2. Provide books at the right level

Improving Vocabulary

Often, students struggling with reading comprehension also have problems with vocabulary. They don’t always understand what they hear. Multisensory strategies – graphic organizers, pictures, playdough, beads – can be used to teach the meaning of new words. By improving overall language skills, children are more likely to understand words they face in written texts.

Understanding Context

After a student has gained a vocabulary to read through a text, the next challenge can be understanding the complex details and developments needed to discern what is not explicitly stated in the reading.
Some strategies that education experts point out include:

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  Coming up with questions while reading.
  
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  Linking what a student is reading to something else they have read, seen or experienced.
  
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  Making predictions about what will come next in the story. “When a student makes predictions about the text they are about to read, it provides a framework for any new information and helps with the continuity of their learning,” Shuler says.
  
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  Looking for keywords and rereading them to answer questions. “Asking and answering questions about text helps students focus on the meaning,” Shuler says. “Teachers, parents and caregivers can help by modeling both the process of asking good questions and strategies for finding the answers in the text.”
  
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  Thinking out loud to be explicit in their thought processes.
  

“Most importantly, just talking to peers about a book helps with reading comprehension,” says Allison Blass, a first grade teacher in New York.

Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal teaching pushes students to be leaders in their learning. They are encouraged to think explicitly about their thought processes while they read or listen to a story. Teachers often use reciprocal teaching during classroom discussions, when reading a story out loud or when stories are read in small groups.
In reciprocal teaching, students can rotate their reading jobs. One student can serve as a questioner, who asks about parts of the lesson or discussion that are confusing. Another student can serve as a summarizer, explaining each important detail or theme in the text. A third student, called a clarifier, speaks to the questioner’s issues to ensure that what the questioner finds confusing is understood. And a predictor will forecast what happens next based on the reading and discussion.
READ: 
[What Should a First Grader Know? ]