How to improve reading comprehension: A guide for parents

Reading comprehension is not just about decoding words; it's about understanding and processing the meaning behind them. If a child understands the text they are reading they are more likely to make progress across different subjects. Here are some suggestions to improve your child’s reading comprehension. 

1. Ask Open Questions

• Before they start reading, ask questions based on the appearance of the book. For example, what do you think this book will be about based on its title and cover? What makes you think that?

• Whilst they are reading, ask them to make predictions and infer information. What do you think will happen next? Why do you think the character made that choice? How is the character feeling and how do you know this?

• Once they have finished the book ask what they liked about it. What was your favourite part? Can you explain why the main character acted that way?

  
  

2. Ask Different Types of Questions

Encourage your child to answer Who, What, Where, When, Why and how questions related to the story. For example:

• Who is the main character?

• What problem did they face and how do you know this?

• Where does the story take place?

If they struggle with these questions, consider giving them extra support. 

3. Encourage Your Child to Make Predictions

Asking children to make predictions or infer meanings from a text can deepen their understanding. This skill becomes increasingly important as children get older. 

4. Read Aloud Together

Reading aloud not only improves fluency but also allows you to model how the text should be read. Discussing the text will also help to address any misconceptions and improve their comprehension. 

5. Different Genres of Books

Make sure that your child has access to a variety of different types of reading material. This could be books, comics or graphic novels. If you don’t have access to these at home, consider visiting your local library or seeing if you can swap books with other parents. The variety will help them to understand texts written for different purposes and therefore improve their overall reading comprehension.

Final Thoughts

There are lots of different ways to improve your child’s reading comprehension. Remember that improving reading comprehension will take time. Allowing your child to read for pleasure is also important, so keep this in mind when you are deciding how best to support them.

You might also like our article about ways to support your child to read with expression.