Purchase interesting books. According to Scholastic, kids read better when they can identify roughly 90 percent of the book's words. Books with less than 90 percent of familiar words may frustrate a child.
Encourage browsing. Children who browse their books stay more engrossed in the material. Kids can browse books by looking at pictures, glossaries, indexes, and the table of contents.
Break the reading material down. Short, manageable reading bouts prevent children from being bored or overwhelmed. Children may find books easier to comprehend in bite-sized reading sessions.
Allow children to mark up the passages. Note-taking reinforces new vocabulary. This method also helps children identify and review passages they're having problems understanding.
Discuss each book. Ask questions and discuss books with your child. According to the website Reading Horizons, kids who have trouble comprehending ask unproductive questions while reading. Asking children questions helps them learn how to use questioning while reading alone. Effective questions involve words like "Why?" and "How?".
Have your child summarize the story. Children who restate passages in their own words understand and remember those passages better.
Reread books. Rereading books helps children comprehend material better. When children read familiar books, they learn how to efficiently decode or turn written words into spoken words, according to Scholastic.
Supplement schoolbooks. Find out what your child is studying in school. Purchasing books on similar subjects reinforces what's in the school subjects and builds comprehension skill. This helps children read better in school and at home.
Improve vocabulary. Reading contributes to a kid's vocabulary. You can also introduce new words with flash cards, word-of-the-day calendars and conversations that introduce new words.