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7 Keys to Comprehension:  An Overview

            The 7 Keys to Comprehension written by Susan Zimmerman and Chryse Hutchins is a book that breaks down and directs the many ways that parents and educators can help children “read it and get it”. The book focuses on how we can give children the skills, or keys, to really understand and relate to the things they read. The book goes on to explain that it is only through complete comprehension that readers will fully benefit from and enjoy the things they read. The book’s title is very revealing because the authors theorize that there are 7 necessary skills that good readers use to fully understand text. These skills need to be cultivated in all readers to ensure complete comprehension. Good readers are able to:

1.      Form sensory images

2.      Apply and connect background knowledge to text

3.      Ask questions

4.      Draw inferences

5.      Determine importance of facts

6.      Synthesize/break down text

7.      Assess when they don’t understand and apply “fix-up” strategies

One of the best things about the 7 Keys to Comprehension is the detail the authors use. Each key is not only explained in easily understood terms, but examples of how to apply each key at home and in school are given. The authors also explain why each key is so vital to true comprehension, and provide true accounts of struggling readers and how building each key caused those struggles to lessen. A recommended reading list is also included at the end of each chapter.

One weakness of the book is that many of the suggested ideas are aimed towards an early elementary age group. Therefore, those readers who are working with older students must be a bit more creative in inventing ways to cultivate each skill in their children/students.

The 7 Keys to Comprehension is a great a book because it really enlightens the reader on the various skills that good readers utilize, and also enables parents and educators to help build those skills in children. The book is also wonderful because the authors give unique and fun suggestions on how to apply the information they give. As educators, we the faculty of St. Philip Neri School highly recommend this book.

 

 

02/10/2008                                                                                                                                            Hit Counter