Comprehension of Narrative Text
Grade 3:
Strategy 1: Spin the Discussion
The purpose of this after reading strategy is to discuss and demonstrate their comprehension of the story and learn from others. Make a spinner with the following prompts in the four sections:
Strategy 2: Alternate Writing
Alternate writing is a pre-reading strategy that helps readers understand the beginning, middle, and end of stories. It combines reading and writing. It creates a story written by a teacher and a struggling reader. It helps students acquire literary knowledge, such as elements of a story-setting, characters, conflict, climax, and resolution and thus aids comprehension. Use paper or a computer as you complete the following steps:
Strategy 1: Spin the Discussion
The purpose of this after reading strategy is to discuss and demonstrate their comprehension of the story and learn from others. Make a spinner with the following prompts in the four sections:
- Tell in your words what happened
- Tell your favorite part
- Say what this book reminds you of
- Add something new to the story
Strategy 2: Alternate Writing
Alternate writing is a pre-reading strategy that helps readers understand the beginning, middle, and end of stories. It combines reading and writing. It creates a story written by a teacher and a struggling reader. It helps students acquire literary knowledge, such as elements of a story-setting, characters, conflict, climax, and resolution and thus aids comprehension. Use paper or a computer as you complete the following steps:
- Agree with the student on a topic and a title for his/her story.
- Write the first sentence of the story.
- Have the student read your sentence and then add a sentence.
- Then, you read the first two sentences and add the third sentence. Take turns writing senteneces until the story is complete.
- Discuss story elements with the student as he/she writes his/her sentences.
Grade 4:
Strategy 1: Sticky Note Thinking
The purpose of this during reading strategy is to help students monitor their own comprehension. This can be done during guided reading or literature circles in grades 3-6. Explain to the students that while they read they will write down on sticky notes (or in journals for older students) any predictions, questions that come about from the reading, comments, connections with their own experiences or other texts, and/or something they learned. If they are confused about something, they make a sticky note exactly where they are confused on the page. After reading, the students share their predictions, questions, comments, connections with their own experiences or other texts, and/or things they have learned or anything that comes to their minds. This also helps them learn from other students. Model this strategy with a think aloud so that they understand exactly what they should be writing.
Strategy 2: Character Perspective Chart
Many stories depict conflict between the goals of two characters. The purpose of this after reading strategy is to help students draw inferences about the goals of each character. This strategy can be used in grades 4-6. The chart includes the following:
Strategy 1: Sticky Note Thinking
The purpose of this during reading strategy is to help students monitor their own comprehension. This can be done during guided reading or literature circles in grades 3-6. Explain to the students that while they read they will write down on sticky notes (or in journals for older students) any predictions, questions that come about from the reading, comments, connections with their own experiences or other texts, and/or something they learned. If they are confused about something, they make a sticky note exactly where they are confused on the page. After reading, the students share their predictions, questions, comments, connections with their own experiences or other texts, and/or things they have learned or anything that comes to their minds. This also helps them learn from other students. Model this strategy with a think aloud so that they understand exactly what they should be writing.
Strategy 2: Character Perspective Chart
Many stories depict conflict between the goals of two characters. The purpose of this after reading strategy is to help students draw inferences about the goals of each character. This strategy can be used in grades 4-6. The chart includes the following:
Main Character
Setting
Problem
Goal
Attempts
Outcome
Theme
Setting
Problem
Goal
Attempts
Outcome
Theme
The students write one character on one side and the other character on the other side to fill out the chart. The students then have a visual of the conflicts.
Grade 5:
Strategy 1: Story Lines
This strategy helps struggling readers who enjoy making up their own stories to connect writing, predicting, reading, and validating. The book on which the story line is based must be new to the readers. Here is the process:
Strategy 2: "And This is the Rest of the Story"
In this strategy a teaher reads the story and stops at a critical point such as the climax. The student then tells the rest of the story. For the student's ending to be plausible, he/she must have comprehended the story up to that point and be able to make inferences as he/she thinks about the ending. After he/she predicts the ending, the teacher finishes the story. The students find it enjoyable to compare their ending to the author's. Good stories to use with this strategy include:
Strategy 1: Story Lines
This strategy helps struggling readers who enjoy making up their own stories to connect writing, predicting, reading, and validating. The book on which the story line is based must be new to the readers. Here is the process:
- On a piece of paper, list 10 to 15 nouns as they appear in the story.
- Have students write short stories using those nouns in the given order. The story must have a beginning, middle and end.
- Ask students to read their stories aloud.
- Have either you or your students read the original story and compare it to their versions.
Strategy 2: "And This is the Rest of the Story"
In this strategy a teaher reads the story and stops at a critical point such as the climax. The student then tells the rest of the story. For the student's ending to be plausible, he/she must have comprehended the story up to that point and be able to make inferences as he/she thinks about the ending. After he/she predicts the ending, the teacher finishes the story. The students find it enjoyable to compare their ending to the author's. Good stories to use with this strategy include:
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (1978) by Judi Barrett
- Show and Tell (1991) by Elvina Woodruff
- The Popcorn Shop (1996) by Alice Low
- Vanishing Pumpkins (1996) by Tomie de Paola
- Strega Nona's Magic Lessons (1982) by Tomie dePaula
Grade 6:
Strategy 1: Question Connect Transform (QCT)
The purpose of this after reading strategy is to help middle school students develop their critical literacy abilities. After reading a historical story or novel, the teacher engages the students in questioning (Q) the moral and ethical dimensions of issues presented in the historical fiction. Second, the students are asked to connect (C) the story to their lives. Finally, the students are asked to think how they might transform (T) any inequities that were presented in the novel and are still prevalent in today's society. This activity can be used in grades 6-8.
Strategy 2: Think-Aloud Mystery
The purpose of this during reading strategy is to practice comprehension skills such as relating prior knowledge to text information, predicting through their use of background knowledge and text clues, question and reread when they are confused, create mental pictures of the information or action of the story, and seek outside help from other sources if a word is unfamilar. In this strategy, teachers create short stories in which each sentence reveals another aspect of a story or mystery. Teachers should write the story so the ending sentence brings some element of surprise. Students hear one sentence at a time and explain what they have learned from that sentence and predict what they think will happen next. In a group of two or three students, read a short passage one sentence at a time. After each sentence ask students what they learned from that sentence and how they arrived at their conclusions. Students may change their minds about any conclusions drawn from previous sentences if the information in a subsequent sentence suggests they have made incorrect predictions.
For example:
The Chair stands alone in the corner.
A clock hangs on the wall opposite the door.
In the middle of the room stands a long, narrow table that will seat 12 people.
When the clock strikes 2:00, there is a rap at the door.
The Chair says, "Come in."
The twelve jury members file into the room and take places around the table.
Because the story is read to them, students may think the word chair in the first sentence is the object one sits upon. Not until the fifth sentence do they realize the chair os a person, but they still do not know what that person is in charge of. In the last sentence student realize the chair is the person in charge of the jury. This strategy can be used in grades 6-8.
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Strategy 1: Question Connect Transform (QCT)
The purpose of this after reading strategy is to help middle school students develop their critical literacy abilities. After reading a historical story or novel, the teacher engages the students in questioning (Q) the moral and ethical dimensions of issues presented in the historical fiction. Second, the students are asked to connect (C) the story to their lives. Finally, the students are asked to think how they might transform (T) any inequities that were presented in the novel and are still prevalent in today's society. This activity can be used in grades 6-8.
Strategy 2: Think-Aloud Mystery
The purpose of this during reading strategy is to practice comprehension skills such as relating prior knowledge to text information, predicting through their use of background knowledge and text clues, question and reread when they are confused, create mental pictures of the information or action of the story, and seek outside help from other sources if a word is unfamilar. In this strategy, teachers create short stories in which each sentence reveals another aspect of a story or mystery. Teachers should write the story so the ending sentence brings some element of surprise. Students hear one sentence at a time and explain what they have learned from that sentence and predict what they think will happen next. In a group of two or three students, read a short passage one sentence at a time. After each sentence ask students what they learned from that sentence and how they arrived at their conclusions. Students may change their minds about any conclusions drawn from previous sentences if the information in a subsequent sentence suggests they have made incorrect predictions.
For example:
The Chair stands alone in the corner.
A clock hangs on the wall opposite the door.
In the middle of the room stands a long, narrow table that will seat 12 people.
When the clock strikes 2:00, there is a rap at the door.
The Chair says, "Come in."
The twelve jury members file into the room and take places around the table.
Because the story is read to them, students may think the word chair in the first sentence is the object one sits upon. Not until the fifth sentence do they realize the chair os a person, but they still do not know what that person is in charge of. In the last sentence student realize the chair is the person in charge of the jury. This strategy can be used in grades 6-8.
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Assessment
Retrospective Miscue Analysis
This analysis can be used for both instructional and assessment purposes. During the RMA session, a reader listens to a recording of his or her reading while following along in the text. The teacher asks the reader if the miscues disrupt the meaning. The RMA seeks to empower readers to view reading miscues as repeated attempts to predict meaning and to make sense of text. Use RMA to analyze what students do when they recognize their miscues.
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Retrospective Miscue Analysis
This analysis can be used for both instructional and assessment purposes. During the RMA session, a reader listens to a recording of his or her reading while following along in the text. The teacher asks the reader if the miscues disrupt the meaning. The RMA seeks to empower readers to view reading miscues as repeated attempts to predict meaning and to make sense of text. Use RMA to analyze what students do when they recognize their miscues.
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