Making sure that your child can read at his or her grade level or above is probably very important to you. However, you have to focus on more than just whether or not your child can sound out the words: you also have to make sure that your child fully comprehends what he or she is reading as well. These are a few tips that can help you improve your child’s reading comprehension.
1. Work with a Tutor
Have you ever thought about hiring a tutor to work with your child on his or her reading and reading comprehension? If not, it might be something that you want to look into. Hiring a tutor can have a lot of benefits, including having someone with experience to work with your child and giving you a bit of a break to get other things done. Consider looking for tutoring businesses in your area, or ask your child’s teacher if he or she has any suggestions.
2. Choose Books Your Child Actually Likes
If your child is bored by what he or she is reading, he or she might not really pay much attention to what is going on in the book. However, if you choose books that your child actually likes and that he or she is actually interested in, you can help encourage him or her to pay attention and really try to comprehend what it is that he or she is reading. Consider your child’s interests when choosing books for him or her so that you can help with this.
3. Don’t Make it Too Hard
Some parents get excited about their kids being able to read above their grade level. Even though this is definitely a great achievement, you don’t want to push your child too hard to read books that are above his or her age group. Along with the risk of exposing your child to themes and content that he or she might not be ready for, this can also make things overly difficult for your child. If your son or daughter is dedicating all of his or her attention to trying to read the words, not only understanding the content.
3. Encourage Your Child to Read More
The saying that practice makes perfect is true for a lot of things, including reading. The more that your child reads, the better he or she will get at it, including when it comes to understanding what he or she is reading.
4. Ask Questions
One good way to encourage your child to pay more attention to what he or she is reading is to ask questions and promote a discussion about it. Consider doing so to get your child talking about and thinking about the books that he or she reads.
As you can see, there are a few different things that you can do if you’d like to improve your child’s reading comprehension skills. For more advice, consider talking to your child’s teacher or another professional.
