Reading Comprehension Skills, Lecture notes of English Literature

Download Reading Comprehension Skills and more Lecture notes English Literature in PDF only on Docsity! Reading Comprehension Skills Skill: Description: Categorize/Classify Taking items that are alike in some way and giving them a broader name. Example: Boots, coat, sweater can be classified based on similar attributes and categorized as “Things to Wear”. Fantasy/Realism Determining if what they are reading can happen in real life (realism) or if it is make believe, fiction (fantasy). Example: Dragon goes shopping when his cupboard is bare. A dragon can’t really drive a car and go shopping at the market for food, but people do that when they need things from the store. Problem Solving Finding a way to fix something that is not going right or working the way it was intended. Example: In the story Jalapeno Bagels, Pablo didn’t know what kind of food to bring to school for International Day from his family’s bakery. He decided on Jalapeno bagels because they were a combination of both of his parents’ cultures. Story Structure Identifying the characters, setting, problem, solution, beginning, middle and end of a story. Example: Completing the story map/house. Telling what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of a story and including the main characters and setting. Compare/Contrast Determine how things are alike and different. Example: Using a Venn diagram (two overlapping circles) where the information written in the middle section is what the items have in common. Predict Outcomes Using the title, pictures, what has been read already, and what you already know to make a realistic guess at what might happen in the story. Example: The dog was digging in the mud and then ran in the house. I can predict that the dog got mud on the floor because the dog was just digging in mud and I know that when I have mud on my hands I need to wash them. KEM 3/2013 Making Inferences Taking the information that you read and combining it with what you already know to draw a conclusion as to what will happen, even though the author doesn’t tell you. Example: Jimmy placed his lunch money in his pocket and ran to school. When he reached for his money to pay for lunch, all he found was a hole in his pocket. I can infer that Jimmy’s money fell out of his pocket through the hole because I know things fall through holes. Main Idea/Details and Topic The main idea is what the selection/text is mostly about. The details support the main idea and add interest. The topic is usually one word or a short group of words that are the focus of the selection. Example: Topic: Skateboards Supporting detail: Skateboards can be long and narrow. Supporting detail: Skateboards can be short and thick. Supporting detail: Skateboards can have assorted colors and even designs on them. Main Idea: Skateboards come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Text Organization How the text is organized by an author to get information, or a point across, is called text organization or story structure. Example: The following are ways an author may chose to present information: Fiction: • story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution, beginning, middle and end) Non-Fiction: • cause/effect • sequence • problem/solution • compare/contrast • description