Effective Comprehension Instruction

(Strategies That Work, Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudivis)

• Teach with the end in mind
• Plan instruction that is responsive to the needs of students
• Model their own use of comprehension strategies over time
• Tell students, the purpose for using a strategy is to construct meaning and engage in the text
• Articulate how thinking helps readers understand what they read
• View strategies as a means to an end with the goal of building a repertoire of thinking strategies
• Model their oral, written and artistic responses to text
• Gradually release responsibility for using strategies to the students, always moving them toward independent reading and thinking
• Provide opportunities for guided and independent practice
• Show students how comprehension strategies apply in a variety of texts, genres, and contexts
• Help students notice how strategies intersect and work in conjunction with one another
• Build in large amounts of time for actual text reading by the students
• Make sure students have many opportunities to talk to each other about their reading
• Provide opportunities for students to respond by writing and drawing
• Take time to observe and confer directly with students and keep records of those observations and conferences to assess progress and inform instruction
• Use student work and talk to assess past instruction, guide future instruction, and assess and evaluate student performance