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Research-Based Reading Comprehension

Making ConneCtions® Reading Comprehension skills and strategies kay kovalevs and alison Dewsbury, Program authors By Melinda Rice, PhD introduction

Research consistently points to the direct relationship between comprehension instruction and success in learning to read. It is only fairly recently, however, that researchers have begun to understand how readers comprehend what they read and—more important from the standpoint of this program—how to break down this task of comprehension into steps that can be taught. Making Connections® is a direct, systematic, highly interactive comprehension program for students in grades 1–6 that incorporates the most current research findings in reading comprehension. Student Books are organized thematically. Each unit also focuses on a comprehension skill and includes four texts written to give students practice with that skill. The texts are varied for genre; while they present a variety of engaging narratives and poems, they also cover a wide range of nonfiction topics. The first three texts in a unit gradually increase in the amount of student interactivity and independence required. The shorter length of the fourth text makes it an ideal in-book assessment. Practice the Skills pages follow each text, presenting questions, graphic organizers, and vocabulary or writing activities. The comprehensive Teacher’s Editions provide the necessary teacher instruction—including enough of a “refresher course” for teachers to firmly ground them in current science-based comprehension and the difference between skills and strategies. The Teacher’s Editions provide scaffolded instruction—from modeling to guiding to coaching—with variations to accommodate diverse learners across each unit. All lessons employ a series of strategies for interacting with a text before, during, and after reading. Teacher’s Editions also include a fifth text for each unit in the form of a reproducible state-standards compliant...