Sounding out or decoding words is only part of the reading puzzle but this falls short of real reading. If children don't understand what they read, they're not really reading. If they can't unlock meaning as they read, the words are just babble and they will never read well or enjoy reading. Reading is an interactive process in which good readers engage in a constant internal dialogue with the text. This ongoing dialogue helps them understand and elaborate on what they read. So how do good readers develop this internal dialogue?
They use the following 7 strategies to unlock meaning:
1.
Visualize. Good readers create a wide range of visual,auditory, and other sensory images as they read. Thus, they become emotionally involved with what they read.
2.
Use Schema. Good readers use their relevant prior knowledge before, during and after reading, to enhance their understanding of what they're reading.
3.
Ask Questions. Good readers generate questions before, during and after reading to clarify meaning, make predictions, and focus their attention on what is important.
4.
Make Inferences. Good readers use their prior knowledge and information from the text to make predictions, seek answers to questions, draw conclusions, and create interpretations that deepen their understanding of the text.
5.
Determine the Most Important Ideas or Themes. Good readers identify key ideas or themes as they read. They are able to distinguish between important and unimportant information. This helps them to focus on what is important.
6.
Synthesize Information. Good readers track their thinking as it evolves during the reading, to get the overall meaning.
7.
Use Fix up Strategies. Good readers are aware of when they understand and when they don't. They use a wide range of problem solving strategies when they have trouble understanding specific words, phrases or longer passages. These include skipping ahead, rereading, reading the passage aloud, and using a dictionary.
There is nothing fancy about these strategies. But to read well, readers must use them!Excerpted from:
7 Keys to Comprehension: How to Help Your Kids Read It and Get It!
