It goes without saying the important role that you play in your child's development. Having fathers who are actively engaged - especially with 'wordy' activities such as helping with reading, story-telling and singing has been scientifically proven to lead to improved performance at school.
Reading comprehension is one of the core skills that helps elevate appreciation of reading, offering greater understanding and enjoyment of books, magazines, websites etc and the knowledge contained within. It sets up your child for lifelong success.
Their curiosity in the world has never been greater, and there's still so much of it they don't understand. How can you increase comprehension of circumstances, emotions and general... life, that they've never experienced? You'll be glad to know that there's a lot of material available for you to help improve your child's reading comprehension.
But where should you start? Some parents wait for school while others seek to help their child get ahead with a phonics reading programme.
Here, we cover some of the key points - and it might be worth liaising with your child's teachers to learn more, and supplement what they're doing.
What is reading comprehension and why is it important?
Very simply, reading comprehension is taking the words on the page and understanding what the author means by them - both explicitly and implicitly. Basically, the who, what, why, when and how of a story.
As children get older and their reading comprehension develops, they can learn to properly analyse texts, process and integrate them with their existing knowledge.
Think of the worlds you have escaped into while reading; the topics and adventures your imagination has allowed you to explore from reading books. Once your child has started reading by themselves, they'll need to be able to pick up the main points contained in a given text. In the same way you do when you read - and you did when you picked up that first picture book to read aloud to them.
It is a necessary skill for daily life, including work, school, and personal relationships. The ability to accurately understand the meaning in and behind the words is hugely important to their future. It allows complicated information to be understood and informed decisions to be made. Without reading comprehension, you can't 'get lost' in a good book or critically engage with text and ideas.
And it all starts now.
Improve reading comprehension by building reading skills
Improving reading comprehension begins by understanding more about words and their meanings. In their very early experiences as readers, their learning will have focused on word recognition - picking up familiar shapes and sounds, and locking them into place (say hello, phonics!). Now the process should move onto some basic reading comprehension strategies to help their knowledge.
1. Develop vocabulary skills
Building up their vocabulary knowledge will play a key part in their reading comprehension, and help them understand more complex texts.
Understanding there are different words that explain the same ideas, or variants that help explain context is both fascinating and useful. And you might learn something too!
When reading aloud, encourage them to ask what unfamiliar words mean and try to use words they already know to explain. You can also substitute alternative words into sentences, and use context clues to help them understand unfamiliar words.
Outside of reading, practice vocabulary and add new words to their lexicon by using flashcards or introducing new words to your verbal communication.
2. Improve reading skills through practice
As with any skill, regular practice is key to increasing reading comprehension. An integral part of improving reading level is encouraging a love of reading. Ensuring that the material they encounter is varied and interesting will help them discover new words, see the big picture, and begin making inferences across multiple sources.
Of course, the challenging part of this will be keeping it fun, while learning. When they begin using their free time to pick up a book, you've hit peak interest and are definitely doing the right thing!
Set aside dedicate time for guided (but relaxed) reading practice to help your child develop those skills.
You could also listen to children's audiobooks. Hearing someone else reading can create an alternative way of engaging with books.
Identifying key ideas
Once vocabulary knowledge has increased, and a reading routine is in place, you can move onto the next stage. Identifying key points from within the text.
3. Find the main idea and supporting details
Help them with the concept of identifying the main idea of a passage, such as 'what is this about? Why does it matter?'
Doing this regularly will enable them to quickly identify the subject of a passage, and help them get a clearer picture and understanding of the context and point of what they are reading.
Understanding the main points of a book opens up a richer level of comprehension to the reader. It's the early stages of critical thinking and active reading.
4. Active reading strategies
When you read to them, they liked the noises and sounds you made. They listened to the story and were probably able to start 'reading' it back to you. Over the years you've gradually assisted in comprehension strategies, such as explaining the meaning of words, to help them get a grip on what a story is, but now they're more experienced readers - they're ready to become more involved in what's on the page.
From picture books to more text heavy options - it's time to start active reading.
5. Engage in active reading
Encouraging your child to ask questions, compare the story to their own experiences or even predict what's going to happen, will assist them in engaging with the material and improve their comprehension skills.
6. Encouraging critical thinking
Asking open-ended questions about the text, such as 'Why do you think [character] did that?', 'What do you think will happen next?', 'What could they have done instead?' will help them think about the story on multiple layers, adding increased meaning to the text.
7. Encourage discussion in their own words
While reading through a book, stop every so often and ask your child to summarise what's just happened. We all learn better when we stop and analyse, and when they rephrase, it will help gain a more complete understanding of the text. It also helps maintain focus.
8. Use graphic organisers to visualise information
When helping them run through a story, it's also worth considering making an activity out of it. Writing parts of the passage out, allows you to have an example to colour in and help identify what different parts of the text means.
This is also a good opportunity to get them to draw pictures from the passage - using pencils to make connections between the main idea, and details around it. Visualising what they've read will help engage their brain in a different way, allowing the person to "process information in multiple ways: visually, kinesthetically, and semantically".
Alongside drawing, the act of writing (tactile-kinesthetic learning) helps us better remember what we have read. Using it in combination with stopping and thinking (see below) it will help them make new connections and explain what has happened more effectively. Ask them what they think the main idea of the story is. Is there a lesson, or something they as students write to make it easier to understand.
Enhancing reading comprehension skills
Once the basics are taken care of, and they can understand the meaning behind the words; showing early fluency in the learning journey, it's time to start to teach them to consider what makes an engaged reader.
9. Implement thinking strategies
Beginning to engage critically with what they're reading will make a huge difference to them. We all know how easy it is to read something without effectively understanding it. By encouraging thinking about a deeper meaning in the text, you will set them up to not be embarassed about asking questions in the future. Clarifying questions are a great way to engage with them.
10. Create a rich reading environment
Children love TV, because they love stories. It's a bit of work, but with practice and enthusiasm you can make reading their go-to for down-time. Perhaps create a dedicated reading nook/corner, by getting a beanbag near their bookshelf - or even put some cushions in a teepee tent for ultimate cosiness.
Get a mix of books that they're interested in reading, with some that might be outside their usual choice. You could also pick up books on similar topics to their favourites. Offering a variety of easy-to-read books will help with their vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Remember, at this stage it's about increasing fluency, which is the challenge in itself.
Continue to read aloud to them often. Encourage them to read aloud to you, too. Offer an alternative word choice every so often.
If you can, take them to a library. Being surrounded by other books than their own will help generate a passion for new ideas and reading.
Remember to encourage reading comprehension by asking questions before, during and after reading. Get them to write the story in their own words, even if you're doing the writing.
11. Model good reading habits
Our kids take a lot of cues from us and what we do, and making sure we read in front of them not only shows that it's a skill and habit that is worth doing, it opens up the potential for conversation and discussion of ideas. By talking about what you're reading, you may also discover a new understanding of the process.
Reading is more than just looking at words on the page. When helping their reading comprehension skills, you're building an ability to connect words with background knowledge, to understand key points and increase their vocabulary.
Learning to improve reading comprehension with your child will take time, it's not going to happen overnight. From early readers to diligent students, you can help foster a love of words and build the process of reading into a fun and educational one.
Work with your child's teacher to understand how they encourage students to read and become involved in making reading fun.
FAQs
At what age do children develop reading comprehension skills?
The process of being able to accurately explain and summarise what they've read starts at about seven (see 'the 5-stages of reading'). Before that, it's mainly mimicking and recognising sounds in the story being read to the them. They're students of listening, not fluency.
What are the five stages of reading comprehension?
As proposed by Maryanne Wolf in her book 'Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain', there are 5-stages of reading comprehension.
These are (typical ages) ' the emerging pre-reader (6 months to 6 years old); the novice reader (6 to 7 years old), The decoding reader (7 - 9),The fluent reader (9 - 15), and The expert reader (16 years upwards).
How do I support a child's reading comprehension?
Reading comprehension strategies differ depending upon the stage they're at:
In the early years, reading comprehension will best be improved by reading aloud and discussing the stories to build listening comprehension.
When they move into Early and Upper Elementary school, begin to encourage engagement with prior knowledge. Provide books that match your child's reading level and interests. Discuss the books with them.
And at middle and high school begin diversification of their reading material: Offer a range of texts,so they can gain a better understanding of how different mediums and styles work. This is also where critical thinking properly begins.