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For some children, reading comprehension can be a struggle. As they progress through elementary, the expectations for reading comprehension will focus more on reading between the lines and abstract understanding. Children will need to think about what they read and perhaps relate it to other themes; they may analyze characters or learn to make predictions.

Even children who are just learning these more difficult comprehension techniques might need more help and guidance to ensure mastery. Here’s how children can work on reading comprehension at home and become more fluent at analyzing details and deciphering meaning.

Older children who need to work on comprehension can use the following strategies:

• Use comprehension bookmarks

• Fill out graphic organizers

• Take notes

• Re-read text

• Chunk text

• Listen to the book or story

• Use reading apps

Younger children will typically focus on the more basic aspects of comprehension. To help kindergartners and younger elementary-age children work on comprehension skills, try these at-home strategies:

• Telling family stories

• Answering the wh questions

• Writing a book

• Creating story illustrations

• Creating mind movies

• Reading illustration-only books (aka ‘wordless’ books)

• Make predictions

Basic Reading Comprehension at Home for Younger Readers

Younger readers in lower elementary grades will likely focus more on the basics of comprehension. Children might need to be able to retell what happened and answer the w/h questions related to comprehension. These questions are:

• Who

• What

• Where

• When

• Why

• How

For younger children, games and other activities can be a fun way to help master comprehension. In addition, younger children can use tools like graphic organizers for reading comprehension bookmarks, too.

Reading Rockets offers some great suggestions to help kindergarteners with reading comprehension. Ideas include:

Family History Tales

Tell children a story about family members or stories that are from the family’s own history. These also could be cultural narratives that have been passed down. Then talk to children and encourage them to ask questions.

Use Books Without Words

These books are called ‘wordless’ books and they encourage storytelling. Using the pictures, children must create their own stories. Not only can stories change each time, but these books also promote creativity and imagination.

Create a Mind Movie

Reading Rockets recommends that parents have children close their eyes and envision the book or story as a movie. The site recommends that parents read sections and then ask children about them.

Wh Questions on the Hand

Five fingers represent five prompts of comprehension: who, where, where, when and why. While Reading Rockets notes that the setting, characters, events and ending are focal subjects, the site also includes the fifth prompt as the child’s favorite parts of the story. Parents can focus on the prompts suggested by Reading Rockets or just use the wh questions for this activity.

Practice Predictions

Kindergarteners and other young readers also should work on making predictions. This is a key element of comprehension, as children need to learn how to read between the lines to figure out what can happen next.

Parents also can explore immersive games and activities to encourage children to explore the story and dig deeper into meaning. Other ways to work on comprehension and have fun in the process include:

• Host a puppet show. Children can re-enact the story using puppets.
• Play comprehension Twister. Place comprehension prompts on the circles and have children answer the prompts when they land on a space. This game should be played by more than one person, though!
• Illustrate the story. Encourage children to draw a favorite scene of a story, then have them talk about it.
• Write a book. The child can be an author. Write a story together, then talk about what will happen next and why. Don’t forget the illustrations.

How to Work on Reading Comprehension at Home with Older Children

Playing games and drawing pictures might not be helpful for older children who may need to read between the lines and start analyzing stories in more detail. In upper elementary grades, students may begin discussing characters in depth.

Scholastic explains that fifth graders also will need to understand metaphors, compare similar books, use context to decipher vocabulary meaning and even determine the stance of the author and its importance for the book.  

Older children must understand the stories and books they read far beyond answering those simple questions and prompts. While games or fun activities might not be the best resource for fourth and fifth graders, parents can help older children work on comprehension with these strategies:

• Comprehension bookmarks

• Graphic organizers

• Listening to a story

• Chunking text

• Re-reading

• Taking notes

While these strategies might seem basic, they can be beneficial across subjects. Comprehension bookmarks, for example, can be created to include basic questions with spaces for students to make notes as they read.

Comprehension bookmarks, though, also can just be a visual prompt to help children think as they read. Sometimes having a reminder can be beneficial.

Graphic organizers can provide a roadmap to a story. These are typically worksheets that focus on a certain aspect of comprehension like character, theme, etc. Graphic organizers include spaces for students to write details as they read.

For some students, listening to the story also can be beneficial and help with comprehension. Children can listen to a book as they follow along. Hearing the narration can help children better understand emotion, conflict and more.

Chunking the text, rereading and taking notes also can be beneficial strategies for older students who might struggle with comprehension. Chunking the text simply means reading sections of the text at a time; students can use a piece of paper to cover up parts of the page and focus on a single paragraph. Then they can focus on the content of bits of the story at a time.

Rereading is a strategy that can aid students across all subjects. If a child finds that they simply don’t understand what they have read, rereading can help them review the content again. They may even decide to chunk the text to make it easier and help improve their comprehension. Rereading can be a strategy used into the college years and beyond.

Some students like to take notes as they read. Colorful sticky notes can be used to mark a page and include important details about the plot, characters, etc. Students might even use a different color for each chapter to better help them and organize their thoughts.

Reading Apps Can Be Used For All Elementary Readers

A comprehensive reading app like Readability can be used at home to help readers from preschool to fifth grade improve reading comprehension. Readability includes a built-in AI tutor that is programmed with voice recognition; the tutor learns each child’s voice and provides assistance during reading lessons.

With Readability, children read stories aloud. If a child stumbles, the AI tutor will help them. The tutor also asks questions at the end of each book to test a child’s comprehension. If a child misses a question, the tutor will show the text from the story that can help them correctly answer the question; the tutor also reads the section aloud.

Readability is designed for mobile devices, which means that it can go anywhere. Children can practice reading in the car on the way to a sports practice or on the couch during a rainy day.  

Parents also can follow their child’s reading progress via a parent portal called the Progress Dashboard. This portal displays the child’s reading data, including reading fluency (measured in words read per minute), comprehension, the child’s reading level, how long the child used Readability and more.

Interested in exploring Readability to use at home? Sign up for a free seven-day trial period today!

Parents who have opted to homeschool their children typically have their daily lessons planned ahead of time. Homeschooling parents need to keep up with the grade-level skills and subjects of their children, but homeschooling might offer flexibility that the standard school-day doesn’t offer.

Some homeschooling curriculum options include hands-on field trips to complement lesson plans. In addition, when teaching reading, homeschooling reading comprehension lessons might include fun games and reading apps, too.

For parents who are homeschooling their children or who are considering the homeschool option, here are games and apps that can complement standard literacy lessons to enhance the enjoyment of the reading journey:

• Comprehension catch

• Retelling hopscotch

• Story Talk Twister

• EReaders

• Inference Ace

• Readability

What is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the ability to understand meaning from text. As a child moves from learning to read to reading to learn, comprehension can become more nuanced and more abstract.

Early readers might need to simply be able to explain the basics of a story; in early grades, comprehension may focus on the questions: who, what, where, when, why and how.

As reading skills develop, comprehension skills will focus less on simplistic understanding. Children will need to read between the lines to uncover meaning, make predictions and perhaps even relate the characters or compare/contrast plot dynamics to other stories and scenarios.

For younger readers, parents who are homeschooling might focus on the early skills to develop comprehension. Parents can use games and reading apps to complement comprehension lessons.

Games and Apps to Complement Comprehension Lessons

While homeschooling parents might take a lessons-based approach to teaching children comprehension and the strategies to improve comprehension, they also can mix in a bit of fun to help children work on digging deeper into stories. Games and apps can break up a lessons-based approach and help children immerse into stories, too.

Parents can think up original games to enhance their reading lessons, or they can use these fun ideas to help their child work on comprehension skills. These games also can encourage children to move their bodies and get some of the energy out. Plus, play can be an important way that children learn; these games are fun but are educational, too.

Comprehension Catch

Parents can buy a beach ball at a dollar store to create a comprehension ball. Use a permanent marker to write comprehension questions or prompts. The comprehension ball can focus on characters, plot, the ‘wh’ questions, etc.

Younger children might be reading stories with parents, and parents can play this game with children. Toss the beach ball to the child. The prompt that faces up is the question they need to answer.

This is a fun game to play if parents are homeschooling multiple kids.

Retelling Hopscotch

This game is a bit like comprehension. Parents can set up a hopscotch board inside using colored construction paper. On each page, write a question or prompt. When playing outside, just draw the board with colorful sidewalk chalk.

Play the game by answering the questions on the board. Parents might focus just on the ‘wh’ questions for a fun game of retelling.

Story Talk Twister

Bring out the Twister mat. On each circle, write prompts or questions to gauge a child’s comprehension. Play the game per the rules. However, when twisting to a new circle, the players have to answer the question on the colored space.

Pinterest also includes an example of this game where questions or prompts are noted on the spinner.

Apps that Help with Comprehension

Parents also can download apps on a smartphone or tablet that help children with comprehension. These apps can be considered positive screen time as they are educational and help complement the reading journey.

Both the App Store (for Apple) and Google Play (for Android) have many different apps available that focus on comprehension enrichment. Parents can search through the options to find the best apps for their child. Although many apps are free, they may offer in-app purchases. Parents who don’t want any surprises should disable this option on their phone or device.

Here are some comprehension-focused apps for mobile devices:

EReaders

Both Apple and Android devices should come preloaded with an ereader. Parents can click on the book icon to access a library of books to download for children to read via their device. With ebooks, children can turn the pages with their fingers right on the screen. These books look like the bound version, but they are completely virtual.

Children who might not love reading traditional books might like to read via an ereader. Parents can use e readers to encourage reading. While the e reader won’t necessarily offer any features that directly aid comprehension, they could make reading more enjoyable for some children. More exposure to books and stories could help children grow their fluency.

For children who struggle with comprehension, though, parents will want to focus on finding books at the right reading level. Parents also may read with children to help guide them and work with them on using context to decipher meaning.

Inference Ace

Some children struggle with reading between the lines of stories. To infer meaning requires children to use clues that aren’t often clearly explained or even directly stated. Using an app like Inference Ace can help children work on this skill.

While Inference Ace is available only for Apple devices, Google Play offers options, too. Parents can check out apps like Inference Jones, which is offered for different grade levels (Inference Jones also is available on the App Store).

Readability

Readability is a comprehensive reading app that is designed for preschool through fifth grade. Readability offers a lessons-based approach and includes a built-in AI tutor that helps guide lessons.

The app helps children with both fluency and comprehension. Children read stories aloud with Readability; if they stumble, the tutor will correct them and offer help. At the end of each story, the tutor also asks questions to test the child’s comprehension.

However, a child isn’t punished if they miss the answer. Instead, the tutor will show the text from the book that offers clues about the missed question. The tutor will read the passage to the child, and the child will have another chance to answer the question.

Children also can listen to their favorite stories using a feature called Storytime. When a child is reading stories in the app, they also can explore words and their definition. Children can tap a word, and Readability’s tutor will read the definition to them. Each story also has its own list of vocabulary words.

Readability provides parents with their own portal called the Program Dashboard that includes all their child’s reading data. Parents can review their child’s reading level, fluency, comprehension and even see their reading level and how many books their child has read.

Readability requires a monthly subscription ($19.99 per month), but one account can be used for up to three different readers. In addition, Readability offers a free seven-day trial for parents and their young readers to explore the program.

Tips for Finding the Best App for Children

Parents searching for comprehension apps on the App Store or on Google Play might be inundated with options. Since many of these apps are free, parents can download them and let children explore the content.

Reading the reviews might help parents better understand if the app is a good fit for their child or if it has benefited other users. Newer apps might not have many ratings, but those with lower ratings might need closer inspection. If apps are free, parents might just decide to try a few options to see if they are a good fit for their child.

Parents also could focus on keywords when looking for the best comprehension apps. Try searching for “comprehension third grade” or add in a particular comprehension focus like “reading comprehension inference.” Nuanced search terms can help parents zero in on the apps that might be most beneficial for their child.

If parents are interested in subscription-based reading apps for their child, they can consider signing up for free trial periods to explore the program before committing to a paid subscription. No matter what games and apps parents use when homeschooling, these resources can be a fun way to complement the homeschool reading journey.

Children in most grades will need to read between 15 minutes to a half hour each night after school as part of their daily reading curriculum. Some children, though, might struggle to get through those minutes. They may read a chapter or even a small book and not be able to remember much about what they read.

Parents working from home or who stay home with their children may notice their child has difficulty talking about the book or summarizing. When a child struggles to comprehend books and stories during independent reading time, these reading comprehension strategies for parents at home can keep children engaged while working to improve their understanding.

Why is Comprehension Important?

When children are first learning to read, they really focus on the basics about the story. Questions about passages or small books might only ask children about the classic w/h questions of comprehension:

• Who

• What

• Where

• When

• Why

• How

As children read to learn, comprehension can become more complex. Children may need to learn to identify with the characters, explain feelings, infer meanings from context and read between the lines to make predictions about what will happen next.

Reading builds year after year. Eventually, young readers become advanced readers who will begin to critically analyze text to form their own meanings and opinions of a story or book. Real life events might be compared to plot points in the book, too.

How Does a Parent Know Their Child is Struggling?

Reading comprehension struggles might not always be obvious to parents. Some children can read fluently but still have trouble with comprehension. One of the best ways for parents to gauge comprehension is to talk to children when reading together or ask children about the book they read.

Parents may read to younger children or read with them, and this is a great opportunity to ask the child questions about the plot and characters. A parent could notice that the child can’t grasp the nuances of a story, or they might have trouble summarizing what has happened.

Parents also could reach out to a child’s teacher to ask specifically about reading comprehension. Is the child reading on grade level? Does the teacher notice struggles with w/h questions or when discussing the details of a book.

Teachers can be great resources for helping parents better understand a child’s struggles. However, parents also know their child. If a parent is noticing that their child is consistently saying “I don’t know” when asked about stories and books, this could be a red flag related to a comprehension struggle.

Reading Comprehension Strategies

If children fail to understand the very basics of reading comprehension, they may fall further behind peers. It isn’t enough for a child to simply decode text; eventually they also need to be able to synthesize meaning and understand deeper context.

When a parent notices their child struggling with comprehension, how can they help? Here are 10 reading comprehension strategies for parents at home with their child:

1. Use reading comprehension worksheets. Teachers could provide extra worksheets for children who need to work on their comprehension. Parents can ask teachers about any extra enrichment activities. Parents also can find reading comprehension worksheets online.
2. Read with children. Parents can sit with their child as they read. Take turns reading a page, and talk about the book while reading.
3. Use sticky notes for bookmarks and notes. Encourage children to use colorful sticky notes to make notations about any important events for each chapter. Consider color coding notes for each chapter.
4. Create reading comprehension bookmarks. A bookmark helps children keep their page, and a reading comprehension bookmark includes prompts that children can think about as they read. Bookmarks for older children might have spaces for writing notes.
5. Play comprehension catch. For younger children, make a comprehension ball using a beach ball. Write prompts or comprehension questions on sections of the ball. Toss it back and forth; children need to talk about the prompt that faces upwards when they catch it.
6. Use graphic organizers. A graphic organizer can focus on characters, plots, themes or other literary terms. Organizers include spaces for children to write details to help them better understand what they’ve read. Graphic organizers can be found online.
7. Teach children to chunk the text. This is a strategy that involves covering up part of a page to only read a chunk of text. This helps children focus on one piece of the reading puzzle at a time. Chunking can help them better understand what they’ve read and clue into important details, too.
8. Re-reading is a great strategy. Even adults sometimes need to re-read passages to better understand the information. Teach children to re-read chapters or paragraphs when they don’t fully understand something.
9. Listen to the story. Libraries can be great resources for finding audiobooks. Letting children hear the story as they follow along can help children better understand emotions and maybe pick up on other details, too. Parents also can find audiobooks through the ereader on a phone or device or through sites like Audible.
10. Use a reading app that is designed to help a child with comprehension struggles.

Strategies to Help Make Reading Fun

When a child struggles with any aspect of reading, the journey might not seem so fun for them. Having difficulty in understanding a story can be incredibly frustrating for a child. Parents can help ease the feelings of frustration with these tips:

• Let children pick their books. While parents can guide a child to age-appropriate books, letting a child choose their own book ensures that they are reading something that holds their interest. Choosing their book also can be empowering.
• Know a child’s reading level. To ensure that the book isn’t too difficult, parents need to know their child’s reading level. Teachers can provide parents with the current reading level—this could be a number or a corresponding letter.
• Be positive. Reading struggles can be embarrassing for a child. Stay positive and remember to offer encouraging words.
• Complement books with activities. Parents also can help children embrace the fun of reading through activities that complement the reading journey. If a book has been adapted into a movie, let children watch the film, too. Parents also can take children on a reading field trip; choose a place from their favorite book.

Reading Programs that Help with Comprehension

Reading apps and programs like Readability can help children who struggle with reading comprehension. Readability includes a built-in AI tutor that recognizes each child’s voice as they read stories aloud.

At the end of each story, the tutor asks questions to test a child’s understanding. If a child gets a question incorrect, the tutor will re-read the passage from the book to help them identify the answer. In this way, Readability helps teach children to re-read passages to look for clues as they read the story.

When children demonstrate mastery of both reading fluency (words read per minute) and comprehension, they advance to a more difficult level. Parents can monitor their child’s reading progress through a parent portal called the Parent Dashboard. This portal shows all their child’s reading data including fluency, comprehension, average accuracy and how much time they spent reading. Parents also can track the books their child has read.

Parents who want to use a reading program to help a child that is struggling with reading comprehension can sign up for a free seven-day trial. With the week-long trial, children will have access to all of the features of the program and parents can determine if the program is a good fit for their child’s needs.

Ready to try out Readability and meet the AI tutor? Sign up for a free trial today!