Building Comprehension Skills

Good readers use many tools to help increase their understanding of what they read.  Here are some ways to make reading go faster and stay with your children longer:

Visualize- Strong readers form pictures in their minds.  Encourage your child to imagine what is happening in the story.  Making that mental picture will help your child "see" the story.  Drawing the image may also help.  Visualization helps students to better remember what they read.

Find a purpose- It is sometimes easier to understand a story if one knows the purpose for reading.  Suggest that your child look at subtitles and turn them into questions.  This will encourage the reader then to look for the answers.  Providing this purpose encourages the reader to be more engaged.

Say it back- Have your student rephrase information they have read.  This helps to make sure that there is a good understanding of what was read.  

We are constantly looking for ways to help our readers find better ways to make meaning of what they have read.  Try these suggestions and see if they are helpful with your children.  The goal is for children to love to read, and to be able to do so well.