Reading for Comprehension: Using The Keywords Strategy.

As learners progress from word to sentence to text level, my concern shifts from learners' recognition of words to learners' comprehension of the text. Comprehension is crucial as it affects learners motivation in reading. It is also one of the skills tested in public examinations.

I recently tried out a new reading activity with my Year 5 Rose. Most of the learners in this class can read quite well but are unable to answer comprehension questions. I later found out that they do not have the neccesary skills to decode a text. For example, many of them can recognise wh-questions but are unable to say what information each of the wh-question seeks for.

So my lesson was intended to familiarise the learners with the wh-questions. I think this is the most basic need for text comprehension. I also wanted to teach them the strategy of using textual clues when answering comprehension questions.

Here is what we did;

1. In groups, learners tried reading the text (from their textbook) on their own.

2. As they read, I wrote five comprehension questions on the board, making sure that I underlined the keywords. For example (the keywords are in bold here as I cannot seem to underline using blogger).

1. Where was the charity sale held?
2. How many cupcakes were sold?

3. I revised the Wh-questions with the learners. We all agreed that who usually asks about a person, where usually asks about a place and when usually asks about time.

4. I then demonstrated to the class how the keywords could be used to help me find the answers from the text. For Question 1 for example, I told them to look for the phrase, "charity sale" and the word "held".

5. As the learners point to me the sentence in which the phrase "charity sale" and the word" held" appeared in, I asked them to read the sentence aloud.

6. I then asked the learners to reread the question posed, which was "Where was the charity sale held?" By this point, at least 2-3 learners in each group would have been able to point out the answer.

7. It was only after the learners have attempted to answer all the questions that I discussed the text with them. I also invited three learners to read aloud the text (I am still finding a better way of conducting this reading aloud session).

I find this direct teaching of a reading strategy helps to engage my learners in the reading comprehension activity for a longer period. Previously, I used whole-class discussion method but most learners appeared to 'switch off' after a while. Putting them into smaller groups where they could discuss for answers - and be rewarded as a group when they are able to provide correct answers - encourages better participation from the learners.

However, reading strategies need to be consistently reinforced so results may not be apparent after just a few trials. I will certainly try this activity again in the next few weeks to assess its true potential.