Strategies to Increase Reading ComprehensionBy Heather Rivet

Understanding What You ReadReading can serve many purposes. When you sit down to read for fun, to learn something, or for any other reason, your main goal is to understand what you are reading.

This is called reading comprehension.

Understanding the Reading ProcessReading comprehension is easier and more enjoyable when you understand the reading process and learn strategies that will help you become a successful reader.

There are three stages of reading• Stage 1: Before you read• Stage 2: During reading• Stage 3: After you read

Today we will learn strategies to improve reading comprehension during each stage.

Stage 1: Before You Read

• Reading comprehension starts before you begin to read.

• Strategies used during this stage are called pre-reading strategies.

• Using pre-reading strategies will help you to understand more during the reading process.

Pre-Reading Strategy 1: Survey the Text• Read the title and observe any

illustrations.• Skim through the text and take note

of any words that are bold, italicized, or underlined.

• Decode and read by sight any difficult words.

• These quick and easy steps will provide you with clues about the topic and main ideas of the text.

Pre-Reading Strategy 2:Make Predictions

• Ask yourself “ What is this passage about?”• Create questions that you expect to answer

during the reading process. Such as “What would it be like to….?”

• Think about clues that you see in the text that support your predictions.

Pre-Reading Strategy 3:Frontloading• Ask yourself, “What do I already know about this topic?”• Make notes on what you already know about the subject of

the passage.• Recalling previous knowledge will help you understand more

about the new information that you are reading.

Pre-Reading Strategy 4:Personal Connections

• New information is easier to remember when it’s something that you can relate to.

• Think about personal experiences that you have had relating to the main idea of the text.

• Ask yourself “What would you be interested in learning about the topic?”

• How can this new information be helpful to you in the future?

Pre-Reading Strategy 5:Graphic Organizers• Create a graphic organizer to fill out as you

read.• Decide on a format for taking notes. • Outlines or concept maps are a helpful way

to organize your thoughts and key facts as you read.

• Flow charts and tree maps are two concept maps that are very helpful when reading nonfiction text.

Stage 2: During Reading

• It’s time to read!• Now that you have

completed your learned pre-reading strategies, you are prepared to begin reading.

• Successful reading comprehension requires active thinking skills during this stage.

• These next strategies will help guide your thought process as you read and help you to understand what you are reading.

Reading Strategy 1:Use Your Graphic Organizer• Make sure that you keep your handy graphic organizer nearby.• Take note of main ideas, key words, and any information that

you feel will be useful when answering questions.• Record connections between ideas and concepts in the text. • Ask yourself “What does the author want me to know?”

Reading Strategy 2:Use Your Imagination

• Illustrations help you understand text, and so can your imagination.

• Use your imagination to visualize the people, places, and events in the text.

• Imagine that you are talking with the author while reading. This can be helpful to think of questions that will clarify your understanding.

Reading Strategy 3:Clarify

• As you read, you may come across words, phrases, or concepts that you are unfamiliar with. These may be key to understanding what you are reading, so it is important to clarify.

• Many words have clues to their meaning in the sentences around them. These are called context clues.

• Keep a dictionary handy for those tricky words that can’t be clarified using context clues.

• When all else fails, ask a friend or an adult for clarification!

Reading Strategy4:Question and Predict• Question the facts and events in the text.• Ask yourself questions like, “What came

first?” and “What does the author want me to know?”

• Make predictions about the remainder of the text.

• Ask yourself “What will happen next? What evidence supports my predictions?”

Reading Strategy 5:Think About Your Comprehension• Think about what you just read. Did it make sense?• Was there any part that is hard to understand?• If there was a part that was hard to understand or didn’t make

sense, it’s time to go back and re-read the passage for clues. • Ask yourself “Were there any hard words in this section?”• What did you do when you didn’t understand a word?

Stage 3: After Reading

• You’re not finished thinking just because you’re finished reading!

• Taking the time to think about what you just read will help you understand more and you will remember it longer.

• These next strategies will help you make sense of what you just read and integrate your new knowledge with what you already knew.

After Reading Strategy 1:Review Questions and Predictions• Take a look at the predictions that you made in the pre-

reading stage. Were they accurate? How were your predictions different from the text?

• Answer all of those questions that you wrote down during the pre-reading stage. You may have to take a second look at the text to find some answers.

• Ask yourself “Is there any section that I didn’t understand?” Then revisit that section and look for key words that describe the meaning of the text.

After Reading Strategy 2:Summarize

• Put together all of the information that you just learned from reading and write about it in your own words.

• Think about what the author wanted you to learn about. What message were they sending?

• Explain the main idea in your own words and provide details that support your claim.

• The graphic organizer that you created is helpful when you are having trouble writing a summary.

After Reading Strategy 3:Generate Questions• Now that you have a good idea of the key

facts in the text, creating more questions will help further your understanding of the text.

• Who, what, when, where, and why are great ways to start your question, but are not the only way to create a great question.

• Some of your questions should be simple questions that you can find the answer right in the text.

• Other questions should make you think and make inferences, such as “What would happen if….?”

After Reading Strategy 4:Make Comparisons

• You can learn new information faster and remember it longer when you make comparisons between new knowledge and old knowledge.

• Think about what you already know about the main idea. Ask yourself “How is this new information similar to what I already knew?”

• Is this new topic similar to another subject that you have learned about in the past? How are they similar?

After Reading Strategy 5:Evaluate Your Strategies

• Think about which strategies you used during each reading stage. Which strategy was the most helpful to you? Why?

• Was there a part of the text that you had difficulty with? What fix-up strategy did you use?

• Which strategy was the least helpful to you? What could you change to make it more helpful?

Let’s Review!• Before you read:1. Survey the text2. Make predictions3. Frontload4. Make personal

connections5. Design a graphic

organizer

• As you read:1. Use your graphic organizer2. Use your imagination3. Clarify4. Question and predict5. Think about your comprehension

• After you read:1. Review your questions and

predictions2. Summarize3. Generate questions4. Make comparisons5. Evaluate your strategies

You’re a successful reader!• Now that you have these fifteen reading comprehension strategies

in your tool kit, you’re ready to tackle text with ease.• Using these strategies will help you make the most out of your

reading activities. You will be able to learn more with less difficulty.• Reading will be more enjoyable now that you are a successful

reader.

Bursuck W.D., Damer M. (2011) Teaching Reading to Students Who Are at Risk or Have Disabilities: A Multi-Tier Approach (2nd ed.) Boston, Ma: Pearson Education Inc.

Dees, J. (2010, September 23). 7 Pre-reading Strategies that Will Increase Comprehension. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.thereligionteacher.com/pre-reading-strategies-that-increase-comprehension/

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