Ways and Strategies to Help Students Improve Reading Comprehension
Cookbooks, social media, instruction manuals — no matter where you look, we live our lives surrounded by words. That’s why reading comprehension is one of the most valuable skills a student can master.?
But it’s not automatic. It is evident that reading comprehension needs to be taught in the classroom to have a lasting impact, whether you’re teaching kindergarten or high school English.?
Many students struggle with reading comprehension and understanding for a variety of reasons:
At the outset every student deserves the chance to build critical comprehension skills. I should mention here that you should keep reading for ten strategies you can use in your classroom to help students love reading!
What is reading comprehension and why is it important?
Reading comprehension is a reader’s ability to understand the explicit and implicit meaning of a text, or piece of writing.?
It is appropriate to know that it moves beyond vocabulary knowledge and word recognition to add meaning. When students involve their reading comprehension skills, they’re turning words into thoughts and ideas.?
It is important to note that reading is one of the most important ways students and adults learn new information.Research tells that reading comprehension can also help struggling readers build enjoyment of reading and participate more fully in lessons.?
And it’s not just for the classroom, either — reading comprehension has real-life applications for readers of all ages. It can:
Improving reading comprehension can help your students become successful readers in and out of the classroom for the rest of their lives.
Two core components of comprehension
The two main components of reading comprehension are vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension. Both of these skills combine to help students get the most out of a text.?
Vocabulary knowledge
Vocabulary knowledge is where reading comprehension starts. Students with good vocabulary strategies understand what words mean and have the background knowledge to understand a given text.?
It also includes strategies for using context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. The reading comprehension process is over before it get down if students don’t have solid vocabulary knowledge or the ability to learn new words.
Text comprehension
Text comprehension is a big-picture look at what, exactly, a text means. It helps students interact with a text to understand what’s being said and what they need to learn from it.
These strategies can help when students have good text comprehension skills, they can answer questions about what the author is saying, summarize the passage and connect information between texts or prior knowledge.?
In short, it helps them move beyond literal comprehension and into higher levels of thinking.
10 Ways to improve reading comprehension skills
Whether you’re teaching high school or elementary school, it’s never too late to use reading comprehension strategies to improve understanding, boost retention and make connections.?Every student is different, so adjust your teaching methods accordingly!
Some of the most effective reading comprehension strategies include:
1. Building on existing knowledge
Researchers note that one of the biggest barriers to reading comprehension is a lack of background knowledge.?
If you’re reading a text about astronomy, for example, ask students to record or tell what they already know about the solar system. For easy insights, have students answer quick questions or fill out a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) chart and share the results.?
Now comes the challenge make sure all students understand key terms and ideas before you read the text, so everyone starts on the same page (literally). This helps students draw inferences and make connections between the text and things they already know, leveling the playing field when it comes to prior knowledge.?
2. Determine and summarize key ideas
After students read, summarizing a text can help them pull out main points and absorb more information.?
As you introduce students to summarization, guide students through with leading questions and a specific structure — length, key points, etc. Use the “I do, we do, you do” format to model good summarization techniques.?
As you model the practice, teach students how to:
Take the mystery away teaching students how to do this consciously helps train their brains to start summarizing automatically, leading to better reading comprehension overall.
3. Working with visual aids
Teaching and learning are important elements and to help students build a picture in their minds of what they’re reading, use visual aids and visualization techniques.?
Start by reading aloud and asking students to try and picture what’s happening in their heads. After, use writing prompts like:
Have students draw out a scene, character or story for even more understanding. They can make a family tree of the characters or fun notes to help them recall the key points in the story!
Anchor charts, word walls or picture books can also help teach key concepts for your students. When they’re able to visualize the story or information they’re reading, they’re more likely to retain key information.
4. Easy ways to develop vocabulary skills
Vocabulary is an important part of understanding a text and is critical for reading ease and fluency. Vocabulary teaching strategies are designed to help students build the tools to understand new words on their own.?
To help students learn and remember new words, try:
Through the approach of read-aloud strategies can help you model the process of learning new words for students. Show them how to use context clues to find meaning, and have them make a vocabulary list of all the new words they know or want to learn.?
5. Ways to implement thinking strategies
To encourage students to engage critically with a text, ask questions about:
These questions get students thinking about the deeper meaning in a text and help them use critical thinking skills as they look for key points. Encourage students to ask clarifying questions when they don’t know what the text is saying, or build mind maps to draw connections between ideas and prior knowledge.
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6. Make question and answer scenarios
On the other hand questioning students on different aspects of the text helps them examine it with fresh eyes and find new ways of interpreting it.?
Use questions that challenge students to find the answers:
As an instructor ask students questions to clarify meaning, help them understand characters better, make predictions or help them understand the author’s intent.?
Whether you’re answering these questions in a group or individually, they’ll help students make a habit of asking questions and using critical thinking skills. After all, the magic happens when students begin thinking beyond the page!
7. Reciprocal teaching: Seeing in believing
Reciprocal teaching refers to the four strategies for reading comprehension and uses specific techniques to get them involved in interrogating a text.?
Using the “I do, we do, you do” method, follow the four building blocks of reciprocal teaching:
8. Summarizing techniques
Although it might seem tedious for students at first, summarizing method help them learn how to find and bring together key ideas. It trains them to automatically synthesize information as they read, and can benefit learners of all levels.
While we are talking when students first encounter a text, have them write a summary and encourage them to refine it until it only includes the essential information. Ask clarifying questions to guide their writing, including:
This helps them see how parts of a story are connected and expresses the importance of providing textual support to their argument and summaries.
9. Ask students to make predictions
Predictions happen when students use the evidence from the beginning of a text to guess:
So at the beginning of a reading, have students record their predictions. Once the reading is over, have a discussion about what they got right and what they got wrong. What made them think of their prediction? Did the author follow their expectations, or subvert them?
Model predictions with a think-aloud or give students blank statements that guide their thinking.?
Not only does this build reading comprehension, but it encourages students to engage with the material critically and teaches them how to build solid, text-based arguments.?
10. Try making inferences
When students make inferences, they’re using the information they know to make a guess about what they don’t.
Okay instead of just predicting what’s going to happen next, students make inferences about information outside the story — what happened before the story started, what genre the story isor what happens after the story is over.?
Like predicting, you can model inferences with read-alouds or guided questioning. This strategy is powerful have students write a prequel to the story, or build a character background based on textual evidence.?
Believe it or not inferences help students draw conclusions between the text and their prior knowledge about how the world works. Plus, it can help boost their creativity!
How parents can encourage reading comprehension at home
Reading doesn’t stop when children leave the classroom. Parents, you have an important opportunity to support reading comprehension at home, too.
1. Benefits of Read aloud with your kids
Reading and sharing with your child has lots of benefits —?it helps you bond, it builds their imagination and it’s fun!
As you read, discuss topics and ask your child guiding questions about what’s happening. What do they think will happen next? Which character would they most like to be friends with? What would they do if they were the main character?
Not only do these questions make reading fun, it can help modify their reading comprehension skills.?
2. Buy books at the right reading level
In addition whether it’s your local bookstore or library branch, there are always books available at your child’s reading level.?
The interest maybe there but if your child is reading books that are too easy, they’ll get bored. Its hard to believe but if books are too hard, they’ll get discouraged. Discuss with your child’s teacher about how to find books in their sweet spot.?
Host a book swap with neighbors or friends to get access to new titles, or look in the library for books that relate to your child’s unique interests.?
3. Discuss what your child is reading and why its important
This works wonderfully as a parent, you have a wonderful opportunity to hold low-pressure, friendly conversations with your child about what they’re reading — no pop quiz required.
Talk to your children and ask them what their favorite book is, or what they like reading at home or at school. A good idea is that after they’re done reading, ask them questions about what happened in their book, or what they think will happen next, to build an organic love of reading.
4. Game-based learning can help
However if your child doesn’t want to sit still long enough to read a book, game-based learning can help them master important concepts and get the ants out of their pants.?
Charades, telephone, Pictionary and Scattergories are all fun games that connect meaning with words, help boost your child’s background knowledge and make learning words fun.
Try some in your house to see which your kid likes best.
5. How to ask their teacher
In the meantime your child’s teacher should be your first stop for any questions about your child’s reading comprehension or areas for improvement.?
Whether it’s part of a parent-teacher conference or just a quick catch-up after school, they’ll be able to give you valuable advice about how to best help your child love reading. Use few tips from the teacher to connect the books you read at home and the games you play with what your child is working on in class!
Reasons why reinforcing with continual learning and encouragement is important
Its important to know that reading comprehension doesn’t just happen all at once —?it’s a lifelong process that students build on as they grow.?
A critical element is that in each grade, encourage students to engage more deeply with what they’re reading and ask critical questions. Kids must master a number of key skills as they build reading skills, they’ll have an opportunity to find joy and meaning in their reading.