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Understanding reading comprehension

Audience: Key Stage 2 teachers, Key Stage 1 teachers, Heads and deputies, Coordinators
Date of issue: Mar. 2005
Reference number:  DfES1310-2005 to DfES1312-2005

What is it?

As children learn to read they are able to decode the text by orchestrating a range of cues. To become fluent readers they must also understand or comprehend what they read. To help them do this they need to be taught a range of reading comprehension strategies and be encouraged to reflect on their own understanding and learning. Such an approach helps children go beyond literal interpretation and recall to explore the complex meanings of a text using inference and deduction. They can begin to learn these strategies from the earliest stages of learning to read.

These three leaflet will help you to understand how readers make sense of what they read, review the research evidence and suggest ways to teach reading comprehension strategies. They also contain ideas for practical activities to use in the classroom.

Downloads

Right-click to downloadWhat is reading comprehension? (PDF 807Kb)

Right-click to downloadStrategies to develop reading comprehension (PDF 556Kb)

Right-click to downloadFurther strategies to develop reading comprehension (PDF 772Kb)