We're going to listen to a comprehension assessment with an adult learner in the video below on the following Bader comprehension passage and questions. The reader profile chart you see will be provided at the end of the DRA Module.

Volcanoes, Level 6

Have you seen pictures of a volcano erupting? Volcanoes can be awesome sights as they spew gas, rocks, and lava into the air. Eruptions are acts of nature and caused by powerful forces within the Earth. Deep inside the Earth it is hot enough to melt rock. The melted rock mixes with gases and rises toward the Earth’s surface and explodes where the Earth’s crust is the weakest.

When the melted rock erupts, it can be very molten or it can be sticky with rock fragments that are not melted. These large rock fragments are called bombs and are spit out during the eruption. Bombs can travel in the air for miles before crashing to the Earth. During an eruption, gas is vented along with the molten rock. This gas is mostly steam; but it also contains dust, so it looks like smoke coming from the volcano’s mouth.

The melted rock, or lava, flows out of the hole in the Earth caused by the eruption. Lava can flow like water until it cools down and becomes rock again. There are places on the Earth where cooled lava forms a bed of rocks stretching for miles

Comprehension Questions

Where does a volcano begin? (deep inside the Earth)
What is it like deep in the Earth? (hot enough to melt rock(s))
What does the melted rock mix with? (gases or steam)
Where does the melted rock erupt or explode? (where the Earth’s crust is the weakest)
Why is the gas that erupts the color of smoke? (contains dust or volcanic dust)
What happens when the melted rock is sticky? (picks up rock fragments that are not melted)
What are the rock fragments called? (bombs)
What is lava like when it first comes out of the ground? (like water or flows like water)

*Bader, Lois A & Pearch, Daniel (2013). Bader Reading & Language Inventory. Pearson.

The video also includes a comprehensive explanation of what other component scores the student received up to this point and why a comprehension assessment was conducted. Often, because we determine that a learner has needs in alphabetics and fluency, we do not need to assess comprehension because we have solid data about instructional needs and likely reasons comprehension is a weakness to combine with a silent comprehension reading score from the TABE or CASAS. If a learner shows strengths in alphabetics and fluency but still struggles with comprehension, we will consider that the student could likely benefit from explicit instruction in comprehension, including learning strategies for comprehension.

Slide Deck: Comprehension Assessment.pdf

Click "Next" to view a tool to collect more information on comprehension.