Reading Comprehension Tips

[Kara Krawiec]

Often students are able to read through passages quickly, but then will share that they don't always remember what they just read.

One way to help students improve their reading comprehension is to help them chunk large passages into smaller pieces (usually one or two paragraphs, depending on the length) and then stop to talk through it more in-depth. Ask students questions that go beyond "who/what/when/where" and instead ask "why?" and "how?"


What are some techniques you've used with students?

[Rob.Pyle]

I like to have them skim the questions first, and it will make the ideas 'pop' as they read them.

[Kara Krawiec]

That's a great suggestion, Rob! Having students preview the questions before reading can help students focus and find specific words or phrases that would be needed to answer the question. This strategy works particularly well with shorter passages. Sometimes it can be difficult with longer passages, though. You can model this strategy for students first and have them practice it.