Training in reading comprehension

Description

• Children may read very slowly, moving from sound to sound or from word to word so that they cannot remember the sentences they have read.
• They may also find it difficult to find the main ideas in a paragraph, or to pick out some important details.
• Some children may struggle with reading because they do not know the meaning of words (poor vocabularity).
• The structure of the sentences is complicated.

Material

Wide variety of different kind of texts, pictures, NBTL material; texts and pictures.

Reading practice

If the child is reading very slowly, refer to the activities, which are explained in training words and sentences. Make regular reading times for children who are struggling until they begin to decode the words automatically and can concentrate on the meanings.

Read short interesting texts to the children and ask them to listen to the main idea.

Improving vocabulary

The teacher can use any opportunity to explain new words to the children, teach for example: opposites, similarities or differences, and comparisons. Example: Your hair is shorter than Mumba’s hair. The teacher’s table is cleaner than your table.

Encourage children to use a variety of words to describe the same event.
Example: Ask the child to describe an accident.

The teacher can ask the child to take note of the words that are difficult to understand in the text.
Example: After the child has finished reading a text, the teacher can ask the child which words were difficult and explain their meanings.

The teacher can write a sentence on the board, ask the child to read it and then show the corresponding picture on the board. Example: Put three pictures on the board. Write a sentence, which refers to one of the pictures. Ask the child to read the sentence and show the corresponding picture.

The teacher can write a short story and ask the children to give it title. Or have the child read a story and then tell briefly what happened in the story.