Newsletter from the Language Arts Department
Comprehension Activities
Parents Can Do at Home with Their Children
with Fictional Text
- Ask your child to retell small parts of the story to you. Or ask him questions while you read. Examples: “What will happen next?” “Why do you think she did that?”
- After you’ve read a story together a couple of times, skip a word or two. Ask your child to fill in the missing word or words.
- Write the events of a story on strips of paper for your child. Have him put the events in order BEFORE he reads the story. Record this order. Then ask him to read the story. Next, have him look at the sequence of events and change as appropriate.
- Retell a story using a graphic organizer. Have him write a retelling for the beginning by including: main characters, the setting and what happens in the beginning. Then ask him to write a retelling for the middle by including: what happens in the middle, what’s the problem, what does the main character do? Finally ask him to write a retelling for the ending and include: how the problem was solved, how the story ends.
- Some good questions to ask of your child while he’s reading are:
- Who are the important characters?
- Who’s your favorite character and why?
- What is the setting?
- What is the plot?
- What is the theme?
- What is the problem?
- What was the solution to the problem?
- What is another way the problem could have been solved?
- Could this story have happened in another place and/or time?
- Name three events in the story.
- Summarize the story (or chapter) in 20 words or less.
- Did the character do the right thing in the end? Why or why not?
- Name other stories like this one.
- Which character would you like to be your real life friend? Why?
- After your child has read a book (or some chapters), have them identify “Character Characteristics”. It’s fun to sketch the outline of the character and along the sides of the sketch answer these questions:
- What does the character look like?
- What would you do if you were the character?
- What things does the character like? Dislike?
- What’s most important to know about the character?
- What characteristics does this character share with you? Your sister? Another character from another book?
Comprehension Activities
Parents Can Do at Home with Their Children
with Non-Fictional Text
- Before you begin reading, together look at the cover of the book. Read the title and talk about the cover’s illustration. For example, a book called “Polar Bears of the Cold” may have a picture of a mother polar bear with her baby. Ask your child, “What do you already know about polar bears?” He may say: “They are white. They eat fish.” This gets him thinking about polar bears before even reading the text. Ask you read the text together, look for validation or clarification of his ideas made earlier on.
- Ask your child about the text after you’ve finished reading it together. Ask: “Did you find out what you wanted to know about polar bears?” “Did you learn some new things?” “What were they?” This will reinforce what he learned.
- Have your child read a piece of non-fiction test and highlight important words or phrases. Then ask your child to write a paragraph based on the highlighted pieces.
- Have a stack of books, both fiction and non-fiction ready. Ask your child to review (but not read) each book to determine whether it is fiction or non-fiction.
- Make an ABC chart of information about a topic just read. For example if your child read a book about whales they might write:
A: many whales breed in the Arctic Ocean
B: beluga whales get their names from their white color
C: orca whales are carnivores
D: dolphins are a kind of whale
E: some whales eat only plankton
- Say a statement to your child and have them make an inference.
Ex. Mom made a cake, decorated it, and put candles on it. There are lots of balloons in the room. Children come with presents. Everyone plays games. What’s going on? How do you know?
It was quiet when we entered the building. There were people at tables. Others stood at shelves. We saw many books. What building are we in? How do you know?
- Compare and contrast topics. How are they alike? How are they different?
Ex. Elephants and giraffes
Connecticut and Mexico
- State facts and opinions to your child and have him identify each statement as either a fact or an opinion.
Ex. Bread is made from flour.
Spiders have eight legs.
Camping is not fun.
Green is the prettiest color.
- Ask your child to read a piece of non-fiction. Then have him write the main idea and supporting details of each section.
Ex. Peanuts are grown down south because of several reasons
- the climate is warm year-long
- the soil is sand
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