HELPING KIDS KEEP TRACK OF THEIR READING

EMILY L. NICDAO

There are several ways teachers can help kids organize a story they’re reading and keep track of the important points of a storyline. They have to think who the important characters are, when the event takes place, where it takes place, what the story is about and why the event is happening in the first place. Through these, children can relate what they read to something in their memory.

Teachers should teach their students about thinking about the topic of the reading assignment, and have them say what they’re thinking about.

If necessary, teachers can ask their students to explain further, and what they already know about the topic. Through this, they’ll be more engaged in reading a story further if they can relate to it via memory and experience.

Also, some clues about the reading would help kids to focus on when they read, and what’s important to remember.

It would also help if teachers handwrite or draw everything they think is important as they read. Organizing the reading material into an outline, picture-story, mind map, or any other graphic organizer would help students understand and remember much mor e.

How about vocabulary building and preview? Teachers can go over possible new words before reading, and pronounce them and explain what they mean. Asking them to use the new word in a sentence will also help kids understand the new words.

Another way to improve the reading comprehension of the students is by figuring out exactly what is causing the problem. Investigate the cause of comprehension difficulties so that the appropriate remediation strategies can be used.

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The author is Teacher III at Lolu Elementary School, Macabebe, Pampanga