Reading comprehension strategies for kids are simple thinking habits good readers use before, during and after a story: predicting, asking questions, picturing the scene, checking that it makes sense, reading between the lines, and retelling. You can model each one out loud while you read together, then hand it over with a short prompt.
The six strategies below come from a What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) practice guide for kindergarten through 3rd grade. The parent prompts are written for home.
The WWC guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade, describes a strategy as something a reader does on purpose before, during or after reading to understand or remember the text better. It is also clear about what a strategy is not: filling in worksheets, or practicing a skill like sequencing without being shown how to think that way while reading.
The panel rated the evidence for teaching these strategies to young readers as strong, based on 10 studies. It also found that strategies can be taught one at a time or several together, and that both approaches can improve comprehension.
Predict. Children use what they already know, plus clues in the book, to guess what will happen, then read on to check. Prompts: "Look at the cover. What do you think this book is about?" "What do you think will happen next?" The WWC guide suggests asking for a prediction halfway through a story and having children explain how they decided.
Ask questions. Children ask, and try to answer, questions about the important ideas while they read, using words like who, where and why. The WWC guide suggests writing question words on index cards. At home, your child can pick a card and ask you a question about the story. Prompts: "What are you wondering?" "Why do you think he did that?"
Picture it. Children make a picture in their mind of what the words describe, and the WWC guide notes this can include sounds and smells too. Try reading one sentence and describing what you see, then let your child do the next one. Prompt: "Close your eyes. What do you see? What can you hear?"
Check that it makes sense. Children notice when they've lost the thread and do something about it. The WWC guide links fix-ups to traffic signs: a stop sign means stop and say what's happening in your own words, and a U-turn means go back and reread the part that didn't make sense. Prompts: "Does that make sense?" "Let's U-turn and read that again."
Read between the lines. Children work out things the author doesn't say directly. The WWC example: a passage that mentions clowns and acrobats is probably set at a circus. Prompts: "How do you think she feels? What clues tell you?" "Where do you think they are?"
Retell and summarize. Children describe the main points in their own words. If your child gets stuck, the WWC guide suggests asking "What comes next?" or "What else did the story say about the dragon?" For kindergartners, it suggests simpler clues: When and where? Who? What happened? How did the story end?
The WWC guide describes a handy trick: list the main parts of a story and link each one to a finger on one hand. Here's one way to do it:
Thumb: Who is in the story?
Pointer: Where and when does it happen?
Middle finger: What is the problem?
Ring finger: What happens?
Pinky: How does it end?
Start with stories your child already knows well. The WWC panel suggests teaching story parts with familiar tales such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
The WWC panel recommends a gradual release of responsibility: you show it, you do it together, then your child does it alone. The panel notes this step rests more on its experience than on direct research, but it fits home reading well:
Show it. Think aloud: "I wonder why the bear is hiding. I think he's scared of the storm."
Share it. On the next page, ask your child to try it with you.
Hand it over. Use one short prompt and let your child do the thinking.
Stick with one strategy for a while before adding another. When strategies are taught one at a time, the WWC guide says each usually gets a few weeks of practice, and children should keep using the earlier ones as new ones are added.
Two tips from the US Department of Education booklet Helping Your Child Become a Reader: stop now and then to think aloud, but not so often that your child loses track of the story, and give your child enough time to think before they answer.
Preschool: with support, children answer who, what, when and where questions about a story and try simple predictions. By about age 5, the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework describes children inferring how characters feel and giving a short summary of a story.
Kindergarten: with prompting and support, children ask and answer questions about key details and retell familiar stories (Common Core).
Grade 1: children retell stories with key details and show they understand the central message or lesson.
Grade 2: children ask and answer who, what, where, when, why and how questions, and recount fables and folktales to find the message, lesson or moral.
Every child is different, so treat this as a rough map, not a test. For building reading skills more broadly, see our sister site's guide to reading practice at home for kids.
This is an example only. It adds just a few minutes to a normal read-aloud.
Before: look at the cover together and make one prediction.
During: pause once or twice to ask a question or picture a scene.
After: do a five-finger retell, then check the prediction.
There's no single official list. The WWC panel highlights six for kindergarten through 3rd grade: activating prior knowledge or predicting, questioning, visualizing, monitoring and fixing up, drawing inferences, and summarizing or retelling.
In the WWC guide's glossary, retelling means recounting a text out loud, including its key parts. Summarizing means briefly describing the main points, out loud or in writing. A summary is the shorter of the two.
Yes. The WWC guide notes that children who aren't reading on their own yet can still learn how stories work from books read aloud to them. The US Department of Education booklet suggests asking "What do you think will happen next?" from the time a child can talk.
Slow down, model one strategy at a time, and start with retelling. The WWC panel also stresses choosing books at a suitable difficulty. If it keeps happening, talk with your child's teacher.
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Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (What Works Clearinghouse, IES)
Helping Your Child Become a Reader (US Department of Education, via ERIC)
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Reading: Literature (corestandards.org)
Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five (Office of Head Start)