Reading Comprehension Strategies

[Alyson Thorp]

Hi! I am working with a 4th grade student. The student needs help with reading comprehension.  The student reads fluently, but she struggles to recall what she read.  I plan to read out loud to her and ask open-ended questions.  We are also going to use graphic organizers and story frames.  What else can I do to help this student comprehend read material?  

[Megan Dodson]

Hi Alyson, 

To help your student with reading comprehension I would use the reading strategy Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA). DR-TA is implemented in a three step process: The first step, Direct is when the teacher directs the students’ thinking before reading a text, through observing the title, chapter headings, illustrations, and other descriptive materials. The teacher will then ask a few open ended questions to guide the readers thinking as they make a prediction about the text. For instance the teacher may ask “By looking at the title, what do you think this book will be about?” The teacher should remind students as they are making a prediction, they should be able to justify their response. The second step, Reading is when the teacher identifies a stopping point in the text in which the student stop reading. The teacher then prompts the student with guided questions about what they read, to check for comprehension. At this particular time the student(s) can check and revise their predictions. This process is continuous until the text is completed. The third and final step, Thinking which occurs at the end of reading. In this particular step students go through text and think about their predictions. They will then verify or revise their predictions by finding supporting details within the text. This step can occur at the end of the book or at the end of each chapter. 

Hope this helps!!!

[Nicole Olbrish]

I would give her the questions before she begins reading so she has an idea of what she is going to read. I also have my students practice by highlighting the answers in the text so they can see where things come in a passage. The practice often helped my readers realize where the main idea would be and etc.

[Philip Perry]

How about testing her reading comprehension with cloze tests? It might help her getting used to concentrate and stay focused. You can create cloze tests very easily at www.learnclick.com

[Maria Jensen]

How about visualizing? Drawing pictures/sketches to remember main events within the story? So many students are visual learners. It's fun to put the sketches in comic strip form. Hope this hels!