Understanding Reading Comprehension: Processes and Practices

Can baboons read? That is the thought-provoking question that opens this wonderfully accessible book for trainee and practising primary school teachers to fully understand the process of reading comprehension.  Comprehension is an essential component of learning to read and a successful teacher of reading will have a portfolio of different strategies and approaches that take in to account that children learn to read in different ways. This book supports the development of student and practising teachers’ subject knowledge by providing detailed guidance in to the reading comprehension process, along with practical strategies and lesson ideas for use in the classroom. Drawing from educational and psychological research, coverage includes:

• School-based activities in every chapter
• An in-depth focus on the inference making process
• The role of vocabulary and syntax in comprehension
• Cognitive and meta-cognitive processes including the use of memory
• Advice on developing effective classroom talk with different groups of children
• Using different text genres and selecting texts

Wayne Tennent is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Brunel University of London. His co-authored book Guiding Readers – Layers of Meaning was published in 2016 and won the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) academic book of the year award. He is a Brunel Global Citizen Award Winner, as nominated by the students, for his work in promoting a critical awareness of ‘race’ and gender in texts used for teaching.
He works with schools, both nationally and internationally, developing pedagogical practices to support teaching for reading comprehension. Previously, he taught for many years, mainly in London, but also in Greece, Brunei and New Zealand. He continues to work with children on a regular basis.