Reading comprehension is an essential skill at every reading level, but different learning types approach the topic in various manners. However, there are five primary strategies that are typically included in reading comprehension apps free of charge.

Take a look at the five primary reading comprehension strategies that teachers and parents are using to help their children learn.

1. Using Background Knowledge

Top cognitive scientists have come to the consensus that readers who apply their own knowledge to their reading practices can draw better conclusions from the story.

Background knowledge encompasses the experiences and memories that the reader can use to better understand what they’re reading. This can include words, phrases, themes, places, items, or even people that have become apparent at any time during the reader’s life.

By using information they already know, early readers can spend more time and effort on addressing the words and phrases they’re unfamiliar with.

Applying background knowledge to reading is another way to help children connect with their learning material in a direct, meaningful way.

2. Asking Questions

Creating questions to learn more about the story requires the reader to use critical thinking skills to piece together individual ideas.

Readers can come up with questions by comparing main ideas, identifying characters, and identifying their individual feelings about what’s happening in the story.

Compiling questions is a fun way to prompt your child to dig deeper into the meaning of the story without directly asking them to engage with specific themes and elements.

3. Making Predictions 

Another way to catalyze critical thinking in young readers is prompting them to predict what will happen to the characters later in the story. This gives young learners a nudge to use their creativity and make meaningful connections between what has already happened in the store and what will happen.

Making predictions requires the reader to analyze what they just read and determine possibilities based on information they already have.

Thinking ahead is a crucial skill that will help your children continue to increase their reading level over time. This will also come in handy for the visualization stage of the reading comprehension process.

Predicting is a great prompt to use in the beginning of most books and stories. The reader needs enough information to become acquainted with main characters, places, and themes without giving too much away.

4. Visualization

Creativity is one of the main drivers for children who have made the switch between performing a rote task and actually gaining an interest in what they’re reading. This is also what fuels reading visualization, which is how kids can make mental images of the text on the page.

Written words are only as realistic as the reader’s mind allows them to appear in their own mind. Visualization is also a helpful tactic for information retention, and studies show that this skill helps early readers recall what they previously read after a longer length of time.

Children can also use their own unique ideas about the story to visualize plausible events that might happen next. 

5. Summary

The last step of achieving reading comprehension is gaining the ability to summarize the story. Readers should be able to sum up a book, chapter, or passage in their own words upon completing the text.

Summarizing gives children a framework to identify the most important parts of a story, such as:

• Main ideas
• Main characters
• Conflicts
• Resolutions
• Climax
• Supporting characters
• Protagonist
• Antagonist

By reaching a point where they can make sense of these individual elements, readers are able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the story as a whole.

What is the Best Reading Comprehension App?

Whether or not your child is engaging in distance learning, technology is irrefutably a primary part of the education sphere in 2020. Using a reading app to help your child read is an easy and affordable way to build comprehension in young readers.

Choose a reading comprehension app that includes automated features like:

• AI-enabled machine learning
• Voice-activated progress tracking
• Dynamic reports
• Parental dashboard
• Cloud-based storage

These characteristics allow readers to use their online system from any device, or any location. At a time when flexibility and adaptability is paramount, fully remote connectivity is essential.

Boost your child’s ability to understand what they’re learning at home with these five proven reading comprehension strategies. Give them an extra push, and 24/7 reading support, by using a reading comprehension app’s free trial.