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Comprehension Assignment
During this course we have spoken about different strategies that can help promote
reading in education. While learning about the various techniques that can help students feel
comfortable and engaged in comprehension, one strategy that was interesting to me was graphic
and semantic organizers and the different ways it can be beneficial in teaching reading and
comprehension skills. During my research on graphic and semantic organizers, I found that it is a
visual aid that helps students structure information from their text to better visualize. IN the text I
found that this technique is beneficial by helping students organize a list of characteristics from
the text, listing unfamiliar vocabulary, gain knowledge of the background of their text, and just
allowing students to visualize an organized structure of information to help retell the story. I
found that one strategy that is used when developing graphs and semantic organizers is using K-
W-L, which is Knowing the topic, wanting to learn, and learning the results. It is also discussed
that Graphic and semantic organizers can help students build and improve their skills in memory
in retelling stories after using K-W-L. Another strategy is question answering, which is students
being able to answer questions to themselves about the text. Some questions they may ask are
those from STORE, Setting, Trouble, Order of Action, resolution, and end. Teachers can engage
their students before reading by asking questions to evaluate, ask questions during the reading to
help students indicate the important sections, and then after the reading to see how much of the
text was comprehended by the students.
Ways that I would use graphic and semantic organizers in my classroom are by providing
activities before any reading to prepare and engage students in the class, to build on their prior
knowledge of the reading. While reading is in process, I would think of creating visual maps that
indicate key concepts and information. Lastly, another way I could benefit from using graphic
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and semantic organizers is by using tools that can help students build a structure after completing
the reading, such as having students create a graphic organizer that summarizes the key points in
the main idea, supporting details, and the conclusion. I would also emphasize the importance of
using a compare and contrast graph to discuss the different perspectives of the key points found
in the reading. Other forms that can be used for struggling readers are other visual cues,
collaborative work, and scaffolding.
Different ways that I would implement graphic and sematic organizers into my lesson
and intervention are by introducing the modeling the different concepts in familiar texts,
providing visual graphs for students to map out key ideas, having students write down details
from the text, and making sure I offer support when students need it. By having students
brainstorm, they can come up with different ideas and questions that they may have about the
topics.
Some activities that can be implemented in my classroom that support graphic and
semantic organizers are a sequence chart, a story map, and a KWL chart. These different ideas
can help students organize their ideas to better understand their reading. Sequence charts can
help students arrange their thoughts, such as the events, steps, and ideas in order. Students can
use this tool to help organize for essays and outlining projects. This can also help students
remember sequence and events in their reading. Story map is also a helpful strategy for students
to break down their reading and also help them understand key elements. Students can organize
the characters, the plot, the theme, and the setting. This is also a way for teachers to have their
students interact and engage with the students in critical thinking. The benefit for using a story
map can help provide a visual aid and break down students’ reading to help better understand the
reading. Lastly, KWL is a strategy that is used to set learning goals and help reflect on lessons
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and readings. This strategy is known to help students memorize information, reflect on their
reading, and ask questions and work on their thoughts.
In conclusion, graphic and semantic organizers are helpful tools that I would use in my
classroom to provide my students with visual aids that can help students comprehend key
concepts from their reading and lessons. This tool can help promote active engagements in the
lessons and helps students who have difficulty in connecting concepts. (Birsh, J. R., & Carreker,
S. 624)
