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A Parent's Guide to Helping Children Understand What They Read

We are working on important ways to better understand what we read. Listed below are 8 comprehension

strategies that are being taught. When reading, watching TV, talking or sharing a special time together, you can
help by asking some questions that will help your child.

  
  

Parent Question
for Discussion

  
    
 
    

  

Comprehension Strategy What Good Readers Do

    

Good readers think about the
information that they What does this remind you
already know to better of?

understand what they read,

Recall Prior Knowledge

 
   
  

 

Good readers use their
background knowledge and
clues from what has been
read to think about what
will happen next.

   
     
   
   
  

What do you think will
happen next? Why?

Predict

  
   
     
 
 
  
   
 
 
   
    
 
  
   

What was most important
about what you've just read?
Why was that important to
you?

  
 

Good readers are able to
explain the most important
ideas.

Identify Main Idea

 
 
 

Good readers ask themselves
questions to better
understand what they read.

 
 
  

What is a question you have
so far?

Question

  

  
  
  

Good readers make pictures
in their minds to help them
understand what they are
reading.

   
  

Create Pictures in
Your Mind

What are you seeing in your
mind as you are reading this?

 
  

Good readers use what they
already know and ideas for
the book to make a
conclusion about an event or
person.

  
   
 

How do you know that __

will happen?
Why do you suppose
acted that way?

  
    
  
  
  

Make Inferences

  

 

Good readers can explain the
most important ideas from

Tell me what this story is

  
  
  
   
 
   
  
 

   
 

   
  
 

  
    
    

Summarize . . . . “b°”+' .
beginning, middle and end of Explain the most Important
the story. details from this information.
What can you do to read
Good readers have more that that word?
Clarify one way to clear up what What might help you to

they do not understand. understand this confusing

part better?

  

Teri Trail, Reading Support Teacher