Distance Learning Series: Reading Comprehension
Welcome back! Now that we have officially gotten word that schools are closed until the end of the year here in PA, teletherapy sessions are in full swing. To help take some of the stress off of your plate, Holly Rosensweig of Spiffy Speech and I have teamed up once again to bring you our Distance Learning Lessons Series! This is the first of many example lesson plans that can be used for distance learning or teletherapy sessions with all school-age students. For those of you who are not doing live sessions but are still assigning work via Google Classroom or other similar platforms, several resources and activities are included at the end of this post! We hope these lessons are helpful as you navigate through this craziness - best of luck to you all!
Before Getting Started:
Make sure you have everything needed for the session open on your computer so that it is easier to toggle between pages when sharing your screen. I like to have all of my activities for the day saved in one folder so that they are ultra accessible when I need them, and I’m not scrambling around on my computer if something accidentally gets closed or disappears, like it tends to do in *virtual world.*
At the beginning of your first teletherapy session that addresses reading comprehension, take some time to talk about what students enjoy about reading. Do they prefer fiction or nonfiction? What is their favorite book? What is fun about reading? Also talk about what is difficult - is it hard to figure out what new words mean or to understand the overall meaning of the story? What helps with these difficulties?
Before introducing any comprehension activities, encourage students to brainstorm strategies they can use to improve their understanding and memory for what they’ve read.
Also - check out this FREEBIE for reading comprehension strategies!
Elementary School Teletherapy Session Plan for Reading Comprehension
Activity One ~ Badger’s Perfect Garden by Marsha Diane Arnold on Epic!
Make sure that you have registered for an account with Epic!, a fantastic digital library of books for children 12 and under. Epic! is free for teachers and librarians (entering a school name is required to register) but also has a free 30-day trial for parents that will work for private practitioners. Beyond the 30 days, it costs $7.99/month to continue your membership. You can download the Epic! app to your iPad and use screen mirroring software (e.g., LonelyScreen, X-Mirage) with the screen sharing feature to pull up books on-screen during teletherapy sessions.
The picture book, Badger’s Perfect Garden by Marsha Diane Arnold can be found on Epic! by entering the title into the search bar. The book is not only spring themed but is also loaded with tier two vocabulary words, opportunities to answer critical-thinking questions, and opportunities to target social skills, including emotions, vocabulary, and flexible thinking. This makes it a great choice for targeting reading/listening comprehension skills with elementary schoolers via teletherapy! For a no-tech option, you can order a physical copy of the book from Amazon here.
Before reading:
Pull up the title page on screen, which shows Badger examining a seed through a magnifying glass as wind and leaves swirl around him. Ask the student to make a prediction about what the book might be about based on the picture and title. Ask them what the weather might be like in this book. How can they tell from looking at the picture that the weather is windy? How can they tell from the picture that Badger is standing in a garden?
While reading:
After reading each page, have the student define any tier two vocabulary words or provide a synonym, answer critical-thinking questions such as “Why?” and “How can you tell?” and/or come up with character traits that describe the characters. For younger students, ask basic “wh” questions about the pictures (i.e., “who,” “what,” “where”) after reading each page instead of asking the critical-thinking questions listed (e.g., “Where is Badger?” “What is he holding?” “Who is holding the blanket?”)
Pages 1-2
Tier 2 Vocab: surrounded, dozens, hopeful, gathered, perfect
Critical-thinking questions: What do you think it means to have a “perfect” garden? What do we know about Badger so far? What words could we use to describe him? How do you think Badger feels?
Pages 3-4
Tier 2 Vocab: floated
Critical-thinking questions: What words could we use to describe Red Squirrel? Why do you think Badger has so many different kinds of seeds?
Pages 5-6
Tier 2 Vocab: studied, plan, weeded
Critical-thinking questions: What might Badger’s plan say? Why did they need to weed the soil? What is the weather like? How can you tell from the pictures?
Pages 7-8
Tier 2 Vocab: stretched, mark
Critical-thinking questions: What does it mean when it says, “the earth was as smooth as the forest pond in winter?” Why do you think they are marking the rows of seeds? Why are they making the rows perfectly straight? Why do you think Badger is wearing gloves?
Pages 9-10
Tier 2 Vocab: invited, celebration, enjoyed, imagined
Critical-thinking questions: What words can we use to describe Red Squirrel and Weasel? Why does Badger want to plant the same types of seeds together? How do the animals feel on the second page? How can you tell?
Pages 11-12
Tier 2 Vocab: worried
Critical-thinking questions: What does it mean when it says “the sky sent showers?” How does Badger feel when it first starts to rain? How do you know? Why does he feel happy? Why do you think Badger starts to worry on the second page?
Pages 13-14
Tier 2 Vocab: downpour, rushed, flung, collapsed
Critical-thinking questions: Why does Badger try to cover the seeds? How do you think Badger feels now? How do you know?
Pages 15-16
Tier 2 Vocab: sniffled
Critical-thinking questions: How does Badger feel now? Why? What do you think he should do?
Pages 17-18
Tier 2 Vocab: comforted, bloom, collect, ripen
Critical-thinking questions: Do you think Red Squirrel, Dormouse, and Weasel are good friends? Why do you think that? How do they try to comfort Badger? Why is Red Squirrel hanging clothing on a line? How do you know from the pictures that Badger felt cold? How does Badger feel about what happened?
Pages 19-20
Tier 2 Vocab: consoled, busying
Critical-thinking questions: Why does Badger find things to do to keep busy? What are some of the things you do to keep busy?
Pages 21-22
Tier 2 Vocab: clamoring
Critical-thinking questions: Who do you think is knocking on the door?
Pages 23-24
Tier 2 Vocab: cried
Critical-thinking questions: How do Red Squirrel, Dormouse, and Weasel feel? How can you tell?
Pages 25-26
Tier 2 Vocab: rearranged, mixed up
Critical-thinking questions: Why does Badger rub his eyes? How did the garden grow in another place?
Pages 27-28
Tier 2 Vocab: stared, hodgepodge, jumble, celebration
Critical-thinking questions: What does it mean when it says Badger felt “jumbly and tumbly?” How was Badger being flexible at the end of the story?
Pages 29-30
Critical-thinking: How do the animals feel at the end of the story? How do you know? What types of “garden games” could the animals play? Do you think Badger might do anything differently next spring? Why?
After reading:
Ask a variety of recall/comprehension questions about the story. Who were the characters in the story? What was the setting? Remind the student that setting can be the place AND the time such as the seasons mentioned in the story. What was the problem in the story? What was the solution? If time allows, have the student try to summarize or retell the story in their own words or list the steps in sequence that Badger took to plant his garden.
Activity Two ~ Spring Crossword Puzzle
Completing crossword puzzles are a great way to work on reading (or listening) comprehension because they require that the student read or listen to clues in order to come up with each answer. Crosswords provide opportunities for vocabulary-building, making word associations (e.g., objects that go with spring or with rainy weather), and coming up with synonyms/antonyms. The student can be encouraged to visualize (i.e., make a picture in their head) as they read or hear the clues. They can also practice defining any tricky words or idioms (e.g., “The early bird gets the worm”) using context clues. If the student has difficulty coming up with an answer from the clue provided, you can prompt them by giving additional clues and/or a cloze task format (e.g., “After it rains and the sun comes out, you might see a ________.”) For elementary students, try this free spring crossword puzzle or this one, which is slightly more challenging. If using Zoom, you can use the Annotate feature to add text in order to fill out the crossword puzzle in real time. The website ABCya has two Make Your Own Crossword games in case you’d prefer to make your own spring crossword with vocabulary and clues tailored more to the student’s level. These puzzles are fun because they can be completed online by clicking and typing directly into the boxes! Having the student come up with spring words and clues to create their own crossword is also a fantastic way to work on expressive language skills!
Middle School Teletherapy Session Plan for Reading Comprehension
For older students working on reading comprehension, the KWL strategy helps to activate background knowledge and promote active reading. To teach this strategy, select any nonfiction passage or article that is appropriate for the student’s reading level - this week, I’ll be using a passage called Cheetahs: Master Hunters (which can be found in this Wild Cats: Reading Comprehension resource) and a KWL chart (which can be found in this Reading Comprehension Visuals and Graphic Organizers resource, but you can also make/find your own!)
Before Reading
Before beginning to read the passage, introduce the topic and share your screen so that students are able to see the ‘K’ column of the KWL chart, which stands for what you KNOW about the topic. Have students activate their background knowledge by sharing any facts they may know about cheetahs. If students are struggling, pull up a picture of a cheetah (like this one) and have students use EET to describe as you type their responses into the chart.
Next, tell students the title of the article and introduce the W column - What do you WANT to know or find out about cheetahs in this passage? Share question starters by having students fill in a chart (which can also be found in this Reading Comprehension Visuals and Graphic Organizers resource) that has ‘who, what, when, where, why’ etc. Once students have come up with questions about the topic, explain that they will be reading the passage to try to find some of the answers to their questions, but that they may also come up with more questions while reading.
During Reading
Pull the passage up on your screen and either read to students as they follow along, have them read aloud to you, or take turns. One of the benefits of reading aloud to students is the opportunity to model several strategies, such as visualizing, association (making connections), and questioning. Here are some examples using the ‘Cheetahs: Master Hunters’ passage…
Visualizing: “Right now, I’m picturing the cheetah hiding behind the tall grass, with the light low in the sky, watching the herd. I can see how its fur color is almost the same as the grass, so I bet the gazelles can’t see the cheetah at all!”
Association: “Reading about how the cheetah waits for the perfect moment to pounce reminds me of my cat hunting and playing in the backyard!”
Questioning: “I just read that cheetahs usually hunt at dawn or dusk. That makes me wonder why they don’t hunt in the middle of the day!”
While reading, students should be looking for the answers to the questions they asked before beginning to read. If annotating the PDF, the answers can be highlighted in the passage. It is also important to make sure students are understanding the vocabulary used in the passage, so model the thought process that occurs when coming across an unknown word. An example using the ‘Cheetahs’ passage might look like this…
Read: “...the cheetah must begin to eat its prey immediately in order to keep it from being stolen by other scavengers, such as hyenas or other big cats”
Model: “Hmm, I’m not sure what the word ‘scavengers’ means. I see the words ‘such as,’ which tells me that hyenas and other big cats are examples of scavengers. I also see that cheetahs don’t want scavengers to steal their food, which is why they eat quickly. Plus, I’ve heard of a ‘scavenger hunt’ where you have to go look for things. Therefore, I think ‘scavengers’ are animals that look for food to steal from other animals.”
After Reading
Return to the KWL chart to complete the ‘L’ column with any information that the students learned, which can include both answers to their questions and any additional interesting facts. Discuss how the KWL strategy helped them understand the passage - what did students like about it? What did they find challenging? How can they use this strategy on their own?
Depending on how long your teletherapy session is, this activity can be split up and completed across multiple sessions. Typically, the first session is spent finishing the ‘K’ and ‘W’ columns, and the second session is when we read the passage and do the ‘L’ column. Google Drawings is a great tool to use for both teletherapy and for assigning independent work to students because you can type strategies, question starters, etc. alongside the passage.
High School Teletherapy Session Plan for Reading Comprehension
For high students working on reading comprehension, the QAR strategy helps students to analyze the type of question in order to figure out where to find the information required for the response. To teach this strategy, select any text - fiction or nonfiction - that is appropriate for the student’s reading level. The short story called ‘The Open Window’ by H. H. Monroe is a great passage to practice the strategy, and it can be found here for free.
Before Reading
Introduce the QAR strategy, which stands for question answer relationship. Describe the four question types (a comprehensive visual with this information and an additional chart can be found in the previously mentioned Reading Comprehension Visuals and Graphic Organizers resource):
Right There: these are typically your who, what, when, and where questions, and the answer can be found RIGHT THERE in the text. The question usually uses words straight from the text.
Think and Search: the answer can be found in the text, but you have to LOOK for it in several different places in order to form meaning. These are usually questions that ask you to summarize, describe, compare and contrast, find an example, state the cause, etc.
Author and Me: Using your background knowledge and the text as evidence, answer the question by making an inference. These questions frequently begin with, ‘why do you think,’ ‘what is the main idea,’ or ‘predict what will happen’.
On My Own: Use your background knowledge and tell your opinion by answering questions such as, ‘How would you feel/what would you do if…,’ ‘What is your opinion on…,’ or ‘Do you agree with…’
After describing the four question types, use the story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ as an example, and ask students to determine the question type for each of the following:
What could be another title for the story? (Author and Me)
Who was Little Red Riding Hood going to see? (Right There)
Why did Little Red Riding Hood decide to visit her grandmother? (Think and Search)
How would you feel if you were walking through the woods and knew there was a wolf nearby? (On My Own)
*Often, this will take an entire session, so the following session, students can practice creating their own questions after reading a passage - in this case, ‘‘The Open Window.’ Introduce the short story with its title and have students make a prediction on what it will be about. If there are comprehension questions following the passage, students should preview them before reading so that they know what information they are being asked to find out; however, for this activity, students will be making up their own comprehension questions.
During Reading
Pull up the story and take turns reading to students as they follow along, and then have them read aloud to you. Practice modeling strategies such as pausing to check for understanding and paraphrasing sentences into your own words to summarize what they mean. Once you have modeled a few times for your students, switch roles and have the student practice by occasionally stopping and putting the story into their own words.
After Reading
Discuss the story and summarize the characters, setting, and plot. Then have students create one of each question type: right there, think and search, on my own, and author and me. If it is a group teletherapy session, students can answer one another’s questions and see if they can guess the question type. If not working in a group, use the questions created by a previous student/group or use these sample questions:
Right There: What was Vera’s aunt’s “great tragedy”?
Think and Search: What character traits would you use to describe Mr. Nuttel?
On My Own: Why do you think Vera told the story about the open window?
Author and Me: If you were Vera, would you have told Mr. Nuttel that story? Why or why not?
Check out these additional reading comprehension resources and activities for distance learning with elementary, middle, and high school students:
Reading Comprehension Strategies and Graphic Organizers *These visuals and graphic organizers can be paired with ANY passage! Strategies include: main idea and supporting details, summarizing fiction AND nonfiction text, identifying text structure, making connections, visualizing, KWL charts, QAR visual, and more!
Also included is a fun BOOKMARK activity for carryover of strategies that can easily be assigned as independent work for distance learning.
Wild Cats Reading Comprehension Passages and Visuals *Includes 10 passages about wild cats that can be used when assigning NO-PREP independent speech work via google classroom or other distance learning platforms. Targets multiple reading comprehension strategies, including text structure, main idea/summarizing, answering literal and inferential questions, using context clues, and more!
Carnivorous Plants Comprehension Passages *Another no-prep resource to post as a distance learning assignment. Includes several passages describing carnivorous plants in which students act as plant detectives in order to match a picture to the plant’s description. Also comes with worksheets for vocabulary, comprehension, and syntax.
Marvel HQ *Includes free Marvel comics! Comics are fantastic for working on determining vocabulary word meanings from context and paraphrasing! Students can also be asked to be the narrator since many comics include dialogue without narration.
Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling *This document Includes several short stories from the author of the Harry Potter series. These short stories are high interest and fantastic for practicing reading comprehension!
Storyline Online *Celebrities reading stories aloud online
Scholastic *Books, literary resources and educational solutions for kids
Newsela *Includes thousands of relevant, standards-aligned texts specifically selected for the social studies classroom, with an emphasis on diverse and unheard perspectives. Offering free access for the rest of the school year!
Glow Word Books *Online MadLibs for kids with themes including seasons and holidays
Vooks *Streaming library of animated children’s storybooks with a free trial available
Highlights Kids *Games, jokes, surveys, answers to science questions, and fun crafts and recipes
Education.com *Some Premium features now available for free under a Basic membership! Includes learning activities that include reading comprehension passages (and writing activities) sorted by grades Preschool through 5th!
K12 Reader *Many worksheets are available for free to practice a variety of reading comprehension skills, such as cause and effect, character traits, main idea, etc.
Readworks.org *Includes K-12 reading comprehension passages with questions sorted by grade and topic.
RHL School *Includes several reading comprehension activities that can be assigned as distance learning work, such as this main idea activity or this drawing conclusions activity.
Other spring-themed resources for use during teletherapy:
Spring Language Cards for Teletherapy (with real photos!)
How Can You Tell? Inferencing cards (with real photos, includes seasons/holidays)
Plant Monster! PowerPoint Game
Lucky Snail Race PowerPoint Game
Spring Semantic Feature Analysis
You can also check out other resources by The Speech Express here or resources by Spiffy Speech here.
