How to Teach Reading Comprehension Skills

It really does not matter how fast a child reads or how well he can sound out the words if he has not understood what was just read. Solid reading comprehension skills will lead to reading success in the classroom and beyond.

Things You'll Need

• Reading materials

Instructions

1. Make sure that the student can tell you back in her own words what she read about on any given page. It is important that she tells the information back using her own words and not the words that are on the page. This skill is called a tell back. It is like a mini diagnostic tool to assess comprehension and concentration.

2. Act out what was just read. Have the student act out the scene he just read to ensure that he understood it.

3. Draw a picture of the setting and the action that took place on a particular page or section of a story to see if the student understands the main ideas.

4. Write out the 8 to 10 main ideas in the order that they took place in a chapter to asses student reading comprehension. This can be done with fiction or textbook reading. Make sure that the student puts the information in his own words and is not copying words directly from the text.

5. Model good reading comprehension skills for the student. Demonstrate a thoughtful and detailed tell backs. Act out a scene from the story together. Draw a picture that shows the main ideas for the page or section. Write out the main ideas of a section. Above all, show your love of reading to the student so he knows that good readers not only understand what they read but also get involved in the story and in learning about new things.