Comprehension Constructors
After students have become familiar with annotating and Double-Entry Diaries, students can begin using comprehension constructors. Students must often use two or more thinking strategies to complete these assignments. A comprehension constructor is a worksheet teachers design to guide their students through a difficult text using a specific comprehension strategy. I have included an example of a comprehension constructor from Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It:
1. Call up any background knowledge you have about the topic of the text.
2. Read the text.
3. As you read the piece, jot a number of questions down in the margins when they occur to you. (At least 3)
4. After reading the text, write a response (a paragraph of at least 4 sentences).
5. Look back at your questions and write the 3 best questions below and decide where the answer can be found: in the text, in your head, in another source.
A)
B)
C)
The goal of this particular constructor is for students to make inferences, but teachers can adjust the guidelines depending on what strategy they want their students to be using. Teachers may have to revise the constructor if it does not address the strategy in the way they intended, but learning is always a process. I have attached a copy of a comprehension constructor guideline below.
1. Call up any background knowledge you have about the topic of the text.
2. Read the text.
3. As you read the piece, jot a number of questions down in the margins when they occur to you. (At least 3)
4. After reading the text, write a response (a paragraph of at least 4 sentences).
5. Look back at your questions and write the 3 best questions below and decide where the answer can be found: in the text, in your head, in another source.
A)
B)
C)
The goal of this particular constructor is for students to make inferences, but teachers can adjust the guidelines depending on what strategy they want their students to be using. Teachers may have to revise the constructor if it does not address the strategy in the way they intended, but learning is always a process. I have attached a copy of a comprehension constructor guideline below.
| tovani_comprehension_constructors.jpg |
