Encouraging Reading Comprehension Strategies

The other day our family was in the car listening to Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey for the millionth time this month. (I really do love the book, but I am ready to put it to bed for at least another year!) We have been finishing up our lapbook on this title, and now we are just rereading the book for (the kids’) enjoyment. During the story, my kiddo made some interesting comments that showed great inferencing and questioning skills. This kiddo is on the verge of reading right now, so we have been working hard on decoding this summer, but as I reflect on this particular moment, I see some great comprehension strategies at work that some kids who are already reading do not use. Why is this so significant?

There are many children who can “word call”, or recognize words, who cannot understand what they are reading. As a reading teacher, I often worked with struggling readers who needed to develop their comprehension skills. Even proficient readers don’t always use all of the reading strategies that they could when they read, and I taught many lessons on how to apply those reading strategies. Some kids do not even realize that they are supposed to think while they are reading, so they simply “read” the words from the page to get through it. (This one of the reasons that some kids hate reading.) Comprehension is the reason that we read, though. You read to find out or as an escape from the real world. You need to understand what you read.

I am impressed by my kiddo’s ability to make inferences and ask great questions about books. How have I encouraged this?

1. Read aloud to your children – no matter how old they are. It is crucial that you model good reading (and comprehension skills) for your children.
2. Read the selection to yourself before you read it to your children. This only applies if you are planning on explicitly teaching particular reading strategies with the title. It helps to think about the text and about your own reactions and questions before you read with the children.
3. Tell your children what you are thinking about when you read aloud. (aka think aloud) Here is another example of modeling for your children. You might also bring up a point about the text that your child hadn’t thought of.
4. Ask your child questions while you read. These questions can be used to check basic comprehension like “What did Sal do with the blueberries?” Or ask for a prediction like “What do you think Sal’s mother will do when she realizes that Little Bear is following her and not Sal?”
5. Have your child find the answers to your questions in the text. Showing you what in the text made yoru child think of something can be very enlightening, especially if there is a misunderstanding. It also shows you that your child is using the information in the text and not just experiences to understand the book.
6. Ask follow-up questions to help your child take that extra step. You can deepen your child’s comprehension and general knowledge if you push them beyond the basic comprehension questions.
7. Make inferences and ask inference questions. Again, this is a way of modeling comprehension strategies. Ask, “Why would Sal’s mother be afraid to have a baby bear following her?” inferencing is a difficult comprehension skill, so try to model it often.
8. Make connections. When you read, you think about how the book relates to your life, other books, and the world at large. Start thinking about how you do this and try modeling it for your children.
9. Point it out when your child is actually using a comprehension strategy. This is really encouraging and labels the skill for your child. Chances are your child will use that strategy more in the future.
10. Have a genuine conversation about the text. Respond to what you are reading. Talk about what you like about the characters or what you don’t like about the writing style. Ponder about the story line.

Remember that reading is supposed to be fun, but it is only fun if you understand the text. Teach your children a few reading strategies in order to make reading a pleasurable experience. Happy reading!

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