Does your child struggle to understand what they read sometimes? There are several skills you can work on with your child at home to improve their reading comprehension.
1) Ask Questions
Avoid questions that are direct recall and instead ask questions like “what do you think will happen next?” or “how do you think that character is feeling?”
2) Make Connections…
…to what they already know or what they’ve experienced. If a book mentions a place you’ve been to as a family, talk about those memories, then encourage your child to do the same.
3) Use Clues to Make Inferences
For example, if we read “Kristin repeatedly sneezed, and her eyes were red and teary” then we could infer that this character has allergies. Help your child make inferences from the clues left in the story as you read with them.
4) Check Their Understanding
Stop and ask, “Is this making sense?” If not, suggest rereading and discuss what was confusing to them.
5) Get Out in the World and Try New Things!
The more they know about the world, the better they’ll be able to understand what they read.
