Comprehension
Oral comprehension is the understanding of what is spoken in language whereas reading comprehension is the understanding of the written language. Comprehension is the ultimate goal and purpose of reading. We begin with learning to read through the understanding of letters and sounds to decode and figure out the words that we read. Then as readers gain the knowledge and apply those phonetic concepts to their reading they transition to reading texts to learn. It is vital to develop oral comprehension prior to reading comprehension. We want children to make connections to the text as we read. Children need to monitor their reading and recognize when they don’t understand or when they need a word or idea clarified.
Comprehension should be built simultaneously as children are learning to read and decode words. This can be done as you read rich literature and nonfiction texts to your child on a regular basis. Having meaningful and purposeful conversations with your child about what you are reading with them is vital in building their oral comprehension. By building these skills simultaneously, you will allow your child to practice the comprehension skills and thinking they will need as they grow and learn to read more difficult texts on their own. At all stages of reading it is appropriate to model reading with your child, taking turns reading, and having meaningful conversations with your child. It is important to build our comprehension before, during and after we read a text. We need to help children learn how to activate prior knowledge and background experiences on the topic or type of story we are reading before we read. Some ways you can help your child build their comprehension is by:
Discussing with your child some background information that they already know on the topic or content of what they are reading is critical to helping them understand the text.
Help them monitor comprehension by setting a purpose for reading and making predictions about what they will read or learn about the topic.
Have your child picture in their minds and visualize what is happening in the story.
Encourage your child to ask questions when they don’t understand.
Post it or flag confusing words or ideas to clarify after reading through a dictionary app or other clarifying resource.
Encourage them to develop their metacognition to be aware of their own thoughts and thinking. Having them stop and self reflect at stopping points in the text.
Keep a reading notebook or post-it notes nearby to jot down thoughts, ideas and questions about the text.
Have your child generate their own questions about the text or book for a sibling or parent to answer in the future.
Children need to be exposed to various genres and recognize the characteristics of the main genres that we read. For example in Narrative or Fictional stories there are always characters, setting and a plot that we should be paying close attention to. In Informational or Nonfiction texts the author usually will include facts and details to learn. In Persuasive writing we can expect to hear the author trying to convince us to feel a particular way about something.
Talk about what type of text they are reading and what the author's purpose is- To Persuade, Inform or Entertain us?
Ways to help your child with Narrative or Fictional Texts through rich and meaningful conversations and questions:
Talking about what is happening in the story as you read with your child- pausing and taking breaks to make sure your child is understanding.
Ask and discuss who the characters are and what are the character traits (brave, mean, envious, greedy, selfish etc) and feelings (happy, sad, excited, angry) of the main character.
You can work with your child to notice how the character is changing throughout the story.
Discuss any problems or mistakes the character is faced with in the story and how they solved it.
Retell what the book was about including the main characters names, the main events, problem/solution, and any other important details to tell what happened in the book. Then guide your child to narrow down their retell into a few sentence summary to include only pertinent information.
Ask questions about if the author has a message or lesson for the reader.
As you discuss the text or book with your child, draw their attention back to specific details or evidence in the text that helps answer the questions you are discussing.
Two types of questions you can be mindful of discussing with your child are:
Questions that are right there and the answer is right in the book.
Questions that require your child to infer by using things that happen in the text and their own thinking, prior knowledge and experiences to think beyond the literal text.
Another important aspect that children need to pay attention to in order to build their understanding of nonfiction text is to think about the structure of the text. Discussing with your child which of the following text structures the author is using and how it helps them understand the content better, would be a good discussion point. The structure is how the author crafts and designs the text to present the information or content of the book:
Sequence- the author uses a chronological order or events. Usually there are transitional words such as first, then, next when we see this structure in a text.
Cause and Effect- the author describes a cause and effect relationship about the topic. We usually find language like because, since, therefore.
Compare and Contrast -the author usually talks about the similarities and differences on a specific topic.
Description - the author describes a topic. They use words like for example and such as.
Problem and Solution - the author presents a problem or question and then gives a solution or answer to the problem.