In one of my latest reading series articles, I began discussing reading comprehension instruction. There are several techniques that teachers and parents can use to strengthen a child’s reading comprehension skills.
Some techniques already introduced include self monitoring, graphic organizers, and answering questions. In addition to these three, there are also several more.
Creating questions: While some teachers ask students questions, other teachers instruct the children to create their own questions. Sometimes the students will create questions for themselves and sometimes they will create questions for other students to answer. By creating their own questions, students learn to tune in to important ideas in a passage.
Identifying story structure: Graphic organizers can help students identify the story structure. When recognizing story structure, students become aware of the plot of the story and key into concepts such as setting, events, and outcomes. When students are aware of the layout of the story they are more likely to remember the story.
Summarizing: Many teachers and parents will ask children to summarize what they read. When using summarization skills, students must determine which details in the story are important and which ones can be left out. Summarizing helps students tune into the main idea and key elements of a story.
Research has shown that reading comprehension skills are better increased when teachers directly instruct students on using the strategies. While reading a passage, teachers should directly tell students which strategies of comprehension would work best. In some cases teachers will ask students to create maps and in other cases students may be asked to create or answer questions. Teachers should then model the concept for the students.
During the instruction session, teachers should provide guided practice for the students. Once the students have mastered the idea through guided practice, some type of independent practice should be carried out.