Reading Comprehension Boosters

An effective resource for improving young students' comprehension skills

With 100 high-interest reading activities, this book is designed to help students gain fundamental comprehension skills so they can succeed in reading complex and varied types of texts. Each lesson includes a brief reading selection followed by questions, multiple-choice selections, and thinking and writing activities. The activities, all on reproducible worksheets, can be used to give individual students or groups extra practice, or as supplemental skill-building and test-prep activities for the full class.

• Activities are grouped within seven units, each focusing on an important aspect of comprehension
• Units increase in difficulty level so that students gain proficiency as they work through the material
• High-interest themes include stories about robots, animal helpers, space, and famous people
• Offers activities that build the advanced cognitive skills called for in the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)

Each lesson includes a teacher section with guidance on how to introduce the activities to students and support them in their reading practices.

About This Book v

About the Author vi

Introduction 1

Unit 1 Finding Main Ideas, Identifying Supporting Details, and Visualizing

Theme A: The Wonderful World of Animals 26

Theme B: Robots 91

Unit 2 Summarizing

Theme: Animal Helpers 114

Unit 3 Inferring, Predicting, Concluding

Theme: People Helping People 174

Unit 4 Facts and Opinions

Theme: Inventions 262

Unit 5 Comparing and Contrasting

Theme A: Confusing Animals 310

Theme B: Famous People 332

Theme C: Sleep 347

Unit 6 Review and Application

Theme A: Transportation 374

Theme B: One-Room Schoolhouses 413

Answer Key 435

References 465

Thomas G. Gunning, a consultant and former public school teacher, is professor emeritus in the Department of Reading at Southern Connecticut State University and adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University. He teaches a variety of courses on literacy, remedial reading, and reading diagnosis.

Reading Comprehension Boosters features 100 high-interest readings and activities designed to help students improve their comprehension and response skills. Classroom-tested lessons include brief reading selections followed by constructed response and multiple-choice questions and thinking and writing activities. Reading Comprehension Boosters is flexible and can be used as a core or supplemental program, as test prep, or for intervention with individual students or groups.

Lessons include easily reproduced worksheets grouped within six thematic units. Each unit builds background knowledge and focuses on an important aspect of comprehension: 1) comprehending main ideas and details and visualizing; 2) summarizing; 3) inferring, predicting, and concluding; 4) understanding facts versus opinions; 5) comparing and contrasting; and 6) review and application. These units gradually build in level of challenge so that students gain proficiency and confidence as they move along. Each unit includes a teacher section that offers extensive guidance on how to introduce the lessons to students and support them in their development of essential reading and responding skills.

Praise for Reading Comprehension Boosters

"Reading Comprehension Boosters is exactly what struggling readers need to improve their comprehension. The best part: the texts for each task are included—saving teachers countless hours of hunting for high-interest short passages. Teachers will love this resource!" —Nancy Boyles, professor of reading, Southern Connecticut State University, and Independent Literacy Consultant

"Reading Comprehension Boosters provides teachers with critical comprehension strategies that all students need to know. The lessons are well-organized for the teachers, as well as interesting and motivating for the students. This book is an incredible resource for all classrooms."—Jennifer Brodeur, reading specialist, Old Saybrook, Connecticut

"This book performs the real service of guiding teachers in developing a step-by-step approach to teaching students strategies for improved comprehension." —Irene W. Gaskins, founder and head of school emerita, Benchmark School, Media, Pennsylvania