Reading comprehension has different levels.

Burns et al (1984:177) divide reading

comprehension into literal comprehension, interpretive comprehension, critical reading, and
creative reading.
1) Literal Comprehension
Reading for literal comprehension, which involves acquiring information that is
directly stated in a selection is a prerequisite for higherlevel understanding. Recognizing stated
main ideas, details, causes and effects, and sequence is the basis of literal comprehension, and
thorough understanding of vocabulary, sentence meaning, and paragraph meaning is important.
2) Interpretive Comprehension
Interpretive comprehension involves reading between the lines or making inferences.
It is the process of deriving ideas that are implied rather than directly stated. Reader makes
inferences based on their schemata. It is important to realize that children have less prior
knowledge than adults and do not make inferences spontaneously; even they possess the
necessary schemata or background knowledge.
3) Critical Reading
Critical reading is evaluating written materials, comparing the ideas discovered in the
material with standards and drawing conclusions about their accuracy, appropriateness, and
timeliness. It requires the reader to have critical thinking of what they read. Critical reading
depends upon literal comprehension and interpretive comprehension, and grasping implied ideas
is especially important.
4) Creative Reading
Creative reading involves going beyond the material presented by the author. It
requires readers to think as they read, just critical reading does, and it also requires them to use
their imaginations.
Carver in Devine (2000: 30) divides reading comprehension into four levels, they are:
1) Decoding of words and determination of their meaning in a particular sentence
2) Combining meanings of individual words into complete understanding of the sentence
3) Understanding of the paragraph and its implied main idea, as well as cause and effect,
hypothesis-proof, implications, unstated conclusions, and ideas associated with but rangential to
the main idea of a paragraph
4) Evaluation of ideas, including questions of logic, proof, authenticity, and value judgments.
Devine, Thomas G. (1986). Teaching Reading Comprehension : From Theory to Practice.
Newton: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
 READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES

Making Connections
Creating Mental Images (Visualizing)
Questioning
Inferring
Evaluating (Determining Importance)
Synthesizing

Steve and I use the lessons found in Comprehension Connections by Tanny McGregor,
Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller, and 7 Keys to Comprehension by Susan
Zimmerman and Chryse Hutchins for teaching reading comprehension strategies.

METACOGNITION & SCHEMA (BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE)

Although "metacognition" and "schema" aren't comprehension strategies, they are very
important for teaching reading comprehension strategies. John Flavell used the term
metacognition in the 70s and believed we were capable of monitoring our own
thoughts. Simply put, metacognition means to think about your thinking. In her book,
Comprehension Connections, Tanny McGregor uses a mathematical equation to teach
this concept to her students that Ive also used in my classroom: Text + Thinking =
Real Reading

When you read text and think at the same time you are real readingor being
metacognitive! In 7 Keys to Comprehension, Zimmerman & Hutchins define schema
(background knowledge) as the meaning you get from a piece of literature that is
intertwined with the meaning you bring to it. A layering occurs, a weaving of past and
present, an amalgam of old and new ideas and experiences. When you read,
sometimes you activate your schema or you build upon it. A previous student of mine
described schema simply as everything that is stuck in your brainI like that
definition!

As Tanny mentions in her book, its hard teaching reading comprehension strategies
without teaching your children about metacognition and schema. Look for the activities
that Steve and I use coming soon on the Comprehension Activities Page!

MAKING CONNECTIONS
Children make personal connections with the text by using their schema. There are
three main types of connections we can make during reading:

Text-to-Self: Refers to connections made between the text and the reader's
personal experience.
 Text-to-Text: Refers to connections made between a text being read to a text that
was previously read.
Text-to-World: Refers to connections made between a text being read and
something that occurs in the world.

CREATING MENTAL IMAGES (VISUALIZING)

This strategy involves the ability of readers to make mental images of a text as a way to
understand processes or events they encounter during reading. This ability can be an
indication that a reader understands the text. Some research suggests that readers who
visualize as they read are better able to recall what they have read than those who do
not visualize.

QUESTIONING
This strategy involves readers asking themselves questions throughout the reading of
text. The ability of readers to ask themselves relevant questions as they read is
especially valuable in helping them to integrate information, identify main ideas, and
summarize information. Asking the right questions allows good readers to focus on the
most important information in a text.

INFERRING
Authors do not always provide complete descriptions of, or explicit information about a
topic, setting, character, or event. However, they often provide clues that readers can
use to read between the linesby making inferences that combine information in the
text with their schema.

EVALUATING (DETERMINING IMPORTANCE)

Determining importance has to do with knowing why youre reading and then making
decisions about what information or ideas are most critical to understanding the overall
meaning of the piece.

SYNTHESIZING
Synthesizing is the process of ordering, recalling, retelling, and recreating into a
coherent whole the information with which our minds are bombarded everyday.
Synthesizing is closely linked to evaluating. Basically, as we identify whats important,
we interweave our thoughts to form a comprehensive perspective to make the whole
greater than just the sum of the parts.