Ways to Boost Reading Comprehension for AR tests
Adapted from heidisongs.com blog
1. Read an AR book five times before testing!
This is a good rule of thumb for children that are new readers, and a rule that is commonly used in some first grade classes. The children are expected to read their AR books five times before testing, and no excuses!
2. Have your kids practice finding the main idea of simple conversational topics first, then move on to books.
One great “teacher trick” to listen to someone just tell a very simple story aloud, such as what they did for Thanksgiving, etc. Then have your child tell the main idea of that little "story," as well as answer any "who, what, when, where, why" etc. questions you can come up with. Once your child gets used to doing that with very simple stories that they hear in conversation, they will likely be able to do this with stories they read. I would also suggest that teaching them to identify the setting, characters, and the different parts of the story, such as the beginning, middle, and end or conclusion. That is also very good practice, since it makes them more aware of the story structure and what to expect when they are reading. It also helps them become better writers as well! HeidiSongs.com has a song for this topic on the CD/DVD, Little Songs for Language Arts. It’s called the “Parts of a Story” song! It is also available on iTunes and on Amazon.
3. Ask your child as many questions as you can think of!
Listen to your child read the book aloud. Before your child turns each page, stop and ask your child questions about what he or she just read. Here's an example of a page from a book and some questions to ask:
This picture is from the book, Bark, George! by Jules Feiffer. In the story, they take George to the vet because every time they ask him to bark, he makes a different animal's sound! Here are some possible questions that you might see in a typical AR test:
Who took George to the vet?
Why did George have to go to the vet?
What did the vet ask George to do?
What did George do when the vet asked him to bark? What did George say the first time the vet asked him to bark? (or the second, or third, etc.)
How did George's mom probably feel when she found out that George couldn't bark?
4. Get stuck on a word?
After you figure it out, go back and re-read that page. Once your child figures it out, have the child go back and re-read the whole sentence. Ask him what the sentence means. Now go back to the top of the page and re-read the whole page. When the brain switches to trying very hard to decode or sound out words, less brain power can be devoted to comprehension. So you have to get past that and help your child become fluent with those words. And those words often come up on the tests, too! And if your child doesn't know them, he's more likely to miss that question, just from not understanding the question.
Happy Reading!
This is a good rule of thumb for children that are new readers, and a rule that is commonly used in some first grade classes. The children are expected to read their AR books five times before testing, and no excuses!
2. Have your kids practice finding the main idea of simple conversational topics first, then move on to books.
One great “teacher trick” to listen to someone just tell a very simple story aloud, such as what they did for Thanksgiving, etc. Then have your child tell the main idea of that little "story," as well as answer any "who, what, when, where, why" etc. questions you can come up with. Once your child gets used to doing that with very simple stories that they hear in conversation, they will likely be able to do this with stories they read. I would also suggest that teaching them to identify the setting, characters, and the different parts of the story, such as the beginning, middle, and end or conclusion. That is also very good practice, since it makes them more aware of the story structure and what to expect when they are reading. It also helps them become better writers as well! HeidiSongs.com has a song for this topic on the CD/DVD, Little Songs for Language Arts. It’s called the “Parts of a Story” song! It is also available on iTunes and on Amazon.
3. Ask your child as many questions as you can think of!
Listen to your child read the book aloud. Before your child turns each page, stop and ask your child questions about what he or she just read. Here's an example of a page from a book and some questions to ask:
This picture is from the book, Bark, George! by Jules Feiffer. In the story, they take George to the vet because every time they ask him to bark, he makes a different animal's sound! Here are some possible questions that you might see in a typical AR test:
Who took George to the vet?
Why did George have to go to the vet?
What did the vet ask George to do?
What did George do when the vet asked him to bark? What did George say the first time the vet asked him to bark? (or the second, or third, etc.)
How did George's mom probably feel when she found out that George couldn't bark?
4. Get stuck on a word?
After you figure it out, go back and re-read that page. Once your child figures it out, have the child go back and re-read the whole sentence. Ask him what the sentence means. Now go back to the top of the page and re-read the whole page. When the brain switches to trying very hard to decode or sound out words, less brain power can be devoted to comprehension. So you have to get past that and help your child become fluent with those words. And those words often come up on the tests, too! And if your child doesn't know them, he's more likely to miss that question, just from not understanding the question.
Happy Reading!