Comprehension Comprehension is: intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader. (Harris and Hodges, 1995) US National Reading Panel According to Michael Pressley, skilled comprehension involves: Comprehension strategies: Explicit instruction in the application of strategies has been shown to be very effective in improving comprehension. Vocabulary: Students who comprehend well tend to have large vocabularies. Vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly. Decoding: When a student has fluent word recognition more “cognitive space” is freed up for understanding what has been read. World knowledge: Reading comprehension can be affected by world knowledge. Students can be encouraged to make use of the world knowledge they already have and to build new knowledge by reading information-rich texts, and asking themselves “why” questions as they read. Monitoring: Good readers constantly check that what they are reading makes sense. Comprehension instruction needs to be long term. Assessment of comprehension should emphasise the application of ideas in text rather than short-answer post reading questions. For more information about comprehension go to further readings.    ARB Home    Please Note: ARB material may be reproduced for school-based assessment purposes, not for sale or other purposes.   The ARBs   Assessment information   Support materials   Help   Contact us   Site map

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