Compentence

While reading What every teacher needs to know about comprehension by Laura S. Pardo, I found her definition of comprehension very interesting. She made this idea visible in figure one (below). Basically, Pardo believes comprehension is the connection between the reader and the text.

Pardo also discusses the fact that a very important aspect in students achieving comprehension is their world knowledge. It is very interesting to think that the amount a student knows about the world influences how well they can comprehend a particular story, but it makes sense.

This is why, just as it was discussed in Classrooms That Work, it is important to, "Develop thoughtful comprehenders". As teachers, we get the opportunity to open a whole new world to our students, and reading a great way to do this! Comprehending is a very large aspect of reading, as teachers we should encourage our students to engage more in the world around them. The more they know, the more they will discover while they read!

A great way to encourage readers in being conscience and aware of what's happening around them is by creating an activity for them to do where based off of their surroundings, they create and write their own stories, then pass them around to classmates to read. I remember doing this in elementary school and loved it. This is also a great way for readers to discover how reading can be fun and creative! One possible idea that may better engage readers is for students to create a story based off of world surroundings, but pretending they are super heroes. I love this idea because it combines world knowledge and creativity!