The Best Way to Improve Reading Comprehension

Have you noticed that your child, or maybe even yourself, struggle with remembering what you read? Some people even struggle with reading comprehension as they are reading. Well, we are here to show you the best way to actually improve reading comprehension and it doesn’t include teaching numerous reading skills in isolation. How to improve reading comprehension focuses more on teaching knowledge than actual reading skills.

Before we dive into the knowledge needed to improve reading comprehension, let’s take a moment and reflect on what exactly reading comprehension is and what is isn’t. We will also dive into how reading comprehension relates to the other areas of reading and why we teach reading comprehension differently.

What Is Reading Comprehension?

Understanding what you read is the crux of reading comprehension. While this seems really simple, actually improving your (or your child’s) reading comprehension is anything but simple. Reading comprehension is more than merely understanding what is read. As a reader, you will need to analyze, interpret, evaluate, and even apply what you read outside of the reading experience to foster reading comprehension.

So many teachers focus on answering simple questions about a book or retelling what was just read. While this is one aspect of reading comprehension, actual comprehension doesn’t stop there. To truly comprehend what we read, we should be able to use this new knowledge to try something new, make decisions or justify our actions, help others, or add to our knowledge in general.

True reading comprehension starts before we even read the first sentence in a book and continues long after we read the last word of the book. As experienced readers comprehend the material, they use multiple strategies while building on their ever present core of general knowledge.

Why Reading Comprehension Is Important?

Reading comprehension is our best way to grow our general knowledge of the world as well as our specific knowledge on a topic. As we reading, we add new information to our growing ideas and knowledge. As we grow our knowledge, we can read more in depth texts, articles, and books. These help us to increase our vocabulary as well as give us even more specific knowledge.

As we grow our knowledge by reading, we begin to sharpen our other skills too. Now we can start to think critically about what we are taught and what we read. No longer are we mindless followers of the information that others spew, but instead we analyze and critique this new knowledge, either fitting it into our growing schema or rejecting it as false.

Understanding what we read provides us the basis to form well-educated opinions and make sound decisions. The more prior knowledge we have on a topic, the more that reading will allow us to learn about the topic. And this knowledge becomes so powerful when we need to make decisions, interpret facts, evaluate evidence, and analyze what others are telling us. Now we can truly become productive and positive citizens in our world, work place, and home.

The Reading Comprehension and Reading Accuracy Connection

Our reading comprehension is connected to the ability to reading accurately. Reading accurately is the ability to read the words correctly on the page. We either know the words by sight, use phonics strategies to sound out the words, or a combination of both. For most competent readers, reading accuracy is easy as most words are read by sight rather quickly. However, for our younger readers, those under third grade, reading accuracy is a large part of reading comprehension.

If a child is unable to read the words on the page, understanding what those words mean will be really difficult. Even as an adult, if we cannot read the words on the page, we will have difficulty with comprehension: just imagine reading in a language you do not speak or even reading medical or legal text outside of your area of expertise. Read more to learn more about improving reading accuracy.

The Reading Comprehension and Reading Fluency Connection

While the connection between fluency and comprehension is a little more tricky to see than the accuracy and comprehension connection, it is just as important. Fluency is the ability to read words accurately, smoothly, and with expression. As you read, you are using your short-term memory, working memory and long-term memory, with an emphasis on your working memory.

Since our short-term memory and working memory are rather short, fluency can help us to read a little quicker thus utilizing these two memories a little better. Experts believe that our short-term memory is only 15 – 30 seconds with only about 7 items remembered. So being able to read with fluency helps a reader to best utilize their short-term memory to aid in comprehension. When you can use those 15 – 30 seconds to read more words on the page, you have more success developing deeper understanding. However, if you struggle with reading quickly, you may spend those same 15 – 30 seconds reading only 2 or 3 words making comprehension more difficult.

If a reader is actively working with the words on the page, they can hold this information in their working memory a little longer. This is where knowledge comes into play. If children can make connections with previous learning and build upon their understanding, a reader can better comprehend the text as they read. Read more to learn about strategies for improving reading fluency.

The Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Connection

Reading comprehension depends largely on the vocabulary of the reader. The more words that the reader understands, the easier the text will be to comprehend. Just imagine reading a technical piece outside of your area of expertise. This could be medical, legal, computer science, or even construction related. The more words that a reader doesn’t recognize, the more difficult comprehension becomes.

Why? Because the reader is using so much of their short-term memory to try to figure out the new words. This limits the space for developing comprehension. Further, the time it takes to process the new word may cause you to forgot all the other words you had just read because you needed the full 15 – 30 seconds to process the new vocabulary.

As a reader gains knowledge in a specific area, they also gain area specific vocabulary. Understanding these vocabulary words can help a reader to alleviate some of the pressure on their short-term and working memory, using this limited space instead to focus on the meaning of what they are reading. Therefore, with the larger vocabulary, comprehension improves. Read for more tips on improving reading vocabulary.

How to Improve Reading Comprehension Through Teaching Knowledge

After reading the Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler and digging into some of the articles referenced in the book, the link between reading comprehension and instruction became more and more clear. As a teacher who has worked in special education, early childhood education, and even high school teaching literacy, I have also seen a connection with knowledge and reading comprehension. However, I always thought that teaching reading skills would overcome the lack of knowledge.

Teaching Reading Comprehension is NOT the Same as Teaching Phonics

When we teach phonemic awareness and phonics skills to beginning readers, we break these skills down into individual skills and teach each separately. So why wouldn’t we teach reading comprehension the same way? Well, understanding what we read is much more than a series of skills. In fact, the more we learn about a topic, the deeper we can explore the topic and the more we understand. Having knowledge of a topic helps us to access more complex texts and better comprehend the texts as well.

Have you ever wondered why your child could read one book at a specific level with ease, but another book at the same level was rather difficult? Well, many times this comes down to knowledge. It’s not that your child hasn’t learned many different reading skills, but more that you child is less familiar with the topic of the more difficult story.

Knowledge expands our Reading Comprehension

When a child has less knowledge, they need to use more of their short-term and working memory to focus on decoding words, the meaning of words, and even the structure of the sentences. This makes it more difficult for the reader to use context to figure out unknown words and form understanding from the text.

However, when readers have knowledge on a topic, they generally know many of the vocabulary and concepts. This helps to free up their short-term and working memory to focus on making new meaning from the text, leading to higher level thinking and reasoning skills. Readers need their short-term and working memory available for comprehension, so the more easily they can read with accuracy, fluency, and understanding the vocabulary, the better.

Why Reading Comprehension Fails to Improve with a Reading Skills Approach?

When we instead focus on a reading skills approach, we are adding even more to the readers short-term and working memory. Not only may the reader struggle with decoding, vocabulary, and the content, but now they also need to focus on a specific reading skill. Thus leaving even less cognitive processes open for true reading comprehension. Meanwhile, we are never addressing the true underlying problem of not having enough knowledge of any topics.

So, How Should Reading Skills be Taught in School

Now, I do see a benefit in teaching our children specific reading skills, but this should not be our primary focus. Instead, the reading skills should support the development of knowledge and help readers to move beyond surface level comprehension. These skills should be taught along side deep reading to gain knowledge and utilized to maximize the knowledge gained, not as a means to an end.

Wexler (2020) also pointed out that often times these reading skills are text or topic specific. Thus, these reading skills do not necessarily transfer across topics and texts. This is evidence in the American public school system because the same reading skills are taught year after year.

Ever wonder why your child is still working on identifying the main idea in middle school when this concept was taught in kindergarten? Yes, the text has become increasingly more complex, but really, main idea is a skill that has already been taught. Why are children then still struggling with this in middle school? Well, they need more knowledge of a topic to be able to find the main idea of more complex texts.

Why Teaching Knowledge improves Reading Comprehension Scores the Best?

When we instead focus on an approach to teach knowledge, while utilizing reading skills to move towards deeper thinking and reasoning, we are helping to free up the short-term and working memory for more demanding tasks. This allows true reading comprehension to improve across all subjects.

Have you ever tried to learn something brand new? Did you find it difficult at first? How about trying to learn something new about an area that you are already an expert or have a lot of knowledge? Was this just as challenging? Most likely not. Usually when we are digging deeper into an area we already know quite a bit about, we more easily and quickly pick up the new information. Having some knowledge makes it easier for us to gain more.

When readers move key vocabulary, places, people, dates, and concepts into our long-term memory, readers no longer need to use their limited short-term and working memory space to hold this information. Instead, readers can retrieve this information from their long-term memory when they need it, allowing their short-term and working memory to hold new information or find new connections between the information. Now the reader can focus on thinking about the text and drawing deeper meaning beyond key people, places, and dates.

What Knowledge Should We Teach to Improve Reading Comprehension?

This is a tricky debate because so many groups believe we need to teach different things. And of course, this is no right answer here. As people learn more about our world and more detailed records are kept, the amount of knowledge available just grows. In addition, there is contrasting information on both sides of most issues, so which knowledge do we need to learn?

Well, I would highly suggest turning to your state’s curriculum standards for social studies (history, geography, government), science (biology, physics, chemistry), health, mathematics, and fine arts to determine the knowledge most applicable. These standards dive into the content of each subject and recommend what should be learned in each course. If we focus on learning this material, we will be better able to comprehend the deeper texts at more advanced grade levels.

Core Knowledge is a great starting point to look at resources and scope and sequences of knowledge that experts suggest as a focus. This is by no means an inclusive program and some topics may need to be added or removed to better fit different families, communities, and populations. This is no one size fits all, but we can at least have a starting point for helping our children and ourselves gain the knowledge needed for improved reading comprehension.

Supporting Students Who Struggle With Comprehension

What about students who struggle? Well, these are many children who struggle with reading and writing. This is something that families, teachers, and communities need to take into consideration. As a teacher with many years in the world of special education, I have seen so many bright students labeled as learning disabled and fed a watered down curriculum. Basically, all the knowledge was cut out of the program and the content was stripped down to only the very basics.

Readers Who Struggle the Most Need More Knowledge

While some students may need this approach, so many more need a larger focus on learning knowledge. However, this knowledge doesn’t only need to be learned by reading. We can and we should learn this knowledge in any way we can. This may mean utilizing books on tape, videos, demonstrations, or discussions. If we know the basic knowledge is lacking, we need to back up and work to develop the basics before asking for more in-depth comprehension.

Taxing our short-term and working memory will not lead to greater comprehension. Instead, freeing up our short-term and working memory by moving more knowledge into our long-term memory will. For our readers who struggle the most, we need to give them the knowledge the most. Instead of removing the bulk of the information necessary to understand what is read, we need to help build this knowledge.

5 Reading Comprehension Tips for Struggling Readers

This is where teachers come into play. Our struggling readers need a few additional supports to help them to gain the necessary knowledge to begin comprehending these more difficult tasks. Often times our struggling readers have difficulty utilizing their working memory to the fullest. Here is where those reading skills and strategies can help.

1) Allow access to knowledge in methods other than reading. Listen to the knowledge through books read aloud, videos, or podcasts.

2) Add a visual element when building knowledge. Listening and reading reading are great ways to build knowledge quickly, but this is not enough for many readers. Pair new knowledge gained with pictures, movements, and graphic organizers.

3) Pair specific reading skills with each text to highlight the knowledge to be learned. The reading skill should not be the end result, instead it is the tool to gaining new knowledge. Use the reading skill to identify the important knowledge to be learned, then go back and review this knowledge to move it from short-term memory to long-term memory.

4) Use graphic organizers to record new knowledge. Again, the graphic organizer should not be the end result. Pair these graphic organizers with the specific reading skills that will best help the reader to focus on the knowledge. After completing the graphic organizer, take a few minutes to review the knowledge that it contains to assist the transfer to long-term memory.

5) Provide additional opportunities to review and practice the new knowledge and vocabulary. Use these words and concepts in warm-up activities, writing options, and exit slips. The more opportunities that readers have to work with the new knowledge, the more likely it will transfer to their long-term memory. The Writing Revolution by Judith C. Hochman is full of different ways to practice new knowledge through short writing activities that take only a few minutes a day.

These reading comprehension tips can help readers of all different abilities. They do not need to be used only with struggling readers; however, they are even more important for students who struggle to read with accuracy and fluency. They also benefit students who struggle with attention and utilizing their short-term memory to its fullest.

We’d Love to Connect with You

There is nothing quick and easy about teaching reading. This is a life long goal: to become a better reader and life-long learner. Even as adults, we should never stop reading and learning. The more we read, the more we learn, and the more our reading comprehension of more in-depth literature and text improves. But we’ve got so many tips to help both your children and yourself to grow your reading comprehension. Worried about your child’s reading comprehension, learn more about beginning the special education process.

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think about improving your reading comprehension by growing your knowledge. Have other tips for how to improve reading comprehension, drop them in the comments too. Looking for more ways to support your child’s learning, subscribe to our newsletter for families for more practical solutions to real-life parenting woes and a few freebies too!

Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.