Assessment: During Reading Process (Comprehension) "THINK ALOUD"
This assessment can be used for the comprehension of a narrative text. Think alouds offer opportunities for educators to assess the developing comprehension that should be occuring in students. Think alouds can be observed when a student is reading a text, and the teacher can make sense of how the student is processing with a students comprehension of a text.
Below are strategies to supplement the outcomes of the assessment, students can focus on the strategies with other students or individually.
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Repeated Interactive Read-Aloud
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: This strategy is a research-based approach that allows students to have multiple read-alouds with each reading becoming more in-depth.
Procedure: Educator provides time for one story or book to be read three different times, each read aloud should include students making predictions and inferences about different characters and events in the story. With each reading, the students (and educator) should be talking more in-depth about the story or book based on each reading before.
Source: Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.)
*see appendix for Repeated Reading Interactive Read Aloud Chart Example
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Alternate Writing
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: This strategy combines both reading and writing, it allows students (and educators) to create a story based on a story. Alternate Writing allows students to acquire literary knowledge (setting, characters, conflict, climax, and resolution) and can be provided as a pre-reading activity that helps readers to begin to comprehend the elements of a story.
Procedure: First, ask the student what they would like the topic of their story to be. Then, ask the student to sit back as you write just the first sentence of the story. Next, ask the student to read the sentence you wrote, and ask them to add a sentence. Then, take turns with the student writing various sentences to this story until the story is complete. Make sure that when you are writing the story, you are discussing the story elements with the student as they write their sentences (and as you write yours as well<model).
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Text Mapping
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of the Text Mapping Strategy is to allow teachers to model how to pull out important information from various texts, while thinking about expanding comprehension and the importance of oral retelling.
Procedure: As you (the educator) reads a text, have chart paper handy with the Text Mapping Example already drawn on the paper. Then, as you (the educator) reads a new text out loud, model filling in the map as you read and have a discussion about the text with the students. Then, guide the students to finish reading the text silently, and instruct them to finish filling out the Text Map completely. Then, as an educator, you must continue the text mapping strategy in order for the students to complete text maps on their own while reading with no guidance, and then the students will be able to have discussions about different text they encounter.
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
*see appendix for Text Mapping Example
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Reciprocal Questioning
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of Reciprocal Questioning is to allow students to learn how to ask literal questions, but also the importance of higher-level thinking and questioning.
Procedure: The educator must first begin reading a text, then with prompting (if this is your first time using the strategy), instruct the student to ask you (the educator) a literal question. Then, after answering the literal question, ask the student a literal or inferential question. Then, continue on reading the section of the story and repeat the process to model what it means to be a higher-level thinker and questioner. There are different types of questions educators can ask to provoke higher-level thinking, for example—Literal Questions, Inferential Questions, Critical Questions, and Evaluative Questions.
Source: Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.)
This assessment can be used for the comprehension of a narrative text. Think alouds offer opportunities for educators to assess the developing comprehension that should be occuring in students. Think alouds can be observed when a student is reading a text, and the teacher can make sense of how the student is processing with a students comprehension of a text.
Below are strategies to supplement the outcomes of the assessment, students can focus on the strategies with other students or individually.
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Repeated Interactive Read-Aloud
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: This strategy is a research-based approach that allows students to have multiple read-alouds with each reading becoming more in-depth.
Procedure: Educator provides time for one story or book to be read three different times, each read aloud should include students making predictions and inferences about different characters and events in the story. With each reading, the students (and educator) should be talking more in-depth about the story or book based on each reading before.
Source: Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.)
*see appendix for Repeated Reading Interactive Read Aloud Chart Example
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Alternate Writing
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: This strategy combines both reading and writing, it allows students (and educators) to create a story based on a story. Alternate Writing allows students to acquire literary knowledge (setting, characters, conflict, climax, and resolution) and can be provided as a pre-reading activity that helps readers to begin to comprehend the elements of a story.
Procedure: First, ask the student what they would like the topic of their story to be. Then, ask the student to sit back as you write just the first sentence of the story. Next, ask the student to read the sentence you wrote, and ask them to add a sentence. Then, take turns with the student writing various sentences to this story until the story is complete. Make sure that when you are writing the story, you are discussing the story elements with the student as they write their sentences (and as you write yours as well<model).
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Text Mapping
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of the Text Mapping Strategy is to allow teachers to model how to pull out important information from various texts, while thinking about expanding comprehension and the importance of oral retelling.
Procedure: As you (the educator) reads a text, have chart paper handy with the Text Mapping Example already drawn on the paper. Then, as you (the educator) reads a new text out loud, model filling in the map as you read and have a discussion about the text with the students. Then, guide the students to finish reading the text silently, and instruct them to finish filling out the Text Map completely. Then, as an educator, you must continue the text mapping strategy in order for the students to complete text maps on their own while reading with no guidance, and then the students will be able to have discussions about different text they encounter.
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
*see appendix for Text Mapping Example
Comprehension of Narrative Text: Reciprocal Questioning
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of Reciprocal Questioning is to allow students to learn how to ask literal questions, but also the importance of higher-level thinking and questioning.
Procedure: The educator must first begin reading a text, then with prompting (if this is your first time using the strategy), instruct the student to ask you (the educator) a literal question. Then, after answering the literal question, ask the student a literal or inferential question. Then, continue on reading the section of the story and repeat the process to model what it means to be a higher-level thinker and questioner. There are different types of questions educators can ask to provoke higher-level thinking, for example—Literal Questions, Inferential Questions, Critical Questions, and Evaluative Questions.
Source: Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.)