How to Improve Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is an important skill that must be inculcated at an early age. This means understanding or comprehending what you are reading in the shortest time possible. Having good reading comprehension means that you will be able to fully absorb all the knowledge and information that’s embedded in the writing. Here’s how you can improve your reading comprehension.
Enjoy Reading
There’s no way around it: If you want to improve your reading comprehension, you have to read more. However, what you can do is start reading up systematically. Start with short news articles or light reading, such as magazine columns. Don’t delve into difficult topics just yet. You have to first really appreciate and enjoy reading first.
After getting used to this, take note what kind of reading environment you enjoy the most. Do you like quiet? Do you like music playing in the background? What kind of light do you feel most comfortable using? Finding comfortably while reading will also help you focus and be more open in absorbing new information.
Preview the Material
Familiarize yourself with the different parts of what you’re reading. Make a quick preview of the different parts of the reading material. The table of contents, prologue, epilogue, footnotes, appendix and glossary, among others. These little details can give you a clue or a hint about what you’re reading.
Know the Structure
A well-written story usually has a good structure supporting it. Part of good reading comprehension is seeing how the story arcs from the beginning, the climax and the ending. Keep a look out when the story begins and where it might be heading.
Predict the Story
One way to know whether or not you’re really paying attention is by predicting what may happen next. You can pace yourself by doing predictions every one chapter to every three chapters. The more accurate your prediction, the more likely you are paying attention to what’s happening in the story.
Test Yourself
Prepare a notepad with “wh” questions: Who, where, when and why. Who are the characters? What is going on in the book? What did the characters try to achieve? Where did it happen? When did it happen? Why did the characters do what they did?
Some of the answers aren’t readily available in the text, you will just have to read between the lines to get them.
Answer these questions as honestly as you can. Don’t cheat and peek. Once you’ve answered the questions, go back and see how much you’ve gotten right or wrong.
If you’re teaching a class about reading comprehension, having a discussion on the answers can be a fun way to recall details about what they have just read.