Exploring Reading Comprehension Skills using PIRLS

Abstract

Using one narrative and one informative PIRLS text and their corresponding items, this chapter helps teachers gain insight into the four reading processes. The specific reading skills, vocabulary, and background knowledge required to answer each question are explained. The chapter illustrates which difficulties students may encounter in a text and how teachers can help their students by using the didactic principles described in Chapter 2. The schematic description of each item includes the international PIRLS average. Schools can compare this with their own national average using the PIRLS almanacs and see if they recognize these national results in the reading level of their own students.

1 Introduction

In this chapter we discuss two PIRLS texts to illustrate the four reading processes: (1) focusing on and retrieving information explicitly stated in the text, (2) making straightforward inferences, (3) interpreting and integrating ideas and information, and (4) evaluating and critiquing content and textual elements, and the vocabulary and background knowledge that is required to understand these types of texts. This chapter is not intended to provide a method for testing comprehension, or to use test material as a teaching tool. Rather, its purpose is to give teachers a better insight into the reading processes described in Chapter 1, and to give teachers more concrete suggestions for implementing the didactic principles described in Chapter 2. Through these insights and ideas, teachers can better determine which aspect of reading comprehension students need extra support on and how they can provide this support.

2 How to Read this Chapter

In the schematic description of the PIRLS items below (see Section 3.3), we discuss each item from two publicly released PIRLS texts. Descriptions are provided for what students need to know or do in terms of reading skills, vocabulary, and background knowledge, to answer the question correctly. The international PIRLS average per item is also given (percentage of students who received full or partial credit). Comparing the international average percent of correct item scores with the corresponding national average scores by using the PIRLS almanacs can give teachers an idea of the reading processes the students in their country do well on, and which ones they struggle with. Teachers can discuss these findings in their school team: Does the school team recognize these national results in their own students, based on their own tests and observations during reading instruction? Are there types of items/questions that their students have difficulty with? Are there a lot of students in the school who struggle with understanding texts due to low vocabulary levels or a lack of background knowledge? Teachers can look up the items associated with these reading processes or factors (vocabulary/ background knowledge) and see which didactic suggestions might work best. These suggestions can give teachers inspiration on how to help their students improve their reading comprehension skills. More detailed information about the didactic principles, which the suggestions are based on, can be found in Chapter 2. Textbox 3.1 illustrates how teachers can use the information in this chapter to make decisions about teaching reading comprehension.

3 Schematic Description of Two PIRLS Texts and Items

3.1 “Flowers on the Roof”—By Ingibjörg Sigurdardóttir

“Flowers on the Roof” is a narrative text, and the reading purpose is to read for literary experience. The story is about an elderly woman (Granny Gun) who is more or less forced to move from her farm to the city. She gets homesick in the city and decides to get as much of her old farm into her flat as possible, including the hens and the grass with flowers on the roof. The story is told by a boy who lives opposite her, and he describes how Granny tries to feel more at home (Tables 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13).

Table 3.1 Flowers on the Roof—Question 1: Identity of the narrator

Table 3.2 Flowers on the Roof—Question 2: Granny’s farmhouse

Table 3.3 Flowers on the Roof—Question 3: The reason Granny should move

Table 3.4 Flowers on the Roof—Question 4: Who offered to look after the animals

Table 3.5 Flowers on the Roof—Question 5: Why was Granny unhappy

Table 3.6 Flowers on the Roof—Question 6: Why Granny screamed

Table 3.7 Flowers on the Roof—Question 7: Why Granny crouched down

Table 3.8 Flowers on the Roof—Question 8: Granny winked and grinned

Table 3.9 Flowers on the Roof—Question 9: How Granny made her new flat feel like home

Table 3.10 Flowers on the Roof—Question 10: How Granny feels at the end of the story

Table 3.11 Flowers on the Roof—Question 11: The purpose of last line of the story

Table 3.12 Flowers on the Roof—Question 12: What were the little boy’s feelings

Table 3.13 Flowers on the Roof—Question 13: The lesson learned from the story

3.2 “Giant Tooth Mystery”—By Kate McMullan

“Giant Tooth Mystery” is an informative text, and the reading purpose is to acquire and use information. In short, it is about the discovery that years ago animals lived on earth that are now extinct. It starts with the fossils found by Bernard Palissy hundreds of years ago. He was thrown into prison for his new ideas about extinct creatures. Later, Gideon Mantell searched for evidence for his theory about a giant tooth that his wife found. Gideon believed this mystery tooth belonged to a giant reptile that no longer lives on earth. Years later, complete skeletons were found which turned out to be from creatures we now call dinosaurs (Tables 3.14, 3.15, 3.16, 3.17, 3.18, 3.19, 3.20, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, 3.24, 3.25, 3.26 and 3.27).

Table 3.14 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 1: What is a fossil

Table 3.15 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 2: Why people believed in giants

Table 3.16 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 3: Where Palissy found fossils

Table 3.17 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 4: What was Palissy’s new idea

Table 3.18 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 5: Why Palissy was imprisoned

Table 3.19 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 6: Who found the fossil tooth

Table 3.20 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 7: What made the tooth puzzling

Table 3.21 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 8: Which animal did the tooth belong to

Table 3.22 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 9: Why Gideon took the tooth to a museum

Table 3.23 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 10: Why seeing the tooth was important

Table 3.24 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 11: What Gideon used to figure out what the Iguandon looked like

Table 3.25 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 12: Purpose of two Iguanodon pictures

Table 3.26 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 13: What the Iguanodon looked like

Table 3.27 Giant Tooth Mystery—Question 14: What discovery proved Gideon wrong