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Comprehension of Narrative Text

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NRP Comprehension Recommendations

1. Comprehension monitoring

2. Instructional strategies:

• multiple strategies,

• question answering,

• question generation,

• story structure, and

• summarization.

3. Instructional supports:

• graphic organizers

• cooperative learning

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Kansas State Reading Standards

Standard 2: Literature The student responds to a variety of text.Benchmark 1: The student uses literary concepts to interpret and

respond to text.Indicators:• Kindergarten: Identifies and discusses problem and solution.• First grade: Follows events in a plot.• Second grade: Retells the plot of a story.• Third grade: Identifies plot sequence. • Fourth grade: Identifies or describes the major conflict in a story and how

it is resolved.• Fifth grade: Identifies and describes the major conflict in a story and

major events related to the conflict (e.g., problem or conflict, climax, resolution).

(Kansas State Department of Education, 2003)

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Comparisons of Text Types

Instructional

Considerations

Narrative Expository

Purpose to share a story with the reader

to inform the reader

Concepts and vocabulary

familiar (family, friends, common experiences)

less familiar (science or social- studies-type information)

Text structure familiar story structure: setting, initiating event, goals, attempts, outcomes

less familiar and multiple text structures: descriptive, sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution

Text features often familiar:

illustrations to support text, dialogue

less familiar and multiple text features: typographic, organizational, and graphic aids

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The History of Narrative Comprehension Research

1932: Barlett

1975: Rumelhart1977: Thorndyke, Rumelhart1977: Mandler and Johnson

1979: Stein and Glenn1985: Trabasso and van den Broek

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Narrative Text

The story-structure elements for narrative textinclude:

• Setting• Characters• Initiating event• Goal(s)• Attempts to reach the goal(s)• Outcome• Story ending

Adapted from Mandler & Johnson (1977); Rumelhart (1977); Thorndyke(1977); Stein & Glenn (1979); and Trabasso & van den Broek (1985).

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Read Aloud

Listen as the story,

Little Red: A Fizzingly Good Yarn,

by Lynn Roberts (2005),

is read aloud.

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Goal-Structure Mapping Symbols

Initiating event

I.E.

Main character(s)

Character Relationships

Goal(s)

Attempts to reach goal(s)

Outcome(s)

(Sundbye, 1998)

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Goal-Structure Map of Little Red

Little Red (Thomas)

Visit grandma and bring her treats

Not to get eaten by the wolf

Skipped along the path to Grandma’s

house

Stopped to pick apples

Yes

Offered Wolf ginger ale

Threw empty ginger-ale keg

at the Wolf

Offered Wolf all the ginger ale he wanted

Yes

To have Grandma for a tasty

snack

Wolfenemy

To have Little Red for a tasty

snack

Stole Little Red’s coat

Went to Grandma’s house

Swallowed Grandma

Dressed up like Grandma

Told Little Red he wanted to eat him

NoNo

I.E.: Little Red leaves for Grandma’s house.

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Goal-Structure Mapping

How did the teacher integrate:

• comprehension monitoring,

• instructional strategies, and

• instructional supports into the read aloud?

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Kansas Reading Academy

Laurie Leiker Winter

Project Coordinator

llwinter@ku.edu