Literacy Notes

CAFE

Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expand Vocabulary - Comprehension Check for Understanding

A very important part of reading is that children comprehend what they are reading. They should be able to not only tell you about what they have read, but answer literal and inferential compression questions. When children are taught the strategy of ‘Checking for Understanding’, they are able to stop frequently and check, or monitor, whether they understand what they are reading. This typically is a quick summary of what they’ve read, starting with “who” and “what”.

Why Children Need this Strategy

Often when children are beginning readers, they are so aware of reading accurately that they forget to take time and think about what they are reading and whether it is making sense to them.

Secret to Success

Knowing when we read that we must think about the story and what the author is trying to tell us or what we are learning from the book, makes all the difference to the readers understanding. Readers need to stop frequently to check for understanding or to ask who and what.

Choosing Take Home Books for your Children

As teachers, it is important for us to send home books for your children to read, that are easy and enjoyable. Your child should have success when reading at home. As they learn new reading strategies and improve with their reading, they will start to bring home different books to read at home.

Many children are very capable readers, but aren’t comprehending what they are reading, therefore the story makes no sense to them. We call this ‘barking at print’. It is important to remember that everyone learns to read at their own pace. It is not a race to the finish line. “Reading should not be seen as a chore, or a duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift”.

Please read the ‘Parent Pipeline’ below to help you implement this reading strategy when listening to your child read.

Yours in Literacy

Tania Purton & Jo Taylor 

Literacy Coordinators