Reading Comprehension

When talking about comprehension, the very beginning of the chapter talks about children who have a hard time comprehending what the read. They say its not that the struggling ones simply can’t think but more that they don’t think while they are reading.  Cunningham suggests this is because they don’t know they should think. They haven’t been taught that. Like the child that has never been read to or has heard people talk about reading that goes into a school and is taught letters and words. That child does not know to think about what he or she is actually reading.

I,  personally, definitely understand what Cunningham is saying because I as a child really struggled with reading comprehension. I still do now. I was not read to a lot as a child and learned the letters and words and didn’t really pick up on actually thinking about what I read. I was good at reading the words quick and knowing every letter and sound. I use to think I was a really good reader because I could read really fast and usually never got a word worng. I finally realized though I had no idea what I was reading.  In my opinion, your not reading if your not understanding. What you are reading.

Below are some good activities for children to help them stop and think about what they are reading. I really could have used some of these ideas. Especially when I was younger, most of my teachers just focused on teaching how to read the words more than teaching me how to understand and think about what I am reading.