Students who determine their purpose for reading ahead of time typically better comprehend what they have read. Teach students to determine their purpose for reading a particular text before they begin, and to keep that purpose in mind as they read. For example a student might read an expository or informational text to learn more about a new topic. The purpose for reading is to gain new knowledge.
Teach students to write questions they will answer as they read based on their purpose for reading. This solidifies the purpose for reading and gives students a reading goal. For example, if the student is reading an expository text on toxins that can be found in household cleaning products, she might write down the questions, "How can I find out if a cleaning product contains toxic chemicals?" and "How will using cleaning products with toxic chemicals impact our water supply?"
Active readers have better comprehension skills. To read actively students must ask and answer questions as they read. Teach students to consider each sentence and paragraph as they read and to ask themselves questions and to answer these questions by considering different parts of the reading selection. Students can begin with simple, fact-related questions about the text and then progress to more in-depth questions that require them to analyze what they have read and synthesize the information.
Many students struggle to remember what they have read, especially after reading a large selection of text. Teach students to summarize each paragraph of a selection as they read. Consider teaching students the GIST Strategy, which requires students to write a short statement about what they have read. This statement is 20 words or less and answers the questions -- who, what, when, where, why and how.
Students who develop the skill of self-monitoring have deeper comprehension skills. Self-monitoring comprehension means a student evaluates how well she understands the text throughout the reading process. Students ask themselves questions such as, "What do I understand?" and "What don't I understand?" as they read.
Educators can teach students to use the 3-2-1 strategy to evaluate their comprehension. This strategy requires students to write down three things they learned, two interesting things and one thing they would like to learn more about, after reading a selection.