6 Strategies To Improve Reading Comprehension
Reading can be a kid’s favorite pastime — or their most hated activity. Whatever end of the bookish spectrum they fall onto, the fact remains: reading is an essential and vital part of learning any subject matter as they continue to grow and develop into adulthood.
Reading is something we all do constantly, whether it’s books, signs while out driving, or menus in restaurants. It’s not merely enough to know how to read and what words mean. Children learning to read and developing their language skills must also possess comprehension skills for that reading to matter. But what is reading comprehension, exactly? And what are the best techniques for developing reading comprehension for your child?
What is reading comprehension?
In technical terms, reading comprehension is “the ability to read, process, and understand” text you read. Without a level of understanding and processing of the words being read, the impact the content will have on your child’s mental expansion will be null and void. Reading isn’t about scanning words on a page — it’s about thinking, learning, and expanding their minds based on what they’ve read. It’s a way to expand horizons through the act of simply opening a book.
Why is reading comprehension important for kids?
Improving comprehension skills while students are young is vital to help them grow and develop the critical language skills they need to understand other written texts into adulthood. If children fail to learn how to properly comprehend what they read, they will have a difficult time learning and studying from higher-learning materials, such as textbooks.
As children grow into adults, the ability to understand reading materials is vital in a vast majority of professions as well. To put it simply, improving students’ reading comprehension is crucial to their overall success throughout life.
What helps kids with reading comprehension?
If you’re worried about how well your child understands the material they read, there are some things you can do regularly that will help them build their ability to comprehend reading materials. All activities require a hands-on approach with your child, so if you want to improve their reading comprehension, you have to be willing to get involved — they won’t improve entirely on their own.
What are the best strategies to improve reading comprehension?
There are several techniques you can adopt to help your child with their reading comprehension. Some may be more applicable to your child’s current age and reading level.
Some of the best strategies for developing reading skills in children include:
Reading aloud
Reading in your head and reading aloud are two very different things. While being able to comprehend the written word while silently reading is the end goal, to get there, reading aloud can be a great help.
Have your child read through a book they’ve read before, but out loud to you this time. This automatically makes them slow down and process the information better. With more time to process what they’re reading, their comprehension of the material will improve.
Reading at their level
It can be tempting to encourage your child to read books that challenge them, but if you want to improve their comprehension, that would be a mistake. To improve how well your child understands the material, choose books at their reading level.
There should be few (if any) words they can’t understand in the book. If there are too many words they need to look up while reading, the continuous stopping and starting takes away from their ability to understand the material.
Rereading familiar books
When improving comprehension, paying attention to your child’s fluency is essential. Fluency is the ability to read at a good pace without having to stop and sound words out or look up a word’s definition. According to reports, children should be able to read roughly 90 words per minute smoothly.
To improve this aspect of reading, and thus, reading comprehension, aim to have your child reread books they enjoy several times over. The more comfortable they are with the material, the easier it will be to develop both fluency and comprehension skills.
Use your imagination
To improve reading comprehension, why not turn a book into a “mind movie?” That means asking your child to visualize and describe what they’re reading out loud by picturing it in their minds. Imagination can be a valuable and practical tool for comprehending subject material in a book. Ask your child to describe how things would look, feel, or smell if they were to be dropped into the story.
Supplement class reading
Children are often given books to read throughout their educational careers. However, those books may not be their favorites or the only materials they should be reading. Instead of leaving it up to the school, assist them in their reading comprehension by introducing “just for fun” books related to a theme of study they’re working on in class.
This way, they’ll still be learning about the subject matter and improving their reading comprehension but in a less structured way.
Talk about what they’re reading
Verbal processing can aid reading comprehension greatly, so when your child is reading through a book, ask them to tell you about it. They can go into detail about the plot, characters, settings, and any themes they notice. They’ll develop a deeper understanding and better reading comprehension by talking openly about what they’re reading.
It’s never too early to start improving reading comprehension in your child. That way, as they continue to grow and develop, each and every thing they read will be well understood and will help to strengthen their language skills.
