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How to Improve Your 4th Grader's Reading Comprehension

Children in the fourth grade are moving on to a different style of reading -- expository, or informational -- from the previous years of narrative, or storybook-type text. This change requires a different comprehension and understanding. Knowledge builds knowledge and children need exposure and easy access to a wide variety of reading resources. This will increase their awareness of the world around them and build new vocabulary and meanings to make them effective readers.

Things You'll Need

  • Newspapers
  • Books of interest to the child
  • Magazines
  • Computer
  • Scrabble game
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Instructions

  1. Reading Materials

    • 1

      Read the newspaper together with your child each night or morning during breakfast. It need not be the entire paper; let your child select an article of interest and have a discussion about the piece.

    • 2
      Books open up the world for children.

      Join a book-of-the-month club geared to young readers. Allow your child to select the books. Take turns reading the book aloud, perhaps a chapter a night. Ask your child to predict what will happen. Open-ended questions encourage deeper thinking about the content and story process.

    • 3

      Subscribe to monthly magazines such as Sports Illustrated Kids or Discovery Girl Magazine. Encourage recreational reading, particularly during the summer months, when children slip a bit in reading skills.

    • 4

      Visit the library weekly. Allow your child to choose books. This will increase the desire to read and expose your child to new words and concepts.

    Computers

    • 5
      Internet resources can build a child's reading comprehension.

      Provide computer time children's news web sites and literacy skill-building sites. Look for a good reading website index, such as Interactive Reading Websites.

    • 6

      Purchase reading/literacy software programs, such as DK Word Explorer.

    • 7

      Ask your child to create engaging book reports or story boards on the computer.

    Games

    • 8
      Scrabble is an effective tool for building word knowledge.

      Play board games with your child which teach and reinforce reading skills. Games such as Scrabble or Word Storm are effective in vocabulary building.

    • 9

      Search learning resource sites for board-games ideas.

    • 10

      Collaborate and create games for your child. These can be as simple as handmade word and vocabulary flash cards and another set of cards with sentences reflecting the word meanings. Children then match the word card to the meaning.

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