RICA Competency 15 – Comprehension: Instruction and Assessment – Expository/Informational Texts and Study Skills

Introduction

This competency discusses the “instructional strategies and assessments that are appropriate for expository and informational text.” (RICA pg. 115) It focuses on using text structures, features and other instructional strategies for content area textbooks in order to help students develop the necessary tools to research and study independently. 

As students mature, they begin to shift from learning to read into reading to learn. This happens more and more frequently, especially when students must accomplish reading and writing tasks while learning content, such as social studies, science, mathematics and health. Without the proper research tools, students will be unable learn the required material. (RICA pg. 115)

One strategy I have used in my own experience and that I try to teach is selective rereading. I have found that skimming a text, especially a lengthy, informative piece, truly helps with understanding the main concept rather than getting distracted with minute details. (RICA pg. 117)

Study guides are another great way to help students glean the necessary information out of a text and truly focus on what is important. (RICA pg. 118)

Differentiation

IF the student is unable to effectively use their text book or reference texts THEN the teacher can teach them how to use text structure and text features.

IF the student is losing focus and cannot retain the information, THEN selective rereading will help bring them back to the topic at hand and give them access to the important parts of the chapter.

IF the student is having difficulty reading content area material THEN the teacher can provide a study guide with key questions and references to specific page numbers. 

The Learning to Read text discusses how reading informational texts can be difficult for students and also provides some strategies on how to actively engage them. “One strategy that Kletzien and Dreher recommend for young children is to use informational texts as read-alouds. They suggest developing a read-aloud chart for display in the classroom in which you list the books that you read aloud and have the children classify them as fiction or informational.” (Learning to Read pg. 504) This makes an otherwise boring book a little more exciting for students.

Assessments  

Students will be complete a graphic organizer to break down the text.

RICA Competency 14: Comprehension- Understanding and Analyzing Narrative and Literary Texts

Introduction

This competency focuses on the instructional strategies and assessments that are appropriate to use with narrative or literary texts. The main topics include; strategies to help students recognize the structure and characteristics of major genres, instruction in the elements of story grammar, instruction in narrative and literary criticism, and oral language activities with literature. 

Examples

A part of comprehension is teaching students the different literary elements of a story. In my own experience, this is usually done in the pre-reading section of an activity. “When students understand the elements of a story, they will recall details with greater accuracy. Students can be taught to attend story elements through story maps and story grammar outlines.” (pg. 107)

“A story’s theme, its important message, is usually a comment about the human condition.” (pg. 108) Whenever I read a story, I try to introduce students to books with common themes. When my students realize this theme, they are incorporating one aspect of narrative analysis.  

Oral language activities are a way to stimulate discussion. “The more the teacher prompts the individual children to respond to literature, the better.” (pg. 109) Examples of this would include book clubs, questioning the author and think pair share activities. 

Differentiation

IF the student needs help with identifying the literary elements of a story THEN the teacher can provide them with a skeletal story map.

IF the student can identify recurring themes THEN they are effectively studying and examining the story.

IF the student is younger and cannot fully express themselves via writing THEN oral assessment can help monitor comprehension. 

“Questioning the author is another instructional strategy that models for students the importance of asking questions while reading.” (Learning to Read pg. 346) When children can understand this, they become more comfortable with asking questions and can better grasp the text.

Assessments

Students will analyze narrative/literary texts through text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world writings and discussions.