The Role of Syntax in Reading Comprehension by Ruthie Swibel
Reading comprehension is a huge, complicated, sometimes messy subject to tackle. We know that our students need to be able to lift the words off the page; they need to be able to decode accurately and efficiently. But some of the language skills that contribute to reading comprehension are sometimes given short shrift. It is critical to teach the underlying linguistic skills that contribute to comprehension, starting with syntax.
When we think about and teach syntax we are talking about the purposeful order of words.
Instruction in syntax allows children to understand:
How words can be arranged in a sentence
The internal structure of a sentence
How word order assists in transferring meaning
Basic rules of sentence comprehension. As you are reviewing a text your students will read or listen to—ask yourself if there are phrases, clauses, and sentence structures that might be difficult for your students
You can boost your students’ comprehension by breaking down the role and function of parts of speech. Before you jump to the typical comprehension questions such as “what is the main idea” of the passage, try this to ensure that students understand how each sentence in the text works. Teach your students how parts of speech function in the text; what questions do they answer? The chart below from Nancy Hennessy’s Blueprint for Reading Comprehension demonstrates how to use function questions to explicitly teach how parts of speech work. By starting with function questions, you are directly enhancing comprehension without requiring onerous memorization of the definitions of parts of speech. Another evidence-based practice for improving syntactic comprehension is sentence combining. Hennessy has some great practice tips on how to teach this effectively. Explicit instruction in syntax both in reading comprehension exercises and writing exercises will set your students up for success in a critical linguistic skill required for high levels of literacy.
Example: The Mystery of the Tattooed Mummy, from Hennessy, 2020