Comprehension Strategies for K-2
by Michele Polselli
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Students connect their background knowledge to the text they are reading. Purpose of the strategy: Readers comprehend better when they actively think about and apply their knowledge of the book's topic, their own experiences, and the world around them. Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis in their book, Strategies that Work (2000, p. 68), state that, "When children understand how to connect the text they read to their lives, they begin to make connections between what they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking about bigger, more expansive issues beyond their universe of home, school, and neighborhood." How to help your student use this strategy: To help your student make connections while they are reading, ask him/her the following questions:
With questioning, students understand the text on a deeper level because questions clarify confusion and stimulate further interest in a topic. Purpose of the strategy: Through questioning, students are able to wonder about content and concepts before, during, and after reading by: How to help your student use this strategy:
Students create mind pictures and visualizations when they read. Purpose of the strategy: The reader uses the text material and their own prior knowledge to create their own mind pictures of what is happening in the text. "Visualizing personalizes reading, keeps us engaged, and often prevents us from abandoning a book." (Strategies that Work, 2000, p.97). How to help your student use this strategy: To help you student visualize while reading, try the following:
Students make inferences about text they are reading to interpret meaning and develop deeper understanding. Purpose of the strategy: Readers comprehend better when they make connections and construct their own knowledge (using prior experiences, visualizing, predicting and synthesizing) to interpret the "big idea." It is like a mental dialogue between the author and the student. How to help your students use this strategy: Ask them: "How did you know that?" "Why did you think that would happen?" "Look at the cover and pictures, then make predictions." "Discuss the plot and theme." "What do you think this story was about?" "How do you think the character feels?" "Does it remind you of anything?"
 Strategy #5 - Determining
Importance
When students are reading nonfiction, they have to decide and remember what is important from the material they read. Purpose of the strategy: The purpose is to teach students to discriminate the "must know" information from the less important details in a text. "When kids read and understand nonfiction, they build background for the topic and acquire new knowledge. The ability to identify essential ideas and salient information is a prerequisite to developing insight." (Strategies that Work, 2000, p. 119). How to help your student use this strategy: To help you students determine importance while they are reading:
Students weave together what they read and their own ideas into new complete thoughts. Purpose of the strategy: Readers comprehend better when they sift through information to make sense of it and to act upon it - such as judging or evaluating the author's purpose to form a new idea, opinion, or perspective. This is the highest and most complex form of comprehension. How to help your student use this strategy:
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Strategy #1 - Making
Connections
Strategy
#2 - Questioning
Strategy #3 –
Visualizing
Strategy
#4 - Inferring
Strategy #6 -
Synthesizing