Reading Comprehension

When supporting our students in reading comprehension, it's important to first identify the root of the problem.  Below are different scenarios of typical struggling readers and a few strategies you can use at home to help your child. Contact your classroom teacher for more information for your child's targeted needs and to help you pick 1-2 reading strategies that you can use at home.

My child understands when we read at home or when I read the text, but struggles in comprehension in the classroom.

This student's reading comprehension is impacted because your child is struggling to read at grade level text. Your child's brain is spending all of its energy into decoding words, that it's unable to focus on the meaning of the word. This is a child will need to learn their phonics, reading strategies for how to blend and segment multi-syllabic words, and practice through repeated reading until reading automaticity is met.  Speak with your classroom teacher about roughly what level your child's current reading level is at, because we want to start with a text that challenges him/her, but isn't so challenging that it prevents them from understanding what they are reading. We want to encourage reading for meaning while building fluency.

Check out my decoding page or my sight words page for more reading strategies.

Find Your Just Right Book!

When supporting your student at home, it's extremely important to first identify your child's just right level. Please note, this is only for when you're having your child read aloud. Continue to read aloud books or listen to audiobooks of books of varying levels that the entire family can enjoy together. This will help build vocabulary for those who can't readily access texts themselves.

Contact your classroom teacher for more information regarding what level your child is around.

My child can read fluently, but struggles with reading comprehension.

A student who reads with automaticity, but has low reading comprehension needs to practice reading for meaning. Often times, students are reading, but not visualizing or playing a movie in their head. They need to first practice summarizing and asking questions such as who, what, where, when, and why or retelling from beginning, middle to end. It often helps to have them draw and describe what they recall. The stronger the mental image, the better their comprehension. Encourage the thought process that great readers reread when they don't understand and we know when we don't understand when the movie in our heads start to get fuzzy.

Lastly, your child may also be struggling to maintain a mental image when their vocabulary is low.

Summarizing

FiveFingerStoryRetell.pdf

5 Finger Retell 

Good for story retelling and helping to identify what the problem and solutions were.

GraphicOrganizersSWBSTStrategy.pdf

Somebody Want, But, So, Then

Good for story retelling and helping to identify what the problem and solutions were.

FREEBIEStoryMapSettingCharactersBeginningMiddleEnd-1.pdf

Story Map

You can have your child draw and/or write in these boxes to help with their retelling and build their visualization of what they are reading.

My child can answer basic questions, but is not doing well in reading comprehension within the classroom.

As we progress through the grade levels, not only does the complexity of the text increases, but so do the reading skills. In upper grades, students are required to think more deeply and move away from surface level questions called thin questions. These are your typical questions where the answer can be found immediately by scanning the text.

Your child now needs to look beyond the surface level questions and start supporting his/her responses with text-evidence. Below are strategies to help with common areas that students struggle.

Asking Deep Thinking Questions

ThickandThinQuestionsMiniAchorChart-1.pdf

Thick v Thin Questions

litp6.pdf

Beginning Middle End Questions

Vocabulary

Why Building Vocab

R.A.C.E. Strategy

This is great for all age levels. Especially for grades 3 and up. This strategy helps students formulate complete responses by supporting their answers with text-evidence. Most students prefer to answer with little to no detail and without checking whether their answers are correct. They need to practice explaining why they think a certain why and providing evidence to support their answer. Rereading is a must!

Orally practicing this strategy will also greatly improve their opinion and persuasive writing.

Inferring

The video helps model how teach making inferences. If your child is struggling with this skill, start with short YouTube animated clips with no words and ask questions about it. Always follow up with, "How do you know?" Then slowly apply this skill to when you're reading.

Describing Characters

Part of inferring requires students to understand a character's motivation and personality. Here are sheets to help develop your child's ability to describe characters.

Character Traits Categories.pdf

Character Traits List & Organizers


CharacterGraphicOrganizer30-1.pdf

Describe Characters Organizer 2

DescribingCharactergraphicorganizer-1.docx

Describe Characters Organizer 3