Essential Comprehension Skills




Comprehension is the primary goal of any reading task. Students who comprehend expository text not only do better on tests, but they also have more opportunities in life.
The following are the basic skills that students need in order to comprehend text:
  • Locating facts~questions based on exactly what the text says (who, what, when, where, why, and how many)
  • Understanding vocabulary in context~questions based on the ability to infer word meaning from the syntax and semantics of the surrounding text, as well as the ability to recognize known synonyms and antonyms for a newly encountered word
  • Determining sequence~questions based on chronological order (what happened first, last, and in between)
  • Identifying conditions~questions that ask students to identify similarities and differences or notice cause-and-effect relationships
  • Making inferences~questions that require students to evaluate, make decisions, and draw logical conclusions
  • Analyzing and visualizing~questions that make students draw upon their schema and/or visualization skills to select the correct response
  • **Visualization reinforces the important skill of picturing the text. 


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