Comprehension progression

To read with understanding, readers need to use a range of comprehension strategies. Readers may use these comprehension strategies singly or in combination.

Find more information about reading comprehension and related strategies.

Most adults will be able to:			Activities
1.	have some awareness of their purpose for reading expect that texts will make sense use strategies to read short, simple texts with support.	Readers need to have a purpose for reading and to expect that texts will make sense. They may need support to read and understand short, simple texts such as road signs, notices in public places and simple email messages. This support may be in the form of assistance with unknown words or unfamiliar concepts. Support can also take the form of a more expert reader reading the text aloud as the learner follows it. Readers begin to integrate information from various sources (the words and images in the text, the text structure and their own prior knowledge) to comprehend texts. Areas of study can include: charting, discussing and practising using sources of information to understand short, simple texts.	Identifying key words Learners learn to identify key words in texts. Interactive cloze Learners use context clues in a sentence, paragraph or whole text to work out the meaning of unknown words and to read actively for meaning. Asking questions Learners generate and respond to questions to demonstrate that they have comprehended the text. Shared reading (as an approach for teaching reading) Learners are taught to use specific reading strategies. Using question dice Learners develop ways of interrogating texts and develop confidence to do so.
2.	use comprehension strategies to understand short, simple texts use strategies to locate items of information in short, simple texts have some awareness of what to do and how to do it when comprehension breaks down.	Readers use a range of comprehension strategies (such as making connections to their own prior knowledge) to understand simple texts. Readers integrate information from various sources (the words and images in the text, the text structure and their own prior knowledge) to comprehend texts. Readers are able to recognise when comprehension has broken down and use “fix-up” strategies such as rereading, adjusting the reading pace, or listing unknown words. Areas of study can include: reading and discussing simple texts such as school notices, workplace or community announcements and instructions, and simple letters and narratives.	Brainstorming Learners link what they read to what they know already. Interactive cloze Learners use context clues in a sentence, paragraph or whole text to work out the meaning of unknown words and to read actively for meaning. Asking questions Learners generate and respond to questions to demonstrate that they have comprehended the text. Identifying main ideas Learners match paragraphs of a text with a set of summary statements. Skimming and scanning Learners read more efficiently by getting a general idea of the text and where to find relevant information within it. Using question dice Learners develop ways of interrogating texts and develop confidence to do so.
3.	use comprehension strategies to assist in understanding information or ideas in longer or more complex texts use strategies to locate important information in texts have an increasing awareness of what to do and how to do it when comprehension breaks down.	Readers use a range of comprehension strategies (such as drawing inferences and creating mental images) and integrate information from various sources to understand longer or more complex texts such as bus timetables, popular magazine articles and short personal recounts. They have an increasing awareness of what to do and how to do it when comprehension breaks down, for example, they know when to refer to a dictionary for the meaning of an unknown word.	Asking questions Learners generate and respond to questions to demonstrate that they have comprehended the text. Identifying main ideas Learners match paragraphs of a text with a set of summary statements. Previewing and predicting text content Learners preview a text in order to predict its likely content. KWL activity Identify what the learners want to know about the topic and identify what the learners find out in a text. Reciprocal teaching of reading Learners read a text section by section, pausing to use explicit strategies for comprehension. Skimming and scanning Learners read more efficiently by getting a general idea of the text and where to find relevant information within it. Using three-level thinking guides Learners reading for meaning at different levels and read critically. Using question dice Learners develop ways of interrogating texts and develop confidence to do so.
4.	use strategies to read an increasingly varied range of more complex texts for specific purposes use strategies to locate, organise and summarise important information in texts use strategies to gather and synthesise information from across a small range of texts have increasing control over how they use comprehension strategies.	Readers read an increasingly varied range of more complex texts for various purposes, drawing on comprehension strategies in increasingly flexible and integrated ways. The texts may include some newspaper reports, workplace or community documents (such as employment contracts or official letters), electronic texts such as web pages or blogs, and texts related to subjects the reader is studying. Readers monitor their own comprehension as they read. Areas of study can include: locating and comparing information about a topic from several different sources identifying and summarising the most important information in a text.	Selecting relevant information Learners make decisions about the relevance of information depending on the question and the purpose for reading. Asking questions Learners generate and respond to questions to demonstrate that they have comprehended the text. Identifying main ideas Learners match paragraphs of a text with a set of summary statements. Previewing and predicting text content Learners preview a text in order to predict its likely content. KWL activity Identify what the learners want to know about the topic and identify what the learners find out in a text. Reciprocal teaching of reading Learners read a text section by section, pausing to use explicit strategies for comprehension. Skimming and scanning Learners read more efficiently by getting a general idea of the text and where to find relevant information within it. Using question dice Learners develop ways of interrogating texts and develop confidence to do so.
6.	select and integrate a wide range of comprehension strategies have an awareness of how to use strategies and evaluate their effectiveness use strategies to summarise and synthesise information across a wider range of more complex texts and for more complex purposes integrate prior knowledge with new information within and across several different texts to deepen their understanding.	Readers can read practically all texts, including long, complex texts, for a range of purposes, integrating a wide range of comprehension strategies at an advanced level. They have an awareness of how and why to use strategies across a range of reading situations, and they can talk about their use of strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies. They can integrate their own prior knowledge with new information or ideas within and across multiple texts in order to evaluate the information or ideas and develop a deeper understanding of them.