Rebecca Morgan

Strategy Share
Summer 2016

Strategy: Unpacking New Words and Concepts for comprehension in fiction and non-fiction

Description: Unpacking New Words and Concepts is a strategy that requires the student to use

their background knowledge and the evidences from the text to determine the meaning of

unfamiliar words they come across while reading. According to the authors, readers

frequently come across unfamiliar words and concepts that may interfere with their ability to

comprehend (Harvey & Goudvis, p. 56). Therefore, it is important to teach the students

strategies to help them understand these unknown words. When using this strategy, the students

will make note of any unfamiliar words or concepts on a tracking sheet that helps them think

about the clues from the text, the inferred meaning and the actual meaning.

Context: The strategy of Unpacking New Words and Concepts would be most useful when

students are reading either fiction or non-fiction texts independently.

Research Rationale: The research on context clues states the importance of teaching students to

infer the meaning of unknown words in order to understand what they are reading. According to

Servallo (p. 296), A readers ability to understand vocabulary and language in text has been

empirically linked to reading comprehension, which is why instruction around words and

language deserves such a prominent place in our classrooms. Marzano (2010) states, that

current research has identified inferring as a foundational skill necessary for students to be able

to participate in higher-level thinking. Without instruction in this important skill, students will

not be able to advance to the more challenging skills.

Effect on Students Reading Ability: Unpacking New Words and Concepts is designed to

support students abilities to infer words and themes while reading fiction or non-fiction. In a
study conducted by McGee & Johnson, with students ages 6-10 years old, they found that

inference training raised performance in less skilled comprehenders by 20 months,

while comprehension practice had resulted in an improvement of 10 months. (Kispal, 2008).

Future Directions /Modifications: This strategy can be modified to help a student infer more

than just the meaning of a single word. With this lesson, different organizers are provided to

assist students in inferring themes, connecting inferences with answers to questions, and

supporting inferences with information from the text. These modifications will support the

mastering of the inferring skill, the ability to provide evidence from the text to support their

inferences and identify themes.

 References

Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2005). Extend & Investigate. The Comprehension Toolkit.

Porstmouth, NH.

Kispal, A. (2008). Effective teaching of inference skills for reading. National Foundation of

Educational Research, pg. 24. Retrieved June 13, 2016 from

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED501868.pdf

Marzano, R. (2010). Teaching inference. Educational Leadership, 67(7), 80-01. Retrieved online

June 9, 2016 at http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-

leadership/apr10/vol67/num07/Teaching-Inference.aspx.

Seravallo, J. (2015). The reading strategies book. Heinemann, NH.