Building Comprehension by Reading Aloud
Question:
My granddaughter in second grade is having real difficulty with reading comprehension. Her mom and dad are both so busy with their business and three younger children. They have no extra time. I would really like to help her and need some suggestions on how best to work with her. I am not a teacher.
Thank you for your help.
C.M. Milano
Answer:
Ms. Milano,
Thank you for your excellent question! Sharing books with your children or grandchildren helps them learn to think and act like good readers without even realizing it. Both adults and children learn when they make connections with what they already know and what they hear as they are reading.
One method you can use to help your granddaughter to make those connections is called a “think aloud” which is really just speaking your thoughts as you are reading. This practice will not only increase her learning but also will improve her reading comprehension.
Elements of a “think aloud”
1. Help your child connect the book to her own experiences.
For example: The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant - You might say: “When I read this story it reminds me of when I was 7 yrs. old and our relatives came from California to spend Thanksgiving with us; we had such fun! Do you remember when your cousins came to spend two weeks with you and you had to share your bed with your cousin Andrea?”
2. Help your child connect the book to other books she has read. For example: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe “This story reminds me of Cinderella. These two stories are about sisters. Have you read any other books about kind and unkind sisters? Let’s see if we can compare these stories to find out if they are alike in any other way.”
3. Help your child connect the book to larger ideas and life- lessons.
For example: Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco “This story lets me see how two very different people can become such good friends through their love for an abandoned cat and the discovery that both have had personal experiences of suffering and happiness in their own cultures.”
These are three examples of how good readers “think aloud” and the types of connections they intuitively make as they read. When you model this process by “thinking aloud” as you read with your granddaughter, she will learn to make connections herself when she reads on her own. Before long her reading comprehension will increase as well as her confidence and reading enjoyment.
Bless you for your efforts and for being such a supportive grandmother!
I will be eager to hear how she is doing in a few months. Keep in touch!
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