Reading can be fun. But it can also be overwhelming and frustrating when we are having a hard time concentrating. Here are some age-appropriate tips for increasing your child’s comprehension.
READING for Pre-K through 4th grade
Read aloud to your child. They need to hear your emotion and inflection as you read the book.
Read in tandem….you will both read aloud at the same time using emotion and inflection
Take turns reading….you read a paragraph and your child reads the next paragraph
If your child is struggling with a word, gently insert the word for them so that they can move on
Go to the library often to find books to read for fun
Never be afraid to read aloud to your child or take turns. That is much better than your child struggling over every word and learning nothing
READING for 4th grade through high school
If novels seem impossible to get through, use these strategies:
Find the book on Wikipedia so your child can get a general overview of plot, characters, setting, etc
Find the book on sparknotes.com. Read the summary before actually reading each chapter. Read the analysis after reading each chapter
Use No Fear Literature. These really help for Shakespeare and other tough novels
Download the book onto a phone or Ipad. It is so much easier for kids to read if they can read along with an audio version
Find another student or two who would like to do a study group
Watch the movie before reading the book so that your student can get a visual. This will make the books more
interesting
Buy a physical copy of the book…even 2 copies…so you and your student can read the book together and discuss it/take notes in it. Most teachers just give out a class copy that students cannot write in
If a 300 page novel must be read in 3 weeks, do the following
Divide 300 by 3…that is 100 pages per week or 15 pages per day.
Use paper clips to mark every 15 pages so that the daily task won’t seem endless
Have your student mark their progress on a calendar