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PALS involves peer-meditated instruction with reading lessons/activities. PALS pairs a high-level reader with a lower-level reader to complete age/development appropriate reading activities (IRIS Center, 2008)

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As they search for an approach capable of both meeting the needs of diverse learners and strengthening the instruction in the general education classroom (i.e., Tier 1 instruction), the kindergarten and first-grade teachers at Washington Elementary discover Peer Assisted Learning Strategies for reading (PALS-R or PALS). PALS, modeled after ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), is an approach to teaching children important reading skills. It complements the existing reading curriculum by providing research-validated learning strategies through peer-mediated instruction (i.e., peer pairing, peer tutoring). In the PALS approach, teachers pair a high-performing reader with a low-performing one in order to complete activities designed to promote the development of reading skills. PALS also incorporates:

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Per Reading Rockets (n.d.), Story Maps “provide students with a framework for identifying the elements of a story. They help students of varying ability capture and organize information and ideas efficiently.”

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Adler, C. (2004). Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension.

Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001) Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read kindergarten through grade three. Washington, DC: The U.S. Department of Education.

Boulineau, T., Fore, C, Hagan-Burke, S. and Burke, M. (2004). Use of Story-Mapping to Increase the Story-Grammar Text Comprehension of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Spring, 2004), pp. 105-121

Nell K. Duke, P. David Pearson, Stephanie L. Strachan, and Alison K. Billman (2011) Essential Elements of Fostering and Teaching Reading Comprehension . From What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (4th ed.), International Reading Association.

Nell K. Duke, Alessandra E. Ward, and P. David Pearson (2021). The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction , The Reading Teacher, Vol 74, No. 6 (May-June 2021).

Dunst, C, Simkus, A, Hamby, D. (2012). Children's Story Retelling as a Literacy and Language Enhancement Strategy. CELLreviews 5(4). Asheville, NC: Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute, Center for Early Literacy Learning.

Santa, C., Havens, L., & Valdes, B. (2004). Project CRISS: Creating independence through student owned strategies 3rd Edition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Timothy Shanahan et al., Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (2010). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.

Trabasso, T., & Bouchard, E. (2002) Teaching readers how to comprehend text strategically. In C. Block and M. Pressley, (Eds.) Comprehension instruction: Research-based practices (pp. 176-200). NY: Guilford Press.

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Story maps use graphic organizers to help students learn the elements of a book or story. The most basic story maps focus on the beginning, middle, and end of the story. More advanced organizers focus more on plot or character traits.

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A strategy where students gauge whether they understand the reading. If the student struggles with the main idea, they can take steps to fix their comprehension before moving on (IRIS Center, 2012).

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Page 10: Monitoring Comprehension

Monitoring comprehension is a process in which students determine whether they understand what they are reading. If they realize that they cannot articulate the main idea of the passage, they can take steps to repair their comprehension before continuing to read.

Most successful student readers intuitively monitor their comprehension. However, some who struggle with reading either might not recognize a breakdown in their comprehension or else might not know how to fix it when it does occur. When asked whether they read the material, these students might answer yes. Indeed, the students might have decoded every word, but they did not comprehend what they were reading. Even students who are typically competent readers may not self-monitor comprehension in subject areas they find challenging.

It is not effective to merely tell students to monitor their reading comprehension. Rather, students need to be taught how to monitor their comprehension. This requires explicit instruction with sufficient modeling and guided practice. Content-area teachers can demonstrate how to:

Stop at the end of a paragraph, section, or page

Think about whether the information presented has been understood (e.g., generate a main idea)

Utilize various fix-up strategies, if necessary

Re-read the paragraph (silently or aloud)

Look up unfamiliar terms

Find more information (e.g., seek out electronic or print references, ask someone for help with an unfamiliar topic)

Reference an adjacent graph, chart, or picture

Reconstruct information in an equation, chart, image, concept map, etc.

Search for upcoming headings that will provide clarification

Listen as Deborah Reed shares a story that highlights the importance of monitoring comprehension (time: 2:28).
View Transcript
Transcript: Deborah K. Reed, PhD

When I get to the end of a paragraph that I realize somewhere along the line I either stopped paying attention or got lost in the words or in some way I didn't understand, I have a number of things that I will do to fix that up. It may frustrate me, but I know I need to do it or there's really no point in going forward. Students who have struggled with reading, I think they don't really ever expect to understand. Students who don't expect to understand anything anyway get to the end of the paragraph, and they just keep going. They don't know that they should stop, they don't know that there are other things that they should do to fix it up, and they don't really believe that they have much control over gaining comprehension from the text. It's critically important that we show them how we monitor our own comprehension and that even as competent readers occasionally we have to do these things, too. They won't do it otherwise, if we don't help them see how important it is. And I think that for even students who are more advanced. If they don't experience that when they've got more teacher assistance in middle and high school then when they get to college where there's very little teacher assistance, they won't know what to do in those situations as the text become increasingly more difficult. So reading can't just be saying every word on the page.

I administered a test not too long ago to a middle-school student. He read the passage out loud to me, and when he got to the end, I asked him to tell me about what he just read. Then he looked at me with this disgusted look and said, "No. I just read it." That drove home to me this idea that somehow he's picked up the idea that reading is just saying the words out loud, that he wasn't ever expected to gain meaning from what he was reading and had no way of knowing how to stop and check on that himself. Think of him going through all of his classes all day long, being told read this chapter, read this passage. That's what he's doing, but he's not gaining any meaning and doesn't understand how to use that for informational purposes to support his learning of this content.

For more information on monitoring reading comprehension, view the following IRIS Modules:

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IRIS | Page 10: Monitoring Comprehension

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Monitoring comprehension is a process in which students determine whether they understand what they are reading. If they realize that they cannot articulate the main idea of the passage, they can take steps to repair their comprehension before continuing to read. Most successful student readers intuitively monitor their comprehension.

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Per Kelley (n.d.), this strategy allows for the teacher to model the retelling strategy, have the student read the story, have them do an initial retelling, reread, and then they can pick a retelling strategy with support. These strategies can be scaffolded until they are confident enough to do the retelling completely on their own

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Retelling is a short, consistent routine students can use to recall, order, and summarize a text. With this retelling routine, students practice important comprehension skills, including:

You can use this retelling routine to help students retell both nonfiction and fiction texts. You can also use this retelling routine to monitor comprehension.

Watch: See retelling in action

Watch this video from EL Education to see how a first-grade teacher uses retelling with a nonfiction text.

Download: Printable graphic organizer for retelling

Read: How to teach retelling

K (Common Core Literacy RL.K.2: With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details; Common Core Literacy RI.K.2: With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text)

1 (Common Core Literacy RL.1.2: Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate an understanding of their central message or lesson; Common Core Literacy RI.1.2: Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text)

Pre-read the text and identify the key details. Before the lesson, take a few minutes to read the text to help you choose which retelling activities to use for this particular text. Pre-reading can also help you figure out what background knowledge students need. As you pre-read, focus on the following:

Fiction: Identify key characters, setting, conflict, resolution, and other key events.

Nonfiction: Identify topic, author's purpose, main idea, and two to four supporting details.

1. Explicitly model the retelling routine. You can model the routine using a very short text or the first section of a text.

For ELLs: Invite ELLs to retell the text initially in their home language. If you have more than one student who speaks the same home language, put them in a group to talk about the text and then share a summary in English.

Five-finger retelling: Have students hold up one hand. Explain that each finger represents a part of the retelling: who (characters/key figures), what (conflict/key events), where (setting), when (setting), and why (resolution/motives). Ask students to orally retell the five W's of text - pointing to each finger as they go. For visual support, create an anchor chart that shows a hand with each finger labeled. Display the chart so students can refer to it as they retell.

Picture/props retell: Gather some materials, like printed pictures from the text, puppets, or other related props. Lay the materials in front of students and ask them to retell the text using the materials.(This type of retelling is best for individuals or small groups so all students can actively engage.)

Sequence retell: Give students the retelling graphic organizer. Have them point to the sequence word in each rectangle (first, then, next, and last) as they orally retell the story. Or students can draw pictures or write in the boxes for their retell. If students write, prompt them to use 10 words or fewer for each box.

All students (Use regardless of current skill level)

Provide a retelling graphic organizer or an anchor chart of sequence words ( first, next, then, last).

Allow students to refer to the text as needed.

Allow students to write down or draw important details.

Simple (Includes key details, describes major events, retells text in order)

Preview sequence words or story plot lines as needed.

During text reading, pause as needed to prompt students by asking, "Then what happened?" (After repeated practice, students can prompt each other or themselves.)

Provide a word bank with key vocabulary and/or pictures.

More complex (Has all of the above skills, plus use of key vocabulary and details not directly stated in the text)

As needed, provide students with a word bank of key vocabulary.

Develop targeted questions to prompt students to make complex inferences, predictions, or elaborations. These questions can also be printed on handouts or notecards for students to use on their own or with a partner. Examples:

"Why did the character do that?"

"How did that action help the character?"

"Can you tell me more about X detail?"

"What do you think will happen next?"

Most complete (All of the above skills, plus makes connections to prior learning, elaborates on important details, and evaluates the text)

Understand: Why this strategy works

Retelling is a complex skill. It takes knowledge of text structure, understanding of vocabulary, and the ability to recall and summarize. It's a valuable skill, too. Research has found that retelling promotes comprehension and vocabulary development.

For students who struggle with memory, attention, or language processing, a predictable retelling routine - with support - helps them internalize the skill. Because students know what to expect, they're more likely to check their understanding while they read or listen.

When students follow the retelling routine, they engage with the text more than once. That's particularly helpful for students who struggle with working memory or language processing. When they read the text the first time, they can read for a general understanding. Their first retelling can help you find any gaps in their understanding and be ready to ask specific questions. When students read the text for a second time with support, they can focus more on the details - making them more likely to experience success.

For all students - and particularly for ELLs - previewing the text and reading multiple times gives them many chances to interact with new vocabulary and text structures. Pictures (including images from the text), props, or word banks all give students vocabulary practice in different formats. Also, when students retell, they have to use words they read or heard in the text. This means more chances for oral and written language development, as well as practice building comprehension skills.

In an upcoming email or newsletter to families, tell them how they can practice retelling at home. Or you might model the activity at a family event so they can see it in action. You can use language like this:

In class, we are practicing how to retell what we've read. That means we read a short text (fiction or nonfiction). Then, students say in their own words what they have read. Being able to retell is an important reading skill.

You can practice retelling at home with any book (or even just a few pages of a book) you read with your child. You can do this in as little as 15 minutes in one sitting. Here are the five easy steps:

1. Preview the book. Talk about the title and pictures with your child.

2. Read the book. You can read the book, your child can read the book, or you can read it together.

3. Ask your child to retell what they read. Don't give too many hints or ask too many questions. The retelling will give you a good idea of what your child understood.

4. Reread the book.

5. Ask your child to retell again. This time, ask your child to hold up one hand to do the five-finger retell. For this activity, your child will use different fingers to represent five different parts of retelling the book: who (characters/key figures), what (conflict/key events), where (setting), when (also the setting), and why (resolution/motives). Your child will point to each finger while retelling. If your child has trouble, look back at the book for clues.

If you have a chance to practice this week, write back and let me know how it went. If your child has trouble with retelling, I can give you some other ideas to practice. Together we can help your child become a better reader.

Research behind this strategy

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Retelling: An evidence-based literacy strategy

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Use this reading strategy to help students with retelling a story or retelling nonfiction.

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KWL charts allow for students to talk about what they (K)now prior to the read— their background knowledge. They will then discuss what they (W)ant to know from the reading. After the reading, they can write what they (L)earned from the reading which shows comprehension (Literacy Minnesota, 2018).

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“Teaching summarizing shows students how to discern the essential ideas in a text, how to ignore irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching students to summarize improves their memory for what they read and acts as a check for comprehension” (Reading Rockets, n.d.).

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Jones, R. (2007). Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Summarizing. Retrieved 2008, January 29, from http://www.readingquest.org/strat/summarize.html.

Guthrie, J. T. (2003). Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction: Practices of Teaching Reading for Understanding. In C. Snow & A. Sweet (Eds.), Reading for Understanding: Implications of RAND Report for Education (pp. 115-140). New York: Guilford.

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Summarizing teaches students how to discern the most important ideas in a text, how to ignore irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching students to summarize improves their memory for what is read. Summarization strategies can be used in almost every content area.

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“Learn as much as they can about the text in a short period of time. Think about what they already know about the topic covered by the text. Predict what the text might say about the topic using the features of the text” (IRIS Center, 2008).

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Page 5: Preview Strategy

Mr. Dupree will teach the first strategy in the CSR approach, the Preview strategy, which students use before they read a text. The purpose of this pre-reading strategy is for students to:

Learn as much as they can about the text in a short period of time

Think about what they already know about the topic covered by the text

Predict what the text might say about the topic using the features of the text (e.g., titles, subtitles, graphs and illustrations, terms in bold print)

Preview Strategy

Activities: brainstorming, making predictions/ Estimated time: 12 minutes

The teacher introduces the topic of the passage.

1. Students write down everything they already know about the topic in the Preview section of their learning log under What I already know about the topic.

2. Students in pairs share their responses with each other.

3. Students skim the passage, using textual features (headings, pictures, graphs, etc.) to predict what they might learn as they read. They write down these predictions in the Preview section of their learning logs under What I think I will learn.

4. Students share their best ideas with the class.

Ecosystems: Making Connections
An ecosystem is part of the environment. In an ecosystem, big and small animals live in harmony with the rest of their natural world. A shoreline is one kind of ecosystem. Other kinds include deserts and rain forests. The parts of an ecosystem rely on each other for the health of the environment. That means that if one part is damaged, the balance of the whole can be upset. If this damage is big enough, the ecosystem might even collapse.

To help you understand ecosystems, you might imagine a spider-web. All of its threads are connected. If one part breaks or is torn, the rest of the web is weakened until it can be repaired.

Click on the movie to watch some students engage in the Preview strategy (time: 0:37).

"Copyright © by the Texas Education Agency and University of Texas at Austin. All rights reserved" on all Licensed Materials.
View Transcript
Transcript: Preview Strategy

Narrator: This group practices previewing using their cue cards to guide them through the CSR process.

Student: "Now let's predict and write everything we think we might learn from reading today." Brian.

Brian: I think we'll learn about Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana.

Narrator: The teacher has a role, as well: monitoring groups and providing assistance and encouragement.

Mr. Shaw: What are some of the things that you're gonna learn about?

Brian: Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana.

Mr. Shaw: Okay, what else do you think you might learn about?

Student: How we got our independence, freedom.

Mr. Shaw: So write all those things down. You guys are doing a good job. Thanks.

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Mr. Dupree will teach the first strategy in the CSR approach, the Preview strategy, which students use before they read a text.

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Per Iowa Reading Research Center (n.d.), this graphic organizer helps students understand the relationships between the events that take place during the reading. They are able to write, or draw a picture, of the events to show reading comprehension.

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Per IRIS Center (2008), this strategy allows students to generate and answer questions about the text, as well as review what they learned from the text. They are able to write down important ideas from the reading.

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After they’ve finished the passage, students are ready to implement the Wrap Up strategy. The purpose of the Wrap Up strategy is to help students to understand and remember what they have learned. The general procedure requires two steps: generate questions and review important ideas.

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“If our students are able to ask and answer their own questions, they can deepen their understanding of a text. Over time, they can learn to ask themselves and others a broad range of questions about their reading” (Reading Rockets, n.d.).

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Explore reading basics as well as the key role of background knowledge and motivation in becoming a lifelong reader and learner. Watch our PBS Launching Young Readers series and try our self-paced Reading 101 course to deepen your understanding.

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Iowa Reading Research Center. (n.d.). Cause and effect graphic organizer. https://irrc.education.uiowa.edu/sites/irrc.education.uiowa.edu/files/2023-07/Cause%20and%20Effect%20Graphic%20Organizer_2023.pdf

Kelley, S. (n.d.). Retelling: An evidence-based literacy strategy. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/how-to-teach-retelling

Literacy Minnesota. (2018). K-W-L Chart. https://www.literacymn.org/k-w-l-chart

Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Comprehension: In practice. https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-101-learning-modules/course-modules/comprehension/practice

Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Story maps. https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/story-maps

Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Summarizing. https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/summarizing

The IRIS Center. (2008). CSR: A reading comprehension strategy. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/csr/

The IRIS Center. (2008). PALS: A reading strategy for grades K–1. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/palsk1/

The IRIS Center. (2012). Secondary reading instruction: Teaching vocabulary and comprehension in the content areas. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sec-rdng/