Ways of reading: How knowledge and use of strategies are related to reading comprehension

Two studies investigated whether there is a direct relation between children's reading comprehension, their knowledge about the goals and processes of reading, and their skill in applying such knowledge. An interview revealed that less skilled comprehenders differed from same-age skilled comprehenders in their knowledge about reading and reading strategies, but they did not differ significantly from a younger group of children of equivalent comprehension ability. In contrast, a reading task demonstrated that less skilled comprehenders were poorer than both control groups at adapting their reading style to achieve different goals. These data demonstrate that there are direct relations between comprehension skill and both knowledge about reading and reading strategies, when individual differences in word reading skill have been controlled for. Furthermore, the results of the second study rule out the possibility that the differences found between groups in their ability to sec and reach suitable reading targets were simply a by-product of reading comprehension level. The implications of these findings are discussed.