–Triveni Goswami Vernal
Registered Special Educator: CRR A64010

The previous blog shed light on various type of Reading Comprehension and how each of them, together, made Reading Comprehension, a multi-layered, complex skill.
In this blog, I will share activities to improve the various kinds of Reading Comprehension skills.

1) LEXICAL COMPREHENSION: For Lexical Comprehension, since the focus is on knowing the meaning of the key words in the text, the activities can be to work on building the vocabulary of the individual,

a) Read Aloud to your child.
b) Do Joint reading activities.
c) Word Search Puzzles.
d) Word Matching
e) Using Flashcards
f) Simple crosswords (even if the child knows the sounds of animals, such as duck says quack, quack; dog says woof woof, a crossword can be made with visual/illustrated clues and words)
g) Teaching Synonyms and Antonyms
h) Pictionary
i) Hangman

2) LITERAL COMPREHENSION: For Literal Comprehension, the focus is on answering the questions such as Who? Why? When? Where? Etc, hence the activities can to improve it, can include,
a) Visualizing
b) Summarizing
c) Sequencing
d) Story Maps
e) Rephrasing the text in their own words
 
3) INTERPRETIVE COMPREHENSION: For Interpretive Comprehension, the focus is on understanding and providing meaning of what is being read. Activities to improve, Interpretive Comprehension, may include:

a) Summarizing key ideas
b) Sequencing
c) Predicting (What do you think will happen?)
d) Guessing Games (Who am I? What am I?)
e) Inferencing

4) APPLIED COMPREHENSION: For Applied Comprehension, the focus is on not only understanding the text but also connecting it one’s prior knowledge and then answering questions from that lens. Activities to improve Applied Comprehension, may include,

a) Compare and Contrast
b) Critical Thinking skills
c) Create Generalizations
d) Define the problem
e) Differences between Fact and Opinion
f) Brainstorming
g) Puzzles and Brainteasers
h) Pretend Play
i) Create a Mind Map

5) AFFECTIVE COMPREHENSION: For Affective Comprehension, the focus is on understanding the relationships between characters, plots and sub-plots and the flow of the narrative. Activities to improve it may include,

a) Role Playing
b) Critical Thinking
c) Inferencing
d) Summarizing
e) Create an understanding of how the characters are connected to the plot of the narrative.
f) Mind Maps

Thus, we see that Reading Comprehension, is a complex, multi-layered process that requires intensive work, on developing and generating the finer nuances of understanding and interpreting a narrative/story. Worksheets, games and puzzles should be actively used to work on developing and improving the many facets of Reading Comprehension.

RESOURCES:
https://www.readingrockets.org/literacy-home/reading-101-guide-parents/your-kindergartener/vocabulary-activities
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/vocabulary/vocabulary-games
https://www.splashlearn.com/blog/best-vocabulary-games-for-kids/
https://www.autismspeaks.org/virtual-activities-kids-autism
https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/building-vocabulary-autism/
https://behavioral-innovations.com/blog/autism-language-development-help-children-communicate/
https://www.literacyplanet.com/strands/comprehension/
https://wordwall.net/en-us/community/inferences-games
https://www.splashlearn.com/ela/inference-games
http://www.edqueries.com
https://games4esl.com/guessing-games-for-kids/
https://www.thedad.com/guessing-games/
https://www.splashlearn.com/ela/prediction-games
*********
Author Triveni Goswami Vernal

Triveni Goswami Vernal is an Autism advocate, registered Special Educator (CRR A64010) and an Independent Researcher. Her areas of interest include Autism, Disability Rights, Gender, Art and Northeast studies. She is a mum to an 12 year old on the Autism Spectrum.

Artwork “Autumn Trees”, Artist Kabir Vernal
Acrylic Painting on Watercolour paper
8 x 11 inches