How to Improve Your Child's Reading Comprehension

You can work with your child to help her better process what she reads.

When an author writes a book, he will provide the overall arc of the story, but he won't spoon-feed the reader every minute detail of the action. The reader thus has to fill in some of the blanks and make logical assumptions about what's going on based on language and context. This is a fundamental aspect of reading comprehension. If you feel your child needs practice making sense of what she is reading, you'll need to see that she works on developing her skill every day.

Instructions

1. Listen to the child as he reads aloud to you. This will cause him to read more slowly, giving him time to concentrate on the words. In addition, the use of two senses -- seeing the words and hearing them -- intensifies the learning process.

2. Ask the child questions about what she has read to get her to paraphrase a chapter or paragraph. The more she paraphrases, the more she is put in a position of searching for meaning and understanding. Simply reading a book will often not be enough; reading and then having to explain the meaning behind the story will help her to comprehend the central message.

3. Help your child build his vocabulary skills. He cannot find meaning in sentences if his vocabulary skills are weak. Try playing word games such as Scrabble or writing words on flash cards and then asking him to create sentences from those words. This will help build his ability to find meaning with limited words and think critically.

4. Put aside at least 30 minutes every day to read or work on vocabulary. The more the child is exposed reading and finding meaning from what she has read, the higher the level of comprehension she acquires.

5. Have the child reread the same books to develop fluency. Better comprehension requires her to read without hesitating. Going over the same material multiple times gives her more practice at deciphering phrases fast. And better word recognition means increased comprehension.

References

• Scholastic: 6 Ways to Improve Reading Comprehension
• Peel District School Board: Reading between the lines - Help improve your teen's reading comprehension