Eliminate distractions when working on reading comprehension. Turn off the TV and silence your phone or put it in a pocket where notifications won’t interrupt you.
1. Pay Attention
If you want to improve your reading comprehension, then you need to pay attention. Distractions can make it hard to understand what you are reading, so try to eliminate as many of them as possible.
For example, if you have trouble staying focused for long periods of time while reading, for example, articles from https://www.paperhelp.org/, work on your stamina by starting with short reading sessions and gradually increasing them. You may find it helpful to use a timer to help you keep track of your progress.
Eliminate any distractions by putting your phone on silent and tucking it away, or finding a quiet place where you can read without being interrupted. You can also try listening to ambient music without lyrics to drown out distracting noises. Getting familiar with vocabulary words before you begin reading can also help you stay focused while reading.
2. Read Aloud
Reading comprehension isn't just a concern for kids; adults can also struggle to comprehend text. One of the most important ways to help build reading comprehension is to read aloud. Reading aloud allows students to focus on the metacognition involved in the reading process and allows them to connect ideas, apply background knowledge, and discover new words.
Try to find a quiet place without distractions (like your classroom library or study room) to read aloud. Make sure to turn off any notifications or dings from your phone so that you don't get distracted.
Use a poster board or notebook to track the words you hear, if desired. You can even use a word cloud generator to create one and check off the words you hear as you read.
3. Take Notes
Taking notes is important in helping students learn and retain information. Using notes to summarize the key points of a reading helps them remember what they have read and move away from simple recall to a deeper conceptual understanding.
Taking notes can be intimidating to some students, especially those who struggle with reading comprehension. However, focusing on comprehension skills and practicing strategies can help improve those skills over time and lead to better performance on assignments and standardized tests. While reading comprehension is a difficult skill to master, it is possible with practice and patience. It is also important to make sure that students are able to differentiate between reading-for-study and reading for pleasure. This allows them to focus on reading comprehension skills without relegating their leisure reading to the background.
4. Ask Questions
Using questions to guide students as they read is one of the best ways to teach reading comprehension. Whether it is generating their own questions or having them ask a question of the author, the questioning reading strategy allows students to stay focused on what they really need to know in order to understand the text.
Good readers use their background knowledge and experiences to help them comprehend text. During the reading process, they tap into this memory bank to wonder things about characters, setting, or events. Their questions are constantly evolving as they learn more about what they read. Teaching them to monitor these questions is key to improving comprehension.
This high-interest video / slideshow lesson introduces students to the Questioning Reading Strategy and helps them understand the difference between thick and thin questions. It also teaches students how to use this comprehension strategy independently as they read.
5. Reread
When students have good comprehension skills, they can ask questions, summarize passages, and connect information to prior knowledge. Using these strategies to support reading comprehension can help all students get more out of the material they read.
One of the best ways to improve your understanding of a book is to reread it. This is especially helpful if you are confused about something while reading. If you find yourself getting confused, stop and reread the previous sentence or section of text to refresh your memory of the information.
You can also try to summarize the previous section or chapter of your book before you continue reading. This helps to solidify the ideas in your mind and ensures that you understand them fully. This is also a great way to practice writing skills.
