Reading Comprehension Skills

Reading comprehension involves cognitive process.

Reading comprehension is an intentional, active, interactive process that occurs
before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of writing.
Reading is a fluent process of readers combining information from the text and
their own background knowledge to build meaning. The goal of reading is
comprehension.
Reading comprehension is the ability to process what is being read, understand the
meaning the author is trying to convey — both textually and sub textually — and
make inferences based on prior knowledge.
Comprehension is the essence of reading. It is a complex thinking process that
requires the reader to construct meaning from the text.
Reading comprehension is the ability to read the text, process it and understand its
meaning. reading comprehension is an intentional, active, interactive process that
occurs before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of writing.
Three levels of comprehensions
1. Literal level
It focuses reading the passages, hearing the words or viewing the images. It
involves in identifying the important and essential information.
2. Interpretive level
Focus shifts to reading between the lines, looking at what is implied by the
material under study. It requires students to combine piece of information in
order to make inferences about the author’s intent and messages and attaching
new learning to old information.
3. Applied level
Understandings the literal and interpretive level are combined, reorganized and
restructured at the applied level to express opinions, draw new insights and
develop fresh ideas. Critical reading and analyzing.
Reading Process
1. Bottom-up
Typically consists of lower level reading processes. Students start with the
fundamental basics of phones (Phonics method), and phonemes (meaning
distinguishing sound) which leads to morpheme (smallest meaningful unit in a
language) recognition followed by a word recognition, building up to the
identification of grammatical structures, sentences and longer texts and finally
meaning is the order in achieving comprehension.
Comprehension

2. Top-Down
Focuses on the background knowledge of the reader, makes predications, and
searches the text to confirm or reject the prediction that are made. A passage
can thus be understood even if all of the individual words are not understood. In
this approach more focus should be on meaning generating activities rather than
on mastery of word recognition. A meaning based approach or a whole
language approach to reading is supportive of top-down models of reading.
Four key features highlight a meaning based approach.
First, it is a literature-based approach. Books are used which contain authentic
language. Readers are exposed to a wider range of vocabulary. Whole language
is student-centered; the focus is on the individual reader what he or she wants to
read. Third, reading is integrating with writing. Both skills are used
simultaneously. Emphasis is on constructing meaning.
Reading begins with reader
background knowledge
3. Interactive Models of Reading
This model combines elements of both bottom-up and top-down models
assuming “that a pattern is synthesized based on information provided
simultaneously from several knowledge sources”.
An interactive approach to reading would include aspects of both intensive and
extensive reading.

Reader background knowledge

Comprehension

Individual Letters and sounds

There are two elements that make up the process of reading

comprehension: vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension. In order to
understand a text the reader must be able to comprehend the vocabulary used in
the piece of writing. If the individual words don’t make the sense then the
overall story will not either. The best vocabulary instruction occurs at the point
of need. In addition to being able to understand each distinct word in a text, the
learner also has to be able to put them together to develop an overall conception
of what it is trying to say. This is text comprehension. Text comprehension is
much more complex and varied that vocabulary knowledge. Readers use many
different text comprehension strategies to develop reading comprehension.
These include monitoring for understanding, answering and generating
 questions, summarizing and being aware of and using a text’s structure to aid
comprehension.

To be able to accurately understand written material, learners need to be able to

(1) decode what they read; (2) make connections between what they read and
what they already know; and (3) think deeply about what they have read.

Examples of comprehension skills that can be applied to all reading situations

include:

 Summarizing
 Sequencing
 Inferencing
 Comparing and contrasting 
 Drawing conclusions
 Self-questioning
 Problem-solving
 Relating background knowledge
 Distinguishing between fact and opinion
 Finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details

WHY ARE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

IMPORTANT?
Reading comprehension demonstrates your ability to understand, interpret,

analyze, and infer written information. Reading comprehension is an indicative of

many other important, and sought-after, skills in the workplace.

Students’ overall communication skills, critical thinking skills, attention to detail,

their decision-making ability, even ability to concentrate can all be assumed from

their ability to understand what they comprehend.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR READING

COMPREHENSION SKILLS?
Reading comprehension is a skill. And, like any skill, it can be improved with

practice. It should be noted, though, that this is an extremely difficult skill to build.

 Improve your vocabulary

understanding of the words being used will have a direct effect on your ability to

comprehend the text. Fluency in the language you are reading is also important, but

may not always be possible. Do your best to build vocabulary regularly to improve

reading comprehension.

Skim first. 

This is more useful for longer or more complex texts. Although, you may skim a

paragraph to gather important information quickly. Be sure to skim through the

text first to glean any important information before reading through more

thoroughly.
By skimming first, allow yourself to gather the main points before diving in

deeper. This can help a learner focusing on the information he needs more clearly.

 Ask questions.

Before you begin reading, while reading, and after you are finished, you should be

asking questions about the text. This can help you to determine the main points and

find the deeper meaning.

 Use context clues

 If a learner is unable to understand exactly what a word, sentence or phrase means,

use clues from the surrounding text to help you gain clarity. Using context clues

can help a learner to build vocabulary, which is an important part of reading

comprehension.

 Summarize.

A learner can practice this throughout the text, or once he/she has finished reading.

By restating the main ideas in own words, you will see the text in a language that

makes the most sense to you.

Not only will this help a learner to better understand the information being

conveyed, but will make him also be better able to relay this information.
Make inferences. 

Read between the lines. Reading comprehension is about understanding what is

being said both textually and sub textually. Try to see the subtext and understand

what is being implied. By drawing inferences, you can make connections and

conclusions based on what you’ve read.

 Visualize. 

If you’re working with a complex concept or struggling to understand it,

visualization can be the difference. Create a mental image or draw a

graphic organizer to help extract meaning from the text. Visualization is an

immensely helpful skill that can have a significant impact on your ability to recall

information. Visualization is strongly linked to short-term and long-term memory.

TIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR READING
COMPREHENSION PRACTICE
It is not easy to improve your reading comprehension skills. Time and practice are

the only way to build this skill, meaning it’s important to practice regularly. In

other words: read, read, read, and read some more. You can do both guided reading

practice and relaxed reading practice. Both will help you build your

comprehension skills. There are ways to help you make the most of your reading

comprehension practice. If you’re trying to improve your comprehension skills:

 Read aloud.

 When you hear the text instead of just seeing the words on the page, it can help

you to decipher meaning. It can help you to better concentrate on the text,

sharpening your focus and allowing you to dedicate your attention to what is being

said. Studies have found that reading aloud can also help you to commit the text to

memory and recall it later.

Reread to build fluency. 

If a text is complex or you’re having trouble understanding it, reading through it at

least twice can help immensely. The first read-through allows you to focus on the
vocabulary knowledge involved in incomprehension. Subsequent read-throughs

will allow you to focus on text comprehension. To truly benefit from this strategy,

you should follow the steps outlined above in the first, and perhaps second, time

reading the text to ensure that you’re absorbing all the necessary information.

 Do both guided reading and relaxed reading

Typically, guided reading refers to reading with an instructor in a small group

setting. Here, guided reading simply means reading passages or chapters and

checking that knowledge. There are also inexpensive books dedicated to the

reading comprehension sections of many exams. These will provide you with

exactly what you need: complex passages that are followed by questions to check

your comprehension. focus solely on guided reading, though. You should also

practice relaxed reading. This is reading books, magazines, graphic novels,

anything you enjoy reading in a relaxed setting. With relaxed reading, you don’t

want to focus on getting everything you can out of the text. You simply want to

practice your skills through reading.

 Keep notes. 

Keep a notebook or set of Post-it notes with you while you’re reading. Make

notes of main points, important facts, or anything you feel you need to

remember. If there is a challenging passage that you’re able to decipher, make a

note of it.

 Mark anything you don’t understand. 

If you come across a word or phrase that you don’t understand, make a note.

You can mark it in the notes you’re keeping thanks to the previous point, or

highlight/underline it in the text. Don’t just make a note, though. Look up the

meaning and mark that in your notes as well. This will help you to recall the

information better when you read through it again.

 Avoid distractions. 

Be attentive and focus (If you can’t concentrate on what you’re reading, your

comprehension will suffer).

Avoid useless information (If you’re reading a complex text or one that is

overflowing with important information, remove the distractions).

Relevant Discourse (avoid irrelevant information)

 Summarize. 

This point was made in the previous section, but it felt necessary to mention it

again. Summarizing what you have read is one of the easiest ways to build your

reading comprehension skills. This means more than summarizing everything

you’ve read. If you come across a particularly dense or confusing passage,

summarize. If there is a sentence you’re not quite decoding, try to summarize.

And, one more time with feeling: summarize.

 Read a variety of texts and subjects. 

Not all texts are created equal. And, even if they were, it would get boring to

read the same type of content over and over. Add some variation to your

practice. Keep it simple or find something more complex. Expose yourself to a

variety of subjects. The variation will help you build out your vocabulary even

further and add to your knowledge bank. Inferring will become easier and

comprehension will come faster.

 Underline main points. 

Underlining the main points and important pieces of information

Reading Comprehension Activity

Example:
Christopher Nolan, now 22, is not only a spastic who cannot walk, stand, move his arms or talk;
he also suffers from cerebral palsy, a disease of the brain which sometimes causes his limbs to
jerk uncontrollably. Most people who suffer from such serious disorders live vegetative lives,
and merely wait for the end – but not Christopher Nolan, or Christy, as he is affectionately
known.
Nolan owes his creative life as an author not only to his own courage and determination but also
to the initiative and care of his parents. Instead of leaving him to vegetate, they enrolled him in a
special school in Dublin. To do this they had to give up their family farm and move to the city.
In the school Nolan learned to type. As he is able to move his head, he pecks at the keys with a
stick attached to his head by a headband; and thereby converts his thoughts into written
language. Doing this has not been easy, for often an attack of palsy sends his face crashing into
the typewriter. However, these attacks were later controlled by a muscle-relaxing drug. Even
then it sometimes took ten minutes for him to type a single word. His breakthrough came after
eleven years of “playing around with words”. His early poems earned him awards from the
British Spastics Association, but his first real triumph came in 1981, when Weidenfeld and
Nicholson published his collection ‘Dam-Burst of Dreams”, which was highly acclaimed by
British critics.
Nolan then went on to publish his autobiography ‘under the Eye of the Clock’.
The publication of a biography of a person in his early twenties must be a rare occurrence, as few
at that age would have much material to go into a biography. But this is not true of Christopher
Nolan. Besides accounts of the courageous events of his boyhood, one reads descriptions of the
idyllic Irish country-side, and, in contrast, stories of pranks such as cutting classes in school.
These last episodes give the lie to the notion that spastics necessarily live sad and arid lives.
Close members of his family, his parents and his 24-year old sister Yvonne, have learned to read
his body signs such as nods, winks and raised shoulders, and act as his interpreters whenever he
is among company, as during his recent travels through the United States promoting his
autobiography. As Nolan travels in a wheel-chair, his tour must have been a test of endurance, if
not an ordeal.
In his writings Nolan does not attempt to play down his condition, nor does he use mild or vague
expressions for words like ‘brain damage’, ‘cripple’ and ‘spastic’. Conversely, he is totally
conscious of his own gifts as a writer, and his great good fortune in having a family which is
supportive of his desire to write. He acknowledges the existence of many other victims of palsy,
even some who like him may have intellectual gifts, but are shunned and unwanted, many
merely because of their physical appearance.
But Nolan is not merely a man with a mission; he is frankly ambitious, and has expressed the
desire to make his mark as a writer of this decade. His success, however, is dependent on the
continued support of his family.
Example: Comprehension questions

a. What is cerebral palsy?

b. Do all spastics suffer from cerebral palsy?
c. What made Nolan famous nation-wide?
d. What two factors contributed most to Nolan making success of his life?
e. “…… few at that age have much material to go into a biography”. What does this
statement tell us of Nolan’s life?