Enhancing Reading Comprehension Skills in Beginning Readers
Questions:
1. The students are most likely to be successful in their independent reading of the book if:
A. the students can decode and understand the meaning of at least 95 percent of the words in the text.
B. the text does not include compound sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions such as and, or, or but.
C. the students come from homes where silent reading is extensively modeled and encouraged by caregivers.
D. the text primarily deals with fictional rather than factual accounts of characters and/or events.
2. The theoretical basis for including the brainstorming activity in this lesson is that having the students share their vocabulary knowledge about farms prior to the reading will:
A. give the teacher an opportunity to assess and compare the students' oral language skills.
B. reinforce the students' understanding and recognition of key concepts about print.
C. facilitate the students' comprehension by activating prior knowledge and building schema.
D. prepare the students to benefit from explicit phonics instruction related to the text.
3. The most important reason for putting the book in the classroom library is to promote the students':
A. love of reading by facilitating their access to a story that they have already heard, understood, and enjoyed.
B. understanding of the alphabetic principle by reinforcing their knowledge of letter-sound correspondences.
C. oral language development by providing them with the opportunity to imitate the teacher's reading of a text.
D. use of metacognitive strategies by allowing them to practice self-monitoring when reading silently.
Answer:
1) A. the students can decode and understand the meaning of at least 95 percent of the words in the text.
2) C. facilitate the students' comprehension by activating prior knowledge and building schema.
3) A. love of reading by facilitating their access to a story that they have already heard, understood, and enjoyed.
Explanation:
1) If the students do not understand the vocabularies used in the text, they will find it difficult to comprehend the book when reading it independently. Successful independent reading requires decoding and understanding the meaning of the majority of words in the text to ensure comprehension.
2) The brainstorming activity before the reading helps activate the students' prior knowledge about farms, aiding in comprehension by connecting new information to existing schema. This process enhances their understanding and recognition of key concepts in the text.
3) Placing the book in the classroom library promotes students' love of reading by allowing them easy access to a familiar story they have already enjoyed. Revisiting the text independently enhances their understanding and enjoyment of reading, fostering a positive reading experience.