ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an historical overview of reading comprehension instruction in the United States. The theoretical frameworks that shape our understanding of how comprehension occurs and the research-aligned instructional practices are also described. As teachers of middle and high school students, the crux of school administrators' literacy instruction is reading comprehension. In the 1980s, a shift occurred as cognitive models of comprehension and literary theories of interpretation were introduced to educators. In doing so, the National Reading Panel recommended that comprehension instruction include an emphasis upon seven strategies: asking questions, answering questions, monitoring, summarizing, story mapping, graphic organizers, and cooperative grouping. These strategies were meant to help readers remain active during the comprehension process. Research suggests that content-based approaches more positively shape reading comprehension than strategy-focused approaches do. A central aspect of cognitive strategy instruction is the modeling and metacognition by the teacher to demonstrate how using the strategy supports comprehension of the text.
