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How can I help students who are having trouble with the comprehension questions?
A study comparing different types of instruction for English language learners and English-only students found Read Naturally to be a “strong intervention” for developing oral reading fluency.
If students are generally having trouble with the comprehension questions, we recommend asking them to underline the information in the text that answers the detail and vocabulary questions and provides clues to the main idea, inference, and short-answer questions.
If students continue to have trouble, have them read the story once, without a timer, before they answer the questions. Remind them to actively listen to themselves read and focus on the meaning of the text. Then have them answer the questions.
If a student is still strugging, direct the student to read the comprehension questions before doing the read along or practice step. This reinforces the importance of reading for meaning as he or she begins working on the story.
If students are having trouble with a particular type of comprehension question, refer to your core curriculum to re-teach the strategies for that question type.