EDF3306 Literacy Assessment 2:
Reading Comprehension
We have taken on the role of teacher-researchers to develop a comprehensive resource that aims to refresh and enhance your understanding of reading and reading comprehension.
We have defined theoretical perspectives of reading comprehension, outlined practical approaches to support students’ development of comprehension strategies and devised a range of research-based learning activities for children in the middle to upper primary grades.
We hope that our ideas scaffold your professional development as literacy practitioners, and that you can adapt our program to suit the culturally and linguistically diverse students in your class.
About this website
Why the focus on reading?
Literacy is integral to every aspect of life and learning. It involves the ability to comprehend, construct and share meanings using oral, written, digital and visual texts for different purposes in a range of contexts (Emmitt, Zbaracki, Komesaroff, & Pollock, 2010; Hill, 2012; Winch, Johnson, March, Ljungdahl, & Holliday, 2011). The ability to read is central to this process, and vital for academic and social success.
Reading is the process of literate thinking during which readers simultaneously extract and construct meanings by engaging with a text in a particular sociocultural context (Duke & Pearson, 2002; Hill, 2012; Luke, Dooley, & Woods, 2011; Winch et al., 2011). To access and create meanings, readers need to have a repertoire of effective comprehension skills and strategies (Konza, 2011).
Welcome, beginning teachers!
