What Is The Best Way To Help A Kindergarten Student With Reading Comprehension?
My son is reading pretty well and could go to the next book level but not till his comprehension improves. His teacher says he is still doing great but this needs work. She has given me a list of questions to ask him after we read a book, which he doesn’t like very well, so Im trying to just get him to talk about the book. I want him to like learning. He loves to read and loves me to read to him. Any other suggestions to help with reading comprehension?
Thanks
Just be natural! Show a genuine interest in the book that he is reading. Relate what’s going on in the book’s text or pictures with your son’s life (or your own). Making connections (text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world) while reading is a big help for increasing reading comprehension skills. (I wrote the two articles in the source area; the guided reading one is something I did regularly when I was a first grade teacher and the second one is something I do with my own kindergartener.)
Have fun reading! (And remember, he’s only in kindergarten. I know learning is pretty rushed nowadays, but just remind yourself that the learning will come.)
He is still so young. Give his brain a little time to develop. He is reading, which is great! He LOVES reading…which is awesome! You don’t want to squash his love for reading with frustration, so if he doesn’t answer a question right, you can calmly and sweetly show him the part of the book you’re talking about. If he is really ready to be done with the reading and questions…let him be done!
Don’t wait till the end of the book to ask questions. Make comments as you read. Like, I really liked the way he helped his friend just now. If the book has pictures go back and just talk about what is going on in the picture. My kids at that age loved to re read the same books. Ask him as your read what happens next?
If her really likes the book see if he will tell his pet, grandma or aunt or uncle what the book is about.
Can he retell the story in his own words? There are a lot of games and software that will help with this too.
Besides him reading to you, keep reading to him. Stop every once in a while to give your take on what just happened in the story or ask what he thinks will happen next.
THREATEN THEM
It’s really important for kids, especially boys to enjoy learning and reading. I find asking questions while reading the book helps with comprehension, which is just a posh word for understanding.
For example:
* Asking what a specific word means as he reads it
* Asking for an alternative to a word (can you think of another word that would mean “scared”)
* Asking him to tell you what he thinks might happen next
* Asking him to think of an alternative ending
At the end of the book you can ask him to “go back and find the bit where XYZ happened” or try asking him to draw pictures of what happened in the story in the order that they happened.
I hope this helps, best of luck!