comprehension

When I think about comprehension, I never think of the text factors affecting comprehension. I usually think of comprehension involving background knowledge and connection to the text, which are basically reader factors. The three text factors are structure, genre, and content/vocabulary. However, after reviewing these text factors, I realize that I have seen and practiced a lot of components of text factors without realizing it. Personally, whether or not an author organizes and presents their ideas affects how much I comprehend and enjoy the book. I remember story ideas when the text and theme are laid out well. The text factor component of oral language is very common in my kindergarten field. Everyday the CT reads a story aloud as the children listen and as Tompkins says “students use their knowledge of text factors as they listen to the teacher read aloud” (256).
Since I am in a kindergarten classroom for my field placement, it is hard for me to find a lot of text factors involved in comprehension since many text factors focus on reading. There is not one student that can read in the classroom. However, a lot of the comprehension is determined verbally in lower elementary. For example, I was in the classroom and my CT was explaining different genres. This past week they were learning about folklore. She explained that folktales usually start with “once upon a time…” Tompkins explains that “when students know about text structure and recognize genres, they are better able to apply comprehension strategies” (256). Since the CT is practicing genres and teaching ways to differentiate between genres, the students are understanding genres and can apply comprehension strategies. A common comprehension strategy that I see in my class is connecting. This strategy involves the readers making text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world links using background knowledge. The CT is consistently asking the students for feedback on a story read aloud such as “have you ever felt this way?” or “has this ever happened to you?”. Questions like these ones test the student’s background knowledge, get the children actively involved, and demonstrate whether or not the children are comprehending ideas of the text.