Reading comprehension is an essential component of every MiraTutor lesson. We employ strategies from an intensive reading approach. As the tutor guides the reading process, he or she adjusts the curriculum with each student’s age and cognitive abilities in mind.
MiraTutor uses the Wonders textbook which is based on the Common Core Standards in the United States. It focuses on "reading comprehension" – the ability to decode complex texts and acquire knowledge through reading.
Let’s take a look at how Wonders is organized by using different levels of Wonders Reading & Writing as examples below.
Each level has a vocabulary section. Vocabulary requires word recognition in addition to phonics: at the G1 level, only nouns and verbs are required; at the G3 level, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and so on. G3 students must also learn affixes.
GK and G1 primarily focus on phonics rules and practices.
Starting with G1, students become acquainted with different methods for various genres.
Students will first learn to analyze individual details. Then they will learn to refine the main topic of the article based on the detailed analysis.
Later units will gradually introduce new and more complicated analysis strategies, such as:
- Detail/Detail/Detail
- Main Topic- Detail/Detail/Detail
- Character/Setting/Events
- Beginning/Middle/End
- First/Next/Then/Last
- Cause/Effect
- Long Ago/Now/Both
- Character/Clue/Point of View
- Problem/Steps to Solution/Solution
- Clue/Clue-Author’s Purpose
- Clue-Clue-Clue-Theme
- Compare/Contrast
Through these analytical training, students gradually learn how to build structures and organize their thoughts.
The following are the G2 reading content changes:
Starting in G2, there is no phonics. Comprehension is divided into two components: comprehension strategy and comprehension skill.
Students must be able to identify different text genres, understand word meanings, and use vocabulary building strategies such as affixes, compound sentences, synonyms, and antonyms.
In G2, we are gradually laying the groundwork for writing; G1's Writing and Grammar becomes G2's Write to Sources.
The sections of G1, G2, and G3 shown below show the gradual progression of Wonders' Reading Comprehension system.
G1
G2
G3
Come to have classes with MiraTutor to practice reading comprehension!