Introduction
Reading comprehension is the foundation for all learning. That’s why it’s critical that every teacher, regardless of their subject area, take responsibility for developing students’ literacy skills. Here are a few key reasons why all teachers need to be reading teachers: Activating prior knowledge: As shown in the video “Word Study in Action: Activating Prior Knowledge,” helping students activate their prior knowledge about a topic is a key reading comprehension strategy (Knatim, 2010). By getting students to think about what they already know about a topic, teachers prime their brains to understand new information better. This is important in all subject areas, not just ELA.
Benefits of Reading Comprehension Tasks
Teaching Key Vocabulary
The teacher in the video focuses on previewing potentially unfamiliar vocabulary words that students will encounter (Knatim, 2010). It is crucial for students to learn subject-specific vocabulary to understand math, science, social studies, and other subjects, and teachers should pre-teach essential vocabulary.
Building Background Knowledge
Students need to gain background knowledge about a topic to maintain their comprehension. Teachers need to assess and fill gaps in students’ learning so they have the proper context to understand new material. Building background knowledge is every teacher’s job (Salazar, 2008).
Monitoring Comprehension
Good readers monitor their understanding as they read and use “fix-up” strategies when meaning breaks down. Teachers should model and teach monitoring strategies to support comprehension across the curriculum (Pardo, 2004). Improving reading skills: Even in secondary grades, students benefit from direct instruction in reading skills and strategies, such as summarizing, questioning, and visualizing (McEwan, 2007). Content-area teachers play a key role in developing students’ literacy skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening opportunities.
Conclusion
To summarize, the task of enhancing reading comprehension skills should not be solely attributed to English Language Arts (ELA) instructors. All teachers’ collective responsibility is to foster their students’ literacy abilities. Knowledge acquisition in various subject areas heavily relies on a student’s strong reading comprehension skills. Thus, it is crucial for every educator to hone in on their skills as a reading teacher.
References
Cain, K. (2009). Making sense of the text: skills supporting text comprehension and development. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 35(2), 11-14. Web.
Knatim. (2010). Word Study in Action: Activating Prior Knowledge [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Pardo, L. S. (2004). What every teacher needs to know about comprehension. The reading teacher, 58(3), 272-280. Web.
Salazar, P. C. (n.d.). ELLs Cultural and Linguistic Impact on Comprehension.
