Do all fluent readers have strong reading comprehension skills?
As an educator, I have experienced occasions where parents dispute the results of their child’s reading assessments. They assume that their child has strong comprehension skills because they are fluent readers, this is because many parents and teachers confuse fluency with comprehension. Many students can read a book fluently from cover to cover, yet they are unable to comprehend what they are reading.
Fluent readers are readers who are able to read at a reasonable rate, with accuracy, appropriate expression, and phrasing (reading 3-4 words at a time instead of one by one). Fluency in reading is very important because it allows the reader to focus on the meaning of the text (written material) they are reading, rather than on decoding each word. When fluent reader reads aloud, they read smoothly whereas a non-fluent reader reads choppily. A non-fluent reader needs to read a text several times before being able to comprehend what they are reading. Children with strong fluency skills are able to recognize words but not necessarily understand what they are reading.
Teachers and parents can boost children’s Reading Comprehension skills by knowing what it means to comprehend a given text (written material). Reading Comprehension is the ability to construct meaning as one reads, and involves a reader's interaction with the text and understanding of its context. It requires the reader to understand the purpose of why they are reading a given text i.e. to be entertained, persuaded, or to gain information. The reader also requires decoding strategies for word recognition and reading comprehension skills to become a stronger reader. Furthermore, the reader immerses themselves in a variety of texts e.g., fiction, non-fiction, magazines, news articles, comics or picture books, etc. Parents and educators need to realize that novels and storybooks are not the only forms of text that children can learn to read.
There are several strategies that can be used to boost the reading comprehension skills of children. A child’s background knowledge or lived experiences are critical in strengthening their ability to comprehend what they are reading. As children read, they activate new knowledge when they combine their background knowledge with the information they are reading. For example, if a child has only ever experienced a charcoal flat iron, and they read about an electric iron, they will now have additional knowledge that flat irons are not just operated by charcoal but also by electricity, and can come in different colours, shapes, and technological advances. Background knowledge of a topic allows a student to have a better understanding of what they are reading. Teachers and parents are encouraged to activate children's background knowledge of a topic in a text, by discussing what the student knows about the topic or main idea of the text they are about to read.
Asking questions before, during, and after reading is an important strategy that will strengthen your student or child’s reading comprehension skills. Take time to talk about the meaning of the title, as well as the illustrations on the book cover. What is your child wondering about the illustrations? Can they make some predictions based on the title of the book and the illustrations on its cover? As a child reads, encourage them to ask questions about what they are wondering, or make connections to what they are reading. Have they ever experienced a similar event to what is being read in the book? Are the characters different or like them, and if so how and if not why? Have they read a similar book or watched a similar storyline in a movie? How would they end the story differently if they were the author? Always make sure that the questions asked during reading are relevant and generate more questions for discussion to give children rich reading experiences and a deeper understanding of what they are reading.
For young readers whose schools and parents do not have the funds to buy appropriate reading material, and are learning their letters and letter sounds, teachers and parents should encourage them to practice identifying letters and their sounds in words on road signs, buildings, shops, billboards, and vehicle number plates. Reading material is not only found in books. Children should be encouraged to explore their environment for unconventional resources of reading materials.
Educators are strongly encouraged to look out for more 21st Century teaching strategies in our next issue and visit our website at www.teachingforsuccess.ca to access our workshops and consultancy services.
Teaching For Success provides extensive training in professional development and consultancy services in the education sector, for primary and secondary schools, and tertiary colleges. Our aim is to equip educators through professional development, to cognitively engage students in their learning, to prepare them to compete in the 21st-century global economy.
Free Resource: Know what questions to ask your young readers using Reader Response Writing Prompts in the link below.
https://www.cusd80.com/cms/lib6/AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/6275/Reader%20Response%20Journal.pdf