Why kids have trouble understanding or remembering what they read

Good readers are active readers. They often ask themselves questions as they read, like “What will the character do next?” 

Active readers also keep track of how well they understand what they’re reading. They pause and ask themselves, “Did that make sense?” Then they re-read the confusing part of the text. They do the same thing if they don’t understand one of the words. Instead of continuing to read, they pause and look for context clues (words or definitions in nearby sentences). 

Kids can become more active readers by asking questions like these. But they need to be taught these skills. Families and educators can model asking themselves these questions when they’re reading aloud. 

When kids are reading on their own, have them use these graphic organizers to keep track of their thoughts and questions.

If your child is struggling with reading comprehension, take notes about what you’re seeing at home. Have you noticed any possible causes, like your child reading slowly? Do you see any trends, like your child having a hard time with academic text, but struggling less with just-for-fun reading? 

Share those notes with the teacher. Does the teacher notice the same trends? Ask for the teacher’s take on your child’s trouble with reading. Use these conversation starters to share your concerns.

Reading comprehension is a common struggle for students. Sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly why a student is having a hard time. Use the list above to narrow down the cause or causes.

Then try specific teaching strategies to address the cause, including these: 

• Vocabulary strategies

• Paragraph shrinking

• Retelling