HOW TO HELP YOUR STUDENTS IMPROVE THEIR READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS
The following are some simple strategies you can use to help your students with reading comprehension skills:
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 explain 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.
Or read non-fiction and fiction books that cover the same or overlapping topic. For example, a non-fiction book about pigs and a picture book that includes pigs as characters. Teachers can reference the facts from the non-fiction book to discuss what is fact versus fiction.
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, levelling the playing field when it comes to prior knowledge.
After students read, summarizing a text can help them pull out main points and absorb more information.
As you introduce summarization, guide students through with leading questions and a specific structure — length, key points, etc.
As you model the practice, teach students how to:
Thanks to the internet, reading doesn't just happen IRL — it's online, too! There are lots of resources you can use in your classroom to engage kids with different interests as they practice their reading comprehension.
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 remember the key points in the story!
Anchor charts, word walls or picture books can also help reinforce 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.
Vocabulary is an important part of understanding a text and is vital for reading ease and fluency. Vocabulary teaching strategies can help students build the tools to understand new words on their own.
To help students learn and remember new words, try:
Read-aloud strategies can also 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.