what about comprehension?

Reading comprehension has been reduced to filling in bubbles with #2 pencils. Thriving bookstore chains around the nation stock workbooks by the dozens to improve reading comprehension scores on standardized testing.

When readers become emotionally involved in a story, they will become intrigued by of its details. Retaining detailed story tidbits is not automatic, it is a skill that needs to be formally introduced and practiced. While the process of teaching a reader to comprehend the complexities involved in a story may seem mundane on the surface, the job of the teacher is to help the student value the long range possibilities of this skill, to encourage students that understanding a story is develops creative thought. Students who dig into the task of building comprehension skills will bask in the pleasure of reading.

Strong reading comprehension skills will follow a student into adulthood. The reality is, there are few short cuts in education. Reading comprehension requires self- motivation, good work habits, and strategy:

Know the Structure of Writing
Most of the time, the first sentence will give a hint about the paragraph’s topic. Because paragraphs always have a beginning, middle and end, watch for words and phrases that change the topic.

Make Predictions
Anticipating and predict ideas by asking question about a story as you read reinforces comprehension of the story.

Pay Attention to Details
Follow the development of the characters, setting, and plot.

Review
Re-reading sections to develop a deeper understanding.

Ultimately it is the students who believe their work is valuable and who are encouraged to press into that work will enjoy success in this and all subject areas. Building reading comprehension skills requires a long-term commitment, Blackbird and Company is devoted to contribute to your success.

Readers skilled in comprehension will:

• Make predictions about a story using clues presented in the text
• Gain understanding through the sequence, context, or characters
• Reflect by considering the main message that unfolds through the plot
• Work to clarify confusing parts of the story
• Apply what they learn by connect the events in the story to personal experience

With this in mind, the comprehension section of Blackbird and Company literature guides should not be approached as a rote exercise. To begin, remind students that the comprehension questions are organized chronologically and teach them to use the questions as a pre-reading exercise, training them to watch for story details as they read. Next, have them make note of page numbers where the answers are found, this will help them to build the strategy of slowing down to attend to details in a book. Lastly, encourage your students to respond to each comprehension question with a complete sentence. Formulating a complete written response will strengthen comprehension skills in ways that responding to multiple choice comprehension questions can’t. Practicing the art of crafting sentences is great skill, but learning to respond to a simple question with an interesting statement is an art, and this is the potential we have built into our guides, one that we hope will be utilized. We believe like Ernest Hemingway that, "All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."

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