An aspect of teaching your child to read that is sometimes overlooked is the partner of reading… Comprehension.
Without reading comprehension, quite frankly just reading is of little value. Working to ensure your child develops good reading comprehensive skills is just as important of that of teaching your child to read.
Probably the best tool available to you is the art of narration. Narration is difficult to do, but it is a great companion to learning to read and is generally a great exercise for the mind.
Obviously, it best to start small. When you are reading to your child read just one short passage or paragraph then ask your child to retell to you what they just heard. Early on you will need to prompt your child with questions through the exercise, but as your child’s comprehension and narration skills increase you will also be able to lengthen the reading from which your child will recall.
Actively working with a child’s reading comprehension skills will enable you to keep your fingers on the pulse of how well your child actually understands what it is that they hear or read. Essentially the evaluation is the more the child has to say about what they just heard or read; the better they understood the passage.
The key element to developing strong comprehensive reading skills in your child is simply do not let your child be a passive participant. When you read to your child, engage them in questions and answers and not at the end of each story.
Remember early on, a little bit at a time. Get them to communicate back to you in their own words and encourage them to build their vocabulary at the same time. Actively participating in comprehension activities gets your child past just trying to absorb material. True comprehension also includes responding.
Absorption only is a problem that many parents unknowingly manifest in their children by allowing them to passively sit and watch television, or sit in front of a computer. These activities are far too passive of a learning process for the child. Reading comprehension goes hand in hand with all learning, and are vital skills that must be developed.
