Back to: Module: Helping Students Read
Summary
Reading comprehension, the goal of reading, happens when students read strategically. An important part of reading strategically is the use of inference. Readers make inferences when they draw conclusions that are not explicitly stated by the author of a text. Students who develop strong inference skills become adept at comprehending the meaning of texts.
A teacher or parapro can help students read strategically by developing a plan to guide the reading experience. The plan might include activities that will take place before, during, and after the students read. Throughout the unit you will find many activities that can fit into such plans.
At first, teachers and parapros give such plans to students. It’s a kind of scaffolding. Eventually, though, teachers and parapros fade their support. That’s because we want students to create plans like this on their own. Once students are able to make useful plans for their own reading, they have become strategic readers. Over time, they can get better and better at using strategies to improve their comprehension of reading passages.