4. Understanding your Student's Reading Difficulties & Why she Passed the Early Grades
To understand why your adult student made it so far in school despite her poor reading skills, please read the passage titled "The Marlup" and answer the four questions below the reading passage.
1. What did the narg horp in the marlup's kump?
2. What did the marlup juf the narg?
3. Was the narg trungy?
4. How does the marlup pove his kump?
(Created by Dr. Kenneth Goodman. Reference: Burke, Carolyn. "The Language Process: Systems or Systematic?" in Hodges and Rudorf Language and Learning to Read. Houghton Mifflin, 1973, pp. 29-31)
Chances are you were able to read this passage with some fluency. If these questions comprised 60-75% of a test or quiz, you might even have made a low passing grade with your first four answers, but could you have given your opinion on the following 20-point essay question?
"In one hundred words or less, tell me why the narg wheved the marlup's kump? What do you think the marlup will do next?"
Probably not, as it was a comprehension question. As you can see, reading means more than simply decoding words. Readers must also be able to read with understanding and construct meaning from text.
(Answers:
Whev
"Why did vump horp whev in my frinkle kump?"
Er'm muvvily trungy
The marlup poves your kump frinkle)
I really had a hard time with this assignment. It was almost as though it was in a foreign language. I think that actually it looks worse to me because I expect to be able to read it than to someone who didn't expect to be able to read it!
ReplyDeleteThis was a good exercise to demonstrate this topic. I could not understand it or answer the questions!
ReplyDeleteGreat example. Just by having some understanding of the placement of verbs, nouns, etc. in English, you can almost answer the questions.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't read this. It looks like a foreign language to me.
ReplyDeleteLooked Greek to me.
ReplyDeleteLooks like what I saw when I tried to learn Spanish
ReplyDeleteI cannot read this.
ReplyDeleteI was able to answer the questions by using the words in the text. But since I know no other words in the "language", it would be difficult for me to write an essay.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that my brain was automatically straining to find cognates and thereby assign meaning to what I was reading.
I couldn't read the passage and I was frustrated at that. Answering the questions was a different story as I could go back and look at the passage. It didn't seem like English.
ReplyDeleteI was able to figure out all but the last question, but it took some concentration.
ReplyDeleteThis was very hard to read with any clarity or understanding. Interestingly, it provided an insight to what someone who have a hard time reading or comprehending what they've read, may go through.
ReplyDeleteShirley Smith
I wouldn't have received a 60%!
ReplyDeleteGreat example! (I couldn't answer the questions...)
ReplyDeleteThis was a good exercise to demonstrate this topic. I tried but mostly failed to make sense of the paragraph.
ReplyDeleteGreat Example! Readers really do 'make meaning' when they read. Some research articles I read, read just like this example!!
ReplyDeleteWhile, using what you know of English composition and grammatical constructions, you can make a stab at answering the questions, there is no way you'd be able to do an essay question or anything that requires a substantive understanding of what's going on in the example.
ReplyDeleteI had to read it several times to try and make sense of it, Not Sure I Did!
ReplyDeleteWhew! That was an exercise in frustration. I definitely would not be able to write a good essay on the topic because my comprehension was close to zero. I can see why most people who struggle with reading comprehension drop out of school.
ReplyDeleteI could not answer the questions! It was like a foreign language.
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ReplyDeleteI still can't comprehend how a student can earn a high school diploma without even basic reading skills.
ReplyDeleteVery difficult to decode and understand...understand why some adult learners feel lost as to what they are reading. Comprehension, fluency, decoding, it takes all of it..
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have received a 60% on that quiz! Excellent example to demonstrate the point.
ReplyDeletethis was made to place yourself in the position of people who are learning to read. i kind of understood it i know that that narg was really hungry, if I'm not mistaken.
ReplyDeleteVery good exercise. The reading passage floored me!
ReplyDeleteWow. Great demonstration. It was all guess on my part with the questions.
ReplyDeleteCrazy but effective way to prove a point. I enjoyed trying to figure what it was talking about.
ReplyDeleteAll I am hearing in my head is from Dr. Seuss: The hump of a Gump...and pink ink!
ReplyDeleteGood example. It frustrated me, and I had no interest in trying to answer the questions. Writing an essay is totally out of the question.
ReplyDeleteI realized I was mainly trying to decode the words and didn't care about comprehending until it was time to answer the questions.
ReplyDeleteGreat exercise!
ReplyDeleteInteresting juffs?A fun way to learn. Capital letters and punctuation make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI am working in the Information Technology where I used to encrypt text into unreadable text (add 3 letter position to change the original letter. i.e., A+3=D, D+3= G...so the word "man" become "pdq").
ReplyDeleteOn a different note: This exercise showing difficulties in children to read words called dyslexia.
Fantastic example and yes, the example definitely showed the difficulties for children with dyslexia
ReplyDeleteCounldn't do it.
ReplyDelete1. Some whev
ReplyDelete2. Why did vump horp whev in my kump?
3. Er'm muvvily trungy
4. vump frinkle
Very challenging!
I simply could not read it at all. I tried several times but I could not pronounce the words.
ReplyDeleteEven though I could not understand one thing when I was reading, I was able to answer 3 out of the 4 questions correctly by just going back to the text and copying what was stated in similar wording. This did not mean I understood any of it any better though! Definitely the comprehension question would have stumped me. This is why educators are pushing curriculum to higher level questioning for better assessment.
ReplyDelete