Every teacher knows how important the skill of reading comprehension is for our students. No matter what grade level they’re in, students need to be able to comprehend what they read. Without this important skill, students won’t be able to order to progress in their learning. There are ways to help even our littlest students improve their comprehension.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, you can use this holiday to give your students lots of opportunities to increase their reading comprehension. See this earlier post for more Thanksgiving activities.
strategies for improving reading comprehension
- Provide on-level books for reading practice. A general rule of thumb is that a student should be able to read 90% of the text in the book without help. If they have to stop too often to figure out a word or get help, they tend to lose the overall storyline.
- Have discussions about what they’re reading. Ask them lots of questions about a book. Questions about what they liked, what they didn’t like, what’s happening in the book, and if it reminds them of other books they’re read are all great questions to ask. Asking them to predict what they think might happen next will encourage them to extend their comprehension of the book.
- Have students read aloud. Reading the words out loud will force them to slow down, allowing them more time to process what they’re reading. Take opportunities to read aloud to them as well. If you can read the story in a way that they can also see the words … perhaps under a document camera … will allow them to both see and hear the words.
- Rereading builds fluency. Fluency is the ability to read smoothly and quickly. Having your students reread their favorite books provides practice in decoding words.
Thanksgiving Reading Comprehension Center
This Thanksgiving Reading Center resource contains three invaluable sections to help students learn and understand the story of Thanksgiving. Imagine a class of students cross-legged on the carpet, with the teacher seated in that special chair she uses only for reading. A hush falls as they ready themselves to listen to the story of Thanksgiving…
This resource contains 3 separate files of activities to use in your reading centers.
One file contains an illustrated teacher read-aloud. You can collate and staple it and place it in the class library as a ‘big book’ or the pages can be used as a reference poster set displayed on a bulletin board.
The second file contains a student reader or lapbook. This reader is a simpler version of the teacher’s read-aloud version. You can ‘gift’ the reader to students as their own copy, read in small groups, or use it to teach Thanksgiving vocabulary.
The third file contains scrambled sentences! You can cut out and laminate each word and place them in a baggie. Place the baggies, along with the student reader, in a literacy center. Add the recording sheets for students to write out the sentences in the correct word order.
This resource contains 48 pages and is a real time-saver for your lesson prep!
You might also like these Thanksgiving resources:
- Thanksgiving Puzzles and Activities Pack
- Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Puzzle Strips
- Coloring Pages | Thankful Tree Display | Bulletin Board
What’s your favorite way to practice reading comprehension with your students?
