There are many ways to boost reading comprehension and make it fun. They include making it a game, using technology, creating a book club, letting them choose the book, and making it interactive.
Create a Book Club
There are other ways to make reading fun too such as, using real-life scenarios, creating a reading fort, using graphic organizers, making it a family activity, and providing feedback.
Reading comprehension is a crucial skill every child needs to succeed academically and personally. However, sometimes it can be challenging to get kids excited about reading, let alone comprehension. Therefore, parents, teachers, and tutors need multiple strategies to boost reading comprehension.
Make it a Game
One way to make reading comprehension fun is to turn it into a game. For example, create a scavenger hunt. Have a child read clues and answer comprehension questions to find the next clue. Alternatively, create a board game where the child has to read passages and answer questions to move forward on the board.
Use Technology
Incorporating technology into reading comprehension can make it more fun. There are many online resources and apps that offer interactive reading comprehension activities, such as quizzes and games. Some popular apps for reading comprehension include Reading Eggs, Raz-Kids, and Epic!
One way technology can make reading comprehension more fun and engaging is through gamification. Gamification uses game-like elements in non-game contexts, such as education. For example, a study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology found that gamification can increase student motivation and engagement in reading comprehension activities (Graesser, 2011).
Creating a book club with other children can be a fun way to encourage reading comprehension. Children can read and discuss a book with their friends. They can answer comprehension questions and share their thoughts and opinions.
Let Them Choose the Book
Giving children the power to choose what they read can make reading comprehension more enjoyable. Let them pick out books that interest them and encourage them to share their thoughts and opinions. A study published in the Journal of Research in Reading found that children allowed to choose their reading materials had higher reading comprehension scores than those whose teachers assigned them. The study also found that children were more motivated to read.
Make it Interactive
Another way to make reading comprehension more fun is to make it interactive. For example, parents, teachers, and tutors could act out scenes from a book. They could also create a diorama, draw pictures of characters, or even create a short play based on a story. Research has shown that incorporating interactive elements into reading comprehension can improve engagement and retention of information. For example, according to a study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, students who engaged in interactive reading comprehension activities demonstrated more significant gains in reading comprehension skills than those who engaged in non-interactive activities (Roseth, Akcaoglu, & Zellner, 2013).
Use Real-Life Scenarios
Using real-life scenarios can make reading comprehension more relatable and engaging for children. For instance, parents could use a recipe and have the child read and follow the directions. Parents could also get an old-school map and have them read and interpret the directions.
Create a Reading Fort
Creating a reading fort can make reading comprehension a more enjoyable activity. Add some pillows, action figures, or dolls to act out the story they are reading, blankets, and a few of their favorite books to create a comfortable and inviting space for them to read.
Use Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are an excellent tool for helping children organize their thoughts and understand what they are reading. They can also make reading comprehension more fun by allowing children to represent what they read visually.
One study found that graphic organizers helped students with varying levels of reading ability to better comprehend and remember information from a text (Ardoin et al., 2010).
Graphic organizers work by helping children to visually represent information from a text in a way that makes it easier to understand and remember.
Make it a Family Activity
Reading comprehension does not have to be a solo activity. Making it a family activity can make it more enjoyable for everyone. Choose a book to read together and discuss as a family, or take turns reading aloud and answering comprehension questions.
Parents actively engaged in reading with their children are more likely to develop advanced literacy skills, including reading comprehension. Research has found that children who perceived reading as a shared activity with their parents were likelier to enjoy reading and have higher reading achievement than children who viewed reading as an individual activity (Flack et al., 2018
Provide Positive Feedback
Finally, providing positive feedback can make reading comprehension a more positive experience for children. Encourage children when they answer comprehension questions correctly, and celebrate their successes with a small reward or praise. A study published in the Journal of Reading Psychology found that children who received praise for their reading comprehension skills were likelier to engage in voluntary reading outside of school and had more positive attitudes towards reading than those who did not receive praise (Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997)
Research suggests that providing positive feedback to children during reading comprehension activities can improve their comprehension skills and attitudes toward reading, making it a more positive and enjoyable experience.
Making reading comprehension fun for children does not have to be an exhausting exercise in parent creativity. With a little effort and ingenuity, you can turn it into a fun and engaging activity to which your child will look forward. Whether through games, technology, or real-life scenarios, there are many ways to make reading comprehension a fun and enjoyable experience for all children.
