Comprehension and Think-Alouds

What does it mean to comprehend?  Can you read the text and fully comprehend its meaning?  Or can you just think about the pictures and fully comprehend its meaning?  No.  In order to comprehend, you must do both - read the text and think about the text.

This activity is called a "Reading Salad."  Rather than just telling your students that you have to think and read, show them.  This demonstration will help them understand that comprehension is a combination of both.  

http://www.readingresource.net/strategiesforreadingcomprehension.html

On red note cards, write 'text.'  On green note cards, write 'thinking.'  As you read aloud to the class, have two students volunteer to each hold a bucket.  Each time you read the text, have them add a red note card to a third bucket.  Every time you stop to think about the text, have them add a green note card to the third bucket.  At the end of the story, look at the reading salad that the class created.  Have a conversation with the students about how reading is a combination of both reading the text and thinking about the meaning behind the words.

In Pardo's article, she discusses what leads to comprehension.  Comprehension is influenced by the interaction and transaction of information between the context/setting, reader, and text.  She recommended that teachers support their students' comprehension by doing the following:

• Teach vocabulary words.
• Teach decoding skills so students can read the words quickly.
• Build knowledge of topic prior to reading.

In Cunningham and Allington's text, they wrote about a technique titled, "The Oprah Winfrey Interview."  This technique allows for students to think aloud with one another and build comprehension.  For the interview, you set up a "show" setting and allow a couple students to sit up front like the guest stars.  Ask a few questions that allow for discussion such as what was the problem, why did this happen, etc.  Then ask the other guest star if they agree.  This allows for the two students to share ideas and think-aloud about the text at hand. 

After reading the articles, I still have a couple of questions.

1. Can students still benefit from reading aloud discussing the text with one other?

2. If comprehension is necessary for students to succeed in reading, how can you assess to make sure students are comprehending the text?  Is an Accelerated Reading (A.R.) type program best?