Targeting Key Comprehension Skills

May 13, 2024

This post looks at the six strategies that are used most commonly in classrooms today. Direct instruction to support comprehension development includes what is referred to as the ‘super six’.

Elements	Approach	Example
1. Making Connections – a process of shared thinking, includes sequencing, problem-solving, relating background knowledge	Teachers provide explicit instruction to teach students to draw on their prior knowledge, or schema, as a strategy to help them comprehend a text.	Students are taught to: make personal connections from the text with something in their own life (text-to-self) make connections with another text (text-to-text) make connections with something in the known world (text-to-world)
2. Predicting and inferring – includes comparing and contrasting, drawing conclusions	Students are taught to draw on their prior knowledge to make inferences and draw conclusions.	use clues such as graphics, text and experiences to anticipate or predict the content of the text and to predict ‘what may happen next’ list 5 to 10 words that might be in the text
3. Questioning – includes self-questioning	Learners are taught to ask questions of the author, about the text and about their own predictions, questions and understanding of the text.	pose and answer questions that clarify meaning and promote deeper understanding of the text
4. Monitoring – sequencing, checking for understanding	*Learners are taught to think about their own* thinking: What do I understand? What am I unsure about?**	briefly explain or retell the story so far, for eg reread to check for meaning, read ahead to check predictions, review what they have read, discuss ideas in pairs/small groups
5. Visualising – includes forming mental images	Learners are taught to develop this skill when the teacher shares their own visual imagery or mental pictures invoked by the text. This is a great way to draw on personal experiences.	visualise a scene or image
6. Summarising – includes identifying key ideas, facts and relevant details	Students learn to identify the key ideas or information contained in the text.	Restate main ideas – for eg ‘Write 3 sentences that summarise the story.’ Ask to list 3 to 5 facts contained in the story and 3 to 5 facts the students has inferred from the story. Use graphic organisers/storymaps, maps, charts, webs, graphs as helpful pictorial tools.

Comprehension skills build over time and can be developed when students are engaged in discussion, questioning, retelling or recalling, summarising and identifying key points and points of interest.

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