Recommendations for Maintaining and Building Reading Comprehension Skills – Page 2 – Psychoeducational Assessment Resource Hub

Prior to Reading Strategies

Before beginning to read, encourage the client to think about what you already know about the topic.

When reading expository-type passages, set a purpose for reading by building a K-W-L chart (what I KNOW, what I WANT to know, and What I LEARNED).
- In the ‘K’ column, brainstorm orally, and then write down what you already know about the topic.
- Under the ‘W’ column, write down what you want to know about the topic.
- The ‘L’ column can be filled out as you read, or immediately following completion of reading.

Preview the reading by scanning the headings of a chapter, reading captions under pictures, and identifying any bolded text.

Read the summary or review questions first. This helps establish the big picture and underlying meaning of the material. Then, when the passage is read, the details will make more sense.

Skim through each paragraph looking for the topic sentence. There is usually one sentence that will give the basic idea of the whole paragraph. Finding that sentence will help all the other pieces of the paragraph make sense.

Look at pictures if they are available. This helps get the general meaning across and uses visual processing skills.

During Reading

Utilize an active approach to reading. An active approach to reading incorporates self-monitoring skills such as asking oneself “Does it make sense?”, reducing impulsivity in decoding, recognizing when it is appropriate to read more slowly in order to understand, and highlighting and keeping notes of important concepts and words.

Monitor the pace of the client’s reading so that it is appropriate to the reading level and difficulty of the material (e.g., complex text requires a slower reading rate in order to ensure the understanding).

Encourage the client to use visualization techniques to aid their comprehension and promote retention (i.e., forming images in your mind as you read).

Stop at the end of the paragraph/section and review what has been read.

Encourage the client to use context to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words (i.e., what word would fit here)

To ensure that what is being read is understood, encourage the client’s parents or teacher to check-in with the client after each page or paragraph, and determine whether the main idea(s) can be identified, whether the information connects to previous pages, and whether it makes sense. Encourage the client to try to guess what may happen in the next paragraph.

Post Reading:

Summarize and re-sequence the content to facilitate adequate storage of the information read.

Try to make connections between the new information and prior knowledge, or relate the information to real-life situations. This can be accomplished through questioning and discussions.

Utilize questioning strategeis with the client to review the material that has been read (i.e., Who, What, Where, When, and Why)

Take notes after reading or tell someone what you are reading about.

For Older Clients

To further your client’s active reading, they will benefit from an approach that breaks down reading tasks into specific steps. For example, when reading textbooks it is important for your client to use text features as tools to understand and study the text chapter. In reviewing the text structure, he/she could include the following steps.

Firstly, analyze the little parts (e.g., title, headings, visuals, and words) of the chapter. Explain the information contained in the little part. Predict what the section under the part is about.

Secondly, review the big parts (e.g., introduction and summary). Search for signal words that indicate main ideas. Decide what the author thinks is important. Relate the information to what he/she already knows, and paraphrase the main ideas.

Thirdly, your client must think about questions he/she hopes will be answered in the chapter. Check the questions provided by the chapter and formulate his questions.

Stress the need for your client to change her reading speed depending on the type of material they read.

Margin Monitoring – For Older Clients

Many times reading comprehension suffers because the student reads only the words and reads only at the “surface” level. Margin Monitoring is useful for focusing on comprehension during the reading act.

The purposes of Margin Monitoring include helping the reader focus his attention on the reading content, assisting the reader to monitor the relationship of prior knowledge and reading content, and alerting the reader to the need for further comprehension strategies if understanding is poor.

Margin Monitoring – Your client is encouraged to make margin notations while reading his textbooks or other material using the following symbols:

■ √ – “I understand this. It makes sense.”

■ ! – “This is new information. I need to read carefully and try to relate it to what I already know.”

■ ? – “I don’t understand this. It doesn’t sound right or make sense. I’ll need to re-read and if that does not help, I’ll need to use a “fix-up strategy.”

The frequency of the marginal annotations will be dependent on type of material being read. Usually an annotation after each paragraph is sufficient to monitor comprehension and focus attention.

Handouts and Additional Reading

For more information on reading comprehension and targeted interventions, see this handout: Reading Comprehension Handout