Life-Saving "Reading Strategies" for Children Who Don't Understand What They Read
Your child may be reading a text fluently and quickly without any hesitation. However, if you're met with blank stares when you ask simple questions like "What was this story about?" or "Who was the main character?" after the text is finished, you are facing a very common problem. In children with specific learning disabilities (dyslexia), even when the mechanical aspect of reading is resolved, there may still be breakdowns at the stage of cognitive comprehension.
Don't worry — there are scientifically validated and effective reading comprehension strategies that will help your child visualize, summarize, and correctly answer questions about what they have read.
Reading Comprehension Is a Dynamic Process
Reading comprehension does not simply mean answering questions after a text is finished. In strategy instruction, pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading strategies are applied. It is essential that all three stages are used together for your child to succeed.
1. Pre-Reading Strategies
Preparing the child for the text before reading begins is a mental warm-up. The primary goals of pre-reading strategies are to build background knowledge about the text and to motivate the individual toward reading.
Discussing the title and illustrations, asking questions, and making predictions about the content of the text are examples of pre-reading strategies. You can spark your child's curiosity by asking, "Based on this title, what do you think will happen in the story?"
2. During-Reading Strategies
While reading, children often focus solely on decoding words and miss the meaning. The goals of during-reading strategies are to comprehend units of information within the text, to build connections among those units, and to relate prior knowledge to the information encountered in the text.
Strategies such as underlining and placing units of information into graphic organizers, retelling what has been read, and making predictions can be used during reading.
Additionally, interactive book reading — which describes the interaction that occurs between an adult and an individual while looking at or reading a book together — is also an effective method for developing reading comprehension skills.
3. Post-Reading Strategies
When the text is finished, consolidation is necessary to prevent information from becoming disorganized. Post-reading strategies are applied with the aim of integrating the entire text for holistic understanding and revisiting any parts that were not fully understood.
Some post-reading strategies include summarizing what was read, retelling the text, and answering comprehension questions.
Visualize Information with Graphic Organizers
In dyslexia reading comprehension work, making abstract texts concrete is a game changer. Your greatest tool for this is graphic organizers.
Graphic organizers are tools that visualize content and the relationships within that content. They are the most effective instruments for presenting information in grouped formats. Story maps, concept maps, or comparison charts can be created to help your child analyze the text more effectively.
Graphic organizers can be used before, during, and after instruction. For example, drawing a story map during reading and placing the beginning, middle, end, and characters of the story into visual boxes makes it remarkably easier for the child to organize information mentally. At the end of instruction, they are used to assess whether the individual has learned the information and its relationships, and to prompt summarization of knowledge.
Interactive Reading Sessions Through E-Rehabilitation
Implementing these strategies and organizers at home on your own can feel overwhelming. Your child's attention may be easily distracted, or paper-and-pencil tasks may be boring for them.
e-rehabilitasyon.com takes reading comprehension work to a fully interactive and engaging level through our platform's infrastructure. In our live online sessions, our specialist educator projects digital graphic organizers and color-coded texts on screen. Our instructor applies interactive book reading techniques one-on-one with your child via the screen. Together, they underline key parts of the on-screen text, collaboratively complete digital story maps, and transform the reading process from a passive activity into an active and enjoyable experience.
As your child visualizes the text through colorful on-screen organizers, their comprehension skills improve rapidly — and "reading" is no longer a rote exercise but an enjoyable adventure in understanding.
Make Your Child's Reading Journey Meaningful!
If your child reads fluently but cannot answer comprehension questions, reach out to us to experience reading comprehension strategies and digital graphic organizers alongside our specialists.
Schedule a Free Initial Consultation Right Now to Assess Your Child's Reading Skills Here