Reading comprehension involves interpretation of text. The reader engages in synthesizing, visualizing and following the story line, according to the Institute of Reading Development. Lesson plans in reading comprehension should include student strategies before reading begins, during the reading process and after reading text. The ability to summarize text and identify a main idea demonstrates comprehension.
Summarizing text involves the synthesizing of text into a direct focus. Newspaper articles provide a good source for this activity. Give students a paper that has six columns containing headers titled who, what, where, when, why and how. Encourage students to categorize information within the columns and write out a few sentences that summarize the choices. Instruct students to get into groups of two or three partners. Give each group 20 small objects such as beans or pennies. Hand out the same reading passage to all students. The objects represent words. Students must create a summary of the writing with 20 words or less. Each time the group adds a word to the summary, an object is put into a bag. Representatives from each group write the group's summary on the smart board or chalkboard. The class discusses the summaries.
The key focus of a paragraph or piece of writing is called the main idea. Instruct students to write down what they did over summer break. Give the students 5 to 10 minutes. Go around the room and allow students to tell the class what the favorite summer activity included using only two important words from the writing. After this exercise, hand out a paragraph to each student and have them summarize the piece in one short sentence. A challenging activity includes giving students a paragraph or short writing piece to read. Write down four main point options that are similar to each other on a smart board or chalkboard. Read each option out loud and encourage students to raise their hands for the main idea they want to select. Discuss the student's responses afterward.
In 1980 before constant Internet access, hundreds of television channels and gaming on a cell phone, Vincent Greaney, author of "Factors Related to Amount and Type of Leisure Reading," found that fifth grade students only spent 5.4 percent of free time reading. Consider allowing students to read with no comprehension lessons each day.