How to Teach Reading Comprehension to 4th Graders

Research shows that reading comprehension is best taught through explicit instruction. Explicit instruction, or direct instruction, is the process of telling students what they are learning, modeling the task for them, helping them through guided practice, providing practice strategies so they can demonstrate what they are learning and then constantly monitoring and adjusting based on ongoing assessment of their knowledge - or lack thereof.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Something to read
• Someone (or a class of someones) to read to
• Graphic organizers
• Explicit Instruction techniques
• A whole lot of patience

1. 1

   Help your child learn to understand thinking. This is called metacognition. Metacognition is the ability of think about what and how you are thinking. This is an extremely important skill and often lacking in less proficient students. Modeling metacognition can be accomplished by reading the text aloud stopping periodically to ask "thinking" questions that will help comprehension. "I wonder what is going to happen now that Finnegan is lost?" "Humm...when I was lost I "hugged a tree" so that I could be found by people looking for me." To students: "Close your eyes and picture a time you were lost. What did you do? What do you think Finnegan will do?" (pause) "Turn to your partner and discuss. You have two minutes. Go."

2. 2

   Help children understand and recognize story structure. Knowing that stories and magazines and school texts and non-fiction works all have their own set of elements is key to understanding. Help students recognize that these elements are similar to what they know from television and the movies. Truly, this helps. Walk them through the story elements and structure of the hottest new movie (grade level appropriate of course) or television show and you will be amazed at how well they do. Each time you read a story from there on - remind them of these skills and their application.

3. 3

   Introduce graphic organizers to help students organize topics from main ideas from supporting details also help. As do graphic organizers for inferring, cause and effect, story mapping, text picture drawing...you name it. Great graphic organizers are free at www.chapinpinottilearningcenter.com.

4. 4

   Move students in groups or pairs so they can help each other. Make sure you model appropriate reading aloud strategies and then walk the room to monitor student knowledge and adjust teaching accordingly.

Tips & Warnings

• The above is just the tip of the iceberg as far as reading comprehension goes...but it will get teachers or parents out of the starting gates and on their way!

on 11/14/2009 Interesting article on How to Teach Reading Comprehension to 4th Graders! Thanks and Hugs

on 10/12/2009 You know what often works -- is tell him the point is to make a movie in his mind. When he is reading it...pretend it is a movie. Also have him practice with DS games that are story intensive if he likes video games...or magazines on subjects he likes.

on 9/7/2009 Great article on teaching reading comprehension to fourth graders! Insightful ideas and clear instructions. Thanks!