Comprehension

Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. It is

the ability to process what is being read, understand the meaning the author is trying to
convey and make inferences based on prior knowledge. Prior knowledge, language
fluency, and the ability to make inferences play a role in a reader’s comprehension. To
be able to accurately understand written material, we need to be able to:
i. Decode what we read.
ii. Make connections between what we read and what we already know.
iii. Think deeply about what we have read.

IMPORTANCE OF COMPREHENSION SKILL

 Reading comprehension demonstrates reader’s ability to understand,
interpret, analyze, and infer written information.
 Our overall communication skills, critical thinking skills, attention to
detail, decision-making ability, even ability to concentrate can all be
assumed from our ability to understand what you read.
 Many jobs will even administer a test that determines comprehension
abilities to determine if a candidate will be a good fit for the role and the
company.
 Comprehension plays a role in your ability to communicate with the
coworkers, supervisors, managers and clients. It can help in making
decisions and formulate a plan.
 If you want to advance your career, your reading comprehension skills
must be above average. A more advanced position will inevitably come
with additional communication responsibilities.
Essential Skills for Reading Comprehension
Here are six essential skills needed for reading comprehension, and
tips on what can help kids improve this skill.

1. Decoding
Decoding is a vital step in the reading process. This skill is used to
sound out words we have heard before but haven’t seen written out.

Decoding relies on an early language skill called phonemic

awareness. Phonemic awareness lets kids hear individual sounds in
words (known as phonemes). It also allows them to “play” with sounds
at the word and syllable level.
Decoding also relies on connecting individual sounds to letters. For
instance, to read the word sun, kids must know that the letter s makes
the /s/ sound. Grasping the connection between a letter (or group of
letters) and the sounds they typically make is an important step toward
“sounding out” words.

What can help: Most kids pick up the broad skill of phonological
awareness naturally, by being exposed to books, songs, and rhymes.
But some kids don’t. In fact, one of the early signs of reading
difficulties is trouble with rhyming, counting syllables, or identifying the
first sound in a word.

The best way to help kids with these skills is through specific
instruction and practice. Kids have to be taught how to identify and
work with sounds. You can also build phonological awareness at
home through activities like word games and reading to your child.

2. Fluency
To read fluently, kids need to instantly recognize words,
including words they can’t sound out. Fluency speeds up the rate at
which they can read and understand text. It’s also important when kids
encounter irregular words, like of and the, which can’t be sounded out.

Sounding out or decoding every word can take a lot of effort. Word
recognition is the ability to recognize whole words instantly by sight,
without sounding them out.

When kids can read quickly and without making too many errors, they
are “fluent” readers.

Fluent readers read smoothly at a good pace. They group words

together to help with meaning, and they use the proper tone in their
voice when reading aloud. Reading fluency is essential for good
reading comprehension.

What can help: Word recognition can be a big obstacle for struggling
readers. Average readers need to see a word four to 14 times before it
becomes a “sight word” they automatically recognize. Kids with
dyslexia, for instance, may need to see it up to 40 times.

Lots of kids struggle with reading fluency. As with other reading skills,
kids need lots of specific instruction and practice to improve word
recognition.

The main way to help build fluency is through practice reading

books. It’s important to pick out books that are at the right level of
difficulty for kids.

3. Vocabulary
To understand what you’re reading, you need to understand most of
the words in the text. Having a strong vocabulary is a key component
of reading comprehension. Students can learn vocabulary through
instruction. But they typically learn the meaning of words through
everyday experience and also by reading.

What can help: The more words kids are exposed to, the richer their
vocabulary becomes. You can help build your child’s vocabulary by
having frequent conversations on a variety of topics. Try to include
new words and ideas. Telling jokes and playing word games is a fun
way to build this skill.

Reading together every day also helps improve vocabulary. When

reading aloud, stop at new words and define them. But also
encourage your child to read alone. Even without hearing a definition
of a new word, your child can use context to help figure it out.

Teachers can help, too. They can carefully choose interesting words
to teach and then give explicit instruction (instruction that is
specialized and direct). They can engage students in conversation.
And they can make learning vocabulary fun by playing word games in
class.

For more ideas, watch as an expert explains how to help struggling

readers build their vocabulary.
4. Sentence construction and cohesion
Understanding how sentences are built might seem like a writing
skill. So might connecting ideas within and between sentences, which
is called cohesion. But these skills are important for reading
comprehension as well.

Knowing how ideas link up at the sentence level helps kids get
meaning from passages and entire texts. It also leads to something
called coherence, or the ability to connect ideas to other ideas in an
overall piece of writing.

What can help: Explicit instruction can teach kids the basics of
sentence construction. For example, teachers can work with students
on connecting two or more thoughts, through both writing and reading.

5. Reasoning and background knowledge

Most readers relate what they’ve read to what they know. So it’s
important for kids to have background or prior knowledge about the
world when they read. They also need to be able to “read between the
lines” and pull out meaning even when it’s not literally spelled out.

Take this example: A child is reading a story about a poor family in the
1930s. Having knowledge about the Great Depression can provide
insight into what’s happening in the story. The child can use that
background knowledge to make inferences and draw conclusions.

What can help: Your child can build knowledge through reading,
conversations, movies and TV shows, and art. Life experience and
hands-on activities also build knowledge.

Expose your child to as much as possible, and talk about what you’ve
learned from experiences you’ve had together and separately. Help
your child make connections between new knowledge and existing
knowledge. And ask open-ended questions that require thinking and
explanations.
You can also read a teacher tip on using animated videos to help
your child make inferences.

6. Working memory and attention

These two skills are both part of a group of abilities known
as executive function. They’re different but closely related.

When kids read, attention allows them to take in information from the
text. Working memory allows them to hold on to that information and
use it to gain meaning and build knowledge from what they’re reading.

The ability to self-monitor while reading is also tied to that. Kids need
to be able to recognize when they don’t understand something. Then
they need to stop, go back, and re-read to clear up any confusion they
may have.

What can help: There are many ways you can help improve your
child’s working memory. Skill builders don’t have to feel like work,
either. There are a number of games and everyday activities that
can build working memory without kids even knowing it.

To help increase your child’s attention, look for reading material that’s
interesting or motivating. For example, some kids may like graphic
novels. Encourage your child to stop and re-read when something
isn’t clear. And demonstrate how you “think aloud” when you read to
make sure what you’re reading makes sense.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR READING COMPREHENSION

SKILLS
Reading comprehension is a skill. And, like any skill, it can be improved with
practice. It should be noted, though, that this is an extremely difficult skill to
build. You will need time and patience to improve your comprehension
abilities to any degree.
 Improve your vocabulary. Your understanding of the words being used
will have a direct effect on your ability to comprehend the text. Fluency in
the language you are reading is important, but may not always be possible.
Do your best to build your vocabulary regularly to improve your
comprehension.
 Every industry has its language. Some companies may even have their
own commonly used lingo. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the common
language used in your industry or company.
Without knowledge of the common terms and phrases, you will not be able
to fully comprehend what you’re reading.
 Skim first. This is more useful for longer or more complex texts. Although,
you may skim your emails and memos to gather important information
quickly. Be sure to skim through the text first to glean any important
information before reading through more thoroughly.
By skimming first, you allow yourself to gather the main points before
diving in deeper. This can help you to focus on the information you need
more clearly.
 Ask questions. Before you begin reading, while you are reading, and after
you are finished, you should be asking questions about the text. This can
help you to determine the main points and find the deeper meaning.
Asking questions can help you become more invested in the text as you
search for answers. The more specific the questions you ask, the more
insight you’ll gain.
 Use context clues. If you’re unable to understand exactly what a word,
sentence or phrase means, use clues from the surrounding text to help you
gain clarity. Using context clues can help you to build your vocabulary,
which we already know is an important part of reading comprehension.
 Summarize. You can practice this throughout the text, or once you’ve
finished reading. By restating the main ideas in your own words, you will
see the text in a language that makes the most sense to you.
Not only will this help you to better understand the information being
conveyed, but you will also be better able to relay this information. You
want to make sure that you are clear in your meaning when you explain the
text to coworkers or clients.
 Make inferences. You need to read between the lines. Reading
comprehension is about understanding what is being said both textually
and sub-textually. Try to see the subtext and understand what is being
implied.
By drawing inferences, you can make connections and conclusions based
on what you’ve read.
 Visualize. If you’re working with a complex concept or struggling to
understand it, visualization can be the difference. Create a mental image or
draw a graphic organizer to help extract meaning from the text.
Visualization is an immensely helpful skill that can have a significant impact
on your ability to recall information. Visualization is strongly linked to short-
term and long-term memory.
Types of Comprehension
When we read, whether it is a story or information, we learn to think. We make meaning and
comprehend in three ways:

1. Literal Comprehension

Retell or summarize the facts to communicate what is made explicit through the elements of a
story (fiction). Summarize the facts to communicate what is made explicit through the elements
of information (nonfiction).

2. Inferential Comprehension

Express what is implicit within the text. Make inferences, interpretations, and reflections
supported by evidence: text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections.

3. Analytical Comprehension

Evaluate the quality of writing in a story or information against the Traits of Writing: ideas,
organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. How rich is the quality and
originality of the writing?

Evaluate the quality of ‘small moment scenes’ in narrative writing. How effectively does the
author paint a movie in the mind of the reader by ‘showing, not telling’ the setting, action,
thoughts & feeling, and dialogue?

Evaluate the quality of ideas, details, and thought in non-narrative writing. How effectively does
the author stimulate the reader to notice more, think more, and realize more about the topic?

Reading Comprehension is the ability to easily and efficiently read

the text for meaning. It is the last step of the reading process
taught to children after they’ve learned phonics, fluency, and
vocabulary. Five levels of reading comprehension can be taught to
children.

1. Lexical Comprehension
2. Literal Comprehension
3. Interpretive Comprehension
4. Applied Comprehension
5. Affective Comprehension
To really understand these different levels, let’s take a familiar
text and see how different types of questions probe different
understandings of the same story. The fairy tale Cinderella tells
the story of a young girl, whose evil stepmother won’t let her go to
the ball. Cinderella’s fairy godmother, however, magically whisks
her off for the night and Cinderella eventually marries her Prince
Charming.

1. LEXICAL COMPREHENSION
Characteristics:

 It deals with the understanding of the words in a text.

 The reader must be equipped with the knowledge of unlocking
the meaning of the terms in a text.
Questions that start with the following are usually
lexical:

 What does ‘enchanted’ mean?

 What words are most like ‘enchanted’: Magical or funny? Scary
or special?
2. LITERAL COMPREHENSION
Characteristics:

 Identify the main ideas of the paragraph.

 Recall details to support the main idea.
Organize the sequence of main events that occurred.
Example Questions

 Who was the girl who lost the glass slipper?

 Where did Cinderella go to live at the end of the story?
 What happened…?
 How many…?
 How did…?
 Who…?
 What is/are…?
 Which…?
3. INTERPRETIVE COMPREHENSION
Characteristics:

 Reading between the lines.

 Predict endings and anticipate consequences.
 State reasons for events.
 Make generalizations.
Understand the facts that are explicitly stated in the text.
Example Questions

 How did the pumpkin turned into a carriage?

 What would’ve happened to Cinderella if she hasn’t lost her
slippers?
 Why did…?
 What was…?
 What do you think about…?
 Can you explain…?
 How was this similar to…?
4. APPLIED COMPREHENSION
Characteristics:

 Reading beyond the lines.

 Reader links between the text and his own experience and
knowledge to develop an answer.
 A reader asks open-ended questions to promote deeper
understanding.
 Readers support their answer with a logical reason.
Readers do the following:
1. Make generalizations.
2. Make comparisons.
3. Make judgments.
4. Make recommendations and suggestions.
5. Make decisions.
6. Create alternative endings.
Example Questions

 Do you think Cinderella was wrong for going to the ball when
her stepmother said she couldn’t go?
 How would you…?
 Do you agree…?
 What would have happened if…?
 How might…?
 What effect does…?
 If you were… what would you…?
5. AFFECTIVE COMPREHENSION
Characteristics:

 Previews social scripts to ensure understanding of plot

development.
Connects motive to plot and character development.
Example Questions

 What do you do when you’re disappointed because you cannot

do anything fun? Is that how Cinderella reacted.
 Do you think what … has done is appropriate?

6 Types of reading comprehension

1. Lexical comprehension means that the teacher will explain new words after the
text have been read to the learners. A wide variety of different words can be used to ask
learners questions about such as:
 Funny or serious?
 The teacher can also give the learners synonyms of the words so that the
learners can understand the content of the text better.

2. Literal comprehension will help the learners understand the text better and
make sense of the text. This type of comprehension will help the learners to identify the
main concepts of the text. The reader uses clues to supply meaning to the text. This
type of comprehension it is the most basic comprehension in teaching reading in the
Foundation Phase. Learners can use the reading technique such as skimming to locate
information more efficiently.
 What is the main theme of the story?
 What happened at the beginning, middle and end of the text?

3. Interpretive comprehension means asking questions such as what if, why and
how. The reader must be able to read between the lines of the text. This type of
comprehension can include:
 Figurative language.
 The mood of the text.
 And giving different opinions about the author's point of view.
 How do you think the text will end?
 What is the theme of the text?
4. Applied comprehension means that the teacher can apply the text to a real -life
experience e.g. School environment. This type of comprehension uses the information
gathered from the text to form new ideas. This will help the learners to link his/her own
experience to the text and assess the quality, values of the text and generalizations
based on the text.
 Type of questions that can be used in this type of comprehension such as :

What is your opinion based on the text?

What do you think about the text in your personal opinion?

Do you agree with the text or disagree with the text?

What is the best possible outcome to this problem based on the text?
5. Affective comprehension means that learners understand how a plot in the
story works, how the characters fit into the story and also can include emotions. The
teacher can also show learners social scripts to make sure that the learners understand
the development of the plot. The teacher can ask learners questions such as:
 What is the attitude of the learner after the teacher have read the text?
 What emotions do learners have after the teacher have read the text?
6. Effective comprehension means that it will help learners to do things on their
own. Metacognitive learners are able to effectively use a wide variety of comprehension
techniques to make sure that the learners understand the text. The teacher can assist
the learner by being persistent, intensive, and explicit so that the learners can become
good readers and that the learners can become aware of text organisation.
Comprehension Strategies
Studies on good readers have identified a number of comprehension strategies to be highly
useful. These strategies range from the simple to the complex. From the array of strategies
examined by researchers, the following strategies have been shown to be especially helpful and
to lend themselves particularly well to instruction:1

Activating and Using Background Knowledge

This strategy requires readers to activate their background knowledge and to use that knowledge
to help them understand what they are reading. Background knowledge is made up of a person's
experiences with the world (including what he or she has read), along with his or her concepts
for how written text works, including word identification, print concepts, word meaning, and how
text is organized. Research has established that readers' existing knowledge is critical in
determining their ability to comprehend what they read.2

One of the most important contributions made by cognitive scientists to the understanding of
how comprehension works is schema theory.[3] This theory is based on how people organize and
activate their knowledge.

According to schema theory, as people learn about the world, they develop a large network of
knowledge structures, or schemas, with each schema connected to many others. These schemas
grow and change as a person acquires new information through experience and reading. For
example, a very young child's schema for dog might contain only her or his understanding of the
family pet — something white, furry, and fun to play with. As the child gains more experiences
with a variety of dogs in a variety of settings, the dog schema will expand and be refined. It may
connect to other schema — types of dogs; colors of dogs; foods dogs eat; places where dogs
stay when the family is on vacation; dangerous dogs; who veterinarians are; and locations of
important dog shows.

When they applied schema theory to reading comprehension, cognitive scientists found that
good readers constantly connect their background knowledge to the new knowledge they
encounter in a text. In fact, they appear to activate a schema as soon they begin to read. The
initial schema then activates others, thus directly affecting how readers understand and react to
a text.4

Schemas that are related to text organization are especially important to comprehension. Having
knowledge of a text's organization improves students' understanding of that text. 5

Generating and Asking Questions

This strategy involves readers asking themselves questions throughout the reading of a text. The
ability of readers to ask themselves relevant questions as they read is especially valuable in
helping them to integrate information, identify main ideas, and summarize information. Asking
the right questions allows good readers to focus on the most important information in a text. 6

Generating good questions may also lead readers to focus on problems with comprehension and
to take actions to deal with these problems.7

Making Inferences
This strategy requires readers to evaluate or draw conclusions from information in a text.
Authors do not always provide complete descriptions of, or explicit information about a topic,
setting, character, or event. However, they often provide clues that readers can use to "read
between the lines"-by making inferences that combine information in the text with their
background knowledge.

It has been shown that when readers are taught how to make inferences, they improve their
abilities to construct meaning. Indeed, research indicates that the ability to make inferences is
crucial to successful reading.8

Predicting
This strategy involves the ability of readers to get meaning from a text by making informed
predictions. Good readers use predicting as a way to connect their existing knowledge to new
information from a text to get meaning from what they read.9 Before reading, they may use what
they know about an author to predict what a text will be about. The title of a text may trigger
memories of texts with similar content, allowing them to predict the content of the new text.

During reading, good readers may make predictions about what is going to happen next, or what
ideas or evidence the author will present to support an argument. They tend to evaluate these
predictions continuously, and revise any prediction that is not confirmed by the reading.

Summarizing
This strategy involves the ability of readers to pull together, or synthesize information in a text
so as to explain in their own words what the text is about. Summarizing is an important strategy
because it can enable readers to recall text quickly. It also can make readers more aware of text
organization, of what is important in a text and of how ideas are related. 10

Effective summarizing of expository text may involve such things as condensing the steps in a
scientific process, the stages of development of an art movement, or the episodes that led to
some major historical event.

Effective summarizing of narrative text can involve such things as connecting and synthesizing
events in a story line or identifying the factors that motivate a character's actions and behavior.

Visualizing
This involves the ability of readers to make mental images of a text as a way to understand
processes or events they encounter during reading. This ability can be an indication that a reader
understands a text. Some research suggests that readers who visualize as they read are better
able to recall what they have read than are those who do not visualize. 11

Visualizing is especially valuable when it is applied to narrative texts. In reading narratives,

readers often can develop a clear understanding of what is happening by visualizing the setting,
characters, or actions in the plot. However, visualizing can also be applied to the reading of
expository texts, with readers visualizing steps in a process or stages in an event or creating an
image to help them remember some abstract concept or important name.12

Comprehension Monitoring
This involves the ability of readers to know when they understand what they read, when they do
not understand, and to use appropriate strategies to improve their understanding when it is
blocked.13 Comprehension monitoring is a form of metacognition. Good readers are aware of and
monitor their thought processes as they read. In contrast, poor readers "just do it." 14
The strategies employed by good readers to improve understanding are called "repair" or "fix-
up" strategies. Specific repair strategies include rereading, reading ahead, clarifying words by
looking them up in a dictionary or glossary, or asking someone for help.15

In general, good readers use a variety of strategies such as the ones just discussed to construct
meaning as they read. However, not all good readers use the same strategies; good readers
tend to develop and practice those strategies that are most useful to them. Further, good
readers are flexible in their strategy use: they switch from strategy to strategy as they read;
they use different strategies with different kinds of texts.

The point is, because good readers have conscious control of their strategy use, they are able to
make decisions about which strategies to use and when to use them. Most good readers do this
with little or no explicit strategy instruction. Most students, however, can benefit greatly from
organized, explicit instruction that teaches them to use specific strategies for understanding text.
The good news is that specific comprehension strategies can be taught and learned - and that
their deliberate use by readers improves comprehension.16

Skills to help reading comprehension

Help your child improve their reading comprehension by working on the

following skills:

Decoding

Decoding is essential to the actual act of reading. Decoding is more often

recognized as “sounding it out” or using phonemic awareness to hear the
individual sounds in words. Rhyming, counting syllables, or recognizing the
first letter in a word based on its sound are all good practice for decoding.

Fluency

The ability to read fluently is critical to comprehension. Fluency requires

students to recognize words instantly and to be able to read sentences
without stopping to decode each word. A child who can read with inflection
and without pausing demonstrates fluency. The best way to develop fluency
is to practice frequently and work on memorizing sight words.

Vocabulary

Understanding what you’ve read requires knowing the meaning of most of

the words in a sentence. Strong vocabulary has a positive impact on reading
comprehension. Use a wide variety of words in conversations with your child
so they become familiar with vocabulary through context, and stop to define
words as you read stories together.

Memory

Retaining and evaluating information involves two executive functions:

working memory and attention. Attention involves their patience and
commitment to the actual act of reading. The best way to improve a child’s
attention is to find reading material that interests them — experiment with
different genres, authors, or even graphic novels or comic books to discover
what they are naturally drawn to.

Working memory requires storing that information from a text and deriving
meaning from it. Help your child improve their memory skills by playing
games or doing activities that involve remembering information.

World experience

Familiarity with subject matter makes comprehension easier. Create

awareness around emotions, history, current events, geography, and the
world we live in by explaining topics to your child. Don’t assume they won’t
be interested or don’t have the ability to understand. Encourage your child’s
curiosity and improve their contextual awareness by exposing them to as
much information as possible on an ongoing basis.

Sentence structure

Although sentence structure is technically a writing skill, reading and writing

are closely connected. Understanding how sentences are composed
facilitates reading comprehension. Children will begin to learn sentence
structure through exposure to a variety of writing types, and a more formal
introduction will happen in school.

Learning to actually enjoy reading is the absolute best way to master reading
comprehension. Being able to recognize words, read fluently, understand
context, and draw your own opinions and conclusions can lead to a true
understanding of the material and a lifetime love of literacy. Support your
child’s reading efforts by providing an environment that encourages and
appreciates the act of reading.

What is Comprehension?
Reading comprehension is the understanding of what has been read through the
learning and processing of reading skills. The teaching of reading in schools has an
increasing focus on comprehension.

Reading comprehension is one of the pillars of the act of reading. When a person reads
a text, they engage in a complex array of cognitive processes. We simultaneously use
our awareness and understanding of phonemes (individual sound 'pieces' in language),
phonics (the connection between letters and sounds and the relationship between
sounds, letters, and words), and our ability to comprehend or construct meaning from a
text.

Comprehension is also sometimes used to describe a set of questions that children may
be asked to answer related to a text they have read. There are two elements that make
up the process of reading comprehension: vocabulary knowledge and text
comprehension. In order to understand a text, the reader must be able to comprehend
the vocabulary used in the piece of writing. If the individual words don’t make sense,
then the overall story won't make sense either.

One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the

meaning of enough words. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw
conclusions about what they read – what is important in a story, what caused an event
to happen, information about the characters, and so on. So, comprehension involves
combining reading with thinking and reasoning.

Why is reading comprehension important?

No matter if it is kindergarten, first grade, second grade, or third grade, what is reading
comprehension is a question that is asked throughout as they develop every inch of
their reading and writing skills.

When it comes to dedicating time to assessing reading skills in the national curriculum,
there will always be a way of incorporating non-fiction and fiction texts that are usually
linked by a common theme. A common theme can be picking out relevant bits of
information as well as retrieving text from that information to create a story that many
people will love.

Aside from the life skills reading comprehension helps us with, it's also a key component
of the national curriculum. There's a full paper dedicated to assessing reading skills in
the KS2 SATs, which consists of non-fiction and fiction texts that are usually linked by a
common theme.

Many of the questions in a SATs paper will require children to retrieve information from
the text, which literally means picking out a relevant bit of information.

Some questions involve children inferring information about a theme or characters

based on what they have read.

Some questions may involve deduction, where children have to draw their own
conclusions using reasoning skills.

Children may be asked to give their opinion on something (this will always need to be
backed up by evidence from the text). Children may also be asked to comment on the
effectiveness of the author’s language.

What is a comprehension test?

A comprehension test is designed to test a child's ability to read and understand texts
they read.
 A typical test will include an extract or the full text for children to read, followed by a set
of questions based on the text. Depending on age, these questions might be multiple-
choice or ask children to write in full sentences.

Let's take a look at an example.

This is an extract from the story 'The Bubbling Cauldron', included in this Fiction
Reading Comprehension Bumper Pack.

This is a question from the reading comprehension activity that follows the story.

Children would be expected to either remember the answer from when they first read
the text, or to reread the text to find the answer they're looking for. This is called
information retrieval.

Children would also be expected to write their answer in a full sentence, with a capital
letter and full stop. For example, for this question, teachers would be looking for an
answer like this:

 'Witches make spells in cauldrons.'

How to Improve Reading Comprehension

Developing reading comprehension skills is incredibly important for growing readers,
starting as early as picture books. As children get older, their reading comprehension
skills will help them understand textbooks, newspapers, and other more complex texts.
Whether you're reading at home or in the classroom, we're here to help you not only
learn how to improve reading comprehension but also learn to enjoy your reading time!

Check out these top Twinkl tips on how to improve reading comprehension for children:

1. Have your children read aloud. Reading aloud is a helpful little trick for understanding
texts as a class. This forces them to go slower, which gives them more time to process
what they read and in turn improves reading comprehension. Plus, they're not only
seeing the words - they're hearing them, too! You can also take turns reading aloud.

2. Provide books at the right reading level. Make sure your pupils get lots of practice
and have easy access to books at their level. They should recognize at least 90% of the
words without any help. Stopping any more often than that to figure out a word makes it
tough for children to focus on the story’s overall meaning.

3. Supplement their class reading. Just because you've stepped outside the classroom,
it doesn't mean the reading should stop! If your child's class is studying a particular
theme, look for easy-to-read books or magazines on the topic. Some prior knowledge
will help them make their way through tougher classroom texts and promote reading
comprehension.

4. Talk about what they're reading. This 'verbal processing' helps them remember and
think through the themes of the book. Ask questions before, during, and after a session
to encourage reading comprehension. You can do this by having a simple conversation
about the events of a story, how they felt about it, or even who their favorite character
was! On top of this, you can also find great ways for pupils to engage and reflect on
what they have read in the classroom. For example, check out this fun and
effective Reading Comprehension Activities Pack to get started.

5. Play games to make reading comprehension fun. Your child needs to be interested
and engaged if they’re going to learn new skills and new words. Let your child choose
any book they want to read. Then, why not make a fun board game or other interactive
activity to go with it? Combining learning and play makes for an impactful session.

6. Build a fun character for each reading skill you develop. Your child probably won’t
understand what it means to unpick vocabulary, but they’ll definitely be able to help
Victor with a challenge. The characters include Vocabulary Victor, Inference Iggy, and
Summarising Sheba. The Totally Pawsome Gang is great for helping children to
become familiar with the different types of reading comprehension skills. Twinkl’s Totally
Pawsome Reading Gang characters for younger and older children give each skill a
friendly face and an instantly recognizable personality.

7. Reward Reading. Last, but certainly not least, reward children's progress. Praise and
recognition really help children to learn. Use a fun, themed reward chart or bookmark to
show your child how much you celebrate and value their successes.
Teaching Reading Comprehension: How Can Twinkl Help
Every reading comprehension worksheet you find in this collection has been made,
checked, and approved by experienced teachers, so you can be confident that our
resources are reliable, accurate, and appropriate for your class.

Twinkl has a wide range of resources to use in the classroom or living room. They are
all perfect for those in-person classes, socially distanced lessons, or remote learning.
Traditionally our resources have been meant for the classroom, but now with Twinkl
adapting as well as technology becoming ever more present in our classrooms, our
resources are now designed for use on a computer. This all means that children can
type and click directly onto them by sending via email, complete, and return for marking.
They're differentiated too, making it easy to tailor the work to each pupil even when
you're not in the classroom.

Check out some of our most popular Kindergarten and any grade-level reading
comprehension activities.

Third Grade Reading Comprehension Activity Pack - By diving deep into preparing
third-grade answers and questions, you’ll be able to provide the question to your
students of what is comprehension? You’ll be able to save some valuable prep time as
well as provide reading comprehension sheets that are beautifully illustrated and come
complete with a set of questions to test your children’s inference and deduction skills.
The topics can vary between Can the Ocean Freeze?, Pocahontas, Rosa Parks, Hot Air
Balloons, Earthquakes, Reindeer, All About Pumpkins, Diwali, Independence Day, and
the Chinese Zodiac. There’s something for everyone in this Third Grade Reading
Comprehension Activity Pack.

Spring Reading Comprehension Challenge Cards - Needing to inspire your children with
some meaningful and relevant reading material? These Spring Reading Comprehension
Challenge Cards are a great way to provide little nuggets of information as well as
practice to help them become the creative genius’ they can be. With big passages of
text that can intimidate emergent readers, this is a resource that provides activities to
aid basic decoding, reading fluency and inference skills. You’ll be able to print off as
many packs as you like to spread across the classroom or download at any point
through the shared Google Drive.

Caterpillar Poem Comprehension Activity - No matter if you’re downloading this

Caterpillar Poem Comprehension Activity onto any computer or tablet from the shared
Google Drive or print and distribute across any classroom or living room, this is a
resource for kindergarten, first-graders, or second-graders that can be used again and
again. Your children will be able to read the poem, "Caterpillar" by Christina Rossetti as
well as work with the text by underlining, circling, and boxing different words.

Kindergarten Penguins Reading Passage Comprehension Activity - If you’re starting to

use animals as part of your classes then this is the resource for you. With this
Kindergarten Penguins Reading Passage Comprehension Activity, you’ll be able to
support your child with the knowledge of the animal as well as a kindergarten leveled
reading passage, two multiple-choice questions, and one short answer question to
assess comprehension. Download it at any time or wait for future lessons so you can
also print it off and spread more information with your children.

Fourth Grade Vampire Bats Reading Comprehension Activity - Wanting to provide some
spooky reading passages in your classroom? Want to know what is comprehension?
Say no more. This Fourth Grade Vampire Bats Reading Comprehension Activity
presents your students with facts about vampire bats with this reading passage. Written
at a fourth-grade level, this reading comprehension activity includes a reading passage,
multiple-choice questions, and written response questions. This would be a great
resource to integrate science, ELA, and Halloween celebrations. Combine this with
other spooky resources and you’ll discover a whole new level of reading comprehension
and social skills.

Levels of Comprehension
Read the following information to learn about four different Levels of Comprehension
you may experience with learning.
Literal Level: When you comprehend at this level you can recall/repeat what the text
says: the things that are actually stated in the text. Readers can identify and/or
recall relevant information explicitly stated in the reading selection by:

 identifying a statement or sentence that best indicates the main idea of the selection
 identifying directly-stated facts (e.g., important research data)
 identifying details such as key words, phrases or sentences that explicitly state
important information
 identifying directly-stated opinions

It is very helpful for students to know what should be recalled (memorized verbatim)…
basically the really important information!!
Inferential Level: At this level you can explain what the text means: the meaning is
drawn from the literally stated ideas. If the text says that Sally got into her new sports
car, we can infer that Sally likes to be sporty and has money to spend on a car.
Readers use information stated in the text as clues to determine what is not stated, but
implied. Readers derive meaning by

 identifying implicit relationships (relationships not directly stated) such as cause and
effect, sequence-time relationships, comparisons, classifications and generalizations
 predicting probable future outcomes or actions
 inferring an author’s unstated meaning by drawing conclusions based on specific
facts, events, images, patterns or symbols found in selected readings
 inferring the main idea of a selection when it is not explicitly stated
 identifying unstated reasons for actions or beliefs based on explicitly stated
information (clues)

Evaluative Level: At this level you are understanding ideas and/or information well
enough to analyze, judge and critique information and ideas. You are also able to explain
and support your judgement clearly.
At this level, you are able to justify a stance. You can set standards, rate, test, select and
choose, decide, weigh according to, and etc. You can also…

 judge whether the information used by the author to support a conclusion is

accurate and/or credible and explain why you believe this is so
 evaluate between conclusions that are based on facts and those that are based on
opinions and prove why you believe this is so
 decide on a stance on issues and situations and argue/prove/justify why your stance
is correct

Example of a question to lead you to evaluate: Who was to blame for Little Red Riding
Hood's troubles? Why do you think so?
Appreciative Level: You are able to comprehend author’s point of view, purpose, tone,
and etc. based on clues in the text. This could be applied to determine author’s
purpose, message and etc. for whole text or parts of texts, like a statement, quotes,
reasons, examples, scenarios author may have included.
At this level, readers are able to reach conclusions about:

 the author’s motivation or purpose for writing a passage based on evidence in the
selection
 the author’s hidden values and assumptions based on evidence/clues in the text
 why the author included certain statements, quotes, reasons based on evidence in
the text (what the hidden message is behind these)
 author’s tone based on evidence in the text

7 reading strategies you can use to improve your

comprehension skills
There are several reading strategies that you can begin implementing today to improve
your reading comprehension skills. The more you practice, the better you will become at
understanding what you are reading. The following are seven simple strategies you can
use to work on your comprehension skills:

1. Improve your vocabulary.

2. Come up with questions about the text you are reading.
3. Use context clues.
4. Look for the main idea.
5. Write a summary of what you read.
6. Break up the reading into smaller sections.
7. Pace yourself.

Related: Ultimate Guide to Strategic Planning

1. Improve your vocabulary

Knowing what the words you are reading mean can improve your ability to comprehend
the meaning of the text. To improve your vocabulary, you can:

 Take an online vocabulary quiz to assess your current level of

vocabulary understanding
 Use flashcards to quiz yourself on words you don’t know once or twice a
week
 Make a point to use newly learned words in verbal and written
communication
 Read as much as possible to improve your ability to guess what a word
means in a certain context
 Make a list of unfamiliar words as you read and look them up in the
dictionary

Read more: 10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary Skills

2. Come up with questions about the text you are reading

Asking questions about what you are reading can help improve your reading
comprehension by allowing you to become invested in the text. It can also broaden your
overall understanding of what you are reading by enabling you to explore themes,
motifs and other components of text that you otherwise wouldn’t inquire about. The
following are examples of questions you could pose as you read:

 Why did the author begin the book at that location?

 What kind of relationship do these two characters share?
 What do we know about the main character up to this point in the book?
  Are there any themes that have consistently come up throughout the
book? If so, what do they mean?

The more specific your questions, the more likely you will gain further insight into the
text and its meaning.

3. Use context clues

Using context clues is a great way to understand what you are reading even if you don’t
know all the vocabulary being used. Context clues can be found in the words and
sentences surrounding the word that you aren’t familiar with. To use context clues, you
can focus on the key phrases or ideas in a sentence and deduce the main idea of a
sentence or paragraph based on this information. You can also look for nearby words
that are synonyms or antonyms of the word you don’t know.

4. Look for the main idea

Identifying the main idea of a paragraph or article can help you determine the
importance of the article. Understanding why what you’re reading is important can give
you a better comprehension of what the author is trying to convey. When reading,
pause every few paragraphs and see if you can decipher what the main idea is. Then,
try to put the main idea in your own words for even further understanding.

5. Write a summary of what you read

A great way to increase your knowledge of what you have read is to write a summary.
Summarizing requires you to decide what is important in the text and then put it in your
own words. Summarizing allows you to determine if you truly understand what you have
read and better remember what you have read in the long term.

6. Break up the reading into smaller sections

If you are reading longer or more challenging text, consider breaking it up into smaller
sections. For example, you could read two paragraphs at a time and then pause to
quickly summarize what you just read in your mind. Breaking up what you are reading
can help you feel less overwhelmed and give you a better chance of truly
comprehending the information in the text.

7. Pace yourself

Pacing yourself is also an effective way to work on your reading comprehension skills
by allowing you to set realistic goals for your reading practice and habits. This is
especially true for books or other literature that you find challenging. Set a goal for
yourself that you know you can meet each day. For example, rather than saying that
you want to read an entire book in two days, say that you will read three chapters a
night. This allows you to reach your goals and also provides adequate time for you to
process what you are reading between each session.

Comprehension skills and strategies

Oxford University Press has worked with leading academics and practitioners in the
field of comprehension, including Professors Jane Oakhill and Kate Cain, to help
develop Oxford Reading Buddy’s underpinning framework of Comprehension Strategies
and Skills.

This has been devised to represent the best research in the area of comprehension
whilst also reflecting statutory assessment criteria and ease of use for teachers and
students.

Strategies and Skills are linked and convergent but not always the same. Strategies are
consciously employed during reading to help construct meaning in real time; whereas
Skills are abilities that can be used after reading to answer questions about the text.
Strategies are not easily accessible or measurable; whereas Skills can be assessed.
Buddy Prompts are therefore based on Strategies and quizzes, and Buddy Questions
are based on Skills.

Comprehension Skills
The Comprehension Skills Framework distills comprehension into five skills that
research suggests are essential to deriving meaning from texts. These skills are broadly
the same at all reading levels with the text itself creating the degree of challenge and
with some skills being more significant at one level than another.

Most books provide opportunity to practise all the five skills to a greater or lesser extent,
and quizzes have been designed to offer as balanced a coverage of skills as possible.
By the end of an Oxford Level, students will have good experience of each one, as
appropriate to that level.

Comprehension
Description
Skill

Finding Retrieving literal information from the text or pictures about

 Comprehension
Description
Skill

information characters, settings, overtly expressed feelings.

Reading between the lines of the text, finding clues and

building meaning where information isn’t explicitly stated.
Making Includes ‘global coherence inferences’ at a whole text
connections and level (for example, cause and effect, reasons for actions
inferences and point of view), as well as ‘local cohesion’ at a
sentence level (for example, matching pronouns to
nouns).

Identifying the meaning of words and phrases, synonyms

Understanding
and antonyms, activating related words and concepts, and
vocabulary
understanding the effect of word choices.

Making sense of a text by understanding the ‘gist’,

Using structure
ordering events, identifying and summarizing main ideas,
and organization
and drawing on knowledge of text conventions, forms, and
to make meaning
features.

Understanding Understanding and evaluating how the author uses

and appreciating language and punctuation to create effects, awareness of
author toolkit the author’s intent, and expressing opinions on a text.

Comprehension Strategies
The seven core comprehension strategies that are used in Oxford Reading Buddy have
all been proven by research to be important in aiding understanding of text. As students
progress through the programme and experience more and more demonstrations of the
strategies by Oxford Reading Buddy, they will become increasingly familiar with what
each one involves and will be able to consciously employ them in other reading.
Additionally, the strategy being used is reinforced on each of the Buddy Prompts in a
student-friendly way so that students repeatedly experience the connection between
what the strategy is and what it looks like in action.

As students move past the earliest levels of reading, it would be advisable for teachers
to share and discuss with them the strategy descriptions (below) and demonstrate
employment of the strategies in their wider teaching of reading. You may also like to
display these comprehension strategy posters in your classroom.
The Coaching eBooks have been written to offer as balanced a coverage of strategies
as possible so that, by the end of an Oxford Level, students will have had good
exposure to each one.

Student-
Comprehension
friendly Buddy Student-friendly description
Strategies
prompt

Check words, phrases and

ideas make sense. If they don’t
Check it makes make sense, read around the
Monitor comprehension
sense sentence and think about the
rest of the text to work them
out.

Think like a detective and look

Infer Look for clues beyond what the words say to
the clues underneath.

As you read, watch out for the

Decide main
Determine importance main events or the most
points
important information.

Be aware of the type of text

Identify text structures, Notice text you’re reading. Notice features
features and language features that the writer has used to help
you understand the text.

Make predictions and ask

Ask questions and Question and
yourself questions. Then read
predict predict
on to find out.

Make a picture in your mind of

Picture in your the text or think about feelings
Visualise
mind or sounds to make the text
more real.

Activate prior Think and Use what you already know

knowledge remember about the world or other books
 Student-
Comprehension
friendly Buddy Student-friendly description
Strategies
prompt

to understand the text more.