DEVELOPMENTAL READING

(Professional Education)
Lecture Handout
Licensure Examination for Teachers

A. Definition of Reading
Reading is the process of constructing meaning through the dynamic interaction among the reader’s existing knowledge,
the information suggested by the written language, and the context of reading situation.

B. Theoretical Models of the Reading Process

1. Bottom-up is the process of forming meanings about the text. This is also called data-driven processing. It is important that
the readers recognize every word in a selection so that they can comprehend it.
2. Top-down is the process of formulation of meaning that proceeds from the reader to the author, that is, the reader must first
use of his prior knowledge or background experiences to understand the author’s viewpoint.
Schemata refer to all knowledge the reader has stocked or stored in his memory since the time he was
conceived. When a reader reads, he recalls or activates these schemata or stored knowledge. An abstract representation
of this old knowledge in his mind is called schemata.
3. Interactive utilizes both top-down and bottom-up either simultaneously or alternately to comprehend a text. The major benefit of
Interactive is the opportunity for differentiation.
4. Transactional indicates that comprehension or understanding is the result of the transaction between the reader and the text.

C. Psychology of Reading
Reading involves two psychological processes:
1. Sensation is an awareness of something due to the stimulation of the sense organs, primarily the eyes. When one reads, he
makes the eye movements of fixation (stopping) of the eyes, interfixation (stopping of the eyes from one point to another),
return sweep (sweeping of the eyes from the end of the line to the beginning of the next line); and regression (backward or
right to the left movement made in a reverse direction.
2. Perception occurs when the portion of the brain arouses the reader’s past experiences about the word by association of this
prior knowledge with it.

C. Components of the Reading Process

1. Decoding refers to the act of associating the sounds with the letters to form a word resulting in an oral pronunciation or silent
thinking of the word. It is also called Alphabetic Principle.
2. Comprehension refers to the process of constructing meanings.
These two components occur simultaneously, thus, as the reader sounds the letter, immediately meaning is associated with the
word formed.

D. Kinds of Reading
1. Skimming is reading to get an overview of the selection.
2. Scanning is reading for specific information in the selection.
3. Idea reading is reading for main idea.
4. Exploratory reading is reading to know how the whole selection is presented.
5. Analytic reading is careful examination of a selection for the purposes of identification word relationships.
6. Critical reading is reading to weigh facts, information or ideas presented in the selection.
7. Narcotic reading is reading to get rid of everyday troubles, depressions, problems, etc.

E. Phases of a Reading Lesson

1. Pre-reading
The following are good schema activation activities:
a. Graphic Organizers (web or outline from a passage, note headings for use in note taking)
1. Anticipation guide
2. Opinionnaire
3. Contrast chart
4. Semantic map
5. KWL chart
b. Brainstorming
c. Previewing a passage
d. Noting headings and bold prints

An example of an ideal pre-reading activity that will encourage the students to want to read the story is “telling the students
that there is a surprise ending and that they will be required to draw a picture showing that ending”.

2. During reading
The following are good activities during reading:
a. literature maps
 b. character maps
c. journals
d. feeling charts
e. contrast charts

3. Post-reading
Reading instruction can be concluded by:
a. valuing
b. appreciating
c. relating lessons to own life
d. linking lessons to explain real-life contexts
d. responding creatively using multiple intelligence

F. Concerns of Teaching Reading

1. schema activation
2. vocabulary development
3. comprehension development
4. understanding text organization
5. application

G. Principles in Teaching Reading

1. Instructional activities have a teaching rather than a testing focus.
2. Lessons should be divided into pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading.
3. The major activity of the reading lesson is students reading the texts.
4. Reading instructional materials and tasks are authentic as they require students to find and work on complex real-life problems.
Authentic materials are those which were not created or edited expressly for language users (Nunan & Miller, 1995). e.g.
pictures of road, labels, business cards, film, menus, internet websites, receipts, newspaper, brochures, and music
5. Reading activities must promote grand conversations.
6. Reading activities must develop or activate students’ background knowledge.
7. Reading activities must provide opportunities for reading, writing, listening and speaking.
8. Reading activities must promote higher-level thinking.
9. Reading activities must be appropriate for a heterogenous groups of students.

H. Developmental Reading
Developmental Reading is a comprehensive reading program consisting of several stages. Different books offer different
stages.

*Suggestion 1
1. Reading readiness (nursery and kindergarten);
2. Beginning reading (Grades 1 and 2);
3. Rapid Growth and development (Grades 3 and 4); and
4. Refinement and Wide Reading (Grades 5 and 6, high school, and college).

*Suggestion 2
1. Early literacy (below grade 1)
2. Decoding (Grade 1 and beginning Grade 2)
3. Fluency (Grades 2-3)
4. Using Reading for Learning (Grades 4-8)
5. Multiple Viewpoints (Grades 9-12)
6. Construction and Reconstruction (College and beyond)

*Suggestion 3
1. Emergent reader (environmental print)
2. Beginning Reader (understanding of the alphabet and words: concepts of prints)
3. Transitional Reader (recognizing and manipulating within word differences)
4. Intermediate Reader (fluency and problem-solving about the meaning)\
5. Advanced Reader (reading to learn)

Grace Godell’s Reading Skills Ladder

1. Basic sight words
2. Using phonetic analysis
3. Using structural analysis
4. Using contextual clues
5. Vocabulary building
6. Finding the main idea
 7. Finding the supporting details
8. Interfering meanings and drawing conclusions
9. Classifying and organizing facts
10. Using parts of the book
11. Using the dictionary
12. Using encyclopedias and other reference books
13. Borrowing library books for research and enjoyment
14. Starting your private library collection
15.Exposure to reading from mass media
16. Reading from the Internet

Basic sight words are irregular words. They cannot be decoded because the sounds of the letters are unique to the words.
Dolch Sight Words are 220 most frequently found words in books that children read.

Balanced Reading Program

Developmental Reading Functional Reading Recreatory Reading Corrective/Remedial
(Comprehension & Study (Content Area) (Home & Free Reading) Reading
Skills)
Focuses on the growth in Focuses on the application Focuses on reading Focuses on students’
reading skills of normal of reading skills in the interests of students – reading problems, helping
readers: reading different subject or content reading for fun and students who read below
readiness, beginning or areas: Math, Science, enjoyment their supposed reading
initial reading, rapid growth Music, Language Arts, etc. level so they can cope with
and development, reading their studies.
refinement

I. Some Approaches, Methods, Strategies in Reading Instruction

1. Phonics is a method of teaching children the relationship between the letters and the individual sounds for them to read and
write words.
2. Whole Language Approach emphasizes meaning and integrates all literacy tasks within reading instruction. It utilizes
authentic literature.
3. Content-Based Instruction (CBI) is based on the common underlying principle that successful language learning occurs when
students are presented with target language material in a meaningful, contextualized form, with the primary focus on acquiring
information and knowledge.
4. Basal reader involves sequencing all vocabulary, and skills, stilted sentences, pieces of stories, literature out of context, etc.
that end up with boring and artificial readings.
Teachers need to heed the warning of Goodman who cautioned against the “basilazation” of literature by treating
books simply as vehicles for practicing skills.
5. Literature Based Approach emphasizes the use of genuine literature to introduce the children to the world of reading. It
utilizes literary pieces which received the Caldecott Medal and the Newberry Medal awards.
6. Guided Reading is a small-group reading instruction designed to provide differentiated instruction to support the students in
developing their reading proficiency.
7. Language Experience Approach utilizes activities and stories developed from personal experiences of the learners.
8. Cooperative learning can be effective in teaching reading, especially for less competent students to develop skills with
assistance from more competent classmates.
9. Flexible Student Grouping – Students are arranged based on readiness, learning profiles, or interests.
10. Collaborative Strategic Reading combines cooperative learning and reading comprehension strategy instruction which is
designed to promote content learning, language acquisition, and reading comprehension in diverse classrooms.
11. Individualized Reading Instruction implies at least 4 things: 1) The children are at their seats or at reading tables (not in
group); 2) Each child has a different book – a book that he himself selected (self-selection); 3) Each child receives individual
help from the teacher (pupil-teacher conference); and 4) The pupil progresses at his own pace (self-pacing).

J. Some good reading instructional activities

1. Concentric circle encourages one-on-one communication between students.
2. K-W-L chart is used to document what students know, what they want to know, and what they learned.
3. Book pass introduces students to a variety of works in a short period of time in order to encourage them to read.
4. Reciprocal teaching. The student becomes a teacher in a small group reading session. The students use the 4 strategies such
as summarizing, classifying, predicting and question generating.
5. Journal writing is a wonderful vehicle for integrating reading and writing.
The act of writing in response to reading selection helps to move the learners beyond literal comprehension to a complete
understanding of the content of a story or book.
Types of journals:
a. Double entry journal
b. Reading logs
c. Partner journal (dialogue journal)
 d. Character journal

K. Reading Cue Systems

1. Semantic cue system (meaning) involves story sense, prior knowledge, text, or illustrations.
2. Syntactic Cue System (structure) involves natural language, knowledge of English, grammatical patterns or language
structures.
3. Graphophonic cue system (visual) involves sounds and symbols, and print conventions.
4. Pragmatic cue system (situation/context)

L. Components of reading fluency:

1. Rate
2. Accuracy
3. Prosody is reading aloud with pitch, stress, and timing to convey meaning.

M. Disorders that Affect Reading

1. ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a syndrome of disordered learning and disruptive behavior that is not caused
by any serious underlying physical or mental disorder and that has several subtypes characterized primarily by symptoms of
inattentiveness or primarily by symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsive behavior or by the significant expression of all three.
3 Types:
a. Predominantly Inattentive Type
b. Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type
c. Combined Type
2. Myopia is a condition of the eye that makes it difficult to see objects that are far away.
3. Hyperopia is a condition in which visual images come to a focus behind the retina of the eye and vision is better for distant than
for near objects.
4. Dyslexia is a condition in the brain that makes it hard for a person to read, write, and spell.

N. Functional Reading Levels

1. Independent Level – The student can recognize the words in a text with 95% or more accuracy.
2. Instructional level – The student can recognize the words in a text with about 90% accuracy.
3. Frustration Level – The student can recognize fewer than 90% of the words in a text.

Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) can help determine the student’s functional reading levels.

N. Library Skills
1. Kinds of Reading Materials in the Library
a. General collection of books which can be borrowed
1. Fiction – novels, short stories, drama, etc.
2. Non-fiction – books of information, about real things, people, places, etc.

b. General reference books

1. Dictionary contains words listed in alphabetical order and that gives information about the words’ meanings, forms,
pronunciation, etc.
2. Encyclopedia is a book or set of books containing information on all important subjects.

3. Index is a detailed alphabetical list of persons, places, etc. that are mentioned in a book, indicating their exact positions
in the volume.
5. Yearbook is a publication which includes useful information like report of government offices and officials, or of scientific
and educational societies.
6. Almanac is a yearly publication which contains miscellaneous information and statistics, current events, recent laws,
sports records, social, political and commercial statistics that are liable to change from year to year.
7. Atlas is a book that contains maps showing the entire surface of the earth.
8. Gazetteer is a list of names of places with some information about each place.
9. Bibliography is a list of all the books used by the writer in preparing the book.
10. Directory contains an alphabetical list of names of people, business, etc.
11. Bibliographical Dictionary gives information about distinguished people living or dead.

C. Periodicals
Periodicals are materials that come or are published at regular interval of time.
a. General Periodicals contain articles on different interests and subjects, like:
1. Magazine is published weekly, monthly, quarterly or fortnightly.
2. Newspaper is printed and distributed at regular intervals.

b. Professional Periodicals are sometimes called professional journals and contain articles on a particular field of
knowledge
 which are written members of the profession, like Language Teaching Forum.

D. Special reference materials on non-book materials

a. Pamphlets
b. Government publications
c. Clippings
d. Audio-visual materials (pictures, postcards, slides, filmstrips, manuscripts, maps, globes, wire recordings, etc.)

2. Classification of Books in the Library

Two classification systems used by libraries:
a. Dewey Decimal System divides all knowledge into nine classes.
000-099 (General works) Almanac, Dictionaries, Atlas
100-199 (Philosophy) Psychology, Ethics, Conduct
200-299 (Religion) Bible, Churches, Christianity
300-399 (Social Sciences) Economics, Politics, Education
400-499 (Philology) Language, Grammar, Linguistics
500-599 (Pure Science) Physics, Chemistry, Biology
600-699 ((Applied Science) Math, Aeronautics, Medicine
700-799 (Fine Arts) Engineering, Music, Painting
800-899 (Literature) Poetry, Novels, Essays
900-999 (History)

b. Library Congress Classification System combines letters of the alphabet with Arabic numbers. Main classes are
marked with a single letter. Further subdivision uses Arabic numerals beginning with 1 up to 9999.

3. Special Reference Materials

a. Pamphlets deal with a subject or topic of importance in any field of knowledge.
b. Newspaper clippings are cutouts from newspaper.
c. Government publications are issued by a government office – national, or local and are distributed free to government
officials or to the public.
d. Audio-visual materials are non-book materials that cater to both hearing and sight. They give emphasis and
clarification to messages especially those that give highly technical information.
5. Automated Information Sources are materials from electronic machines.
6. Graphic and Pictorial Materials
a. Graph uses dots and lines to show a system of relationships between things.
Four basic types of graphs:
1. Pie or circle graph shows how a whole is divided into different parts.
2. Line graph shows development or progress of a trend over a period of time.
3. Bar graph is good for showing comparative figures and relationships.
4. Pictograph uses sketches of figures to represent the concept under discussion.
b. Tables, Charts, and Diagrams – Tables and charts are often considered synonymous. They may be single column,
multi-column (vertical or horizontal) charts. A diagram, on the other hand, is used to show the parts of a thing or
stages of a process.
c. Maps and Globes present a representation of the surface of the earth.
Maps are flat, and show the whole surface of the earth or just a part of it, while globes are spherical and represent
the entire surface of the earth.

O. Study Skills
Study skills refer to skills of locating and gathering information, interpreting graphic and pictorial materials, and organizing
information. These skills are also called life skills or survival skills.

A. Categories of Study Skills

1. Locating Information refers to one’s skill in alphabetization, in using parts of a book and in using the different library
materials and card catalog.
2. Organizing Information refers to classifying information and identifying topic sentence, main idea and supporting details.
Topic sentence captures all the ideas in the paragraph.
Position of topic sentence in a paragraph:
a. initial
b. medial/central
c. final

Basic Parts of topic sentence:

a. topic
b. controlling idea
 Main Idea is the central or most significant thought of the paragraph. Supporting details are those that support the main
idea.
a. Classifying information
b. Identifying main idea and supporting details
c. Outlining requires the reader to identify the main idea and the supporting details following the order of their
occurrence in the selection. Outlines may come in different forms: phrases, sentences, or paragraphs.
d. Summarizing refers to a concise way of presenting information.
e. Taking Notes requires the reader to write down in his note card or notebook important items of information for easy
remembering.

Types of Main idea:

a. stated main idea
b. unstated or implied main idea

3. Interpreting Graphic and Pictorial Materials

4. Adopting Study Habits and Techniques

B. Reading/Study Methods

1. SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Review, Recite)

a. Survey the titles, illustrations, or opening lines of each paragraph.
b. Question – Students raise questions resulting from their survey of the title, illustration and the text.
c. Read the text with the questions raised in mind.
d. Review the text to determine which of the questions raised were answered and which ones were not answered. And
which information obtained for which no questions were raised.
e. Recite the information obtained from the text.

2. PQRST (Preview, Question, Read, Summarize, Test)

a. Preview – advance organizers, titles and subtitles, illustrations, summaries, comprehension questions
b. Question – Raise questions.
c. Read the text with questions in minds.
d. Summarize the information obtained.
e. Test oneself as to the answers obtained to the questions raised.

P. Vocabulary Improvement
A. Methods of Increasing Vocabulary
1. Configuration is knowing the meaning of the term by using the arrangement and structure of the word – its size, shape, and
length as clues to the correct meaning.
2. Clining shows the degree of difference or unlikeness of a group of words having almost the same meaning by ranking them in a
slanting position.
3. Clustering is the act of grouping words with the same meaning.
Semantic Mapping is a visual strategy for vocabulary expansion and extension of knowledge by displaying categories words
related to one another.
Classification is a method of deriving meanings by knowing how the words in a group are related with one another basing on a
certain criterion.
4. Collocation is a way of deriving word meaning by putting two or more words together or side by side to show word
relationships or different shades or meanings (rich man, rich ideas, rich word / here and there, hammer and chisel).
5. Completion
6. Neologism refers to the act of coining new words (autoist-driver, co-ed-female student)
7. Antonomasia or Allusion refers to the use of words derived from the Bible, history, myths, legends, etc. (Eden-paradise)
8. Structural analysis is the splitting up of word into its parts to discover its meaning (uncomfortable – un/comfort/able).
9. Contextual Clues are words or phrases acting clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
Types of Context Clues
1. Definition or Restatement - The meaning of the vocabulary word is in the sentence itself, usually following the
vocabulary word.
e.g. Jack's duplicity – crafty dishonesty – caused him to steal his co-worker's pensions by funnelling their money into an
offshore account.

2. Synonym - The sentence uses a similar word to help explain the meaning of the vocabulary word.
e.g. The baseball coach punished the team's duplicity or deceitfulness after they admitted to using steroids to boost their
batting averages.

3. Antonym /Opposite/Contrast - The sentence uses a word with an opposite definition to give the meaning of the
vocabulary word.
 e.g. It was your duplicity that caused me to break up with you! Had you been honest, I wouldn't have felt the need.

4. Example or Explanation - This type of context clue uses examples to help the reader infer the meaning of the
vocabulary word.
e.g. His duplicity involved lowering his employee's salaries, increasing their stock options, and then stealing the money
he saved by doing so.

5. Cause and Effect - The clues that indicate an unfamiliar word is the cause of and or the result of an action, feeling, or
idea.
e.g. Constant drought and windstorm conditions caused the erosion of fertile topsoil that crops needed to grow.

10. Creativity – Use of Names of Persons, Places – is a way of increasing one’s vocabulary by creating or coining a word
through one’s imagination, and through borrowed terms. (saute -French, kindergarten-German, ad hoc-Latin, etc.)
11. Clipping, Blending, Acronym, Anagram
Clipping is a process of forming words by cutting off the beginning or end of a word (ad-advertisement).
Blending is the merging of two words into one, usually the first part of the first word and the last part of the other one, so that
the resultant blend consists of both original meanings.
Acronym is a kind of clipping that uses only the initial letter of the word to stand for the whole term (UNO-United Nations
Organization).
Anagram is a way of forming different words from a given word by just rearranging the letters of the given word (team-mate,
meat, tame).
12. Use of Synonyms, Antonyms
Synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word in the same language (beautiful-pretty).
Antonym is a word with a meaning that is opposite to the meaning of another word (ugly-beautiful).
13. Homonyms, Heteronyms, Homophones
Homonyms are words with the same spelling and pronunciation but different in meaning (bat-an object, bat- a mammal).
Homophones are words with the same pronunciation but different in spelling and meaning (aisle, isle).
Homographs are words with the same spelling but different in sound and meaning. They are also called heteronyms. (REcord,
record).
14. Derivation and Derivational suffixes (beauty-beautiful)
15. Words with Multiple Meanings – Some English words have more than one meaning (Cast means the ff.: throw, let fall, shape
by squeezing into mold to harden, select to take part in a play, the actors in a play, etc.)
16. Classification
17. Knowing the Difference between General and Specific Terms
18. Use of Figure of Speech – Figure of speech is an expression of comparisons, a device or arrangement of words by which a
writer seeks to deviate from the direct and literal use of the language, to speak more strikingly, picturesquely, or accurately.
a. Personification - Personification is all about adding a human trait to an inanimate object or an abstraction.
e.g. The picture in that magazine shouted for attention.

b. Simile - is a figure of speech that compares two unrelated things or ideas using "like" or "as" to accentuate a certain
feature of an object by comparing it to a dissimilar object that is a typical example of that particular trait.
e.g. The stock market is like a roller coaster ride--up and down.

c. Analogy – is a figure of speech that equates two things to explain something unfamiliar by highlighting its similarities to
something that is familiar. This figure of speech is commonly used in spoken and written English.
e.g. Questions and answers, crying and laughing, etc.

d. Metaphor - compares two different or unrelated things to reveal certain new qualities in the subject, which you might
have ignored or overlooked otherwise. e.g. The streets of Chennai are a furnace.

e. Alliteration - is the duplication of a specific consonant sound at the start of each word and in quick succession. Although
alliterations are all about consonant sounds, exceptions can be made, when vowels sounds are also repeated.
This figure of speech is commonly seen in poems. e.g. "Guinness is good for you" - Tagline for Guinness

f. Hyperbole – is a far-fetched, over exaggerated description or sentence is called as hyperbole and is commonly used in
jokes and making backhanded compliments. e.g. When she smiles, her cheeks fall off.

g. Onomatopoeia - is partly pleasure and partly business. It is used to replicate sounds created by objects, actions,
animals and people. e.g. Cock-a-doodle-do, quack, moo, etc.

h. Euphemism - is a figure of speech where an offensive word or expression is replaced with a polite word.
e.g. She passed away yesterday.

i. Assonance - is a repetition of the vowel sounds. Such a figure of speech is found most commonly in short sentences or
verses. e.g. And murmuring of innumerable bees.
 j. Allusion - is an indirect or subtle reference made about a person, place or thing in a work of literature.
e.g. I am no Prince Hamlet.
(Herculean, Oedipus complex, Midas touch, Aphrodisiac, Damocles sword, Jovial mood, Good Samaritan, Adonis,
Achilles’ heel, Exodus)
k. Antithesis - is a figure of speech where two very opposing lines of thought or ideas are placed in a somewhat balanced
sentence. e.g. Man proposes, God disposes.

l. Apostrophe - is used when a person who is absent or nonexistent is spoken to.

e.g. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky."

m. Metonymy - A metonymy is a figure of speech where one word or phrase is used in place of another. With metonymies,
a name of a particular thing is substituted with the name of a thing that is closely related to it.
e.g. "We have always remained loyal to the crown."

n. Oxymoron - Oxymoron involves the usage of contradictory terms to describe an object, situation or incident.
e.g. open secret, tragic comedy, exact estimate, original copies, etc.

o. Synecdoche - This is figure of speech where a part of a particular object is employed to throw light on the whole thing.
e.g. Check my new wheels.

p. Litotes - are nothing but an understatement. It can be used when you are looking to underplay a positive with a
negative. e.g. The food at that restaurant is not bad at all.

q. Anticlimax - An anticlimax as a figure speech refers to the building up a climax that results in something that cannot
really be described as a climax.
e.g. On discovering that his friend was murdered, with vengeance on his mind Ravi rushed back to his
college, only to find his friend sipping on coffee in the college canteen.

r. Consonance - refers to the repetition of consonant sounds, within the limits of a sentence or a certain number of
sentences.
e.g. "Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me
stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow." - Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

s. Irony - is used to stress on the opposite meaning of a word. When people are looking to be sarcastic, they employ irony.
e.g. He was so intelligent, that he failed all his tests.

19. Use of idiomatic expressions

An idiom is a phrase or expression with a meaning not logically suggested by the words (in hot water, in the same boat, dead
beat, break the ice, catch red-handed, thick headed).

B. Vocabulary Teaching Activities

1. Word Association
2. Word Family
3. Semantic Map
4. Word Game
The vocabulary instruction can be done through: wide reading approach; direct approach; and superficial approach.

C. Word-Analysis Skills
1. consonant blends are groups of two or three consonants in words that make a distinct consonant sound. e.g. brown, block
2. consonant digraphs are groups of two or three consonants in words that make one consonant sound. e.g. shoes
3. long and short vowels
4. syllabication
5. r-controlled vowels are those that are changed by letter “r”. e.g. turtle, bird, butter

D. Phonemic-awareness skills
1. Phonemic deletion skill – is the ability to recognize the word that remains when a phoneme is removed from another
word. (smile-mile)
2. Phonemic substitution skill – is the ability to replace one phoneme for another. (ban-van)
3. Phonemic segmentation skill –is the ability to break the word into individual sounds. (green {g-r-i-n}
4. Phonemic Categorization skill – is the ability to recognize a word in a set of three or four words that has the odd sound.
(pat, sat, mat, pass)
 E. Levels of Meaning
1. Literal level
2. Figurative level
3. Symbolic level
4. Allegorical level

Q. Comprehension Improvement
Comprehension is a process of constructing meaning from clues in the text and information in the reader’s background
experience: this process of building meaning involves interaction between the reader and the text.
Comprehension development is the main purpose of reading instruction.
For comprehension to improve, there must be an active interaction among 3 important factors of reading: reader, text, and
context.

A. Levels of Comprehension
1. Literal level (reading on the lines) involves surface meanings as the reader is asked to find information and ideas that are
explicitly stated in the text.
2. Inferential/Interpretive level (reading between the lines) requires the reader to go beyond what is said and read to see the
implied meanings. The ideas at this level can’t be pinpointed in the text, because these are merely inferences or guesses
about the selection.
3. Critical level (reading beyond the lines) involves critical evaluation of ideas and information, then make judgment about the
worth of these and the effectiveness of how they are presented in the selection.
Critical thinkers are skeptical, fact-oriented, analytic, open-minded, questioning, willing to take a stand, can differentiate fact
and opinion, can recognize propaganda technique, etc.
4. Creative level (reading beyond the lines) involves reading that requires the reader to produce new ideas, new insights, and
new products through the extensive use of his imagination, his flow of ideas, etc.
Creative Reading helps the reader to develop his own taste in literature. It gives him the power to discriminate and
appreciate different forms of literature, such as novels, short stories, essays, etc. He may show his appreciation of the literary
piece through the following:
a. Interpreting the story orally – chamber, theater, speech choir, jazz chant, reader’s theater, storytelling, dramatic
reading, dramatic monologue
b. Dramatizing the selection – pantomiming, role playing, staging a play
c. Writing something about the selection – writing poems or stories about the play or story, writing a sequel to the
selection, writing the ending of the story
4. Presenting the selection through graphics – drawing, coloring, painting, sketching, cutouts, folding, handicrafts

Metacognitive reader is aware of one’s mental processes such that one can monitor, regulate, and direct them to a
desired end.
The metacognitive strategies are regulating, checking, and repairing.

C. Comprehension Strategies
1. Noting Important Details
The particular facts or ideas presented by the author in the selection are called details. A reader must know how to identify
these details and to know which of these are necessary to the story.

2. Sensing Cause-Effect Relationship

If an event results in another occurrence directly or indirectly, one may say this event causes something. To understand
cause-effect relationship, the reader has to recall the reasons for the results of something.

3. Understanding the Sequences-of-Events Pattern of Organization

The arrangement of events in the text is called sequence, but if this arrangement is altered, the facts will no longer be
logical or accurate. The following are words used as signals of a sequence: after, first, before, finally, etc.

4. Making Comparison and Contrast

This is done by focusing on the similarities and differences of the characters, events, and other relevant details in the text.
This may use the words such as compare, contrast, different, like, or, but, and also.

5. Drawing Inferences (Making Assumption)

Drawing inference means sensing the relationships that are not stated but implied by the author. These inferences may be
assumptions, conclusions, generalizations, and predictions.
Assumptions are logical responses to situations or logical relationships to behavior based on previous responses or an
available information.

6. Drawing Inferences (Making Conclusion)

Making conclusions means drawing or putting together factual evidence into a statement that tells about the nature of the
 evidence or facts. Conclusions are based on either written material or observed facts.

7. Drawing Inferences (Making Predictions)

Prediction is a statement about future behavior or an action based on past or present behavior or action. Everybody makes
predictions, but he must base his prediction on facts not on assumptions or another prediction.

8. Identifying Character Traits

This skill requires the reader to determine the distinguishing qualities, peculiarities or characteristics of the characters in the
selection by analyzing the way they act, speak, think and the kind of words they use in expressing their viewpoints and
interacting with the other characters in the selection.

9. Distinguishing Fact from Opinion

Facts are statements that can be proven true or false by unbiased evidence. An opinion, though valid, is a statement which
expresses a personal bias or a point of view and cannot be proven objectively.

10. Detecting Propaganda or Bias (Prejudice)

Propaganda means spreading of ideas, facts or allegations deliberately to further one’s cause or damage on opposing
cause. Bias or prejudice, on the other hand, refers to opinion for or against somebody or something without adequate basis.
Types of Propaganda:
a. Bandwagon claims that everyone is doing it, hence the reader must do it, too.
b. Compare and Contrast – The author compares and contrasts products or ideas to convince the reader that one is
better than the other one. However, the claim made for the better one is difficult to prove.
c. Emotional Words – The author uses words to arouse the feelings of the reader rather than to give information to him.
d. Faulty-Cause-Effect – The author says or directly states that a thing gives rise to another thing, but there’s no real proof
or evidence to prove this is true.
e. Name-Calling – The author uses names or terms that will make a person or group appear bad.
f. Repetition – The author makes the reader remember the person by using the word repeatedly.
g. Testimonial – The author tells that prominent people like actors, experts, celebrities, etc. are in favor of such kind of
product. These famous people find the item good, hence, it is also good to the reader.
h. Transfer technique – The author tells that respectable and dignified people are using the product, hence, such product
will become qualitative or valuable. There is a transfer of the respect accorded to the person to the object.

11. Determining the Author’s Purpose, Mood, and Point of View

a. Author’s Purpose
One way of reading the selection critically is to determine the author’s purpose by knowing more about the author,
his background or credentials and his intentions in writing the material.
b. Mood
After knowing the purpose of the author in writing the article, the reader may begin to evaluate how he achieved
his purpose or how he created a mood or feeling. Symbols, pictures and words may be used by the author in doing this.
c. Point of View
The author presents his point of view about social, political, and economic issues. To read critically, one must be
able to identify the issue and find out what support the author gives to which side of the issue.