Subject: Reading
Skill: Reading Comprehension
Does this happen in your home? You listen to your child read aloud short book or a few paragraphs from a longer book. You ask your child to tell you about what they just read or ask your child what they think will happen next. Your child responds with a shrug and says, “I don’t know.”
You’re confused because you just heard your child read the text. Does this mean that your child can read but can’t understand?
What can you do to help? These are tips for children that CAN read the words, but CAN’T tell you anything about what they read when they are reading stories and books (narrative texts).
Try This Tonight
If your child reads a story and can’t tell you anything about it, ask them “Who was the story about? What did they do? Why did they do it?” and then help them to go back into the story to find the answer to those questions.
What Can I Say?
“Who was the story about?”
“What did they do?”
“Why did they do it?”
“In the beginning, this happened . . .”
“Then, this happened . . .”
“At the end, this happened . . .”
“Here’s what just happened”
“Here’s what I think will happen next”
Where Should I Start?
Pick the sentence that best describes your child. Then select the activity to try.
My child reads the words but says, “I don’t know,” when I ask about the story.
Try: Try This Tonight.My child has trouble remembering a longer story.
Try: Read Smaller Chunks.My child remembers only the last part of the story.
Try: Beginning, Middle, and End.My child needs to hear how a reader thinks about a story.
Try: Partner Reading.
Try These Ideas at Home
Read Smaller Chunks
Ask your child to read smaller “chunks” of a longer story or book and then stop them. Once your child has stopped reading, ask them to tell you about what they just read.
If they can’t do that easily, have them go back and reread that same “chunk” and then ask them again.
Beginning, Middle, and End
If your child only tells you about the last part of the story they read, but they can’t remember any other part, ask them to go back into the story and find something that happened in the beginning, something that happened in the middle, and then what happened at the end.
Give your child supporting sentences such as: “In the beginning, this happened . . .” “Then, this happened . . .” “At the end, this happened . . .”
Partner Reading
Try partner reading with your child. You listen to them read a page or part, and then you read the next page or part.
Once you stop reading your part, say to your child, “Here’s what just happened” or “Here’s what I think will happen next”.
Be a good example as a reader for your child and show them that when you read, you should think about and ask yourself questions about what you read.
Happy Reading!