Reading comprehension for young learners: questions that spark thinking

Reading comprehension is more than spotting a word in a passage. Children also need to infer meaning and connect a story to their own experiences. Start with a short text they can read twice.

Three questions after reading 1. On the page: What does the text say explicitly? “What colour was the bicycle?” Ask the child to point to the sentence. 2. Between the lines: What can we infer? “Why did she bring an umbrella?” Look for clues together. 3. Beyond the page: What does the child think? “What would you have done?” There is not always one correct answer.

A short lesson Read the passage aloud first. Then let the child read independently and mark difficult words. Discuss them before answering questions. Ask for full-sentence answers and supporting evidence where possible.

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