This article focuses on young children's misinterpretations of storybook illustrations. Examples of misinterpretations drawn from preschool classrooms are presented and analyzed to explain four kinds of confusion that are typically involved. Based on these analyses, the authors argue that young children are capable of the reasoning required to…

Comprehension strategy instruction has been widely studied in the past 10 years. We now know that students who actively engage and interact with text using particular cognitive strategies are more likely to understand and remember more of what they have read. Students who use these strategies are able to access knowledge that is outside the realm…

Latino English learners (ELs) come to elementary classrooms with many English-Spanish cognates in their listening, speaking, reading, and writing vocabularies. Cognates are words that are orthographically, semantically, and syntactically similar in two languages because of a shared etymology. Some cognates are identical in both English and…

This article discusses a study to determine whether primary grade students can learn comprehension processes via hand motions to portray these mental processes. Comprehension Process Motions (CPMs) were designed to provide students with a way to make abstract comprehension processes more consciously accessible and also to give teachers a way to…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with examples of how to perform effective think-alouds. Twelve think-alouds are described. A rationale for their use in kindergarten through grade 5 is also included. In addition, this article was designed to provide teachers with lessons and activities to assist students in developing the ability…

Reviews materials that teachers and students can use to help build knowledge of topics and word meanings that are essential to reading comprehension. (FL)

Advocates communicating the conventional wisdom about teaching to researchers so we can reduce the amount of trivial research that is conducted. (HOD)

Argues that allowing students five seconds to think about a question both before and after they answer it improves the quality of the answers they give. (FL)

Offers suggestions on using underlining as a strategy to help students identify key concepts. (FL)

Describes a story grammar, summarizes some results of story grammar research, and suggests instructional procedures for developing children's concept of story and story components. (FL)

Reviews recent ERIC materials on comprehension monitoring. (FL)

Argues that teaching for poetic thought develops not only poets and lovers of poetry, but also readers, dreamers, and doers. Offers suggestions on how it is done.(FL)

Suggests that teaching schema that gives learners not details but a process for interpreting stories will produce results with carryover. (FL)

When children are asked questions that invite them to react and respond thoughtfully to what they have read, teachers can gain a great deal of insight into the thinking habits of their students. Discussions of ideas offer teachers valuable opportunities to observe their students' thinking habits and skills, the breadth and precision of their…

Teaching active comprehension helps students learn to ask their own questions and guide their own thinking. (MKM)