Graphic organizers are an effective way to demonstrate your understanding of written text. For example, Venn Diagrams enable you to draw comparisons between characters in a story by identifying characteristics they share, as well as characteristics that make each character unique. Story maps allow you to walk others through the main events in a story from beginning to end, in sequential order. Cause-and-effect charts assess your understanding of the connection between events and how one event caused another and the result of that connection.
Journaling allows you to express your thoughts on events and characters from a story. In your journal, you may ask questions that you will need to go back and reread to find the answers to or you may make connections between characters and events in a story to your own personal life. Either way, both of these practices are great ways to enhance your comprehension. You can share your journal with your peers or you can keep your thoughts personal and private, but the important thing is to get your thoughts about a story down on paper.
Write a letter to the author of your favorite book to get answers to questions you can't find from reading the book. You may wish to know where an author came up with the idea for a character or you may just want to know what made an author want to write. Many authors will respond to your inquiries and provide you with information you cannot gain from reading the jacket of a book cover. Your interaction with an author may inspire you to become an author as well.
Many students are visual learners and would rather express their understanding of text via art. You can convert your favorite chapters of a book into a story board or cartoon and then explain to your peers why you chose to represent the events you did. Visualization is a key component of comprehending, and being able to put down your visualizations on paper gives you a deeper connection to the story because you begin to put names with faces. You can relate to characters more personally if you are able to see them.