The Importance of Teaching Clarifying(Using Metacognition) as a Comprehension Strategy

DefinitionClarifying refers to figuring out the meaning of what you are reading. There are three common ways to clarify:

o clarify to pronounce a word, sometimes called clarify phonicso clarify to understand the meaning of a wordo clarify to understand an idea.

When a reader checks one cueing system against another to figure out a word, it is called crosschecking.

Some Key Ideaso Proficient readers monitor their comprehension during reading - - they know

when the text they are reading or listening to makes sense, when it does not, what does not make sense, and whether the unclear portions are critical to the overall understanding of the piece.

o Proficient readers can identify confusing ideas, themes, and/or surface elements (words, sentence or text structures, graphs, tables, etc.) and can suggest a variety of different means to solve the problems they have.

o Proficient readers are aware of what they need to comprehend in relation to their purpose for reading.

o Many readers must learn how to pause, consider the meanings in text, reflect on their understandings, and use different strategies to enhance their understanding. This process is best learned by watching and listening as effective models think aloud. As developing readers learn these processes, they can gradually take responsibility for monitoring their own comprehension as they read independently.

ConclusionIf you have students who are not yet proficient, the above points can be modeled in a Comprehension Strategy Study focused on the ability to clarify.

From: Mosaic of Thought. 1997, Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmermann. Heinemann.

Examples of Clarifying

1. “When I come to a word I don’t know, first I use chunks I know. To figure out the word fetching, I looked at the beginning, middle, and ending letters. I knew the sounds for f and ch and also ing ending. I blended them together to say fetching. (clarify/phonics) I reread the sentence. It must ba a word that means getting something.” (clarify word meaning) .

2. “When I came to the word h-a-p-p-y, I didn’t know it. I tried using the context and it didn’t help. Next I looked at the letters. I knew the h as an /huh/ sound, and a in the middle is short,/a/, as in cat; two p’s make one sound (puh) and y at the end of a word this long has a long e sound /e/. Next I slowly said the word: /huh/ /a/ /pee/. Then I said it faster happy. (clarify/phonics) I reread the sentence and happy made sense (cross checking). I knew it was happy”

3. “I came to the word u-n-t-i-e and didn’t know it. I tried context and it didn’t help. I saw the word parts un and tie. I knew them and put them together to say the word untie. (clarify/phonics) I reread it in the sentence and it made sense.” (cross checking)

4. “I need to clarify this word (pointed to traded). First I’ll find the chunks I know. I can cover up the –ed ending and say /trad/. I don’t recognize that as a word I know. Maybe the base word ends in e, so I’ll cover up just the d. Now I see a word that rhymes with a word I know: made. The word must be trade. With the ending it’s traded.” (clarify/phonics)

5. “When I need to clarify something I don’t understand, I reread the text, look at a picture, or read on. How did Jill get hurt too? I reread the part that says she was holding onto the pail. So Jack must have pulled her along as he fell.” (clarify word meaning)

6. “When I need to clarify an idea I don’t understand, I reread, look at a picture, or read ahead. On page 22 I read the sentence: ‘It took quite some time for Arthur to learn to fetch the newspaper in one piece.’ At first I was confused. Did that mean that Arthur was to fetch only one piece of newspaper? But the picture on page 23 shows Grandpa trying to read a newspaper with holes in the pages. I read the sentence again. Now I understand. It means that Arthur needs to learn to fetch the newspaper without putting holes in it.” (clarify an idea)

Examples from Soar to Success. Houghton Mifflin

What to Clarify

Clarify a word you can’t decode.

Clarify the meaning of a word.

Clarify an idea you don’t understand or is unclear.

How to Clarify

Look for the largest chunk you know to decode an unknown word.

Read to the end of the sentence or farther to clarify the meaning of a word or an idea you don’t understand.

Reread to clarify the meaning of a word or an idea you don’t understand.

Use picture clues to help you decode an unknown word or to clarify the meaning of a word or an idea.

Name: _______________________ Date: ______________

Clarifying

Do this during and after you read!

Words I cannot say:

__________________ __________________ __________________

__________________ __________________ __________________

__________________ __________________ __________________

Words I don’t know the meaning of:

__________________ __________________ __________________

__________________ __________________ __________________

__________________ __________________ __________________

Parts of the story I don’t understand:

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Created by Team 4 Hollifield State Elementary

How to Say a Word

When I come to a word I don’t know, first I look for chunks I know. I know

__________, If I still don’t know the word, I look for letter sounds. In this

word, I know the sounds ___, ___, and ___. If I blend the sounds together,

the word is ______________________. Finally, I check the meaning by

rereading the sentence.

A Word Meaning

I read this word: ________________. I’m not sure what this word is or what it

means. I look at the picture or read to the end of the sentence. Now I think

the word means . . . .

An Idea

I don’t understand this idea: ________________________

First I ____________________ (reread, look at pictures, etc.). Then I

understand that . . . . I reread the sentence and it makes sense.

Clarify/Phonics

Clarify

Clarify

What to Clarify

Clarify a word you can’t decode.

Clarify the meaning of a word.

Clarify an idea you don’t understand or is unclear.

How to Clarify

Look for the largest chunk you know to decode an unknown word.

Read to the end of the sentence or farther to clarify the meaning of a word or an idea you don’t understand.

Reread to clarify the meaning of a word or an idea you don’t understand.

Use picture clues to help you decode an unknown word or to

clarify the meaning of a word or an idea