Identify Literal comprehension

Literal comprehension involves understanding explicitly stated

meanings and information directly from a text. Literal comprehension
encompasses reading for detail, following directions, identifying stated
main ideas, recalling and locating information, identifying an explicit
sequence, understanding of vocabulary and grammatical features and
an awareness of how meaning is constructed cumulatively in a text.

How does literal comprehension support reading and comprehension?

Effective readers use three levels of comprehension, each of which requires different cognitive demands
and different ways of interacting with the text – literal, inferential (or implied) and evaluative. The surface
level understanding required in literal comprehension supports and works in conjunction with the deeper
interactions required in inferential and evaluative comprehension. These three levels of comprehension
do not develop in a continuum, in fact literal comprehension can be equally important and challenging.

the Language of Literal comprehension

The answer is right there, think and Look for the key word in the I can identify the important facts/
search... question. events.

What questions do I want answered? I can recognise and use print features
What do the words say? and text tools to identify information.

What do you need to answer? What information do the visual I can follow the story line.
elements give?

Read the text (skim or scan) until

you find the answer.

Tips to support Literal comprehension: Difficulty with identifying literal information can vary
depending on:
• the length of the text and text features
• the order in which the questions are asked and
how they match to the order of the text
• location of the information from 2 or 3 parts of
Consider the the text
Use key following information • the use of pronouns (pronoun reference needs
words, to be identified before finding the information
skimming when working
in the text)
and scanning with learning • Whether the response requires a single answer
to help students area texts: or a written sentence
to locate literal • Written sentences are the hardest level of literal
information efficiently. response, as they introduce skills not related to
comprehension, e.g. students need to have the
prerequisite skills of oral sentence construction,
spelling and handwriting skills to produce the
response.

Adapted from Zimmermann, S. (2003); Cameron, S. (2009) and First Steps Reading resource book (2013).
Strategies Other strategies include ‘Stop and Think Cards’ and ‘Interesting Word Charts’.
(See First Steps Reading Resource Book p156 and p162).

QAR (Question answer relationship)

Use the In the text category of the QAR to enable students to think and talk about sources of information
when answering literal questions.

The answer is in one place in the text. Words from the question and words that answer
there
Right

the question are often ‘right there’ in the same sentence.

Key skills: Locate and recall
The answer is in the text. Readers needs to ‘think and search’, or put together different
Think and

parts of the text to find the answer. The answer can be within a paragraph, across
search

In the text paragraphs, or even across chapters and books.

Key skills: Locate, recall, integrate and interpret

The answer is not in the text. Readers need to use their own ideas and experiences to
answer the question.
On my
own

Key skills: Making connections

The answer is not in the text. To answer the question, readers need to think about how
and me
Author

the text and what they already know fit together.

In my head
Key skills: Critique and evaluate

Words and visuals retrieval charts

working together Students scan a text to extract important information so they
can make generalisations.

1. Create headings for the Retrieval Chart based on the type

Where in The words The visuals Together this of information to be gathered and share these with the
the text? tell me tell me means... students.

2. Allow students time to read the text/s.

3. Provide time for students to scan the text/s so they can

identify relevant information.

4. Allocate time for students to record Adaptations:

the information they have found onto Retrieval Charts

beat the buzzer quiz the Retrieval Chart.

5. Discuss with students the similarities

can be completed
using key words
or pictorial
Give students practise in scanning texts to locate specific and differences in the categories. representations.
details. Also encourage students to substantiate their responses
by providing a text reference, e.g. Page 2, third paragraph.
Last:
1. After reading a text, students work in pairs to create quiz
questions for other students using the text.

2. Provide time for questions to be recorded onto cards. Collect

cards. Then:
3. Organise students into two teams.
Story
4. Select a question and read it to the whole class.

5. Challenge the teams to provide the answer as well

Next:
Ladder
as a specific reference to a page and paragraph in the
text that substantiates their answer.
First:
6. A point can be scored for the fastest team that
responds to each question.

Adapted from Zimmermann, S. (2003); Raphael, Highfield & Au. (2006); Halliday, M. (2008); and First Steps Reading resource book (2013).