10 Strategies for Teaching Literal Comprehension Skills to Students
As a teacher, your ultimate goal is to help students become better readers. Literal comprehension skills are crucial in achieving this goal. These skills enable students to understand the surface meaning of a text, including the who, what, when, where, and how of a story. However, teaching literal comprehension skills can be challenging, especially for beginners. In this article, we will explore ten strategies that teachers can use to help their students develop and master literal comprehension skills.
1. Start with Pictures
Visual aids such as pictures can help students understand the text and remember the story better. As a teacher, you can use pictures to introduce a story, and then ask students to explain what they see. This exercise helps children focus on the details of the story, and it helps them develop their language and vocabulary.
2. Teach Story Elements
Teaching students to identify story elements such as characters, setting, and plot can be an effective way to develop literal comprehension skills. Once students understand the basic elements of a story, they can use this knowledge to analyze and understand the text.
3. Use Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers such as story maps, Venn diagrams, and cause-and-effect charts offer a visual representation of the story and help students organize their thinking and understand the relationships between different events in a story.
4. Build Vocabulary
Having a comprehensive vocabulary is crucial for understanding a story, and developing literal comprehension skills. Teach new words to students using real-world examples, and provide opportunities for students to use these words in writing and speaking.
5. Encourage Predictions
Asking students to make predictions about what will happen next in a story helps them think critically and develop their literal comprehension skills. Encourage students to use evidence from the text to justify their predictions.
6. Ask Questions
Asking students questions about the story can help them develop their listening and comprehension skills. You can ask open-ended questions that encourage students to think critically and provide evidence to support their answers.
7. Use Visual Prompts
Visual prompts such as videos, animations, and charts can help students understand complex concepts and relate abstract ideas to real-world scenarios.
8. Relate Text to Personal Experience
Relating the text to students’ personal experiences can help them understand and remember the story. Encourage students to share their personal experiences or connections to the text that relate to their own lives.
9. Use Games and Activities
Games and activities such as word searches, crosswords, and puzzles can help students develop their vocabulary and comprehension skills. They encourage students to think creatively, and they help students relate abstract concepts to real-world scenarios.
10. Connect Literal Comprehension to Higher-Order Thinking
Teaching literal comprehension skills should be viewed as a stepping stone to developing higher-order thinking skills. Encourage students to analyze the story beyond the surface level and make connections to deeper meanings and themes.
In conclusion, teaching literal comprehension skills can be challenging, but using a variety of strategies can make it easier for students to learn and develop these skills. Encouraging students to use evidence from the text to support their answers, relating the text to personal experience, using games and activities, and connecting literal comprehension to higher-order thinking are just a few strategies teachers can use to help students become better readers.
