Comprehension Ideas
On this page you'll find some fun comprehension ideas to work on with your child. These are some activities I used in my classroom. Since comprehension is the understanding of what is being read, I have included some activities for improving vocabulary. The more words your child understands the meaning of, the more they will comprehend while reading, and they will read more fluently. Collecting WordsThe more words that your child knows the meaning to, the more they will understand while they are reading. This comprehension idea will help your child with different subjects in school.On chart paper or in a journal, keep lists of words that have the same or similar meanings. For example, the word walk – you can tiptoe, slither, march, and strut. You could make another list for the word said – whispered, shouted, whined, and moaned are a few examples. You could also make word categories, such as “tasty words” – sweet, salty, sour, and spicy. Another group, “scary words” – fright, startled, and shocked. Vocabulary Index CardsYes, I have another use for index cards! Take a large index card and divide it into fourths either by folding the card or drawing lines on it.In the top left box, write the word. In the top right box, write a definition of the word. In the bottom left box, use the word in a sentence. Then in the bottom right box, draw a picture of what the word means. This activity can also be done in a spiral notebook, with lines drawn on the page to create the boxes Meaning of Word PartsAnother comprehension idea to help with understanding the meaning of words is to make charts for prefixes, root words, and suffixes.These charts would have a column for the meanings of the prefixes, root words, and suffixes. The last column would give an example word.
Prefix---------------Meaning----------Example
anti- ------------ against --------antibiotic
Root Word------- Meaning---------- Example
bio ------------ life ---------- biology
Suffix ---------- Meaning ---------- Example
ology ---------- study of --------- biology
Using this method, your child could determine that biology means the study of life. Your child could also make lists of words that have the same prefix or suffix and notice how they are connected. These lists could be recorded on chart paper, a worksheet on your computer, or kept in a Word Journal. Word MapsLike a story or character map, a word map is made by writing the word in the middle of the page and drawing a shape around it.Then around the word, you draw a small picture and connect it to the word, then in other shapes you write different definitions and connect them to your word. Word PlayWord play is acting out the definition of a word.Imagine the fun you and your child will have showing the difference between a stride and a prance! Venn DiagramsVenn diagrams are organizers used to compare and contrast two objects, ideas, or characters.In the center you write what the two ideas have in common, on the left and right you write what is different about the ideas. You could compare and contrast fiction and non-fiction books about the same topic. Another use would be to compare a group of people from different places or time periods. Click here for more Comprehension Ideas Click here for more Comprehension Activities Click here for a list of reading comprehension books. Click here to learn about Story Elements
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