Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of the content read. To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to decode words, make connections, and process information. Comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning. While your child is reading to you, discussion helps to build comprehension. Below are some sample questions you can ask to help your child reflect on what he/she is reading.
Making Connections
Students gain a deeper understanding of a text when they make authentic connections. Student may make a connection to a personal experience (text to self), to another text he/she has read (text to text), or to the world around him/her (text to world). For further practice, the following link helps student understand text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.
http://www.pspb.org/blueribbon/games/connections/Connection.html
Visualizing
Visualizing refers to our ability to create pictures in our heads based on text we read or words we hear. Visualizing strengthens reading comprehension skills as students gain a more thorough understanding of the text they are reading by consciously using the words to create mental images. As students gain more deliberate practice with this skill, the act of visualizing text becomes automatic. Students who visualize as they read not only have a richer reading experience, but can recall what they have read for longer periods of time.
Before Reading
What do you think will happen in this story?
What are you wondering about before you start reading this story?
During Reading
What does this story remind you of?
Where / When does this story take place?
Can you identify the main characters in this story?
Can you relate to the characters in this story?
What do you picture as you read this story?
What is the problem in this story?
After Reading
Have you experienced any of the events or situations in this story?
What happened in the beginning / middle / end of this story?
What was the solution to the problem in this story?
How is this book similar / different to other books you have read?
How is this book similar / different to events or situations in the real world?
Why do you think the author wrote this story?
Reading comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of the content read. To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to decode words, make connections, and process information. Comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning. While your child is reading to you, discussion helps to build comprehension. Below are some sample questions you can ask to help your child reflect on what he/she is reading.
Making Connections
Students gain a deeper understanding of a text when they make authentic connections. Student may make a connection to a personal experience (text to self), to another text he/she has read (text to text), or to the world around him/her (text to world). For further practice, the following link helps student understand text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.
http://www.pspb.org/blueribbon/games/connections/Connection.html
Visualizing
Visualizing refers to our ability to create pictures in our heads based on text we read or words we hear. Visualizing strengthens reading comprehension skills as students gain a more thorough understanding of the text they are reading by consciously using the words to create mental images. As students gain more deliberate practice with this skill, the act of visualizing text becomes automatic. Students who visualize as they read not only have a richer reading experience, but can recall what they have read for longer periods of time.
Before Reading
What do you think will happen in this story?
What are you wondering about before you start reading this story?
During Reading
What does this story remind you of?
Where / When does this story take place?
Can you identify the main characters in this story?
Can you relate to the characters in this story?
What do you picture as you read this story?
What is the problem in this story?
After Reading
Have you experienced any of the events or situations in this story?
What happened in the beginning / middle / end of this story?
What was the solution to the problem in this story?
How is this book similar / different to other books you have read?
How is this book similar / different to events or situations in the real world?
Why do you think the author wrote this story?