6 essential skills for reading comprehension

Many kids can read the words on a page but struggle to understand what they’ve read. That’s because reading isn’t just about sounding out words. It’s also about comprehension. 

Reading comprehension is the ability to read words and understand what they mean. It involves using many skills like decoding, vocabulary, and reasoning to make sense of a text. When one of these skills is harder for kids, understanding what they read can be harder, too.

Reading comprehension is a fundamental component of the science of reading, a large body of research on how kids learn to read. The science of readingopens in a new tab supports the idea that reading comprehension should be taught early and at the same time as other foundational reading skills like phonics. 

Kristen Hodnett, clinical professor of special education at Hunter College, explains, “Reading comprehension is important because it moves beyond knowing how to read individual words (decoding) and moves to understanding what a passage says and means.”

Reading comprehension can be challenging for lots of reasons. But when you understand the skills involved — and which ones kids find challenging — you can better support emerging readers. 

Here are six essential skills needed for reading comprehension, and tips on what can help kids improve them.

Decoding is the ability to read text by connecting sounds to letters. It’s a vital step in the reading process. Kids use this skill to sound out words they’ve heard before but haven’t seen written out. The ability to do that is the foundation for other reading skills.

Decoding relies on an early language skill called phonemic awareness. (This skill is part of an even broader skill called phonological awareness.) Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear individual sounds in words (known as phonemes). It develops as kids “play” with sounds at the syllable and word level.

Understanding that sounds in words are linked to certain letters and letter patterns (“the alphabetic principle”) is key to decoding. For example, to read the word sun, kids must know that the letter s stands for the /s/ sound. Grasping the connection between a letter (or group of letters) and the sounds they stand for is an important step toward “sounding out” words.

The best way to help kids with decoding is through specific instruction and practice. Most kids have to be taught how to identify and work with sounds, and eventually link them to letters. You can also build phonological awareness at home through activities like word games and reading aloud.

Hodnett recommends teaching kids “word attack” skills, such as asking a child if the word looks like another word they know. If there are words kids find challenging, pull the words off the page and write them on an index card or piece of paper. Talk about the features of the word and ask questions such as: What letter does it begin with? What sound does that letter make? Does it look like another word you know? What rhymes with it?

Quick tips 

• Read together and point out letters and sounds that kids know. 

• Have kids tap or stretch out sounds as they read new words.

• Encourage kids to write words by using what they know about letters and sounds. Don’t focus on correct spelling. 

Reading fluency is the ability to decode words accurately, at an appropriate speed, and with phrasing and expression. It’s essential for good reading comprehension. When we read fluently, our attention is available to understand the meaning of text. 

When kids can read words automatically without making errors, they are “fluent” readers.

Fluent readers read smoothly at a good pace. They group words together to help with meaning, and they use the proper tone in their voice when reading aloud. 

Sounding out or decoding every word can take a lot of effort. To read fluently, kids need to instantly recognize words. This is especially important for irregular words like of and the (words where letters don’t match the sounds). 

Word recognition is the ability to recognize whole words instantly by sight, without sounding them out. This can be a challenge for struggling readers. Research shows that most readers need about six exposures to a wordopens in a new tab to commit it to long-term memory. Struggling readers need even more exposure to new words before they become “sight words.”

The main way to help build fluency is through practice reading books. Let kids select books that they’re interested in reading. If they misread one or two words per sentence, the book is probably too difficult for them to read on their own. But you can read it with them by selecting words that they can read independently. 

Books that are part of a series are great because kids become familiar with the characters’ names and the vocabulary. Hodnett recommends reading plays or stories with different characters. Ask each person to practice their part with expression as they build fluency.

Quick tips

• Practice reading out loud with expression.

• Take turns reading to model smooth reading.

• Re-read the same books to build confidence.

Vocabulary is the set of words you know and understand. Readers need to understand most of the words in the text to understand what they read. That’s why having a strong vocabulary is a key component of reading comprehension.opens in a new tab 

Kids often learn the meaning of words through everyday experiences and by reading. But explicit vocabulary instruction helps make words stick. 

The more words kids are exposed to, the richer their vocabulary becomes. Families can help build their child’s vocabulary by having frequent conversations on a variety of topics. Telling jokes and playing word games are also ways to build this skill.

Reading together every day helps improve vocabulary. When reading aloud, stop at new words and define them.opens in a new tab But also encourage kids to read alone. Even without hearing a definition of a new word, kids can use context to help figure it out. 

At school, teachers can choose interesting words to teach and then give explicit vocabulary instruction. (This is instruction that’s specialized and direct.) They can talk with students about words that have different origins and multiple meanings. They can teach idioms (like “piece of cake”) and ask students to show their meanings through drawings. And they can make learning vocabulary fun by playing word games in class.

Quick tips

• Talk with kids often and use a wide range of vocabulary. 

• Explain new words when they come up during reading. 

• Encourage kids to read independently every day.

• Have kids keep a journal of newly learned words with illustrations of the meanings. 

Sentence structure is how sentences are built. To write sentences that make sense, kids need to know the parts of a sentence. For example, every sentence has to have a who or a what (the subject or noun) and a did what (the predicate or verb). They also have to learn how ideas are connected within and between sentences. This is called text cohesion. 

Knowing how ideas link up at the sentence level helps kids get meaning from paragraphs, passages, and entire texts. Kids also use their language and background knowledge to help them make meaning of what they read. This is called coherence.

Explicit instruction can teach kids the basics of sentence structure and how words in sentences connect ideas. For example, you can talk with kids about connecting two ideas through both writing and reading. 

When reading, point out sentences that connect multiple thoughts. Talk through how the author put the thoughts together and the impact of their words. Model fluent reading and discuss how sentences flow (or don’t flow) together. 

Quick tips

• Read aloud and talk about long sentences. Ask who or what did what. Check that kids can name the two essential parts of a sentence.

• Point out words that connect ideas, like and, but, first, and next.

• Model how to combine short, simple sentences into one compound or complex sentence with connecting words. 

To comprehend text, readers must relate what they’ve read to what they know. So kids need to have background or prior knowledge about the worldopens in a new tab when they read. They also need to be able to make sense and reason about what they read. Reasoning involves “reading between the lines” and pulling out meaning even when it’s not literally spelled out.

Take this example: A child is reading a story about a girl who loves to play soccer. Understanding soccer’s rules and gameplay can provide insight into what’s happening in the story. The child can use that background knowledge to make inferences and draw conclusions. 

Kids can build knowledge through reading, conversations, movies and TV shows, and art. Life experience and hands-on activities also build knowledge.

Expose kids to as much as possible, and talk about what you’ve learned from experiences you’ve had together and separately. Help kids make connections between new knowledge and existing knowledge. And ask open-ended questions that require thinking and explanations.

Make sure kids read narrative texts, or texts that tell stories (either fiction or nonfiction). When kids are exposed to diverse narratives, they gain new perspectives that can be applied to future readings.

Quick tips

• Ask “why” and “how” questions while reading. 

• Connect stories to real-life experiences. 

• Talk about a variety of topics, including science, social studies, and the arts. 

Working memory and self-monitoring are both part of a group of abilities known as executive function. 

Working memory is the brain’s ability to hold and use information while doing a task. When kids read, attention allows them to take in information from the text. Working memory allows them to hold on to that information and use it to gain meaning and build knowledge from what they’re reading.

The ability to self-monitor while reading is also important for comprehension. Kids need to be able to recognize when they don’t understand something. Then they need to stop, go back, and re-read to clear up any confusion they may have.

There are many ways kids can improve their working memory. Skillbuilders don’t have to feel like work, either. There are games and everyday activities that can help build working memory without kids even knowing it.

Encourage kids to stop and re-read when something isn’t clear. And demonstrate how you “think aloud” when you read to make sure what you’re reading makes sense.

Quick tips

• Choose books that match kids’ interests. 

• Use bookmarks or sticky notes to track important ideas.

• Ask kids to pause and retell what they read. 

Kids can struggle with reading comprehension for many reasons. ADHD and dyslexia are two learning and thinking differences that can impact comprehension. See what it’s like to have ADHD and dyslexia with Through My Eyes. 

ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a common condition that makes it hard to focus, keep still, and think before acting. Kids with ADHD struggle with executive functioning skills such as attention and working memory. Because kids with ADHD can struggle to focus, they can miss out on important details when they read.opens in a new tab That affects their comprehension. 

To help kids with ADHD develop reading comprehension skills, reduce distractions and provide brain breaks. It can also help to give students with ADHD opportunities to engage their senses, like moving their bodies while reading.

Dyslexia is a common learning disorder that makes it hard to work with letters and sounds. This leads to difficulties with decoding, spelling, and reading fluency. 

Kids with dyslexia use so much energy trying to decode words that it can be hard for them to fully understand the meaning of what they read. Most kids with dyslexia benefit from structured literacy. This is an approach that’s systematic, explicit, and diagnostic. 

Struggling with comprehension is not related to intelligence. With support, kids with learning and thinking differences can learn strategies that help them to understand what they read.