Reading Comprehension Skills – Before, During, and After Reading

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     Students must practice reading skills before reading, while reading, and after reading.
 

Before Reading
 
Before reading, students should try to get the 'big picture' or main point of the text by making predictions.  They can do so by trying the following:
 
Look at the title or cover and ask...
 

·          What do I already know about this topic?  (i.e. background information)

·          What do I want to know?

·          What is the text probably going to be about?

Next, students should preview the pages by looking at the major headings, bold words, italicized words, subheadings, and picture captions.
 
Students should also look for diagrams, pictures, charts, and graphs in order to think about what these are trying to say about the topic.
 
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During Reading
 
Students must incorporate several reading skills and strategies while reading.
 

·         Inferring – Saying ‘I think’, ‘I believe’, and ‘Maybe’ while reading.

·         Making Connections- Connecting the text to their experiences, or other text.

·         Asking Questions - Asking questions to clarify meaning.

·         Visualizing – Picturing in their minds what they are reading to gain understanding.

·         Determining Importance – Sifting between important and insignificant information.

Students should stop and reflect on their reading.  They should look for answers to questions that they have, and stop to 'think' about and reflect upon what they have just read.
 
Students can also make a list of key words, summary sentences, and main ideas or themes.
 
After Reading
 
After students have finished reading, they should skim over the pages one more time (depending on the genre and purpose for reading).
 
Students should consider asking themselves the following questions:

·         What did I learn from my reading?

·         Can I explain what I just read to someone else?

It is always a great idea for students to verbally explain or retell what they just read to someone else.  Also, it is highly recommended that students write a short summary of the text after reading.  By retelling (either verbally or in written work) text they have just read, students will be able to synthesize (i.e. put everything together) and make meaning of the material.

     Make sure your child uses these strategies before, during, and after reading in order to improve reading comprehension strategies.

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Tutorgiant.com provides complete Reading Comprehension lessons with worksheets.

See some of the lessons in our video library.

DETERMINING IMPORTANCE - Lesson (A) Determining Important Information (Grades 2-3)
DETERMINING IMPORTANCE - Lesson (B) Determining Important Information (Grades 4-6)
INFERRING (Critical Thinking) - Lesson (A) Introduction to Inferring (Grades 1-3)
INFERRING (Critical Thinking) - Lesson (B) Primary (Grades 1-3)
INFERRING (Critical Thinking) - Lesson (C) Junior (Grades 4-6)
MAKING CONNECTIONS - Lesson (A) Introduction to Making Connections (Primary or Junior)
MAKING CONNECTIONS - Lesson (B) Primary (Grades 2-3)
MAKING CONNECTIONS - Lesson (C) Junior (Grades 4-6)
PREDICTING - Lesson (A) Introduction to Predicting (Grades 1-3)
PREDICTING - Lesson (B) Predicting Using Headings and Subheadings (Grades 4-6)
PREDICTING - Lesson (C) Using a Table of Contents to Predict (Grades 4-6)
SUMMARIZING and MAIN IDEA - Lesson (A) Primary (Grades 2-3)
SUMMARIZING and MAIN IDEA - Lesson (B) Junior (Grades 4-6)
SUMMARIZING and MAIN IDEA - Lesson (C) Intermediate (Grades 7-8)
VISUALIZATION - Introduction to Visualization (Grades 1-3)