UNDERSTANDING - Show that you understand the information

Comprehension Activities for Non Fiction Text - Bloom's Taxonomy

Understanding the message of a passage goes beyond the ability to decode the words. We have all come across those readers who have picked up the impression that a good reader is a fast reader so they track quickly through the text and then look gormlessly at you when you ask a question as if to say “I’ve read it! You mean to say there is something else I was meant to do?”. I call them Roadrunner Readers.

Activities based on the second level of Bloom’s Taxonomy require readers to go beyond decoding. Students who have been explicitly taught strategies to construct or unpack meaning from text during the guided reading lesson ‘as they are reading’ will be well equipped to do this. Here are two activities that are particularly appropriate for non-fiction text and challenge the Roadrunner Reader

1. Draw a Picture of ...
Creating a graphic representation of a concept or action in a text (a picture, diagram or map) can only be achieved if meaning has been constructed first. If that has not happened then the readers lack of understanding is exposed and revisiting text to find and clarify meaning is necessary.

2. Headings and Trigger Words – rewrite a paragraph
This is one of my favourites because it has such a powerful transference into research and writing skills.

Coming up with a HEADING for a paragraph of text forces the reader to search out the main idea and purpose of the writing and provide a one or two word overview. Once students understand what the requirement is and hone the skill by having to justify their choice of heading, they have a very powerful tool. My experience is that this is much easier for students to grasp than being asked for a ‘summary of a paragraph’ – a very complex notion.

The next step is to identify a small number of words that trigger the information that is included in the paragraph, in the head of the reader. These may be words from the paragraph but don’t have to be. The test of this is can the paragraph be retold or rewritten from the Heading and Trigger Words only – no reference to the original text. This is a very different process than note taking and very quickly produces ownership of information. Try this yourself and see how easy it is to produce your own writing that has a fresh, personal voice.

Click here to see an example of how a paragraph can be reworked using Headings and Trigger Words

CSI ONLiNE Stage 5B shows how this very important Big Picture or Text Level comprehension strategy can be incorporated into the guided reading routine and produce great fluency at text level processing.

Coming Next
APPLYING – Using the information in another way

Previous posts in this series
REMEMBERING – What are the Facts
Use It or Lose It
6 Things about Follow-up Comprehension Activities
3 Ways to Use Non-Fiction Text

Posted 19 Aug 2011, 12:52:18 by Hilton

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