Reading Comprehension
Reading Is Important
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. These statistics make it obvious
that we have to look for new approaches to prepare students for the millennium,
especially in light of current job market trends.
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).
In summary, people just aren't
reading as much anymore and yet the need for reading, comprehension, and
communication skills (verbal and written) has increased. The need is great for
strengthening the following skills:
- Your ability to read a variety of materials (e.g. textbooks, novels, newspapers, magazines, instructional manuals).
- Your ability to understand and remember what you read.
- Your ability to effectively communicate what you've learned from your reading.
Motivation Is Necessary:
Engaged, active readers have
deep-seated motivational goals, which include being committed to the subject
matter, wanting to learn the content, believing in one's own ability, and
wanting to share understandings from learning. However, most people, children
and adults, do not spend any significant portion of their free time reading.
Without committing time to reading, no one can gain the reading skills or
knowledge they need to succeed in school, at work, or in life in general. The
best way to improve your reading efficiency is to read a lot.
What is Reading Comprehension?
According to Webster's Dictionary,
comprehension is "the capacity for understanding fully; the act or action
of grasping with the intellect." Webster also tells us that reading is
"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.
Comprehension = understanding!
Identifying words on a page does not
make someone a successful reader. When the words are understood and transcend
the pages to become thoughts and ideas then you are truly reading.
Comprehension therefore is the capacity for understanding those thoughts and
ideas. Applying what you have read and understood becomes the successful
conclusion.
When you comprehend what you read it
is like taking a trip around the world, staying as long as you like, visiting
all the places you wish, and you never even having to pack a suitcase! Reading
can be an escape that takes you outside the bounds of your existence. Reading
is your ticket to whatever you choose to do and become. Reading is your future
as well as your past. Don't be a reader who reads without thinking or who reads
without a purpose.
Comprehension Regulation:
You can become an active, effective
reader through comprehension regulation. This is a method for consciously
controlling the reading process. Comprehension regulation involves the use of
preplanned strategies to understand text. It is a plan for getting the most out
of reading. It allows you to have an idea of what to expect from the text. Most
importantly, it gives you techniques to use when you are experiencing
difficulties.
As an active reader, you can get an
idea of what the writer is trying to communicate by:
- Setting goals based on your purpose for reading
- Previewing the text to make predictions
- Self-questioning
- Scanning
- Relating new information to old
Determining your Purpose:
There are many different purposes
for reading. Sometimes you read a text to learn material, sometimes you read
for pure pleasure, and sometimes you need to follow a set of directions. As a
student, much of your reading will be to learn assigned material. You get
information from everything you read and yet you don't read everything for the
same reason or in the same way or at the same rate. Each purpose or reason for
reading requires a different reading approach. Two things that influence how
fast and how well you read are the characteristics of the text and the
characteristics of you, the reader.
Characteristics of the text:
- Size and style of the type (font)
- Pictures and illustrations
- Author's writing style and personal perspectives
- Difficulty of the ideas presented
Characteristics of the reader:
- Background knowledge (how much you already know about the material or related concepts)
- Reading ability - vocabulary and comprehension
- Interest
- Attitude
Skills for being an effective reader and for increasing comprehension are:
- 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
When comprehension fails, or your
understanding seems limited, you can use a plan that includes:
- Using structural analysis and contextual clues to identify unknown vocabulary words (e.g., look at roots, prefixes, suffixes). If this fails, keep a dictionary close by and look up words you don't understand
- Reading more critically - ask questions while you read
- Summarizing or outlining main points and supporting details
- Rereading the material
- Do a "think aloud" and/or try to explain what you've read to someone else
Although, reading means different
things to different people and skills vary with every individual, reading is a
skill that can be improved. Students from various backgrounds are in reading
courses for a variety of reasons. Weaknesses in vocabulary, comprehension,
speed, or a combination of all three may be the result of ineffective reading
habits. Active reading is engaged reading and can be achieved through
comprehension regulation strategies.
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