Comprehensive Connections by Tanny McGregor discusses different strategies for reading comprehension. The author focuses on 6 key elements of reading comprehension and provides activities to improve reading comprehension in the 6 different areas.
1. Making connections
According to McGregor, there are 3 main types of connections made when reading.
• Text to self-making a connection between the reader’s personal experience and text
• Text to text-making a connection between text being read and a previous text
• Text to world-making a connection between the text and something occurring in the real world
Activity
Students can draw pictures or write words to show connection with the text. Have students share and discuss their connection chart with a classmate.
2. Creating Mental Images
In her book, Tanny McGregor said creating mental images of the text being read is a way to understand events and information presented in the text.
Activity
Students record their most vivid mental image from each text that had been read. After they have completed their chart, students are encouraged to take that mental image home and tell a family member what they read and what it was about. This can be done as little or as much as the teacher would like.
3. Questioning
Readers need to ask themselves questions as they read the text. However, they need to be able to know what kind of questions to ask and when to ask them for this to help increase comprehension.
Activity
The question chart is a place students can record a list of questions words. They can add to this chart at any time. Students should keep this list handy when reading a text. These questions words can be used while a student is reading a text to help increase comprehension.
4. Inferring
Students must make inferences when reading. Authors don’t always give every detail but instead give clues. Students must use those clues and prior knowledge to “read between the lines”. Inferences are predictions but must be supported by the text.
Activity
Ask the students a question about the text. In this inference chart, students will need to write down what they know. Then, they will need to write down what they know from the text. Students should use both pieces of information to make an inference.
5. Evaluating
Students need to know why they are reading and also decide which information and ideas are most critical in understanding the text.
Activity
Have students sit down in front of you, and dump everything out of your purse for students to see. Then, it will be their responsibility to fill out the determining purpose chart. They must decide what is necessary, could be necessary, or is unnecessary to have in the purse.
6. Synthesizing
Synthesizing is much like evaluating. In synthesizing, personal thoughts are included to form an understanding of the text. It can show how your thinking has changed throughout the reading of the text.
Activity
In this synthesizing target, students should write down words in the middle of the circle to show what they are thinking. Each time their thinking changes, it’s written in the next ring.
1. Making connections
According to McGregor, there are 3 main types of connections made when reading.
• Text to self-making a connection between the reader’s personal experience and text
• Text to text-making a connection between text being read and a previous text
• Text to world-making a connection between the text and something occurring in the real world
Activity
Students can draw pictures or write words to show connection with the text. Have students share and discuss their connection chart with a classmate.
2. Creating Mental Images
In her book, Tanny McGregor said creating mental images of the text being read is a way to understand events and information presented in the text.
Activity
Students record their most vivid mental image from each text that had been read. After they have completed their chart, students are encouraged to take that mental image home and tell a family member what they read and what it was about. This can be done as little or as much as the teacher would like.
3. Questioning
Readers need to ask themselves questions as they read the text. However, they need to be able to know what kind of questions to ask and when to ask them for this to help increase comprehension.
Activity
The question chart is a place students can record a list of questions words. They can add to this chart at any time. Students should keep this list handy when reading a text. These questions words can be used while a student is reading a text to help increase comprehension.
4. Inferring
Students must make inferences when reading. Authors don’t always give every detail but instead give clues. Students must use those clues and prior knowledge to “read between the lines”. Inferences are predictions but must be supported by the text.
Activity
Ask the students a question about the text. In this inference chart, students will need to write down what they know. Then, they will need to write down what they know from the text. Students should use both pieces of information to make an inference.
5. Evaluating
Students need to know why they are reading and also decide which information and ideas are most critical in understanding the text.
Activity
Have students sit down in front of you, and dump everything out of your purse for students to see. Then, it will be their responsibility to fill out the determining purpose chart. They must decide what is necessary, could be necessary, or is unnecessary to have in the purse.
6. Synthesizing
Synthesizing is much like evaluating. In synthesizing, personal thoughts are included to form an understanding of the text. It can show how your thinking has changed throughout the reading of the text.
Activity
In this synthesizing target, students should write down words in the middle of the circle to show what they are thinking. Each time their thinking changes, it’s written in the next ring.
The purse activity you mentioned above is a very interesting idea. I may use it sometime as an introduction when teaching how to locate unnecessary information in a text. I'm quite sure my students would find many unnecessary details in my purse! It would be great practice.
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