English Language Arts and Reading.K.5.I

The student is expected to

monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, checking for visual cues, and asking questions when understanding breaks down with adult assistance.

comprehension TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts.

One option for assessing this SE is by using observations, anecdotal notes, and running records. Running records allow a teacher to determine what strategies students are using to help comprehend what they read because the teacher can observe when students re-read and can monitor when students are using visual cues to support understanding.

Example Categories:

  • Using background knowledge
  • Using visual cues (pictures and text structure)
  • Checking for understanding
  • Asking questions to clarify meaning
  • Rereading/fluency
A visual cue is a distinctive sight feature that triggers a response, especially a distinctive shape that aids identification of a letter, letter group, or word. In kindergarten, this means the student is able to use pictures to help him sound out a word. For example, the word ball may be in the text. By using visual cues, the student can see a ball in the picture and correlate the beginning sound in ball to the word ball.

Research

What Works Clearinghouse. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: practice guide summary. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Science. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/14#tab-summary

Summary: The goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific evidence-based recommendations that address the challenge of teaching reading comprehension to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The guide provides practical, clear information on critical topics related to teaching reading comprehension and is based on the best available evidence as judged by the authors.