I would like to thank many of you who recently filled in our survey about ‘What you need to support your children’s learning’ (if not you can still do so here). You gave me lots of great feedback which I will now act on.

One area where many wanted more information was in Reading Comprehension – how can we get our children to understand more of what they read?

Comprehension is not only important when it comes to reading lessons but it carries into all areas of schooling and life. Children need to be able to comprehend questions in maths, science, research materials, magazines, internet sites, etc.

Children may have the mechanics of reading but it is the making sense of the text which will help them in life. Being able to comprehend what they read makes purposeful, active readers who can find the meaning they need from the books they read.

As a teacher I often saw children who could basically answer the literal questions (the answers that are found in the book) but when you asked them more in depth questions (the think and search or evaluate) they couldn’t give you an answer and often would have trouble retelling the story. It is often up to us, the parents, and their teachers to help model the process of reading and understanding what we are reading.

The following is a strategy that children can use in all aspects of learning but it also provides a framework that you can use to help your children comprehend more of what they are reading.

The PQ4R strategy is an acronym for Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite and Review. These 6 steps can help children make meaning and remember various details of what they have read.

1. Preview – For younger children - Look at the cover, look at the title, look at the pictures in the book. For older children - look at the table of contents, read the introduction or the book blurb, look at pictures, graphs, diagrams => basically looking for the main idea
2. Question – Think about the information you learned in the preview. Ask questions about it – what do I know about this topic? What do I think will happen in this story? What do I think I will learn from this book?
3. Read – Read the book.
4. Reflect – Reflect on what you have read. What happened? Did you think that would happen? What new information did you learn? Did the story/ending surprise you?
5. Recite – Think about the story. Retell it to someone. Explain all the important main points.
6. Review – Did you enjoy the book? Yes or No – why? Was the author’s point clear? What could have happened? How could you change the book/ending?

These steps can easily be incorporated into your reading time with your children. It doesn’t need to take up lots of time, but just get them to think about the book – a few questions by you will tell you if they have understood what was read.

More information about Reading comprehension can be found on our web page Reading with Comprehension