Comprehension

Without comprehension, reading is a frustrating, pointless exercise in word calling. It is no exaggeration to say that how well students develop the ability to comprehend what they read has a profound effect on their entire lives.
- Texas Educational Agency, (2002)

Reading comprehension skills separates the "passive" unskilled reader from the "active" readers. Skilled readers don't just read, they interact with the text. To help a beginning reader understand this concept, you might make them privy to the dialogue readers have with themselves while reading.

Skilled readers, for instance:

Predict what will happen next in a story using clues presented in text
Create questions about the main idea, message, or plot of the text
Monitor understanding of the sequence, context, or characters
Clarify parts of the text which have confused them
Connect the events in the text to prior knowledge or experience

(Miami University, 2010)

Comprehension

If the student has ongoing difficulty with...