If your child is struggling to develop their reading skills in a traditional or distance learning environment, standard drills and exercises might not yield the results you’re looking for. As a result, educators and tech experts have collaborated to teach young readers how to get better at reading comprehension.

From reading games to voice-controlled apps, here are some of the most effective tips and tools to improve your child’s reading comprehension skills.

1. Focus on Vocabulary

Individual words are the building blocks of reading comprehension, starting with high-frequency words and single syllables. Understanding how to pronounce and identify simple words will help your child work up to more complex terms and phrases.

Children absorb new vocab words via two key methods: indirect and direct learning.

Direct instruction requires the explicit explanation of new words in a learning environment. Indirect instruction, on the other hand, involves organically learning new words via everyday conversation and passive listening.

Both methods are important for integrating new words into a new reader’s repertoire. Knowing what your child is struggling with, and where their strengths lie, will help you to identify the best learning resources for your family.

Using flash cards, charts, or even apps to reinforce your child’s vocabulary takes only a few minutes a day. This simple exercise can help young readers identify patterns early on, which is a great way to further their progress in less time.

2. Find the Main Idea

The main idea of the entire story frames how all of the characters, locations, and individual elements come together. But, each individual paragraph also has a main idea. Helping your child understand how to identify the subject of what they’re reading is a fundamental stepping stone toward better reading comprehension.

To find the main idea of a passage, encourage your child to summarize what they just read in their own words. This gives them a way to collect their thoughts and figure out what’s really important to the progression of the story.

If you’ve noticed that your child struggles with common concepts and topics, consider choosing a book or story that’s right below their reading level. Opting for more simple subject matter is an easy way to build confidence and fluency, while helping your kids highlight key ideas in less time.

3. Identify Context Clues

Even if your early reader doesn’t understand every word on the page, it’s possible to use context clues to understand main ideas and key subjects throughout the story.

Context clues come from the words and phrases that are surrounding the terms the reader might be struggling with. By considering the meaning of the auxiliary words that the child already understands, they can infer the meaning of new or challenging words.

Relying on context clues requires the reader to focus and use critical thinking skills to build a meaning from what they know in the story.

4. Break Story into Smaller Sections

As your child progresses into more difficult reading material, it’s common for young readers to freeze up and become overwhelmed. If you notice this while studying with your kids, consider breaking up the story into multiple smaller sections.

Attacking a smaller, more condensed paragraph is far less daunting than trying to work through multiple pages.

Children are more likely to stay engaged if they believe that they can accomplish what’s being asked of them. Giving them bite-sized assignments will help them build the confidence and fluency skills they need to succeed.

5. Set a Comfortable Pace

Sometimes, reading comprehension has less to do with the child’s ability and more to do with how they’re getting through each lesson. If your child feels overwhelmed with the rate at which they’re reading, it can hinder their ability to seamlessly finish the story.

Reading apps are a helpful tool for anyone who wants to learn how to get better at reading comprehension. By listening to the reader’s voice, these systems use artificial intelligence to identify:

• Pauses
• Repeated phrases
• Reading habits
• Fluency patterns

Using this information, mobile reading tools can set alerts to help your child know what they should spend more time on, and where they’re excelling in the curriculum.

Building a stronger reading foundation is key for any new readers who are trying to improve their comprehension skills. Taking more time to identify each reader’s individual strengths and weaknesses, while applying the right skills and techniques, will have your child devouring full-length stories in no time.

Check out one of the top digital reading tools on the market to help your child learn how to get better at reading comprehension.

When a young one is struggling to read, there is no time to waste. The earlier the issue is addressed, the better. For most parents, it is important to get effective reading comprehension help for 2nd graders as the majority are not teachers themselves.

Focused support can make a huge difference if the issue is caught early. This support can be in many forms and certainly does not need to be boring or only about ‘extra study’.

Here we are going to look at how you can help your 2nd grader to improve their reading comprehension fast.

Why is Reading Comprehension So Important?

When a young person reads a page perfectly, parents and teachers often feel a sense of pride. There is something about a child finally grasping how to read and sound out words that is rewarding to those who have helped them get to that point.

However, the problem is that many can ‘read’ perfectly without really understanding much of that which they have just read. They are simply making the sounds without understanding the words or context.

Reading comprehension is not only about understanding the individual sentences either, but it also goes far deeper into understanding the meaning, motives, and hidden information in articles and stories.

In today’s world of being bombarded with information, children need to both understand the sentences and be able to think about what is actually meant and even consider if the information is likely biased or fake.

According to unesco.org “there are still 781 million illiterate adults”. This needs to be addressed and prevented from continuing to help the following generations read properly.

5 Strategies to Boost Reading Comprehension

These strategies, especially when combined, can have a huge impact on reading ability and the level of reading comprehension for second graders (or older). It does involve practicing, but these approaches help to make sure reading is fun and interesting, which in turn inspires a desire to understand more.

Here are our top 5 reading comprehension suggestions:

1.     Read Aloud – This is so simple, and yet extremely effective at indirectly increasing comprehension. When a child reads aloud, they not only slow down their reading but also hear the words being read. Both factors combine to greatly increase understanding. As this is practiced more and more, eventually they will start to ‘hear’ the words when they read silently.
2.     Ask Questions – Questions make us think, and so it is important to ask children questions about the stories or articles that they are reading. They can be fact-finding questions, questions about the story in general, or otherwise. Don’t make them too difficult but try to get them to explain the story and answers so that they need to understand what they read. Questions can also be asked before reading to inspire them to read with a purpose (something that is a useful skill for exams later).
3.     Use Technology – Technology can help to make reading fun, modern, and interesting. Virtual reading tutors are not only able to assist students to read better, but also to suggest a range of level assessed and age-appropriate reading materials to keep them interested and inspired.
4.     Use Interesting and Age Appropriate Readings – If you aren’t using technology to provide this, be sure to check that the books and materials they are reading are age and level appropriate. Being too difficult or just not the right style can leave a struggling reader feeling even more frustrated. It is better to go ‘too easy’ than ‘too difficult’ when someone finds reading a challenge.
5.     Read It Again – While the idea of rereading a story is an odd idea to many people, for reading comprehension it is an excellent way to increase skills and confidence. By reading a story a second or third time, the effort of reading itself is reduced and it allows for the reader to ‘discover’ more of the story that they may have missed the first time around.

The above tips can help greatly, but there are other things you can do too. Discussing pictures in the book and relating them to the story can also be a fun exercise that makes them want to explain the story or discuss their ideas about what was just read.

Whichever approaches you decide to use, be sure to combine at least a few, and see how they work for your child. Make sure they have the option to read interesting stories and the motivation to read. Motivation can be inspired by setting reading times, challenges, and even providing rewards for both efforts made and milestone achievements.

Reading comprehension involves a child’s ability to understand the context and meaning of text. Young readers quickly learn to summarize or retell story plots and identify the main characters—basic elements of comprehension. Inferencing, the ability to make predictions on what will happen based on clues within the text, is a fundamental aspect of comprehension that is integral to reading proficiency.

As text becomes more abstract, readers must find the unwritten meanings that help them develop a greater understanding of the story. Unsure how to help a struggling reader? Here are 100 ways to help your child improve reading comprehension, love the adventure of reading and enjoy exploring new books! Some of these tips may be an adventure for parents, too!

1.    Ask questions when you read. The key comprehension questions are who, what, when, where, why and how. Your child should be able to answer these basic questions about the story or book.
2.    Cook a recipe. Cooking and following a recipe could help with basic comprehension skills. Measuring also helps your child with math!
3.    Narrate the story. Don’t just read aloud, narrate the story for your child. Inflect emotion and excitement to help them understand elements of the plot and motivations of the characters.
4.    Listen to the book. Listening to a book while following along in the text could help a child to better grasp plot elements or infer meaning.
5.    Start a family reading club. Everyone in the family should read the same book. After everyone finishes the story, talk about the plot and characters in depth together.
6.    Use reading worksheets. Online worksheets are available on numerous websites to help parents work on reading comprehension with their child. Some worksheets include questions to gauge understanding.
7.    Make a reading comprehension bookmark. A bookmark can serve as a visual reminder to help children think about plot elements and help identify those key “wh” questions.
8.    Use graphic organizers. A graphic organizer can help focus on plot, characters or other aspects of the story. This is yet another visual way to help with comprehension.
9.    Watch the movie together. After reading the book, watch the movie. Then discuss how the book differs from the big screen adaptation.
10.   Play reading games. Download games or apps that focus on reading skills. Or create your own games at home.
11.   Use a reading app. Readability provides struggling readers with an AI virtual tutor that helps guide reading lessons and tests comprehension. The tutor recognizes your child’s voice and provides guidance on pronunciation.  After the story is completed, the tutor will ask questions related to the story.
12.   Let children choose their books. Kids may be more excited about reading when they get to choose their own books.
    
13.   Take a reading field trip. Visit a site featured in your child’s favorite book. Maybe it’s a museum, the zoo or somewhere else. This is yet another way for a child to immerse into the action of the story.
14.   Make a story comprehension ball. Grab a beach ball and write comprehension prompts on each of the colorful sections. Toss the ball to your child and have them answer the prompt that faces up when they catch the ball. You can also buy a ball!
15.   Write a storybook. Have your child write their own fiction story. By creating a plot and characters, they also have to think beyond the basics.
16.   Draw pictures. Have your child illustrate a scene from the story. This may help them visualize the action of the story.
17.   Create a shoebox diorama. This is a small three-dimensional recreation of a scene from the story. Like an illustration, this could help a child visualize and better understand a scene.
18.   Meet with the teacher. When parents are concerned about comprehension, one of the first steps to address the issue may be a meeting with a child’s teacher. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
19.   Hire a private tutor. If money isn’t an issue, a private tutor could work one-on-one with a child to help focus on comprehension struggles.
20.   Read, read, read. Encourage children to read regularly to help work on proficiency and comprehension.
21.   Start a book club during the summer. If the local library doesn’t offer a summer reading program, start your own. Encourage children to track reading minutes and offer prizes for milestones and program completion. This encourages regular reading during the summer and could help them to not fall behind…in comprehension and proficiency.
22.   Offer reading rewards. For kids who dislike reading, a rewards program may be beneficial to get them to crack a book and work on comprehension. Set rewards that will motivate your child.
23.   Set reading goals related to comprehension. Reading rewards should be tied to reading goals. These goals could be related to comprehension, page numbers or reading minutes.
24.   Understand your child’s reading level. Parents should always know what reading level is best for their child, so that books are never too easy or too difficult. Ask your child’s teacher to better understand individual reading levels.
25.   Choose books that are leveled appropriately. Don’t select books that are too far outside a child’s reading level. Working on comprehension requires text that a child can easily understand.
26.   Read aloud to a child. Hearing a book read aloud could help a child understand the plot or the character’s actions. This also can be a child’s gateway to more difficult books.
    
27.   Create a reading den. Make reading fun by creating a reading nook or den. Grab pillows, covers or your child’s favorite stuffed animals.
28.   Stop the clock. Understand that the clock doesn’t always rule reading. Sometimes it’s ok to not watch the clock.
29.   Make a book craft. After reading the book, have your child make a craft related to the story. Your child can create a puppet based on the character of a book.
    
30.   Let children read to a furry friend. Our pets don’t judge mistakes. Let your child read aloud to the family pet. This is a great way to help them practice reading fluency.
31.   Make a book interest list. Not sure what books interest your child? Have them make a list of favorite sports, hobbies, ideas and more. Then find books related to the interest list.
32.   Review reading scores from school-based standardized tests. If you’re unsure if your child is reading at grade level, ask to review standardized test scores. These are usually sent home, but sometimes schools forget. Just ask your child’s teacher to review.
33. Talk to a pediatrician if reading struggles are pronounced. If your child is really struggling to sound out words and comprehend text, schedule an appointment with your child’s pediatrician to seek guidance.
34.   Ask for referrals. If your child’s doctor is concerned, they may recommend that your child see a specialist; ask for referrals so you know whom to consult. You may also need to check your insurance plan to find in-network specialists.
35.   Ask the school for intervention or further testing. Reach out to the school to inquire about testing for reading struggles.
36.   Never shame a struggling reader.
37.   But praise progress and effort. Always offer praise for progress and effort. Positive words may go a long way to a child that is struggling.
38.   Investigate different types of reading programs. Not every app or program works for every child. Do your research.
39.   Find out what reading environment works best for your child. Do they like to read alone? On the couch? Talk to your child about where they love to read, and try to make accommodations.
40.   Encourage reading breaks. Don’t push a child to read to the brink of exhaustion. Even when your child is completely lost in a book, encourage them to rest their eyes and take a reading break.
41.   Don’t make reading a chore. All parents can nag, but try not to make reading assignments into a dreaded task. This is sometimes how those reading minutes can backfire (depending on the child). Some kids see reading minutes as “I need to get through this.” They never enjoy the story or the book because they resent being forced to do reading for those mandated 20 minutes. Encourage fun reading, and let kids read at their pace.
    
42.   Set reasonable expectations. Don’t make reading goals unattainable.
43.   Understand that all reading is practice. Comic books count!
44.   Don’t compare a struggling reader to a peer or sibling.
45.   Talk to a child. Ask them to summarize their day. Ask them what happened in school. Ask them anything. Getting them to articulate their own experiences may help them articulate what they read, too. You might even focus on “wh” questions
46.   Read books to celebrate or commemorate history. For Fourth of July, read about the Revolutionary War and our Constitution. During Black History Month, encourage children to read about historical figures in the Civil Rights movement.
47.   Incorporate comprehension into daily activities. Talk about your day, an activity you’re doing and the steps you take to complete the activity. Incorporate those ‘wh’ questions.
48.   Use comprehension strategies across subjects. Focusing on comprehension is vital for the understanding of all subjects. Make sure your child understands history and science by asking comprehension questions related to assignments and reading.
    
49.   Enjoy a reading snack related to the book.
50.   Set the clock for fun reading races. If your child needs to work on proficiency, set a timer and encourage them to read a paragraph without making any mistakes.
51.   Parents need to read, too. Kids should see parents reading and enjoying a book. Kids learn by example.
52.   Encourage kids to write book reports. When kids finish the book, have them write up an old-fashioned book report detailing what they liked about the story and talking about the characters.
53.   Inquire about school resources in the classroom. Do you know what type of reading resources your child’s school offers? Ask! You may be able to use programs or resources at home.
54.   Mirror the teacher’s strategies. Inquire about what reading strategies your child’s teacher uses in the classroom. Use these same strategies at home.
    
55.   Encourage children to chunk the text to help ease comprehension struggles. Have children chunk text by reading a paragraph at a time…or a chapter. Then ask them questions about what they’ve read.
56.   Reenact a fun scene from the book. Is this a dinner party? An amazing adventure. Reenact it with kids and home to help them immerse in the story.
57.   Make sure kids know they aren’t alone in their struggles. Explain to them that many students struggle with reading. In fact, about 10 million struggle with reading.
58.   Don’t let children avoid reading. While understanding a story may be a challenge, don’t let kids avoid reading. Sit with them, help them and encourage them…but don’t let them give up.
59.   Have kids write a brief autobiography. Encourage them to retell an adventure; write down these adventures and use your child’s personal story to help them with aspects of comprehension. How did they feel? What did they learn? Make sure the adventure was a real one!
60.   Use books as rewards for reading. The best reward for reading? More books!
61.   Take your child to get a library card. Make a big event out of going to the library for their very first card…explain that this is their ticket to read any book they want!
62.   Check your library’s web site for special events related to reading clubs or other activities that could increase your child’s enjoyment of books and reading.
63.   Ask the librarian for book recommendations to help with comprehension. Librarians are great resources.
64.   Have your child create a hero list of famous people and find books about them for your child.
65.   Make sure any reading program you consider to help with comprehension has a free trial. Don’t risk paying for an app that doesn’t meet the needs of your child.
66.   Don’t stop reading during school breaks. The summer slide happens when children fail to keep reading or don’t engage in any meaningful educational activities (even doing math workbooks helps!).
67.   Check in with your child during reading to make sure they aren’t struggling.
68.   Visit thrift stores to find inexpensive books. Some may offer kids’ books for a mere quarter! Check out thrift stores near you!
    
69.   Utilize free ‘little libraries’ around the community when money’s too tight. Remember, take a book, give a book. Or, at the very least, remember to return the book you took from this free resource.
70.   Find books related to your child’s favorite shows.
71.   Explore free reading resources on PBSKids.org.
72.   Play comprehension hopscotch. Write comprehension prompts on the squares!
73.   Embrace virtual books for children who love technology. Download ebooks to your favorite ereader!
74.   Give your child some reading holidays. On break, give them a brief reading reprieve for a few days.
75.   Celebrate National Poetry Month in April by reading poetry or introducing your child to your favorite poets.
76.   On April 12, make sure your child celebrates D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read Day!)
77.   For children who have difficulty with comprehension because of dyslexia or another learning disability, the month of October is Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia Awareness Month. You can find resources about learning disabilities or choose to be an advocate to educate others this month.
    
78.   During the month of October, parents can make reading fun by adopting a Halloween theme for at-home reading activities. Candy rewards, scary stories and even fun Halloween snacks can all be included.
79.   In November, help your child choose books on thankfulness, the first Thanksgiving or Native Americans. Remember, encourage your child to pick the books they want.
80.   December is the month of many holidays. Read about Christmas, Hanukah, or Kwanzaa. Talk to kids about these holidays to gauge their holiday comprehension. You may even read about holiday traditions across the globe. In Dutch traditions, St. Nicholas would leave candy or toys in children’s shoes!
81.   For February, embrace stories of love or Valentine’s Day history to work on comprehension. Fairy tales with happily-ever-after endings are a perfect choice for this month.
82.   Let your child read a comic strip (geared for kids) and talk about it together! Comic strips are a quick read, and may be an easy way to go over basic comprehension.
83.   Create comprehension quizzes for children to test their knowledge of the book.
84.   Understand that nightly reading minutes don’t always mean 20 minutes each night. If kids read for an hour, this counts toward the 100 weekly minutes. Don’t overthink reading minutes and turn reading into a chore.
85.   Does your child enjoy building models? Reading and following the instructions may help them with comprehension. Talk about each step and ask questions related to the process as they build.
86. Remove distractions. When a child is reading, make sure that any noisy distractions are removed. Turn off the radio and the television!
87.   Encourage your child to read aloud. Note their inflection during the story and see if they can pick up on emotions of characters.
88.   To analyze characters, have children create a chart comparing and contrasting main characters in a story. How are they alike? How are they different?
89.   Ask kids to make predictions. Reading aloud to kids? After each chapter, ask your child what they think might happen next.
90.   Check out different reading landmarks in your area. These can be places featured in books, independent bookstores, or libraries.
91.   Take the reading outdoors. Read out in nature to change the scenery! Encourage beach reading during vacation…just don’t forget the sunscreen!
92.   Talk to your child if you find that they are getting discouraged. Make sure to always provide positive reinforcement during reading.
93.   Know when you need a parent break. Parents can get frustrated if we feel a child isn’t listening or doing what they need to do. Sometimes, though, their struggle is just overwhelming them. If you feel that you’re losing your cool, step back. Take a parent break.
94.   Step into character by role playing parts of the book. You can use puppets, too.
95.   If your child is hungry, overly tired or sick, reading could be more of a struggle. If a child can’t focus because they are tired, need to eat or just feel bad, they might not pick up much from what they read. Use common sense before pushing those nightly reading sessions.
96.   Understand that an illness or a bad night with little sleep also could affect a child’s scores on a reading test. If scores were below expectations—and not the norm for your child—don’t assume reading has become a major problem. Reach out to your child’s teacher, and inquire if the child should be retested. If your child’s teacher is concerned, they will let you know.
97.   Host a family reading night each week. Everyone can hang out in the living room with their favorite book. This is a great way to unplug…and unwind. It also creates a reading habit for kids.
98.   Don’t book shame a child. If they love a silly book, let them read it.
99.   Find poems that were turned into songs! Listen to the song and talk about meaning. How does the music set the tone for the story/poem?
100. Don’t ban books without researching. As kids get older, parents may want to police their reading material. Before you put the stop on a book, before challenging a child who wants to read it, research the book and the author. Don’t judge a book by its cover…or its reputation. Some of the greatest novels have been challenged, banned and burned.

There are so many ways to help your child become a better reader. Many of these tips focus on out-of-the-box ways to encourage kids to pick up a book or to view reading and books positively. 

By making reading a fun activity, kids may be more open to guidance to improve comprehension. When parents are concerned that their child struggles with comprehension, opening a dialogue with the teacher may be the first (and best) step to address their struggles. 

Intervention, additional testing or perhaps even a medical referral to a specialist could also be needed to pinpoint the cause of a reading struggle. Sometimes, though, kids may simply fall behind and additional help at home may be all that is needed to help boost their proficiency.

Halloween might not be the same this year thanks to the pandemic mess that is Covid. Even if you decide not to take your kids door-to-door for festive trick-or-treating, you can still celebrate Halloween in other ways. Most kids love this festive holiday that’s marked by costumes and candy, and parents can use the spooky fun of Halloween to get kids reading, too.

Books are a scream (in a good way, of course), but kids who say ‘boo’ to books might fall behind their peers in fluency and/or comprehension. Here’s how to improve your child’s comprehension using a festive and fun Halloween theme!

1.   Start a Halloween Book Club

When the calendar flips to October, it’s time to embrace fall…and countdown the days until Halloween! In October, start a Halloween book club for your kids. Have them pick out books themed for this season to get them excited to read.

When kids choose their own books, they may feel more empowered and in control. However, parents that want to work on comprehension with their kids should make sure that kids choose books on the right reading level.

Halloween books can be nonfiction or fiction. Books may feature a favorite cartoon or story character, or kids may want to choose ghost stories or books that talk about the history of Halloween or spooky places.  Mix up the books for a variety of unique stories for this fall holiday.

2.   Create Halloween-centric reading rewards

If parents have set reading rewards for kids, theme the rewards for Halloween. Changing up reading rewards may get kids excited to earn new prizes. For reading comprehension goals, parents may wish to focus on understanding instead of time or page goals. This could be goals related to answering the key ‘wh’ questions: who, what, when, where (and how).  Not sure how to set comprehension goals at home? Parents can work with the child’s teacher to ensure that goals are appropriate and fair.

Halloween themed prizes can be stored in a Halloween themed bag or pumpkin bucket. Prizes don’t have to be candy or anything sugary. Instead, let kids select:

• Halloween themed stickers
• Fun spooky book marks
• Wax lips or teeth (if these toys are safe for your child)
• Slime
• Pencils or erasers (themed for fall or Halloween)
• Halloween books

3.   Use Halloween-Themed Articles to Help Gauge Comprehension

Handouts featuring articles can help children work on reading comprehension, too. These worksheets or handouts also may include comprehension questions to gauge a child’s understanding.

ReadWorks offers several articles that parents can use to help their child work on comprehension, and these articles are all themed for Halloween. Articles are marked for grade-level and reading level.

4.   Listen to the story

If your child is reading a silly or scary story that’s themed for Halloween, try to find the audiobook, too. Listening to the story—especially when the narrator is expressive and animated—may help them better understand the emotions or actions of the story. Scholastic explains that listening also can let kids read books that may be a bit harder. If your child is struggling with comprehension, listening to the story may be yet another learning resource.

5.   Pair the book with the movie…or cartoon

Did your child select a Halloween book that was made into a movie or a cartoon Halloween special? Watch the show or movie after reading the book. While this might not strengthen comprehension in a traditional sense, it can be a fun way for children to spot differences in the plot used in the book versus the movie. Watching the movie or show can be a fun reward, too.

After watching the movie/show, talk about what your child liked about the book versus the movie and if the characters were portrayed onscreen how your child pictured them in the book. When we read, we often create our own images of a character; sometimes Hollywood matches those images, other times…not so much!

6.   Cook Halloween snacks and treats to work on comprehension

Yes, a recipe can help your child with reading comprehension. Following a recipe requires attention to details and instructions. These step-by-step tasty lessons can be a great way to work on basic comprehension skills.  Teachers Pay Teachers has several worksheets that feature recipes and include questions related to comprehension. Need some great Halloween recipes? Check out the Food Network’s Spooky Halloween Recipes for Kids!

For kids who really struggle with comprehension, parents also can utilize a reading app like Readability. Readability can help kids improve comprehension and fluency; a built-in AI tutor provides auditory feedback to correct mistakes and help gauge comprehension. Lessons are leveled to ensure that stories are a perfect match to a child’s individualized reading ability. Parents can follow their child’s progress with the Parent Dashboard, which provides up-to-date information related to a child’s reading level as well as the time they spent engaging in lessons on the app.

Parents may be a bit spooked about paying for a reading app if they are unsure of its benefit, and Readability won’t haunt parents with insane monthly payments for a service that doesn’t work. Parents can sign up for a free seven-day trial of Readability…with no obligations. Ready to try Readability? Sign up for a free trial today!

Reading every day can help your child improve their reading skills. Some new readers might struggle especially with reading comprehension. A little reading time every day can especially help with improving reading comprehension.

What exactly is reading comprehension?

Pig blue walk purple apple sun jump clouds. You were probably able to recognize each word in that sentence and know what they each mean independently. However, reading those words together to try to understand the meaning of the sentence is impossible. The sentence is just nonsense!

Reading comprehension is being able to not just recognize words in a sentence individually but being able to understand what those words put together mean.

Comprehension is ultimately the main goal of reading because it means you understand the information the text is trying to say. So, if your child is struggling with reading comprehension, they are likely struggling in other areas of their learning which is why reading comprehension is so important.

What causes problems with reading comprehension?

Your child’s reading comprehension issues might not be noticeable at first, especially if they are good at memorizing vocabulary. However, here are some signs to look for:

• Frequently avoiding reading or homework
• Can read words in a sentence but cannot explain the meaning
• Difficulty summarizing what they read
• Often does assignments incorrectly

These signs might indicate that your child is struggling with reading comprehension. In order to help your child effectively improve, it could help to identify the reason why they are struggling in the first place. Some reasons they might be struggling are:

• Difficulty with language processing – This could also be an issue with visual reasoning. Often this is genetic or a development difference.
• Dyslexia – This learning disability has more to do with phonemic awareness. However, since it makes reading more difficult, comprehension can be affected.
• ADD/ADHD – Since their attention can slip easily from the reading material, their reading comprehension might be weaker.
• Lacking practice or instruction – Sometimes the reason your child is struggling is simply because they are not getting enough practice or individualized instruction. Luckily, there are simple ways to help improve their reading comprehension at home.

How can I improve reading comprehension?

Many kids who are struggling are reluctant to read for fun. Here are some daily reading activities to get your child to read and have fun at the same time:

• Bake together – Choose a new recipe to try together and have your child read the instructions aloud to you as you bake together. Recipes usually use simple sentence structure and much clearer direct language, so it will help your child build their reading comprehension.
• Do a reading treasure hunt – Goal or task-oriented activities are a great way to trick your child into reading. Set up a reading treasure hunt where your child has to read to find the next clue. You can make it as easy or advanced as you like.
• Read a series together – A great way to bond with your child and get them to read is to share a book together. Book series are a great way to get long periods of practice and encourage your child to keep on reading.
• Host a movie night – If your child is reading a book that has been turned into a film, it could be fun to create a movie night once they are done reading the book.
• Have fun with apps – A great way to get reading practice every day is to use a reading app. Many schools are already using fun and interactive reading apps to help students practice reading.

Which reading app helps with improving reading comprehension?

There are tons and tons of different reading apps available for your child to use to help improve their reading skills. Some target specific reading skills such as vocabulary or fluency.

For improving reading comprehension, you want to choose an app that gives your child plenty of reading materials to practice with but also some interactive activities that checks their understanding.

The best all-in-one app for reading comprehension is Readability. It provides a large library of original reading materials, and it is constantly being updated. Your child can use the app in several different ways.

Readability can work like an e-reader, audiobook, and private tutor all at once.  It reads to your child at first and then prompts your child to read aloud. Using A.I. and voice-recognition technology, the app can listen to your child as they read aloud and gives them instant feedback for error correction.

Readability also discusses the reading material with your child to check their comprehension. The app’s innovative Interactive voice based Questions & Answers asks your child questions about the story they just read and listens to their answers.

Improving reading comprehension is easier than you think! Really the best way to improve your child’s reading comprehension is to get them to read a lot and often. Try any of these simple everyday activities to make reading run and actually see an improvement in your child’s reading comprehension.

Learning how to pronounce words is only one element of reading. To become a strong reader, children must also understand what they are reading. The ability to extract meaning from text is known as reading comprehension, and it plays a crucial role in your child’s academic success. But unfortunately, many children struggle to develop the reading comprehension skills they need to thrive. If your child is struggling, implement one or more of these elementary reading comprehension strategies to help them reach their full potential:

• Using Background Knowledge
• Questions
• Reading Between the Lines
• Making Predictions
• Summarizing
• Visualizing
• Monitoring Comprehension 

Using Background Knowledge

Kids need to learn how to extract meaning from text by connecting what they read to their own life experiences.

For example, say your child is preparing to read a book about a famous baseball player. Before they begin reading, ask your child what they already know about baseball. Then, remind your child to use this information to better understand the story they are about to read. If your child is already familiar with common baseball terminology, they can tap into this knowledge to understand the text.

Questions

Encourage your child to ask and answer questions about the text before, during, and after reading a story. Some examples of questions include:

• What do I think this story will be about based on the cover, title, and illustrations?
• Why did this character say or do that?
• What caused this event to happen?
• How are these two characters related?
• What was the main idea of this chapter?
• What will happen if…?
• What would I do in this situation?

This exercise will help your child integrate information, remain engaged, summarize what they’ve read, and gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of the text.

Reading Between the Lines

Sometimes, an author will not explicitly provide all of the information that a child needs to understand a character’s motivations, the setting of the story, or the theme of the text. Instead, the author will leave behind clues that your child can use to make inferences.

For example, say the author states that the main character is looking at their dinner plate with a frown on their face. Your child should be able to read between the lines and infer that the main character does not like the food that they have been served for dinner.

Making Predictions

Similar to making inferences, making predictions involves using clues from the text to make assumptions. However, making a prediction involves thinking about what will happen next rather than interpreting what has already happened.

Take another look at the example from above. Based on this information, your child may predict that the main character will refuse to eat their dinner. Making predictions like these—no matter how small—will help your child better understand the text.

Summarizing

Kids should work on providing a summary of each story in their own words shortly after they finish reading. This exercise helps kids practice how to recall information, eliminate insignificant information, and condense the main ideas of the story into several short sentences. By summarizing every story they read, kids can drastically improve their reading comprehension skills.

Visualizing

As your child reads, encourage them to paint a mental picture of what is happening in the text. Research has shown that creating mental images of text can help a child process the information they are reading.

Teach them to visualize the characters, locations, and events that occur in the text. The more detailed their visualization is, the better. Not only will visualization improve reading comprehension, but it will also make reading more fun for your child.

Monitoring Comprehension

Monitoring refers to a child’s ability to recognize when they understand what they are reading and when they don’t. This skill is important because, without it, kids won’t know when they need to resolve problems in order to understand the text.

Your child should be actively checking in with themselves as they read to confirm that they understand the text. If they come across something they don’t understand, they should make another attempt to interpret this text. This may involve using context clues, looking up a word in the dictionary, re-reading a passage, or asking someone for help.

Improve Reading Comprehension Skills With the Readability App

Some children need extra help outside of the classroom in order to become better readers. If your child is struggling with reading comprehension, supplement their classroom instruction with the Readability app at home. Readability is a reading comprehension app that keeps your child engaged by asking questions, listening to their answers, and providing immediate feedback as they read. It’s just like talking to a teacher.

Using the Readability app can help your child improve their critical thinking and reading comprehension skills in no time. Download the app so you can start your free 7-day trial today.