Examples of comprehension problems:
I can't read this word.
I don't know what this word means.
I'm confused. I don't get it. This doesn't make sense. This doesn't fit with something I know (from an earlier part of the text or the reader's life experience).
Examples of repair strategies:
Problem--I can't read this word.
Step 1: If it's a short word, try to sound it out. If it's longer, look for familiar rimes or syllables and put them together to sound it out. (Do you recognize the word? Does it make sense in the sentence? If yes, go on reading. If not, try step 2.)
Step 2: Read to the end of the sentence and think of a word that makes sense. (Does this word match some of the letter sounds? If yes, go on reading, but make a note to check on the word later. If not, maybe you don't know the meaning of the word, and that's why you don't recognize it. Go to the next strategy.)
Problem--I don't know what this word means.
Step 1: Read the sentence to the end and see if you can make a guess about the meaning based on context clues (the meaning of the words around it and the rest of the sentence). Hint: Use context clues to decide what kind of word it is. (Is it, for instance, an action word, a name of something, or a word that describes something?)
Step 2: See if the word has any prefixes or suffixes you know or any familiar word parts. Try using those along with context clues to figure out the meaning.
Step 3: If you can't make a good guess about the meaning from context, decide if you must understand this word to understand the text. If not, skip it but make a note to look it up in the dictionary later. If the word is important, look in the dictionary or ask someone.
-->Be aware that none of these repair strategies is foolproof. Some texts contain few useful context clues, and even prefixes are sometimes unhelpful or even misleading. For example, the prefix pro usually means before, forward, or for. Knowing this meaning doesn't help define the word proportion.
Problem--I'm confused. I don't get it. This doesn't make sense. This doesn't fit with something I know.
Reread the sentence or passage.
Read on to see if it gets clearer.
Try reading aloud.
Look at the words in the confusing part. Maybe a word is being used in an unfamiliar way. Check the word(s) in the dictionary or ask someone.
Talk about your problem with others.
-->Even common words have many uses. Pay attention to the words in instructional text and pre-teach words that are used in unfamiliar ways. If a reader encounters such a word that you haven't pre-taught, you may find this a good "teachable moment."
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