NOTICE THE BREAKDOWN • TEACH THE NEXT STEP
ComprehensionPathway Move from finding what the text says to explaining how ideas work together. Begin with the first skill that is not yet secure.
FOR TEACHERS
A practical sequence—not a rigid grade level. Students can enter at any stage. Keep text access appropriate: read aloud when comprehension is the target, or have students read independently when you also need to observe decoding and fluency.
01 Find stated information Evidence Finder Look for The student misses facts that are directly stated or cannot locate proof. Practice Answer right-there questions and point to the strongest detail. Open Evidence Finder → 02 Track order and relationships Sequence Builder Look for Events are retold out of order or connections between steps are lost. Practice Arrange events and answer before-and-after questions. Open Sequence Builder → 03 Connect reasons and results Cause & Effect Lab Look for The student can name events but not explain why they happened. Practice Trace single causes, effects, and longer cause chains. Open Cause & Effect Lab → 04 Identify central meaning Main Idea Mission Look for An interesting detail is chosen instead of what the whole text is mostly about. Practice Match a main idea with the details that truly support it. Open Main Idea Mission → 05 Compare ideas Compare & Contrast Lab Look for The student describes two items separately but does not connect them. Practice State meaningful similarities and differences across texts. Open Compare & Contrast Lab → 06 Use context Context Detective Look for An unknown word causes the student to stop or guess without checking the sentence. Practice Use definitions, examples, contrasts, and nearby clues. Open Context Detective → 07 Read between the lines Inference Files Look for Answers rely only on background knowledge or lack text evidence. Practice Combine a text clue with what the reader already knows. Open Inference Files → 08 Shrink the text Summary Builder Look for A retell includes every small detail or leaves out the central idea. Practice Keep the core events or ideas and remove the extra. Open Summary Builder → 09 Analyze the author Author's Purpose Lab Look for The student understands the topic but not why or how the author presented it. Practice Identify intent using wording, structure, claims, and evidence. Open Author's Purpose Lab → 10 Sustain and integrate Mystery Lab Look for Individual skills are stronger, but meaning is lost across a longer passage. Practice Track clues, update thinking, and defend a conclusion with evidence. Open Mystery Lab → TEACHER MOVE Use a brief text and think aloud first. Then fade from I do , to we do , to you do , requiring students to explain how the text supports each response.
Mr. B's Word Lab · Comprehension Pathway · Understand and explain text. 