Developing Reading Comprehension

Book excerpt: Developing Reading Comprehension “In recent years the debate about teaching young children to read has tended to focus upon equipping them with the crucially important knowledge and skills they need to read words accurately in and out of context, that is to say, teaching them how the alphabet works for reading and spelling. While such knowledge and skills are essential, more is required for children to become literate, fluent readers who understand what they read. In short, the goal of reading is comprehension. This book scrupulously examines the obstacles to reading comprehension and exemplifies what can be done to help children overcome them. It is an important and timely contribution to securing high-quality teaching of the range of attributes children need to become fully-fledged readers.” Sir Jim Rose, CBE “The studies by Professors Charles Hulme and Maggie Snowling and their team over two decades based around the Reading Intervention Programme are the most sustained, comprehensive and rigorous research series on reading yet conducted in the UK. Their increasing focus on children who experience the most difficulty in reading is exactly where attention should be directed. This volume summarises the team’s achievements to date, and is most eagerly awaited.” Greg Brooks, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Sheffield, Member of European High Level Group of Experts on Literacy “Developing Reading Comprehension presents a landmark study from the top research team in the UK on how to improve reading comprehension. It’s an exemplary masters-level textbook written with undergraduate-level lucidity and approachability.” Colin Harrison, Emeritus Professor of Literacy Studies in Education, University of Nottingham A significant minority of children aged 7–11, despite being able to read fluently and accurately, have difficulty extracting meaning from text. This detailed guide offers three evidence-based intervention programmes, drawn from the cutting edge of educational psychology, for improving the reading skills of children in this group. It includes a definitive introduction to the characteristics of the ‘poor comprehender profile’, and explains how to monitor and assess students’ experiences and learning outcomes. With invaluable strategies for teachers, psychologists and special educational needs coordinators, the book will help professionals to support learners in their efforts to explore the full richness of language and to read with real understanding.