Comprehension Is Strategic

Abstract

For students with comprehension difficulties their outcomes quite often are related to the quality of instruction given to them. Rather than merely having students introduced to a comprehension skill and then being tested on them skills should be taught using explicit teaching techniques. Explicit teaching should contain elements of explanation, modelling, guided practice, and independent practice. The teaching of reading comprehension should also provide declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge, while students are given adequate guided practice with a range of texts and different genres. The more explicit the comprehension instruction and self-regulation practices the more likely children are to use the strategies. Unlike many decoding skills, comprehension strategies take time and adequate practice to develop. The emphasis should be placed on the gradual release of responsibility so that children will have a wide range of strategies in their repertoire so that they can exercise choice and control of their strategy use. Teachers should complement direct teaching approaches to provide implicit learning opportunities so that readers can exercise self-discovery to develop self-determination.