"Comprehension is the ability' to understand or grasp meaning from any type of written material. It is the most important component of all content learning."
Comprehension exercises require a student to show understanding of the information in the given passage.
• Students may be required to give or recognize synonyms for words in the passage, answer questions about the content, infer implied meaning, rewrite sentences in a different construction, summarize the main ideas, or interpret charts or graphs. This ability is higher than the simple remembering of material.
• Comprehension is the thinking done during, and after reading a passage. It is not something that happens after reading. So, the passage must be read carefully, without hurrying through it.
TIPS FOR COMPREHENSION
1. Read the passage given carefully two or three times if necessary, till you understand clearly, its subject or themes and what is said about the subject or main themes. Ask yourself, ‘what does the author say about the subject’?
2. Read the questions one by one carefully, and find out whether you fully understand them.
3. Now take up the first question and find out to which part of the passage it refers to.
4. Then take up the other question and find out the parts of the passage they refer to.
5. Now write answers to questions in your own words.do not adopt the language of given passage, the answers should be brief and to the point. No attempt should be made to show one’s knowledge by saying things that are not included in the original passage.
6. Revise your answers and examine them carefully to see that they are clear and complete. If an answer is too long, you must further compress it by omitting unnecessary details or by remoulding sentences.
7. Correct all mistakes in spelling, grammar and idiom and see that your sentences are properly punctuated, let the answer be simple and direct. The ability to read properly and understand not only the general sense of a given passage but its particular implications is becoming more important in modern education.
Previewing
Previewing is a strategy that readers use to recall prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading. It calls for readers to skim a text before reading, looking for various features and information that will help as they return to read it in detail later.According to research, previewing a text can improve comprehension (Graves, Cooke, & LaBerge, 1983, cited in Paris et al., 1991).
Why use it?
Previewing a text helps readers prepare for what they are about to read and set a purpose for reading.
When to use it?
Previewing is a strategy readers use before and during reading.
How to use it?
When readers preview a text before they read, they first ask themselves whether the text is fiction or nonfiction.
• If the text is fiction or biography, readers look at the title, chapter headings, introductory notes, and illustrations for a better understanding of the content and possible settings or events.
• If the text is nonfiction, readers look at text features and illustrations (and their captions) to determine subject matter and to recall prior knowledge, to decide what they know about the subject. Previewing also helps readers figure out what they don’t know and what they want to find out.
Things to remember in Previewing
• What is it about?
• How is it organized?
• What’s important?
How to Preview?
Whatever your purpose is for reading a particular piece of writing, you should have three objectives to meet as you read:
• to identify the author’s most important points,
• to recognize how they fit together, and
• to note how you respond to them.
You can preview different kinds of reading material. For example,
You might preview
1. The newspaper by reading headlines
2. A letter by looking at the envelope
3. A new book by reading the front and back cover Preview can help you make decisions. It can help you decide:
4. Which articles to read in the newspaper
Look at the photo and the tittle of the reading. What will this reading be about?
Reading for main idea,
• The main idea is the central, or most important, idea in a paragraph or passage. It states the purpose and sets the direction of the paragraph or passage.
• The main idea may be stated or it may be implied.
• When the main idea of a paragraph is stated, it is most often found in the first sentence of the paragraph. However, the main idea may be found in any sentence of the paragraph.
• The main idea may be stated in the first sentence of a paragraph and then be repeated or restated at the end of the paragraph.
• The main idea may be split. The first sentence of a paragraph may present a point of view, while the last sentence presents a contrasting or opposite view.
To find the main idea of any paragraph or passage, ask these questions:
1. Who or what is the paragraph about?
2. What aspect or idea about the ‘who’ or ‘what’ is the author concerned with?
Paragraph one
It is often said that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but this isn’t true. Go ask the forest rangers. Rangers who spend their summers as fire-fighters will tell you that every thundershower brings several bolts of lightning to their lookout stations.
(Notice that the first sentence tells what the paragraph is about; the sentences that follow support the idea stated in the first sentence.)
Paragraph Two
Costs were low that year and the output high. There was a good person for each job and the market remained firm. There were no losses from fire. All in all it was the best years in the history of the company.
(Note that the first three sentences give details to explain why it was the best year in the company’s history.)
Paragraph Three
There are great numbers of deer around here. This whole area is great country for hunters and fishermen. There are bears, mountain lions, and coyotes. To the east there are streams full of trout, and there are ducks and geese.
(The author begins and ends with examples. The main idea is stated in the second sentence.)
Using context for vocabulary
Vocabulary in context refers to the sentences or the whole paragraph surrounding an unfamiliar word. Context clues are used to make a good guess at the word’ meaning. There are six different types of context clues:
• definition/restatement
• example
• synonym
• comparison
• contrast
• cause and effect .
For example;
1. The spy was hung at the gallows of his homeland fo his perfidious deeds.
( disloyal; treacherous; deceitful)
2. We always listen to my great-aunt because she is venerable, but we ignore my niece’s advice because she’s only six.
(respected; esteemed; revered)
3. The teacher admonished her student for misbehaving during the lesson.
(reprimanded; cautioned; reproved)
Making inferences:
Making an inference involves using what you know to make a guess about what you don't know or reading between the lines. Readers who make inferences use the clues in the text along with their own experiences to help them figure out what is not directly said, making the text personal and memorable.
