Why parents need to work with their child to develop Reading Comprehension Skills

Here's a breakdown of why parents should work with their elementary children to build reading comprehension:

1. Active Comprehension Strategies:

   • Active Reading: Good readers are active as they read, engaging with the text by predicting, associating ideas with prior knowledge, revising prior knowledge, interpreting the text, and evaluating its quality.

   • Lack of Activity in Young Readers: Young and less skilled readers often lack these active reading behaviors.

   • Comprehension Strategies: Teaching children to use comprehension strategies like generating questions, constructing mental images, summarizing, and analyzing stories can significantly improve their memory and comprehension of text.

   • Use of Multiple Strategies: Excellent readers use a combination of these strategies simultaneously, rather than one at a time. Therefore, it's essential to teach children how to use these strategies together.

   • Transactional Strategies Instruction: This approach encourages students to use strategies in a self-regulated manner, which has been shown to be effective in improving comprehension over a longer period.

2. Consistency and Long-Term Instruction:

   • Regular Instruction: Teaching comprehension strategies should be a daily practice in schools and at home.

   • Long-Term Benefits: Effective comprehension instruction provides consistent and significant benefits over a semester or school year.

3. Monitoring:

   • Self-Awareness in Reading: Good readers know when they need to put in more effort to understand a text.

   • Decoding and Making Sense: They monitor their decoding efforts to ensure words make sense in the context.

   • Seeking Clarification: When confused or when the text doesn't make sense, good readers seek clarification, often through rereading.

   • Teaching Monitoring: Children should be taught to monitor their reading by consistently asking themselves, "Is what I am reading making sense?" and to take action when confused, like rereading or sounding out a word.

Why Parents Should Work with Their Children:

• Support and Reinforcement: Parents can reinforce the comprehension strategies taught at school by practicing them at home with their children.

• Personalized Attention: Parents can provide individualized attention, addressing specific areas where their child may struggle with comprehension.

• Encouragement: Parental involvement can boost a child's confidence in their reading abilities and motivate them to practice comprehension strategies independently.

• Real-Life Application: Parents can help children see the practical application of comprehension strategies in everyday situations, making the learning more relevant and engaging.

In conclusion, working with elementary children to build reading comprehension is crucial for their academic success and lifelong learning. Parents play a vital role in supporting and reinforcing the comprehension strategies taught at school, helping children develop into active and proficient readers. Through consistent practice and monitoring, children can improve their reading comprehension skills, leading to better understanding and enjoyment of texts across various subjects.

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