Lit Con 3: Comprehension vs Enjoyment
When it comes to encouraging learners to read, which should come first?
I recently attended the UKLA/NEU Primary Conference 2024, and for my next few posts I’ll share some of the insights I gathered – both great and questionable…
You can read my overall thoughts in my personal blog. But in this Education section, the topics will be…
Comprehension vs Enjoyment
Playing with words
Among the breakout sessions was one on ‘Building a Reading for Pleasure Culture’ to be led by Educate columnist Jon Biddle – but alas, when Jon couldn’t attend due to a last-minute illness, former UKLA president and educational author David Reedy stepped in with a workshop on…
Reading Comprehension
And, as someone who had turned up for a workshop on reading for pleasure, I’ll be upfront: I went into this workshop feeling shortchanged. Helping children understand texts is completely different to helping them enjoy reading – isn’t it?
Do you need to question their understanding of a text in order for them to enjoy it? Or is it the other way around…?
I’ll get to that in a bit. But first, I want to ensure I’m not misunderstood: I’m not about to criticise David’s workshop. Not in the slightest. This workshop, like all of the work I’ve encountered of David’s to date, was the source of some immense insights, a taster of which I’ll share below.
I’m merely questioning whether a workshop on comprehension was, in the jargon of online shopping, a ‘suitable alternative’ to one on reading for pleasure.
David began by sharing the US National Institute for Literacy’s definition of ‘reading’: “a complex system of deriving meaning from print. It requires all of*:
an understanding of how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print;
the ability to decode unfamiliar words;
the ability to read fluently;
sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension;
the development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print;
the development and maintenance of a motivation to read.”
* From what I’ve been able to glean from my own follow-up study, David added these two emboldened words himself.
1–3 are covered by phonics, and 2–5 are covered by comprehension – yes, there’s some overlap, since decoding an unfamiliar word is pointless unless you can identify what the word means.
David’s theory, though, is that discussing comprehension with young readers is a way to hit point 6: such discussions raise their interest in what could come next, and so develop a motivation to read.
At the heart of his theory was a powerful truism: “You can’t teach comprehension, but you can teach strategies.”
He shared a list of strategies based on the works of Duke and Pearson and Tennent (see the photo above). For most of this workshop at least, David went on to concentrate on the ‘Questioning’ strategy, for which he recommended a three-pronged approach:
1. Looking Questions
Start by asking your learners questions which have easy answers in the text. For example, if you’ve just read a version of ‘The Three Little Pigs’, sample Looking Questions may be…
What did the first pig use to build his house?
Who blew some houses down?
Which pig did the wolf visit last?
Although David didn’t quite say as much himself, the advantage of beginning with such Looking Questions is that they help the reader begin to get familiar with the text.
But! What if the reader doesn’t want to be familiar with the text? Do Looking Questions raise motivation? Or do they require it…?
2. Clue Questions
Move onto questions that require some deduction from the text, such as…
How do you know the wolf is mean?
How do you know the third pig is clever?
How do you know the wolf is determined?
Such questions clearly require greater engagement with the text, and some learners will enjoy the thrill of ‘getting it’ when they successfully work out how the writer managed to lead them into thinking a certain way without being explicit.
But! What if the reader doesn’t want to engage with the text? What if the story bored them, and they aren’t prepared to give it any more time?
3. Thinking Questions
David suggested you finish with questions that could lead into a conversation – such as…
Do you think the third pig should have lit the fire as the wolf came down the chimney?
If you were the third pig, what would you have done?
Does this story remind you of any others?
As everyone who’s ever attended my CPD training will know, that last one is a favourite of mine too. It’s even given as an example in All the Better to Read You With: Stories & Lessons to Inspire Reading for Pleasure – though I believe it works best when (a) the story has been chosen to link in with the interests of your learners, and/or (b) your learners have mastered the art of finding links between stories and their interests.
But! What if the learner doesn’t want to talk about the text, or even can’t, because they lost interest before you got to the end?
Some Pretty Big “But”s
As a keen advocate for an oral approach to literacy, I heartily second David’s endorsement of the questioning strategy, and can fully attest to its usefulness. But again: is it really a suitable alternative to exploring how to build a ‘reading for pleasure’ culture?
Elsewhere, it seems David’s chief solution to most of the “But”s above would be to make sure you’re reading texts that have a reputation for being loved by children of their age. And I’ll admit that’s a helpful tip.
Here, though, is a type of question I propose you could add before David’s three above, and indeed before you even finish reading the first paragraph aloud with your learner(s).
And it’s a great type of question too when you’re reading a text you’re sure your learners will love – even if it hasn’t yet received critical acclaim…
0. Motivation Questions
As you go through the story, allow yourself to feel the interest, curiosity, and excitement that you want your learners to feel, and check that they’re with you.
For example…
…as the three young pigs set out alone, ask, “Oo, do you think they’ll be safe? It can be scary going into a forest by yourself, can’t it… Shall we find out if they survive?”
…when the wolf is huffing and puffing outside the first house, ask, “Oh, what do you think’s going to happen?! Do you want the wolf to get the pig? Shall we see if he does?”
…when the wolf is about to climb down the chimney, ask, “Ah! Is he still going to get in? Are you enjoying this story? Shall we find out what happens?”
Note how every single one of these questions is, essentially, inviting your learners to commit to discovering the next part of the story. But these questions also make such a commitment appealing by highlighting their enjoyment of the story as you go along.
In short, I concur with David that the best way to help young readers develop their comprehension is through discussing the texts you share. But I’d like to add that this is a fantastic strategy for developing a ‘reading for pleasure’ culture too, especially when combined with indicators of enthusiasm (that’s yours as well as theirs) and built into the reading activity itself.
In fact, that’s pretty much the bedrock principle behind All the Better to Read You With: Stories & Lessons to Inspire Reading for Pleasure. If you want to learn more and give it a try yourself, follow this link to order the book direct from the publisher’s website – and use code CompVsJoy to get 25% off.
Next up from the UKLA/NEU Primary Conference, though: a children’s laureate’s guide to encouraging learners to play with words…
Please forward this support to a colleague – they may use it as much, or more, than you.
You’ll then feel the intense satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped even more children reap the rewards of recreational reading. $;-)
Got a question or comment about any of the above?
Please get in touch – I’m here to support you. $:-)