How do we teach comprehension in the early childhood classroom?
There are many ways to teach comprehension in the early childhood classroom. Teachers should take into account the child’s experiences, reading level, background knowledge, self-efficacy skills, as well as their motivation when it comes to reading comprehension. More supports are needed for children based on these changes from child to child.
The main goal of reading comprehension is for students to understand the meaning of what they are reading. One aspect that relates to this is a student’s ability to learn new vocabulary words. By discussing new words and their meanings, teachers can bring these new words into a student’s short term and then eventually long-term memory through repeated exposure of the words. We want children to be able to recall these words and use them correctly in their speech and writing, which shows growth in their reading comprehension.
When reading, children should be able to use their phonics skills, decoding skills, and use context clues to create understanding. Teachers can help students use these skills by teaching them which skills to use, how to use these skills, and when. These skills are known as comprehension strategies. Students should be taught comprehension strategies such as predicting, summarizing, and questioning when they are reading. Teachers can help students use these stratagies by modeling them first, and then use gradual release of responsibility to give students the opportunities to use these strategies independently.
One important way we can teach comprehension is through dialogical reading lessons. These lessons focus on vocabulary, rich conversation between students and the teacher, and having students make connections about what they are reading. The teacher begins the lesson, leading the reading and discussions about what is being read. Students eventually take the lead and lead the dialogue about the book. The child then becomes the storyteller!
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