> To really understand the different levels of reading comprehension, let's take a familiar text and see how different types of questions probe different understandings of the same story.
The fairy tale Cinderella tells the story of a young girl, whose evil stepmother won't let her go to the ball. Cinderalla's fairy godmother, however, magically whisks her off for the night and Cinderella eventually marries her Prince Charming.
Lexical Comprehension: (Understanding key vocabulary words in a text.)
> Leveled readers are written in a way that too many big words are not used on the same page. In addition, if an unfamiliar word is used, it is generally explained within the same sentence or with a definition box in the margin. Also, words with multiple meanings may make it difficult for a less experienced reader to truly understand what is meant.
> Leveled readers are written in a way that too many big words are not used on the same page. In addition, if an unfamiliar word is used, it is generally explained within the same sentence or with a definition box in the margin. Also, words with multiple meanings may make it difficult for a less experienced reader to truly understand what is meant.
- If the word "enchanted" was used in the story, ask the child to define it for you.
- Remember, definitions can begin as a series of examples, where the child identifies a common element between them. Also, sometimes it's better to introduce a new vocabulary word before you read.
Literal Comprehension: Answers the questions Who, What, When, and Where with information found directly in the text.
- Who was the girl who lost the glass slipper?
- What happened when the clock struck twelve?
Interpretive Comprehension: Answers the questions What if, Why, and How by inferring information from the text.
- How did the pumpkin turn into a carriage?
- What would have happened if Cinderella hadn't lost her slipper?
Applied Comprehension: Answers opinion questions or questions that have the reader relate the new information to background knowledge.
- Do you think Cinderella was wrong for going to the ball after her stepmother told her she couldn't?
Affective Comprehension: Understanding the social and emotional aspects of a text. If a child does not grasp why certain characters in a story may respond in a certain manner, they get lost in the words and the plot.
- How did Cinderella feel when she went to live at the castle?
- While most children will answer "happy" or "excited" to this question, some children will say "sad", revealing a deeper appreciation for interpersonal and family dynamics than you may have expected.
The Great Wall of China
Walls and wall building have played a very important role in Chinese culture. These people, from the dim mists of prehistory have been wall-conscious; from the Neolithic period – when ramparts of pounded earth were used - to the Communist Revolution, walls were an essential part of any village. Not only towns and villages; the houses and the temples within them were somehow walled, and the houses also had no windows overlooking the street, thus giving the feeling of wandering around a huge maze. The name for “city” in Chinese (ch’eng) means wall, and over these walled cities, villages, houses and temples presides the god of walls and mounts, whose duties were, and still are, to protect and be responsible for the welfare of the inhabitants. Thus a great and extremely laborious task such as constructing a wall, which was supposed to run throughout the country, must not have seemed such an absurdity.
However, it is indeed a common mistake to perceive the Great Wall as a single architectural structure, and it would also be erroneous to assume that it was built during a single dynasty. For the building of the wall spanned the various dynasties, and each of these dynasties somehow contributed to the refurbishing and the construction of a wall, whose foundations had been laid many centuries ago. It was during the fourth and third century B.C. that each warring state started building walls to protect their kingdoms, both against one another and against the northern nomads. Especially three of these states: the Ch’in, the Chao and the Yen, corresponding respectively to the modern provinces of Shensi, Shanzi and Hopei, over and above building walls that surrounded their kingdoms, also laid the foundations on which Ch’in Shih Huang Di would build his first continuous Great Wall.
The role that the Great Wall played in the growth of Chinese economy was an important one. Throughout the centuries many settlements were established along the new border. The garrison troops were instructed to reclaim wasteland and to plant crops on it, roads and canals were built, to mention just a few of the works carried out. All these undertakings greatly helped to increase the country’s trade and cultural exchanges with many remote areas and also with the southern, central and western parts of Asia – the formation of the Silk Route. Builders, garrisons, artisans, farmers and peasants left behind a trail of objects, including inscribed tablets, household articles, and written work, which have become extremely valuable archaeological evidence to the study of defence institutions of the Great Wall and the everyday life of these people who lived and died along the wall.
Questions
Q1 - Chinese cities resembled a maze
Q2 - Constructing a wall that ran the length of the country
Q3 - The Great Wall of China
Q4 - Crops were planted
Q5 - The Great Wall
No comments:
Post a Comment