Comprehension

Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To achieve comprehension, readers must be able to decode and retain information as they read. The following activities are to help improve comprehension.

ACTIVITY ONE: WORD DETECTIVE

Materials: Highlighters and copied pages of a picture book with the text detached from the picture. The words should match what is happening in the picture.

Step 1: Give participants a page of text. While they read the text, post the picture page around the room. Participants may use highlighters to mark information they feel is important.

Step 2: Participants will walk around the room looking at the pictures. They will determine which picture matches their text. If they match the correct picture and text, they are deemed a great detective.

Step 3: Participants will trade text with another person and repeat the activity.

ACTIVITY TWO: JEOPARDY COMPREHENSION

Materials: a passage that all participants can read with enough fluency to achieve comprehension, index cards or a digital Jeopardy board. This will require the instructor to design some questions that require participants to find a directly stated answer in the passage, questions in which the participant must infer an answer based on the given information, and questions in which the participant must use information to determine meaning or interpretation.

Step 1: Participants will read a passage silently to themselves. They will study the passage and mark any information they feel may be important.

Step 2: Participants will play Jeopardy in three categories: Facts, Inferences, Interpretation.

For Adult Learners: Have these participants read an employee manual, a recipe, or directions on how to assemble something. Create Jeopardy based on the manual, have participants make the recipe, or have them build assemble something based on the directions. Be sure to leave pictures out so participants have to work on understanding what they have read.

Strengths:

These activities are relevant to all learns and can make monotonous reading a fun activity.

Limitations:

They may be too much of a challenge for those with a learning disability related to focus, vision or reading. Participants may work in pairs or small groups to help one another.