How I Teach Nonfiction Comprehension to Empower Readers
In my reading block I use a framework of teaching nonfiction comprehension that I call the Comprehension Crew. These reading lessons cultivate a meaningful understanding of how to use and interpret informational reading strategies.
In this blog post I am going to first take you through the Comprehension Crew instructional framework. This will show how it can help empower your readers while having fun! Then, I will explain some tips to maximize your use of these activities in your reading lessons.
How do the Comprehension Crew relate to nonfiction comprehension?
The Comprehension Crew is a set of characters each representing a reading comprehension strategy. First, the characters create a framework for teaching nonfiction comprehension in a concrete and engaging way. In addition, implementing these characters creates a system of learning for your students that allows them to internalize each comprehension skill and consistently apply it as they read.
For instance, each character explains the informational text comprehension strategy in a way that relates it to their everyday life. This creates a concrete connection to help students remember the skill. Students also gain a deeper understanding to its importance outside of reading class.
In conclusion, it teaches the foundation for nonfiction comprehension so students can apply it as they read!
Ideas to use Comprehension Crew activities:
- shared reading lessons
- reading centers
- independent practice
- homework
- sub work
- early finishers
- bulletin work- flip books
- building interactive notebook resources
- remedial practice
- reading support for ANY text
- task card activities
- guided reading assessments
So, there are so many options to incorporate these activities in your reading lessons over and over! I share some tips to make them last all year below!
Nonfiction Comprehension Skills
- Defining Vocabulary
- Determining Importance
- Text Features
- Text Structure (cause & effect, problem/ solution, compare & contrast, description, and sequence)
- Main Idea
Activities that come with Comprehension Crew
- Character Posters that define the skill and provide a sentence frame
- Character Profiles– includes characters’ profession, prop, gesture, phrase, likes, and how they help readers
- Concrete Activity- for each skill
- Introduction & Modeling Lesson Plans– can be applied to any book
- This lesson plan shows you how to teach the skill. It also supports you to model think alouds to show students how to implement the strategy while reading.
- Teacher Implementation Tips
- Graphic Organizers– wide variety of differentiated options for each skill that can be used with any text
- Flip Books– multiple options for each skill to be used with any text *14 flip books total
- Interactive Notebook pages- multiple versions for each skill and practice paragraphs
- Task Cards with Photographs– includes answer key and differentiated answer sheets
- Task Cards with Short Text– includes answer key and differentiated answer sheets
- Practice Passages– differentiated texts and scaffolded response options with answer keys included for each text
- Mentor Text Suggestions – includes a wide variety of picture books and wordless picture books
How will my readers grow and change?
The association of each character to the skill brings the nonfiction reading skill to life for your students. The Comprehension Crew resource provides opportunities for meaningful interactions with reading skills. It also provides clear expectations for how to apply it with any text independently.
As a result, you will quickly see an increase in your students’ ability and eagerness to talk about text while implementing your focus skills. After that, students will also use the skills independently because the sentence starters become part of how they think as they are reading.
Your students confidence and reading ability will grow tremendously using this program.
How can I use these activities to support my readers the ENTIRE YEAR?
Once you introduce the Comprehension Crew character, you can continuously refer back to the skill. First, you can add task cards into your reading center rotation for a past skill. Second, You can use a different graphic organizer each time you practice main idea or use the same one multiple times. Similarly, you can use the flip books with more than one nonfiction text. To sum up, you should not use all of the activities at once. There are multiple options so that you can use the activities are different times throughout the year.
Try the making connections Comprehension Crew for free!
