Free Custom «Comprehension Strategies» Essay Paper

Activating Background Knowledge Strategy

Comprehension in the simplest of definitions can be described as information processing aimed at engaging a reader finding logic and understanding. The process of understanding text in narratives, expository, and/or poetic text is achieved by applying Activation Background Knowledge Strategy among others. With this strategy, a learner, reader, or an interested party incorporates previous knowledge with the current text. When reading, a reader connects new and known information in order arrive at a comprehension. Three levels involved in this strategy include text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world (Roehler, et. al, 1992). Text-to-text level involves connecting texts that have been read before with current text. Text-to-self level involves the general information that one has on a topic with the current information he/she reads. The text-to-world level involves the linking of current text with real life application.

Questioning the Text Strategy

Learners with motives of comprehending narratives, expository, and poetic text are bound to the reading by conscience. The level of consciousness in for such learners is cultivated in their minds throughout the narratives and so on. It is through questioning the texts they read that they get to process the information well hence leading to a logical understanding. Also known as ‘post-its’ these questions are necessary for the learner in terms of reading and understanding. Understanding in this case is reached with application of stopping, marking text, and noting questions as the learner reads. By stopping, a learner gains an upper hand to understand the narrative by reflecting on the already read passage. By marking text, the leaner gets employs a cautionary measure for text he/she doesn’t understand well. At that point, questions can be asked regarding the marked text. Rereading or partitioning the narrative clears the unclear text.

Drawing Inferences Strategy

Amongst the many strategies that are applied to bring out activities that make comprehension of narratives, expository, and poetic texts drawing inferences proves to be the most effective. In this strategy, the learner or the reader draws the knowledge he/she has about a topic to the current reading. Knowledge about the topic does not require that the reader knows the absolute narrative; it assumes that he/she has strong ideas of the points being made by the text. It is through this knowledge that the reader gets comfortable about his/her reading. When this is achieved, predictions of what is most likely to happen in the course of the reading are made. Going by this, if what was predicted is resulted into the reader comprehends the text well. In case the predictions are wrong, this does not qualify the reader’s knowledge as void. However, the reader rectifies the concepts he/she had wronged predicted. By so doing, the reader puts his mind to the subject and theme at hand to a level that nullifies such occurrences in the future.

Determining Importance Strategy

Written literature is classified into several categories according to its nature. Combinations of letters that bring out relevant sounds are classified as word. Words that are arranged grammatically and make and understandable point are classified as a sentence. Sentences that add up to make a whole point are classified as paragraphs. Few paragraphs at the magnitude of two to four are classified as passage. In literature, if these paragraphs exceed the weight of a passage they make up a narrative (Farstrup & Samuels 1992).

To understand narratives logically, the above categories paly a big role in the mind of the reader by helping him/her determine the importance of text. From the use of words to the constructions of sentences, a reader is directed by the text and the sections of the narratives to draw an understanding.

Creating Mental Images Strategy

The acts of reading and listening are supposed to engage a reader mentally. The mental engagement that a reader is put into by the texts does not revolve around processing of the information. It goes further to a point of image simulations on the brain. This tells us that reading and listening does not rely on our power to process information as we get it; we are supposed to put imagination to play as well. By imagination, a reader is drawn and casted as the midst of the setting that he/she is reading about. As literature goes, imagery and graphical descriptions are used. These are the tools a reader would use in order to bring out the imagination. As a continuous visionary journey, the creating of mental images requires full attention and close reading (Keene, et. al,2007).

Repairing understanding Strategy

At the process of reading, a reader is likely to lose the track of meaning. It comes to a point where the reader cannot explain the meaning of some passages. The concentration levels of a reader matter with respect to the kind of text being read. When the reader does not get the meaning of the text he/she is reading, he/she is bound to engaging fix-up strategies for the sake of understanding. In such a situation, a reader is supposed to opt for the easily adaptable ‘fix-up’ strategy – rereading.

Information synthesis Strategy

Narratives, expository, and poetic text tend to be hard to comprehend in a number of ways. The structuring of these kinds of literature combines different styles of writing. For a learner to logically understand literature, a combination of elements helps the reader with comprehension. Connecting, questioning, and inferring are elements of information synthesis. They help in integrating old and new knowledge in life and the world in general.