- Making connections
- Questioning
- Visualizing
- Inferring
- Determining Importance
Learning methods that are used to make the connections is important as it can allow you to present the techniques that are used to make the connections to the students taking part in the learning of the material.
The most common method that is used to record the connections that are made while reading is to record the connections which are made, through multiple methods. Recorded connections can be made through the use of post-it notes, outlines, or a variety of charts.
Questioning
Reading comprehension questions are one of the most effective tools that can be used to determine the student's understanding of the reading material. Questions are developed based on the material that is being read and therefore the questions are going to vary from text to text. It is important to have a wide understand of the text to develop the questions that are going to be asked.
There are multiple levels of questions that can be asked while reading. Some questions can be asked about the basic context of the material that is being presented and other questions can delve deeper into the material and can allow the student to infer to find the answers to the questions.
Visualizing
We have all visualized and created a picture in our head while we read information. Through the pictures that we create in our head, they help us to increase the comprehension of the book as we are able to modify and update the pictures as we learn new information.
This is one of the most important skills that can be used to increase comprehension because it comes naturally and is often one of the first skills that is learned. Encouraging the student to imagine the book can be one of the most effective ways to teach the methods that are used to visualize. Inviting the student to share the images that they have inside of their head can be an effective way to develop the method of visualization.
Inferring
Inferring is one of the most difficult skills to learn while taking part in activities that can increase reading comprehension.
What types of skills are learned through inferring? Skills such as being able to draw conclusions from the information which is presented in the reading and being able to use clues within the text to make predictions about the events which are going to take place in the book are all skills that are learned through inferring.
One can help to develop the inferring skills include using pictures and finding trigger word and other aspects of the texts to make the predictions and draw conclusions within the text. You can use keywords and triggers, as well as lessons which can help to point out triggers within the text to increase the skills that are used for inferring within the reading.
Determining Importance
Learning to determine the importance of the information that is presented in the book is one of the most effective ways to comprehend the information that is being presented, but also allows the student to determine from the information to decide which information is important and should be learned as well as which information within the text is supplementary and not as important.
Teaching methods that can be used to determine fiction from non-fiction and determining important information from non-important information can be difficult, but using key words and activities like picking the sentence which contains the most information from a paragraph can be an effective way for the student to learn to determine the importance of the information that is being presented.