Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies for Preschool Children - Teachers' Edition

Reading is an essential foundational skill for all children. Teaching reading is more, however, than teaching a specific set of reading strategies. Reading comprehension is a complex process that involves knowledge, experience, thinking and teaching.

Teachers and parents need to look at the holistic child. Working on self-esteem and confidence is critical and the results will be evident in children's reading and comprehension.

If children are to become thoughtful, insightful readers, they must merge their thinking with the text, beyond superficial understanding.

Comprehension involves readers thinking about what they are learning, not just what they are reading. This might mean understanding a message beyond the literal meaning of a text.

‘Reading Comprehension Strategies for Preschool Children’ contains pre-reading activities and strategies that focus on building the child's confidence, exposure and understanding.

It is important that children see themselves as a reader - and have the knowledge that they can be a reader. Confidence is essential to achieve this.

The comprehension elements that we will be working towards are:

Before reading:

- Prediction

During Reading:

- Visualization

- Making connections

- Questions

After Reading:

- Determining the main idea

- Summarizing

- Checking predictions

- Making judgments

As with all learning, children must have fun and feel supported. All the activities and strategies outlined in this book take this important consideration into account.