Essential Instructional Practices

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There is strong agreement among reading scholars about the significance of metacognition to reading comprehension (Baker & Brown, 1984; Garner, 1987; Gourgey, 1998; Hacker, 1998; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1997; Mayer, 1998; Paris, Wasik, & Turner, 1991; Schraw, 1998). Two national committees concluded that metacognition and comprehension monitoring should be promoted in comprehension training and in instruction.  These conclusions were based on the most current empirical research available at the time (National Reading Panel, 2000; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

Monitoring for meaning is a highly engaging and motivating strategy that demonstrates reading as a whole process.  

MONITORING FOR MEANING AS A THINKING STRATEGY FOR SURFACE AND DEEP LEARNING
Teaching Young Readers to Use Cueing Systems: Encouraging Independence in Confronting Unfamiliar Words

The following sample crafting and invitational group lessons are intended to help educators teach children to recognize and use cueing systems, as well as integrate cueing systems.  Crafting lessons should be used when most children in the classroom share a need for instruction in a particular system, even though they will apply that knowledge in texts of different levels.  Invitational group lessons are lessons introduced to a small group of children who share a need to learn a particular skill or strategy.  These groups may meet a few times, but disband when the children can successfully apply the skill independently.  

Strategies Good Readers Use When They Come to a Word They Don't Know
(and how you might teach that cueing system) 

Strategy: Integrating Semantic & Grapho-Phonic Cueing Systems  Look at the initial letter(s) and think of what word would make sense there.

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, morning message, or a song/poem chart: 

• Choose a content word that carries significant meaning in the sentence. It should be easy to figure out using the context of the rest of the sentence (For example, cover pajamas in “The boy put on his pajamas before going to bed.”) Cover all but the first letter or letters (if there’s a consonant blend or diagraph) with a sticky note.

• Have children read with you and consider what word would make sense. “Look at the first letter in this word and think about what word would make sense here.”

• Reread the sentence. Children predict what the word might be and they explain why their guess would make sense in the sentence.  Reread to check.

• Peel back the post it, reveal the next letter, allow children to change their prediction based on that letter. Continue until the word is decoded. 

• The next word should be more difficult to decode, eventually working up to a word that doesn’t need to be covered because it’s too hard for anyone to decode by sounding out – they’ll need to use the strategy you have just practiced.
   

Strategy: Integrating Semantic & Grapho-Phonic Cueing Systems “Reading On”: Skip the word, read to the end of the sentence (or paragraph), and then come back to the word and think of what would make sense. Check to see that it matches the letters in the word.

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, morning message, or a song/poem chart:

• Cover a content word that can be figured out using the context of the sentence or passage. For example, cover slept in “The dog ____ in its doghouse all night long.” 

• When you get to the covered word, ask children to skip it and read the rest of the sentence (or paragraph). “Use what you know about the words around this word ('dog,' 'doghouse,' and 'night') to think about what word would make sense here.”   

• Children predict what the word might be and they explain why their guess would make sense in the sentence.  (For example: "played" is a possibility, but doesn’t make as much sense as "slept" when you consider the part of the sentence “. . . all night long.”)

• Show one letter of the word and confirm guesses to see that they match the letters in the word.  Reread the sentence to check and allow children to change their prediction based on that letter.  Show complete word. 

• Repeat with a few other covered words.  

• Read the whole book and practice using this strategy on a few difficult (uncovered) words.
   

Strategy: Integrating Semantic & Grapho-Phonic Cueing Systems “Reading On”: Skip the word, read to the end of the sentence (or paragraph), and then come back to the word and think of what would make sense. Check to see that it matches the letters in the word.

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, where the text and illustrations are closely matched:

• Cover a content word with a sticky note, one that’s easy to figure out using the picture on that page.  

• Read to that word and ask, “Does anything in the picture give you a clue about this word?”

• Have children look closely at the picture for clues about the word, then guess what the covered word might be, explaining why it would make sense in the sentence.

• Peel back the sticky note and reveal first letter. “Does anything in the picture begin with that letter? Then, “Could that be the word we’re trying to figure out?  Does it make sense?” 

• Show the whole word to confirm predictions and repeat with other words–eventually arriving at an uncovered word, giving it a try first, and then looking to the picture for clues. 
   

Strategy: Integrating Syntactic & Grapho-Phonic Cueing Systems Think of what word would sound right. Reread to check.

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, morning message, or a song/poem chart:

• Cover a whole functional word (such as into, is, her, or with) that can be decoded using one’s sense of familiar language and how it sounds.  For example, cover his in “Silly John Muddlecomb lost __ hat.”  Children can focus on the possessive function of that word in the sentence.

• Introduce strategy by explaining that sometimes a good reader knows what a word is because she thinks about what would “sound right” there. “As we read, listen for what word would sound right here (pointing to the covered word).” Read text with children.

• Children share ideas about which word would “sound right” there.

• Reveal the first letter (or letters) of the word and confirm guesses to see that they match the letters in the word.  Reread to check that it sounds right and allow children to change their prediction based on that letter. Show complete word and reread again using syntactic and grapho-phonic knowledge to decode. 

• Repeat with increasingly difficult words. 

 

Strategy: Integrating Lexical & Grapho-Phonic Cueing Systems Look for smaller words within the word.

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, morning message, or a song/poem chart:

• Read together until you get to a difficult word, one that is hard to figure out using syntax or semantics of the sentence (“The mailman looked at the addresses as he walked.”)

• Ask children to look inside the large word for a small word that they know how to read (“I see dress" or “I see add”).

• Read together until you get to a difficult word, one that is hard to figure out using syntax or semantics of the sentence (“The mailman looked at the addresses as he walked.”)

• Ask children to look inside the large word for a small word that they know how to read (“I see dress" or “I see add”).

• When they name the word, the group uses that word to sound out the whole word. 
   

Strategy: Integrating Lexical & Grapho-Phonic Cueing Systems Look for a spelling pattern that they know to decode a word.

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, morning message, or a song/poem chart:

• Identify a word ahead of time that the children will find difficult to predict using meaning or sense, but one that has a familiar spelling pattern within it For example, “slick” has the –ick pattern found in common words like ‘tick’ and ‘sick.’

• Read the text together until you come upon the identified word. (“The roads were ___ from the morning rain.”)

• Think out loud for the children. “I don’t know that word but I see a spelling pattern that I’ve seen in other words that I do know.”  Point out that you know words like “sick” and “tick” that both have that –ick pattern, and that this word (slick) might rhyme with "tick" and "sick." Isolate the spelling pattern by pronouncing it a few times, “-ick.”

• “If I think about what I know about this word and I sound out the rest, I should be able to figure out this word.” 
   
• Model using the pattern you know to ground your attempts at sounding out the rest of the word. 

                   “I know it’s not ‘sick’ because it has an ‘l’  in it. Let me sound out the beginning.  ‘Sssllll…ick’  ‘Slick.”

• Reread the sentence out loud to see if the word you have arrived at makes sense and/or sounds right.

Strategy: Using Grapho-phonic Cueing Systems with Semantic and/or Syntactic Cueing Systems Find a chunk of letters within a word that you can pronounce.

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, morning message, or a song/poem chart:

• Read together until you get to a difficult word, one that is hard to figure out using syntax or semantics of the sentence (ex. use screeching in “The parrot was _____ from within its cage.”)  

• Think out loud as you deal with that difficult word, trying to figure it out using a few of the above strategies (which are more efficient/effective). 

• Model how a reader, after trying some other strategies, might decide to try and sound the word out by looking for parts (“chunks”) of the word that he can pronounce.  “Is there some part of the word that I’ve seen or read before that I can pronounce?” (Ex. I know that ‘c-h’ sounds like “ch,” and ‘i-n-g’ says “ing” so when I sound it out. . . .”)

• Check to see if the word you have sounded out “makes sense” and/or “sounds right” in that sentence. 

 

Strategy: Integrating Grapho-phonic Cueing Systems with Semantic and/or Syntactic Cueing Systems Sound it out (point & slide).

During a crafting session or invitational group with a big book, morning message, or a song/poem chart:

• Think out loud as you come to a difficult (uncovered) word and try to figure it out using a few of the above strategies (which are more efficient/effective).

• Then model ways readers might go about sounding out the word using a “point & slide” technique—pointing to the word, sliding your finger along as you sound out the letters. 

• Rerun the word, blending the sounds together, until you’ve decoded it.
   
• Check to see if the word you’ve sounded out “makes sense” and/or “sounds right” in that sentence.

The comprehension strategy monitoring for meaning is a thinking strategy for surface and deep learning. Keene and Zimmerman (1997) recommended using monitoring for meaning as a comprehension strategy to integrate cueing systems and strategies. Paris, Lipson, and Wixson (1983) stress the importance of the knowledge and skills of beginning readers serving as the foundation for more sophisticated comprehension skills, noting “... researchers named monitoring for meaning or the ability to know when reading goes wrong and fix it as the seminal component of proficient reading" (p. 300). The following video features a third-grade teacher focusing on monitoring for meaning with an invitational group. To view, click here.

References

Baker, L., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Metacognitive skills and reading. In P. D. Pearson, M. Kamil, R. Barr, & P. Mosenthal (Eds.), Handbook of research in reading (pp. 353-395). New York, NY: Longman.

Calkins, L., & Bleichman, P. (2003). The craft of revision. In Units of study for primary writing: A yearlong curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Firsthand, Heinemann.

Garner, R. (1987). Metcognition and reading comprehension. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Gourgey, A. F. (1998). Metacognition in basic skills instruction. Instructional Science, 26, 81-96.

Hacker, D. J. (1998). Self-regulated comprehension during normal reading. In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky & A. C. Grasser (Eds.), Metacognition in educational theory and practice (pp. 165-191). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2008). The primary comprehension toolkit: Language and lessons for active literacy. Portsmouth, NH: firsthand, Heinemann.

Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.). Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Keene, E. O., & Zimmerman, S. (1997). Mosaic of thought: The power of comprehension strategy instruction (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (1997). Best practices in promoting reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities: 1976 to 1996. Remedial and Special Education, 18, 197-213.

Mayer, R. E. (1998). Cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational aspects of problem-solving. Instructional Science, 26, 49-63.

National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific-research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Bethesda, MD:  National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Paris, S. G., Lipson, M. Y., & Wixson, K. K. (1983). Becoming a strategic reader. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, 293-316.

Paris, S. G., Wasik, B. A., & Turner, J. C. (1991). The development of strategic readers. In R. Barr, M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp. 609-640). White Plains, NY:  Longman.

Schraw, G. (1998). Promoting general metacognition awareness. Instructional Science, 26, 113-125.

Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Additional Resources

Print

The Primary Comprehension Toolkit and The Comprehension Toolkit, 3-5, by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis – Monitoring Comprehension Booklets. (Each booklet is a unit of study with lesson plans and student text resources at multiple levels.)

Strategies that Work (2nd ed.), by Stephanie Harvey and Ann Goudvis, Chapter 6, p. 77.

Units of Study for Primary Writing: A Yearlong Curriculum by Lucy Calkins and Pat Bleichman - The Craft of Revision booklet.

Video

Annenberg Media at www.learner.org.

Inside Writing Communities: Grades 3-5 found at http://learner.org/resources/series205.html#.

• Session 11: Conversations Among Writing Peers
• Session 12: Peer Conferences

Teaching Reading K-2 Workshop at http://learner.org/resources/series175.html.

• Session 1: Creating a Literate Community

Teaching Reading 3-5 at http://learner.org/resources/series204.html.

• Workshop 1: Creating Contexts for Learning
• Workshop 3: Building Comprehension
• Workshop 4: Writing