"String of Events" provides students a visual reminder that a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. The teacher writes events of a story on index cards and passes them out to students. Then she gives students a piece of yarn, about 12 inches long, and some paper clips. Students clip the index cards to the string in the order the events happened. They can use the strings again for review and story retell.
When students can make "mind pictures" of the author's descriptions, they attain a stronger comprehension of the story. The game "Sense of Appeal" helps students practice this skill. The teacher randomly assigns students one of the five senses. Students re-read the story, looking for descriptions of characters or objects that appeal to a specific sense. Students report their findings to the class and can write them on a chart to display on the wall in the room.
"Character Password" is fun for students in all grades. The teacher writes words or phrases on index cards that describe the main characters in the story and acts as the game show host. Students compete against each other in teams to guess the name of the character. This game will help students focus more on the details they read in the text. Older students can write the clues themselves for other teams to use during the game.
The Internet has many helpful resources for improving comprehension. Readquarium, an education game site (See Resources), has activities listed alphabetically by skill. Students can choose quizzes or interactive games to improve specific comprehension strategies like cause and effect, drawing conclusions and compare/contrast.