LEAven Blog

Let’s play a little game.  I’ll give you just the first few words of a text, and you’ll answer some questions about it.  Ready?  Here we go: “The Kingdom of heaven is like….”  Six words is all you get!

   OK, now see if you can answer these questions:

—What kind of text will come after those first six words? 

—Who is speaking in this text?

—How is the text likely to wrap up?

—What is the purpose of that text?

—Where do you find this text?

Even though you only had six words to use as your prompt, your answers probably looked something like this if you are familiar with Bible stories from the Gospels:

Kind of text following these words: parable

Speaker:  Jesus

Wrap-up: “So….” plus moral lesson

Purpose of text: to teach a spiritual lesson

Where to find the text:  in the Bible, somewhere in the Gospels

  What is important to notice from our little game?  Simply this:  Because of your particular background experiences as an adult who has heard Bible stories–maybe from even before you were able to read! – you were able to infer many things from just a few words of our example.  Your inferences about text type, progression, vocabulary, purpose, and speaker created a rich framework from which you understand more fully what you are reading, even though you could not get beyond the opening words.  To a certain degree, you could predict what the text would be about, and you would know what to pay attention to as you read through the text.  You would come away from reading the full text with a robust comprehension of what the text communicated, and you would be able to connect that text to your own life, as we are encouraged to do when we study the Bible.

But what if a reader doesn’t have that framework?  What if they are quite young?  Or are not familiar with the teachings of Jesus? What would cause issues for comprehension and deeper understanding of even short texts like this if you don’t have a robust framework to build on as you read?

So often, we approach reading with students as if they already have the ability to build these frameworks just from figuring out the words of a text, when they really don’t.  Reading is a complex sociopsycholinguistic task, and it involves several levels of cognitive processing to connect the reader appropriately to the text. Whether we teach literature, literacy skills, or Sunday School, it is absolutely vital for us to be prepared to help our students build those frameworks that will lead to better comprehension and conceptual understanding of texts that they encounter.  How do we start that kind of construction?  The sections below outline a few types of knowledge that you can build up in students to help them better comprehend what they read.

Background Knowledge as Part of the Framework

At its heart, reading comprehension is all about students “making meaning” as they read texts, and that meaning is based on much more than simply the words on the page, as we discussed in the context of our “text game” above.  When they read, readers bring their own ideas and experiences (background knowledge) to the text that they are reading, which frames how that text is interpreted.  If that background knowledge is lacking in some area pertinent to the message or purpose of the text, the reader can become confused, even if all the words are decoded properly! This is really no great surprise.  A now-famous study from 1988 by enterprising young literacy researchers D. Recht and L. Leslie found that, when it comes to reading comprehension, background knowledge is even more vital in some ways than reading skills alone.  In this study, the researchers presented a story to elementary schoolers about baseball, asking students to read and then retell the story.  Which factor could predict which students could reconstruct the story the best, reading ability or knowledge of baseball?  Somewhat to their surprise, the researchers found that the poor readers with knowledge of baseball actually outperformed strong readers with little knowledge of baseball in the retell task.  How could this be?  The researchers concluded that “prior knowledge creates a scaffolding for information. For poor readers, the scaffolding allows them to compensate for their generally inefficient recognition of important ideas.” (Recht & Leslie, 1988)  (You can read more details about this experiment in this blogpost or in the journal article by Recht and Leslie referenced below in the References Consulted section.)

When directing students to read a text, then, take time to determine if there is anything that needs to be built up in their background knowledge in order for them to fully comprehend the text. Think carefully from the STUDENT’S point of view, taking into account their ages, background training, and experiences. This is especially true if you are working with Bible stories or passages. What do students need to know before they start to read? Work to fill in the gaps, and don’t simply count on the reading passage itself to give students what they need.

Text Structure as Part of the Framework

Texts that we read on a regular basis come in all kinds of different forms, and each category of text has its own particular “skeleton” and “shape” based on the kind of information presented, the internal organization of the text, the transition methods which guide the flow of the story or information, and what the reader is expected to do with that information.  Think for a moment about the differences between a fictional text like the fairy tale above and a non-fictional text like a science article, or between a news article and this blog post.  How are the ideas, organization, and purpose likely to be different in each of these texts?  How are the vocabulary in the text and the grammatical structures likely to be different?  What transition words or phrases can the reader expect to encounter, given the particular type of text?

Proficient readers (like you!) who are familiar with various text structures are able to rather quickly identify what kind of text they are encountering, and then use that information to build a coherent mental model of what they are reading.  They are able to anticipate the way the information in the text will flow and where to find key concepts; they are also able to monitor their comprehension and quickly address areas of misunderstanding when they read.   When readers are exposed to different types of text and explicitly taught about the different ways authors organize text, they are better able to pull out main ideas from the text, recall details about the texts, see relationships between ideas expressed in the text, and have better overall reading comprehension (Meyer & Ray, 2011).

Building a knowledge of text structures like this requires intentional, explicit instruction with opportunities for exposure to various text structure types.  This is true across the education range, whether teachers are working with emerging readers, older students, or even adults who are encountering an unfamiliar text structure.  The teacher can start by intentionally pointing out various features of a particular type of text structure the class is working through (organization of the text, use of titles or headings, transition words and phrases, special vocabulary, special sentence structures, the flow of logic or narrative, the ways the text concludes, etc.) From this carefully laid foundation, students master identification of text structure types and learn what to look for on their own when they encounter new, unfamiliar texts, as well as figure out where in the text to find that important information.

Vocabulary as Part of the Framework

Helping students read a text well actually begins long before they ever see the first word on the page. It starts with getting them ready for the words they’re about to encounter. We know from research that vocabulary knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension. So taking time to intentionally preview and teach key words is never wasted time – especially when those words have multiple meanings.

Take the word fear, for example. When the Israelites are told to “fear” God in Exodus, does fear mean dread and terror? Or does it mean awe and deep respect? If we don’t pause to unpack that ahead of time, students may misunderstand the heart of the passage.

When we thoughtfully introduce important vocabulary and connect it to students’ background knowledge, we set them up for deeper understanding and stronger engagement. Using student-friendly definitions instead of dictionary language, thinking through examples and non-examples, creating visuals, and talking together about what the words really mean gives students a chance to wrestle with the words before they meet them in context.

By the time they begin reading, the vocabulary feels familiar rather than intimidating. And that familiarity frees them up to focus on making meaning from the text.

Text Purpose as Part of the Framework

Once you’ve built background knowledge, talked through the text structure, and introduced key vocabulary, the next powerful step is simple: set a clear purpose for reading. Let students know what they’re listening to or looking for in the text. You’re essentially shining a spotlight on what matters most.

Sometimes it can feel like you’re giving away the answer – but you’re not. You’re actually helping students’ brains get ready to notice and hold on to the most important ideas. When students know what they’re reading for, they’re much more likely to tune out the extra details and focus on the heart of the lesson.

As Cris Tovani explains in I Read It, but I Don’t Get It (2000), a reader’s purpose shapes everything about the reading experience – what is important, what gets remembered, and what comprehension strategies are best to use. Purpose fuels engagement. Without it, students’ attention drifts and focus fades.

When students know why they’re reading, they read differently. They read with intention—and that changes everything.

The real lesson from our six-word experiment is this: comprehension does not begin on page one. It begins long before that. If we want students to comprehend deeply – regardless of what they are reading – we cannot assume that the framework is already there. When we intentionally strengthen background knowledge, teach text structures, clarify vocabulary, and set a clear purpose, we are not “watering down” reading. Instead, we are equipping students to think.  Reading is never just about getting through the words – it is about making meaning and encouraging our students to think.

References Consulted

Meyer, B.J.F., & Ray, M.N. (2011). Structure strategy interventions: Increasing reading comprehension of expository text. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(1), 127-152.

Recht, D.R. and Leslie, L. (1988). Effect of prior knowledge on good and poor readers’ memory of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(1), 16-20.

Today’s Blog was written by Dr. Vicki Anderson and Dr. Amy Stradtmann

Dr. Vicki Anderson is a Professor of Education at Concordia University, Nebraska, where she serves as the ESL (English as a Second Language) specialist and directs the undergraduate and graduate-level TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) programs.  Through various relationships with mission organizations, she regularly provides professional teacher development and English-teaching consultation for schools and programs in the US and in such locations as Hong Kong, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Hungary, and more.