You might not have signed up for chalk stains on your pants or recess duty, but if you want to improve and advance your child’s 5th-grade reading comprehension skills, it’s time to start thinking like a teacher. It is essential for the parent to educate themselves on the skills and strategies teachers employ when preparing students to read and make sense of what they have just read. And though reading comprehension strategies come naturally to most parents, some of these are not as intuitive. Here are a few strategies to get started.
Which Reading Comprehension Skills Should a 5th Grade Student Have?
When students reach 5th grade, most reading comprehension skills go beyond recognizing words to understanding them and making sense of a story passage or text. I mean, 5th-grade reading comprehension is all about understanding what the writer says and how the words in a passage of text contribute to this. This includes the story’s plot, main events, characters, climax, conflict, resolution, and falling action. They should be able to identify not only these aspects of the story but also the themes and patterns that emerge from the text. Moreover, they should also identify other comprehension skills such as figurative language, metaphors, simile personifications, and idioms. To achieve this, the following strategies should be employed.
Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension
Don’t Discard Their Favorite Books
Never be too quick to discard or store away books that your 5th grader enjoys reading. Though they might have outgrown them, keep them around so they can visit them frequently. It will significantly help them develop reading comprehension skills since learning is a gradual and systematic process.
Encourage Them to Visit the Library
Libraries are repositories of knowledge. Therefore, encourage your 5th grader to sign up for one; if they are not interested, stress the importance. You can even visit the library together and choose appropriate materials. Set a target of the books or storybooks they should read within a year, and don’t forget to reward them if they reach and exceed the target.
Encourage Reading a Wide Range of Materials in Different Formats
Though it is important to let children read the books they love, encourage them to read other books in various formats. It can include magazines, comics, textbooks, eBooks, and animated textbooks. If you don’t know their reading level, consult the teacher to be in a better position to suggest the right materials. If that’s not practical, talk to the librarian, and you can rest assured that are lots of materials out there that can help your child become a pro reader.
Read Aloud Together
Yes! If your 5th grader still enjoys you reading books aloud for them, keep doing it. At this stage, reading aloud should be more of a collaborative activity, unlike when they were younger, and you just read for them with no input from their end. Take turns reading chapters or paragraphs, but be sure to let them do most of the part. Studies indicate that reading aloud builds and develops reading comprehension skills and vocabulary even for older children. And this should not be limited to just your reading. Look for audiobooks you can listen to together when at home or cruising the highway with your child.
Discuss When Reading
It is very imperative to talk to your 5th grader while they are reading. It allows you to ask them questions about the main characters, the story’s setting, and the themes that emerge from the story. Create a pleasant atmosphere with a reading chair or a bean bag chair, and encouraging them to talk when reading prompts them to probe and analyze the passage or text.
Discuss Different Points of View
Emphasize how various points of view can shape and influence perceptions. Please do this by helping them develop the concept when at home or doing fun activities such as shopping and cooking. Please encourage them to explain to you what happened during such activities, and this will help them develop critical thinking skills that will come in handy when teaching them to make sense of text and passages.
Look Up for Answers
When family or reading conversation leads to questions that need to be answered, challenge your 5th grader to use materials and resources available to get an answer to the question. This will eventually encourage them to be interested in skills that are important in developing reading and comprehension skills.
Spot Similes and Metaphors
In 5th grade, your child will start to encounter the intricate use of language. This includes similes and metaphors. As they begin learning these new things, it is important to help them understand what they mean. Therefore, whenever you spot a simile or metaphor in a story or text, pick it out and ask them what they think it means. If they have no idea, go ahead and explain it to them. Don’t just stop there. After the explanation, ask them to form a sentence using them. And you don’t just have to wait for them to pop up in stories and passages. You can use them frequently at home and don’t forget to explain what they mean.
Find Fun Writing Projects for Your Child
Be on the lookout for fun writing activities in which your child can engage. For instance, if they created family trees when they were younger, challenge them to write short biographies about a few of the tree’s people.
Use Social Media Platforms such as Facebook to Practice Writing.
We are in the age of the internet, and this can be used to improve your child’s 5th-grade reading comprehension skills. If you use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, encourage them to write status updates and to comment on what other people are saying. Short notes or paragraphs about family social events will also help them develop reading comprehension and writing skills.
