Checking for Comprehension During Literacy Activities, by Casy Walker

efisher7

12/14/2016 5:17 PM

While there are challenges to identifying comprehension through assessment and in conversation, I will share a few strategies I use to check for comprehension when working with individuals with complex communication needs.

During most activities, asking a simple question that is inconsistent with the story or pictures allows for an early attention check. For example, if reading a page where two characters are dancing, I might ask, “Are they painting?” Many times, individuals will respond (i.e., look at me like I am crazy) because obviously, they are not painting they are dancing. Although this strategy does not assess what specifically they understand, it does help check if they are paying attention and also that they understood the question asked. It can also be a strategy to facilitate expressive language by having them correct you and share the correct verb or phrase.

Another classic strategy to check for comprehension is to provide choices using verbal expression or picture symbols. While reading a story, I would prepare many different story grammar symbols from the book including verbs, characters, settings, and emotions.Depending on the level of the communicator, using different types of symbols can also help identify where the breakdown in comprehension might be occurring.If you ask a “who” question and they provide you a picture symbol of a“place," then they might not yet comprehend the difference between “who”and “where” questions. My favorite way to use this strategy is with the GoTalkapp. Before reading a book, I take pictures within the book (and other books)and load them into a 4x4 matrix, one matrix for each question that I would like to ask. This app allows you to tailor the number of pictures to adapt it for each individual.

Since I am also a dancer, I love to incorporate movement and music into my activities. To check for comprehension of verbs, I will often act them out and have my students act them out with me when possible. If I see a challenging or new verb (e.g., tripped) when reading a story, I act it out and label the word with a picture symbol and spoken word.If students are able, I have them act it out also to demonstrate that they understood the meaning of the verb.

These are only three strategies tocheck and facilitate comprehension in individuals. Do you use similar strategies? What comprehension checks are your favorites?

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Your sessions sound amazing and fun! Thanks for sharing this.

When people are at a really early stage of language development you can also add some silly "questions" within a familiar routine. If a child is comfortable with a fun and everyday routine, say putting on one's shoes, and you are having an "action-based" conversation about shoes, the partner could introduce a banana instead of a shoe at one point to put on the person's foot. If there is trust (and hopefully humor) in this relationship that could be a way to check for participation and understanding in the routine. Hopefully the person would respond with puzzlement about the banana instead of the shoe. Could it lead to a conversation? Laughter? Love your post and thanks!

Amy Parker - 12/23/2016

Thanks so much for your comment. I love the idea of using humor in this way. Great idea! --Casy Walker

efisher7 - 1/3/2017