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Comprehension

Why This is Important

Comprehension is the ability to understand and critically think about text. It is the purpose of skilled reading. 

Goals for Strong Readers

  • Retell the most important points and key details of a text. 
  • Make inferences and connections about the text.  
  • Understand the author’s purpose and structure of a text.  
  • Gain new content knowledge and apply learned concepts. 

Quick Activity

Helps with speaking and listening

Read a text of your child’s choice and have your child come up with three important facts or key details about the text. Allow your child to share two new things he or she learned. Encourage your child to come up with one question he or she has about the text 

More Activities and Games

Read a text of your child’s choice. Have your child create a book cover (or alternate one, if the text already has a cover). Discuss with your child the details in the cover and why they were included. 

Helps with writing

Have your child read a fictional text of his or her choice. Fiction is a made-up story. Encourage your child to pick a character in the story  and rewrite the story from that character’s point of view. Ensure your child includes the character’s actions, feelings, and traits. Optional: add in dialogue (characters speaking to one another).  

Have your child select a text to read aloud to you and other family members. Write five questions from the lists below on small pieces of paper. Select a board game to play. Play the game as usual, asking each player to answer one of the questions before he or she makes a move. If a wrong answer is given, the player loses a turn. Discuss the right answer, going back to the text if needed. 

List of questions for non-fiction (real, with facts) text: 

  • What is the main idea of the text? 
  • What is the main idea of paragraph ______? 
  • Why did the author write the text? 
  • What text features (headings, bold print, captions, graphics) are in the text? 
  • Explain an example of cause and effect from the text. 
  • What is the structure of the text (compare and contrast, sequence, cause and effect, description, problem and solution)? 

List of questions for fiction (made-up story) text: 

  • Who were the characters?  
  • Who was the main character and what was he or she like? 
  • What was the problem? 
  • What was the lesson learned in the story?  
  • Where did the story take place? Describe it in detail. 

Printables

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Comprehension Questions