Description
Have you ever wondered why some students seem to only half understand the texts you ask them to read? You find they sort of know what a text says but aren't really sure why? Or they seem to guess at details (often incorrectly) based on a vague understanding of what the text is saying? Maybe the problem is that many students have difficulty understanding what they read at the sentence level which in turn makes understanding the larger text even harder.
Asking students to read larger texts and then asking them to explain what they know and why requires students to focus on two things at once. When we ask questions about overall text comprehension emphasizing skills such as inferencing or main idea/details, we are asking students to focus on the text as a whole. This requires understanding the complexity of how sentences combine to form a broader idea. However, when we ask students to tell us why they know what they know, we are actually asking them to focus on something different. This is because finding evidence to support their reasoning requires understanding what the text is saying at a sentence-by-sentence level. This type of comprehension is different.
When students struggle with sentence-level understanding, the broader text-level comprehension skills become more difficult. Students either can't find the answers to text-level questions or they feel they probably know the answer but lack confidence because they can't pinpoint the evidence in the text that supports their answer. The reason they can't do this is because they don't fully understand what the individual sentences are actually saying. Thus, providing students with more experiences at learning and practicing reading comprehension at the sentence level is crucial.
These sets of exercises are designed to do just that. Each set of exercises introduces students to 5 sentences. Students are asked to choose from 4 options what each sentence is actually saying. This provides practice at understanding the actual details found within each sentence. To do this, students need to focus on the details in a sentence including understanding the difference between what a sentence actually says and what can be inferred from that information. This requires a higher level of critical thinking than simple “who, what, where, and when” type questions. Students are also required to explain why they think their answer is correct which forces them to develop their reasoning skills even more.
This is the complete set of both the Level 1 and Level 2 exercises (a total of 20 sets). The Level 1 exercises are basic in nature using simpler words and less complex clues. On the other hand, the Level 2 exercises use more advanced vocabulary and present students with more complex sentences.
Having access to both difficulty levels enables you to differentiate according to your individual students needs. It also affords you the materials you need to scaffold your lessons allowing for students to progress from the more basic sentences to the more difficult sentences as their comprehension skills improve.
Understanding Sentences: Multi-Level Sets (Levels 1 and 2, all sets)
Highlights
Description
Have you ever wondered why some students seem to only half understand the texts you ask them to read? You find they sort of know what a text says but aren't really sure why? Or they seem to guess at details (often incorrectly) based on a vague understanding of what the text is saying? Maybe the problem is that many students have difficulty understanding what they read at the sentence level which in turn makes understanding the larger text even harder.
Asking students to read larger texts and then asking them to explain what they know and why requires students to focus on two things at once. When we ask questions about overall text comprehension emphasizing skills such as inferencing or main idea/details, we are asking students to focus on the text as a whole. This requires understanding the complexity of how sentences combine to form a broader idea. However, when we ask students to tell us why they know what they know, we are actually asking them to focus on something different. This is because finding evidence to support their reasoning requires understanding what the text is saying at a sentence-by-sentence level. This type of comprehension is different.
When students struggle with sentence-level understanding, the broader text-level comprehension skills become more difficult. Students either can't find the answers to text-level questions or they feel they probably know the answer but lack confidence because they can't pinpoint the evidence in the text that supports their answer. The reason they can't do this is because they don't fully understand what the individual sentences are actually saying. Thus, providing students with more experiences at learning and practicing reading comprehension at the sentence level is crucial.
These sets of exercises are designed to do just that. Each set of exercises introduces students to 5 sentences. Students are asked to choose from 4 options what each sentence is actually saying. This provides practice at understanding the actual details found within each sentence. To do this, students need to focus on the details in a sentence including understanding the difference between what a sentence actually says and what can be inferred from that information. This requires a higher level of critical thinking than simple “who, what, where, and when” type questions. Students are also required to explain why they think their answer is correct which forces them to develop their reasoning skills even more.
This is the complete set of both the Level 1 and Level 2 exercises (a total of 20 sets). The Level 1 exercises are basic in nature using simpler words and less complex clues. On the other hand, the Level 2 exercises use more advanced vocabulary and present students with more complex sentences.
Having access to both difficulty levels enables you to differentiate according to your individual students needs. It also affords you the materials you need to scaffold your lessons allowing for students to progress from the more basic sentences to the more difficult sentences as their comprehension skills improve.
