Comprehension Strategies

In this section, you’ll find some comprehension strategies that good readers use.  I will be describing them as separate strategies, but we actually integrate them when we read.  As adults, we use these strategies without even knowing it many times.  But for young and inexperienced readers, we need to model them explicitly so that they can eventually apply them as they read independently.  I find it works best to focus on one strategy and move on to the next one when you notice your child has mastered it.  By “master”, I mean that your child is taking the things you’ve modeled for her and now independently applying them to text.

*Two things: 1) Please be aware that some texts lend themselves better to certain comprehension strategies than others.  Don’t try to force it.  I will eventually post a few texts that would work well with each strategy. 2) I will also be posting activities I’ve done with ALuv and some of my tutees with these comprehension strategies to make them more tangible.

Many of these ideas are adapted from Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller and Strategies that Work by Harvey & Goudvis.