7 Reading Comprehension Strategies for Kids to Put Into Action Today

When it comes to learning to read it can be a tough thing for your child to do. In fact, one in every five students struggles with learning to read in school.

Reading isn’t always an easy thing to tackle and going to school can be very difficult for the students who don’t have a grasp on this skill. Luckily for you, there are tons of reading comprehension strategies that you could use to help enhance your child’s learning abilities.

Keep reading for our guide to seven reading comprehension strategies for kids that you can put into action right away.

1. Asking Questions

The first strategy that children can use when it comes to reading is asking questions about the text. It can be done throughout the reading of a text to make sure that the reader is understanding what’s going on. When you ask the right questions while reading something, then you can draw your attention to the main points of the story.

Asking questions can help your child understand key plot points or main ideas, as well as develop a sense for the main characters throughout the narrative. They may even use questions to help summarize the events that have taken place.

A good way to teach a child how to ask questions is to sit down and do it with them. This way they will know what kinds of questions to ask when they’re reading on their own. You can ask questions that have only one right answer or even questions that will require them to think about a broader topic based on the text.

2. Using Prior Knowledge

When we read something we are using all of the prior knowledge we have even before we’ve picked up the text. This is a great strategy to teach children because it sets up expectations for what will happen while reading. Using prior knowledge is important to understanding the text as they read and as a whole.

Reading comprehension is something that a child will take into their adult life so it is important to start now. Using prior knowledge before diving into a text is something that we should consistently be doing. Whether it is a new book that you’ve just picked up or even a document at work. Taking what we already know into account is a great way to comprehend the text in front of us.

3. Read Out Loud

Reading out loud to a child or teenager is a great way to help them comprehend the text as well as teach them good habits for reading. When you read out loud you’re teaching someone else how they should be reading. You can stop and look at important ideas or even ask if they would like something read again that is especially important within the text.

You can also monitor how they’re understanding the text when you read it out loud to them. This would be a good time to stop and help them ask as well as answer any important questions regarding the text.

When you take the time to discuss the text, then you’re opening the doors to understanding it and interacting with it in a better way for children. This is an awesome way to push students to go even further than just understanding the basic words on the page.

4. Taking Notes

Another great way to make sure that your child is understanding a text is by teaching them how to take notes or use a highlighter or pencil to mark key concepts or ideas within the text. When they are reading they can jot down notes such as things that they understand or questions within the text. These notes are great to go back on so they can develop a deeper understanding of the text.

This is also a good way to help your child to focus on the important elements of a text especially if they have ADHD. When they are able to pull out key ideas or questions, then they can later use these in discussions of the text. If they are unable to write directly on the text that they are reading, then using sticky notes is a great alternative.

5. Partner Up to Discuss

When it comes to reading a text sometimes reading with a partner can be even more fun and help your child understand more. Either you or one of your child’s peers can partner with them to read a text. Have both parties start reading and then make sure they stop periodically to discuss what they’ve read.

Listening to what other people have to say about the text is a good way for your child to understand what they’ve just read a bit better. This is also a great thing to do when reading out loud. Talking in a smaller group may also get shy kids to want to participate as well instead of talking in front of a large class.

6. Summarize the Text

While your child is reading they can periodically stop and start to write up a summary of what they’re reading. Writing a summary while they are reading is a good way for them to figure out the key points of the text. It is also a great way to teach them how to generalize the larger topic at hand.

Plus, once they’re finished reading the text, then they can go back and reread the summary as another way to comprehend what they’ve just read. Summarizing the text helps them to decipher what elements were important and which weren’t.

7. Let Them Decide

Children learn and comprehend in many different ways that are comfortable to them. So when it comes to teaching them strategies to comprehend their reading it is ultimately up to them which will help the best.

As long as you’ve given them good resources to use, then they can make that decision for themselves. Sometimes they may even want to use a combination of all the strategies you’ve taught them.

Use These Reading Comprehension Strategies Today

So when it comes to helping your child, there are tons of reading comprehension strategies that you can start teaching them today. Reading is something that they will be doing for the rest of their life so it’s better to start practicing good habits right away.

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