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TexQuest provides access to authoritative digital resources for educators, students, and students' immediate families in Texas K-12 public schools and open-enrollment charter schools.

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Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to (1) decode what they read; (2) make connections between what they read and what they already know; and (3) think deeply about what they have read.

One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the meanings of enough words. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what they read - what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, which characters are funny. Thus comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning.

Target the Problem: Comprehension

What the problem looks like

A kid's perspective: What this feels like to me

Children will usually express their frustration and difficulties in a general way, with statements like "I hate reading!" or "This is stupid!". But if they could, this is how kids might describe how comprehension difficulties in particular affect their reading:

It takes me so long to read something. It's hard to follow along with everything going on.

I didn't really get what that book was about.

Why did that character do that? I just don't get it!

I'm not sure what the most important parts of the book were.

I couldn't really create an image in my head of what was going on.

A parent's perspective: What I see at home

Here are some clues for parents that a child may have problems with comprehension:

She's not able to summarize a passage or a book.

He might be able to tell you what happened in a story, but can't explain why events went the way they did.

She can't explain what a character's thoughts or feelings might have been.

He doesn't link events in a book to similar events from another book or from real life.

A teacher's perspective: What I see in the classroom

Here are some clues for teachers that a student may have problems with comprehension:

He seems to focus on the "wrong" aspect of a passage; for example, he concentrates so much on the details that the main idea is lost.

She can tell the outcome of a story, but cannot explain why things turned out that way.

He does not go behind what is presented in a book to think about what might happen next or why characters took the action they did.

She brings up irrelevant information when trying to relate a passage to something in her own life.

He seems to have a weak vocabulary.

She cannot tell the clear, logical sequence of events in a story.

He does not pick out the key facts from informational text.

He cannot give you a "picture" of what's going on in a written passage; for example, what the characters look like or details of where the story takes place.

How to help

With the help of parents and teachers, kids can learn strategies to cope with comprehension problems that affect his or her reading. Below are some tips and specific things to do.

What kids can do to help themselves

Use outlines, maps, and notes when you read.

Make flash cards of key terms you might want to remember.

Read stories or passages in short sections and make sure you know what happened before you continue reading.

Ask yourself, "Does this make sense?" If it doesn't, reread the part that didn't make sense.

Read with a buddy. Stop every page or so and take turns summarizing what you've read.

Ask a parent or teacher to preview a book with you before you read it on your own.

As you read, try to form mental pictures or images that match the story.

What parents can do to help at home

Hold a conversation and discuss what your child has read. Ask your child probing questions about the book and connect the events to his or her own life. For example, say "I wonder why that girl did that?" or "How do you think he felt? Why?" and "So, what lesson can we learn here?".

Help your child make connections between what he or she reads and similar experiences he has felt, saw in a movie, or read in another book.

Help your child monitor his or her understanding. Teach her to continually ask herself whether she understands what she's reading.

Help your child go back to the text to support his or her answers.

Discuss the meanings of unknown words, both those he reads and those he hears.

Read material in short sections, making sure your child understands each step of the way.

Discuss what your child has learned from reading informational text such as a science or social studies book.

What teachers can do to help at school

As students read, ask them open-ended questions such as "Why did things happen that way?" or "What is the author trying to do here?" and "Why is this somewhat confusing?".

Teach students the structure of different types of reading material. For instance, narrative texts usually have a problem, a highpoint of action, and a resolution to the problem. Informational texts may describe, compare and contrast, or present a sequence of events.

Discuss the meaning of words as you go through the text. Target a few words for deeper teaching, really probing what those words mean and how they can be used.

Teach note-taking skills and summarizing strategies.

Use graphic organizers that help students break information down and keep tack of what they read.

Encourage students to use and revisit targeted vocabulary words.

Teach students to monitor their own understanding. Show them how, for example, to ask themselves "What's unclear here?" or "What information am I missing?" and "What else should the author be telling me?".

Teach children how to make predictions and how to summarize.

More information

Find out more about comprehension issues with these resources from Reading Rockets, The Access Center, and LD OnLine:

Other recommended links:

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Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to (1) decode what they read; (2) make connections between what they read and what they already know; and (3) think deeply about what they have read.

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From 2004 to 2010, a team of researchers and teachers at FCRR collected ideas and created Student Center Activities for use in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms. The activities are designed for students to practice, demonstrate, and extend their learning of what has already been taught, sometimes with teacher assistance and sometimes independently. Students can complete the activities in small groups, pairs, or individually.

Accompanying these Student Center Activities is a Teacher Resource Guide that offers important insights on differentiated instruction and how to use the Student Center materials.

Component

Name of the reading component: Phonological Awareness (PA), Phonics (P), Fluency (F), Vocabulary (V), or Comprehension (C). Each component is color coded: PA is purple, P is orange, F is red, V is green, C is blue.

Subcomponent

Name of the reading subcomponent, which is a subskill of the component.

Activity Name

Activity Number

The letters correspond with the reading component (PA, P, F, V, or C). The numbers are listed in ascending order within each component. The activities are sequenced from simple to more complex within each component and subcomponent.

Student Icon

The suggested number of students for the activity. One student icon indicates that students may work independently or with a small group. Two student icons indicate that the activity requires students to work in pairs. Two student icons with a plus sign indicate that the activity requires two or more students.

Objective

States the goal of the activity, which is aligned with the subcomponent.

Materials

Materials are located on the pages that follow the Activity Plan. Most materials are non-consumable to be prepared and used repeatedly (e.g., word cards can be laminated). Some materials are consumable and will need to be duplicated for each student doing the activity. Other materials, such as counters, are commonly found in most classrooms.

Activity Statement

One sentence explanation of the purpose of the activity and what students do to complete the activity.

Activity Steps

The first step describes how to setup the center. The second step begins with: The student, Students, Working in pairs, or Taking turns depending on the number of students needed to complete the activity. The second step also starts the series of steps to complete the activity. The next steps explain what the student does to complete the activity. The last step lists one of three accountability methods: Self-check, Peer evaluation, or Teacher evaluation.

Example

A visual of the activity and key materials.

Extensions and Adaptations

Suggestions that extend or provide an adaptation for additional practice on the skill addressed in the activity. Materials for the extensions and adaptations are included after the pages that align to the Activity Plan.

Users may use the FCRR Student Center Activities resources as long as modifications are not made, the resources will only be used for non-profit educational purposes, and the copyright belong jointly to the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Center for Reading Research. These resources may not be used for any commercial purposes. These resources on our site may be linked to but not reposted, reproduced, modified, or copied to other sites. For questions about the use of these resources, please contact The Florida Center for Reading Research at fcrr@fcrr.org.

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From 2004 to 2010, a team of researchers and teachers at FCRR collected ideas and created Student Center Activities for use in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms. The activities are designed for students to practice, demonstrate, and extend their learning of what has already been taught, sometimes with teacher assistance and sometimes independently.

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ReadWorks | Award-Winning, EdTech Nonprofit Organization

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ReadWorks is an edtech nonprofit organization that is committed to helping to solve America’s reading comprehension crisis.

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Bluebonnet Learning | Texas Education Agency

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TextProject-FYI for Kids Magazine Articles

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TextProject-FYI for Kids Magazine Articles

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FYI for Kids is a collection of engaging and high-quality magazine articles designed to enhance the Common Core classroom's reading repertoire.

The objective of this project is to demonstrate a type of text that is essential for increasing students' engagement in and proficiency with complex texts-short engaging articles that communicate critical information.

Read the Frankly Freddy article on "FYI for Kids: Building Students' Capacity for Complex Text" to learn more.

Download the texts and supporting materials for each level.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

We have two sets of comprehension guides to accompany FYI for Kids!
Comprehension Guides from Reading Partners Comprehension Response Sheets by Pat Cunningham
NEW! A tutoring guide for FYI for Kids!

Teach Your Child to Read & Spell, a tutoring guide for TextProject texts including FYI for Kids.

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FYI for Kids is a collection of engaging and high-quality magazine articles designed to enhance the Common Core classroom's reading repertoire. The objective of this project is to demonstrate a type of text that is essential for increasing students' engagement in and proficiency with complex texts-short engaging articles that communicate critical information.

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FYI for Kids Comprehension Response Sheets

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FYI for Kids Comprehension Response Sheets

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Comprehension Response Sheets by Pat Cunningham

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Strategies, tools, and texts to bring beginning and struggling readers to proficient levels of literacy

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Background Knowledge

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To comprehend a story or text, young readers need a threshold of knowledge about the topic, and tougher state standards place increasing demands on children’s prior knowledge. This article offers practical classroom strategies to build background knowledge such as using contrasts and comparisons and encouraging topic-focused wide reading.

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Unite for Literacy provides free digital access to picture books, narrated in many languages. Literacy is at the core of a healthy community, so we unite with partners to enable all families to read with their young children.

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The Kid Should See This: Educational videos for curious kids of all ages, a free resource for parents & teachers. Science, art, nature, animals, & more.

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Vocabulary

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More resources: Vocabulary: self-paced course Target the Problem: Vocabulary Vocabulary Apps Topics A-Z: Vocabulary Vocabulary refers to the words we must understand to communicate effectively. Educators often consider four types of vocabulary: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Listening vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what we hear.

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PreK-1 TexQuest Resources for General (1)

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TexQuest Resources for Elementary Science

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TexQuest Resources for Elementary Social Studies

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Blog post from Two Writing Teachers

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Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes, 531 words

Primary Audience: PK-12 classroom teachers, coaches

The Context: This year, one of my school's goals is to increase opportunities for students to write across the day. Learning Logs are a Project GLAD strategy that we have found highly effective for meeting this goal. The beauty of Learning Logs is that their open-ended format allows them to be used across any subject in response to new learning of any kind. This predictable structure becomes a low-prep strategy teachers can use to support their students to process new information and make personal connections to their learning through writing. The simple format is adaptable to meet diverse learning needs.

How It Works: Learning Logs are simply a sheet of paper divided in half with the word "Text" on the left and "You" or "Me" on the right.

On the left side, students write and sketch about what they learned in response to a specific text. "Text" is a broad term that refers to the source of learning, such as a book, article, video, diagram, map, etc. This summary of new learning serves as a formative assessment of what students are taking away from the lesson.

On the right side, students write and sketch their personal thoughts, reactions, and connections to their new learning. Students will often write questions they have, related information they know, or personal stories they are reminded of by the information. Through these questions, stories, and connections, teachers get to know more about their students' experiences and interests.

Learning Logs are easily differentiated to meet a variety of learning needs. As a Project GLAD strategy, it was specifically designed to support multilingual learners (MLs). Encouraging sketching with labels allows emergent MLs to express their learning even if they do not have all of the vocabulary and grammar to do so in complete sentences. All students are encouraged to sketch because it helps the brain to process information in a multimodal way that leads to stronger neural pathways. Sentence frames can be added to the learning log or posted on a chart to support students in getting started and writing complete sentences. Lines can also be added to the template to support students with the mechanics of writing (just make sure there is also a space for sketching).

Learning Logs are a teacher favorite because, as I mentioned before, they are very low prep. Once you have your template, keep a stack on hand to use at any time. Or, copy a packet of learning logs for each student so that all you have to do is say, "take out your learning log and write about what you just learned." You can also forgo the template and have students simply fold a piece of paper in half or draw a line down the middle of their notebook page. The best learning log template is the one that gets used!

The Bottom Line: Learning Logs are a low-prep, highly transferable, and easily adaptable strategy that helps students process new learning and make personal connections to their learning through writing and sketching. Give it a try and I bet you'll be hooked!

Published by Shawnda Fukano

I am a biliteracy coach at a Spanish-English dual language elementary school and an OCDE Project GLAD trainer. My son and twin daughters keep me pretty busy, but when I have a spare moment you can find me digging in my garden, baking in my kitchen, exploring at the beach, or writing in my journal. View all posts by Shawnda Fukano

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Learning Logs: Straight from the Classroom

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Learning Logs are a low-prep, highly transferable, and easily adaptable strategy that helps students process new learning and make personal connections to their learning through writing.

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From "Read Alouds for All Learners" by Molly Ness

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Planning Template for Content-Area Read Alouds

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Planning Template for Content-Area Read Alouds

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From "Read Alouds for All Learners" by Molly Ness

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7 Mighty Moves book, p. 143

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7 Strategies to Make Vocabulary Lessons Unforgettable

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7 Strategies to Make Vocabulary Lessons Unforgettable

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Blog post from TCEA

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Seven Strategies to Make K-12 Vocabulary Lessons Unforgettable – TCEA TechNotes Blog

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Explore seven strategies for teaching engaging K-12 vocabulary lessons. Everything from the Frayer Model to Word Poetry Slams. Explore this and more at TCEA TechNotes Blog, your go-to source for educational technology and teaching innovation.

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Learning Log Blank Template-Primary Lines

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Learning Log Blank Template-Primary Lines

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Learning Log Blank Template - primary lines (Eng/Span)

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Learning Log Blank Template with Sentence Starters

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Learning Log Blank Template with Sentence Starters

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Learning Log Blank Template with Sentence Starters

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Teach Britannica: Learning Materials for All Grades & Subjects

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Empowers teachers with fully customizable, evidence-based learning materials including lessons, worksheets, instructional strategies, & graphic organizers.