Chapter 1
Foundations of Reading Development
Course: Foundations Of Reading 890
Subject: Foundations Of Reading 890
Chapter: Reading Comprehension Development 5849 9750
What Is Reading Comprehension?
Reading comprehension is the process of constructing meaning from written text through a purposeful, active interaction between the reader and the text. The word construct is deliberate: meaning is not simply extracted from the page like water from a tap. The reader builds it, assembling the text's information together with their own knowledge into a coherent mental representation of what the text is about.
Comprehension therefore involves far more than remembering facts. A reader must actively integrate the new information presented in the text with their existing knowledge and experiences, forming what researchers call a situation model—a mental picture of the state of affairs the text describes.
Two readers can read the identical words and build quite different understandings depending on what knowledge and attention each brings.