Reading Skills part 2

Helpful Comprehension Prompts : To help support your child at home, we have provided question prompts that could be asked to your child to assist them with the comprehension skills. These questions could be used with a book, article, or story of your choice.

Text and Graphic Features: (informational text)

• • How do the images help the reader understand ________ (topic)?

  • Why did the author use the image on page __ ?

  • Which section (subheading) would a reader use to learn more about ____ (topic)?

Analyze Illustrations:

• • Illustrations help create the mood, or feeling, of the story. How do the words and the illustration work together and set the mood?

  • Which word best describes the feeling of the illustration?

Conclusions:

• • Why did _________ (character) __________ (main event from the story)? Find a sentence in the story that best supports your answer.

Cause and Effect:

• • What happens when ____________ (event in the story)?

  • What was the effect or result of __________ (event in the story)?

Literal and Nonliteral Meanings:

• • What does the phrase ______ most likely mean?

  • What words does the author use to make _____ seem like a person?

Sequence of Events:

• • Talk about the most important events. Write a brief summary.

  • Label the order of the story. The first event will be labeled 1 , and the last event will be labeled 4.

  • According to the story, what happened first?

  • What sequence of events does this selection tell about?

Domain-Specific Vocabulary:

• • What is the meaning of the word _________ ?

  • What word on page _ are you likely to find in a _____ (resource; ex.:science textbook, medical document, brochure, etc.) What does the word mean?

Main Idea and Details:

• • Which sentence in the paragraph best states the main idea? Name two details in the paragraph that supports your response.

  • What is the main idea of the passage? Find a detail that best supports your answer.

Writing Genre: Opinion Writing (Response to Literature)

Reminder:

At the start of every “lesson” a parent letter will be attached to my website. This letter will name the specific skills of practice for the lesson (Target Vocabulary, Phonics Skill, Vocabulary Strategy, Comprehension Skill, Comprehension Strategy, & Grammar Skill).

Helpful Comprehension Prompts : To help support your child at home, we have provided question prompts that could be asked to your child to assist them with the comprehension skills. These questions could be used with a book, article, or story of your choice.

Sequence of Events:

• • Talk about the most important events. Write a brief summary.

  • Label the order of the story. The first event will be labeled 1 , and the last event will be labeled 4.

  • According to the story, what happened first?

Text and Graphic Features: (informational text)

• • How do the images help the reader understand ________ (topic)?

  • Why did the author use the image on page __ ?

  • Which section (subheading) would a reader use to learn more about ____ (topic)?

Theme

• • A theme is a lesson about life. What is the theme or message, of the story?

  • What is the theme of the author is trying to teach? Use details.

Point of View

• • Authors choose a point of view for their stories.

  • What is the author’s point of view about ____ (topic)? Do you share his/her point of view? Why or why not?

Compare and Contrast

• • How are ______ and _____ (characters or events) the same? How are they different? Compare and contrast how each actions affect the story’s events.

Story Message

• • What message does the author of ___ (story) hope the readers will learn?

  • What message does the author want readers to understand?

Author’s Purpose

• • How has the author organized information? How does it support his/her purpose for writing?

Understanding Characters

• • Understanding characters’ traits, feelings, and motivations helps readers to better explain how characters’ actions contribute to the sequence of events.

  • Why do you think ____ (character) does ______ (event from the story)?

  • How does ____ (character) feel when ____ (event form the story)? How can you tell?

Formal and Informal Language

• • Authors tend to use formal language to describe characters and events and informal language for characters’ dialogue. Remember, quotation marks signal dialogue.

  • Which parts of the story sound informal? Why do other words or phrases sound more formal?

Writing Genre: Informative Writing

Reminder:

At the start of every “lesson” a parent letter will be sent home with your child. This letter will name the specific skills of practice for the lesson (Target Vocabulary, Phonics Skill, Vocabulary Strategy, Comprehension Skill, Comprehension Strategy, & Grammar Skill).