sources).
Next comes work with title, illustrations (discussion of the meaning of the title, students' reference to ready-made illustrations and correlation of the artist's vision with the reader's idea).
And at the end of the third stage - creative tasks based on any area of students' reading activity (emotions, imagination, comprehension of content, artistic form). For a more complete perception and understanding of the text, serious attention is paid to the consideration of the main elements of the text, such as the title and key concepts. The title concentrates the main idea, the theme of the work, is the key to its understanding. It allows you to realize the initial perspective that the reader's understanding is aimed at, and rethink the text in accordance with the idea inherent in it.
In total, there are about a hundred reading strategies, and according to statistics, about 30-40 are used in schools.
When working with text, there are various techniques such as:
Reception "true and false" statements can be used when studying not only linguistic material. The teacher offers students a series of statements on a topic that has not yet been studied, students choose those that, in their opinion, correspond to students return to these statements and evaluate the reliability of their choices.
Technique “thick and thin questions” is actively used at any stage of the lesson. "Thin" questions of the reproductive plan, and questions requiring reflection - "thick". After reading the text, the students, united in groups, make up several questions. Asked questions are a way for the teacher to diagnose the knowledge of the student, because they demonstrate the level of immersion in the text, the ability to analyze.
Technique based on different types of questions - "Bloom's question chamomile", can be used in word processing lessons. Chamomile consists of six petals, each of which contains a certain type of question:
1. Simple questions, answering which, you need to reproduce some facts, the names of heroes, the name of the place that are described in the work.
2. Clarifying questions:
- That is, you say that…
- If I understand correctly, then…
- I may be wrong. But I think you were talking about...
3. Interpretive (explanatory) questions. They usually start with the word why?
4. Creative questions contain particle would. (What would change if Dubrovsky and Troekurov reconciled?) (What could be the family life of Masha and Vladimir Dubrovsky?)
5. Evaluation questions aimed at clarifying the criteria for evaluating certain events, phenomena, facts. (How do you feel about the position of the hero, the author?)
6. Practical questions are usually aimed at establishing the relationship between theory and practice. They are possible in the analysis of a poetic text. (Are there author's neologisms in Mayakovsky's poem? Give examples).
Reception “Reading in a circle”. The purpose of this technique is to control the process of understanding the text while reading. The teacher voices the task: "We begin to take turns reading the text in paragraphs." Our task is to read carefully, the task of the listeners is to ask the reader questions to check whether he understands the text being read. We have only one copy of the text, which we pass on to the next reader." Listeners ask questions about the content of the text, the reader answers. If his answer is incorrect or inaccurate, the listeners correct him.
Technique “Restoring/filling in the gaps” involves working with a connected text in which every, for example, fifth word is deliberately omitted or blocked by a lattice. The task of the student is to restore the deformed text.
Complementary exercises - a workflow based on a passage of text or a series of unfinished sentences to be completed using the information obtained from the text.
Reception of comparison/finding of similarities and differences. Based on the comparison of two or more objects, for example: pictures, words, texts, etc.
"Mosaic" - method of work based on the division of the "information bank", i.e. text for reading or listening. After getting acquainted with a certain part of the information, students exchange it and restore the general content of the text.
Multiple choice - selection of the correct answer from the given options.
Note-taking - a method of work aimed at developing the ability to write down briefly in the form of notes the content of the text read or listened to in order to record the necessary information for further use (brief retelling).
Dividing text into paragraphs - division of a continuous text into parts according to the main idea contained in each of them.
Drawing up a plan - reducing the information of the text to the main ideas recorded in the form of a plan, i.e. the points.
Quiz - A competition or game quiz in which participants answer factual content questions.
Logical rearrangement/resequencing - redistribution of the proposed material in a logical sequence or according to a plan. The result of the work is a recreated connected text, a series of pictures, etc.
Filling in the table - acceptance of work based on entering the necessary information into the table.
Through the book, the child perceives various behaviors (the ability to make friends, achieve goals, resolve conflicts), which can be effective in various life situations. The greatest effect can be achieved if the reading is also supplemented by a joint discussion. This can help the child see the analogies of what they have read in their own lives.
Thus, mastering the school skills of understanding textual information (semantic reading) is a complex, multifaceted process. In the process of teaching all school disciplines, it is important for a teacher to create favorable conditions for this in order to ensure the development of the basics of reading competence among students. The inclusion of a system of special tasks and exercises in different stages of the lesson is one of such conditions.
Taking into account the strategies of modern approaches to reading, we can recommend the following to subject teachers:
Choose the most rational types of reading for students to learn new material;
To form students' interest in reading by introducing non-standard forms and methods of working with text;
Increase student independence;
Organize various activities of students in order to develop creative thinking, teach self-control and self-organization in various activities.