In order to comprehend what they read, children must not only be able to understand the words, but also use them to reach conclusions and possibly connect the story they are reading to something they've experienced in their lives, according to Reading Rockets, a U.S. Department of Education-funded project designed to help kids overcome reading-related difficulties. You can help your children to improve their reading comprehension with strategies that encourage them to evaluate, imagine and remember.
Sum Up
Children may better understand and remember the main points of a story by summarizing what they've read. Children can rewrite the text in their own words, think about questions they had while reading and include possible answers in the summary. Reading to Kids -- a non-profit, Los Angeles-based volunteer group formed to help underserved elementary school children learn to enjoy reading -- recommends that children write a summary after the story has covered a long list of facts, a long period of time, an important event or a confusing statement.
Discuss the Book
You can show interest in your child's schoolwork and help her comprehend what she's reading by discussing the story as she progresses. Scholastic.com notes that the discussion can help your child evaluate and retain what she's learned in the story. Ask your child to discuss her favorite parts of the story, have her list the new words she's learned or imagine what it would be like to be a character in the book. Encourage children in a classroom to hold peer discussions that allow them to talk about the text and ask questions with other students.
Take Notes
Understanding and remembering events that transpired earlier in the narrative may help children comprehend later sections. As children read, encourage them to take notes and look up words that they don't know. Reading Rockets recommends helping children remember what they've read by creating flash cards of significant vocabulary words and writing outlines or drawing maps of the story's setting.
Guess the Outcome
Children can boost reading comprehension by analyzing what they're reading and use their imagination to predict what's going to come next. The Reading to Kids website notes that in order to complete the enjoyable activity of predicting what will happen next, children will have to understand what's happening in the story and uncover clues that forecast future events. Encourage children to guess the outcome of the story and continually alter their guess as the story progresses.
Seek Help
If your child continues to struggle with reading and reading comprehension even after you've developed methods to improve his skills and worked on the activities together, KidsHealth suggests talking to his teacher or physician. A professional may be able to uncover a deeper issue, such as a learning disability or help you develop a more effective study strategy.
