Comprehension
Reading comprehension is making meaning about the world through text.
To be career and college ready, the Common Core Standards recommend that students build coherent knowledge of the world around them. To meet the standards, teachers must now place greater emphasis on increasingly complex, high-content nonfiction. As students read history, social studies, science, and math texts, as well as literature, they must analyze the text, gather evidence, understand it fully, and apply what they learn to solve problems.
The three comprehension strategies in PowerUp—Self-Questioning, Summarizing, and Visualizing—are cross-cutting practices that enhance this instructional shift towards reading to make meaning. To support all students’ comprehension, use these evidence-based strategies, align them with technology tools, and translate UDL principles into action to differentiate instruction.
Self-Questioning
Proficient readers ask themselves questions about text. Struggling readers do not. Read More
Summarizing
Proficient readers can create summaries of what they read to aid their comprehension. Read More
Visualizing
Successful reading is an active process that takes place between a reader and the text. Read More
View these two short videos to learn more about research-based practices in comprehension instruction.
Adolescent Literacy: Effective Strategies That Boost Reading Comprehension from Doing What Works. The video provides an overview of strategies targeted towards improving adolescent literacy, but the strategies are also relevant and applicable for upper elementary students (Grades 4–6).
Improving K-3 Reading Comprehension from Doing What Works. The strategies presented are intended for younger and early readers, but are also appropriate for upper elementary students who are struggling readers, or English language learners.
© PowerUp WHAT WORKS is funded through a five year grant by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).