STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

  1. Put up the overhead The Procedure and have tutors read it. Once they are finished reading, ask if they know what it’s about. State that reading is not just about letters and words, it’s about making sense of what we read. Even if we can read and understand every word, that alone does not lead to comprehension.
  2. Tell tutors the story is about laundry. Ask them to read it again to see if it makes sense. Our knowledge of the world helps us to comprehend what we read.

Activity D

Levels of understanding

There are three levels at which we comprehend written information. The following activity will help tutors work with these different levels. Often poor readers will use only one level of comprehension. If tutors understand the three levels, they can help their learners expand their own levels of comprehension.

Use of handout and overhead

Materials and equipment

Handout 6.1: The Shower
Overhead 6.7: How We Read
Flip chart and markers

Preparation

Copy handout.
Prepare overhead.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS:

  1. When we read, we understand at three different levels. Hand out the story The Shower and ask tutors to read it, fill in the blanks and answer the questions.
  2. When they have finished the exercise, review their answers.
  3. List on the flip chart the three levels at which we understand or comprehend text:
    • explicit – factual
    • inferential – implied
    • experiential – based on our own experiences
  4. Ask tutors to match a level to each of the questions in the handout.
  5. Put up the overhead How We Read and sum up the process of reading.