Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Our reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in helping struggling readers build fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.
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Reading 101

Text Comprehension

Comprehension is the reason for reading. If readers can read the words but do not understand what they are reading, they are not really reading.

This Seattle school using a technique called Reciprocal Teaching to help students improve their reading comprehension.

As they read, good readers are both purposeful and active. They may read to figure out how to use a food processor, for example, or a magazine for entertainment.

Good readers also think actively as they read. They use their experiences and knowledge of the world, vocabulary, language structure, and reading strategies to make sense of the text and know how to get the most out of it. They know when they have problems with understanding and how to resolve these problems as they occur.

New educational apps for mobile phones and tablets can supplement what your child is learning at home or in school. See our slideshow: Top 12 Comprehension Apps >

Related articles

Parents and teachers can do a lot to encourage higher order thinking. Here are some strategies to help foster children's complex thinking.

One way to help a child comprehend what he is reading is to encourage him to visualize parts of the story in his mind. These "mind movies" help clarify information, increase understanding, and can include any of the five senses. Try these practices below when reading with your child.

Reading with comprehension means understanding what's been read. It takes practice, time, and patience to develop reading comprehension skills. Below is a before-during-after approach that families can use to help children learn to read for understanding.

What is Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) and how does it work? Find out more about CORI and how it helps children's comprehension and motivation through science inquiry.

Learning happens when we connect new information to what we already know. When children have limited knowledge about the world, they have a smaller capacity to learn more about it. Here are four ways teachers can build content knowledge that will expand the opportunity for students to forge new connections — and make them better independent readers and learners.

Students need to think while they are reading. By using modeling, coached practice, and reflection, you can teach your students strategies to help them think while they read and build their comprehension.

This article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.

The National Reading Panel identified three predominant elements to support the development reading comprehension skills: vocabulary instruction, active reading, and teacher preparation to deliver strategy instruction.

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