Tools that help improve reading comprehension are based on different techniques such as graphic organization, gamification and comprehension monitoring, and self-listening and highlighting. Strategies to help improve learning outcomes include summarizing, visualization, structure analysis, and questioning.
Gamification
This technique is based on game thinking and encourages students to solve problems and develop new skills. Interactive visualization helps improve user engagement because of factors such as enjoyment, fun, and enhanced motivation.
Graphic Organization
Mind mapping programs make use of graphic organization to enable students to understand complex thoughts, texts, and plotlines. The idea is to break complex ideas and thoughts into components to aid reading comprehension.
Self-Listening and Highlighting
Teachers making use of this technique encourage students to pronounce words quickly and slowly as to learn letter sounds. Children first learn short sounds like a, e, i (as in fan, jet, and pig) and then proceed with sounds like c and k. Some online tools also offer quizzes, training, videos, and other resources.
Online platforms also make use of learning tools such as making non-fiction texts more approachable and story structure recognition. Texts that are too difficult or have a complicated structure discourage learning. To improve comprehension, teachers are encouraged to use more interesting texts and engaging content. Texts in different fields can be used, including law, government and economics, history, arts, etc.
Comprehension Strategies
Common comprehension strategies for learning and improving reading include summarizing, concluding, predicting, and identifying differences and similarities. Summarizing is a strategy that helps students to identify major events and main points by way of extracting information. Concluding is another tool that encourages students to search for details and facts in order to reach a conclusion. Predicting makes use of the facts of a text to identify possible outcomes. Identifying differences and similarities involves contrasting or comparing information to find out what different events, places, people, or items have in common.
Other tools that help improve reading and comprehension are sequencing, finding the main idea, finding information, and understanding words. Sequencing involves finding how different events relate or the order in which they took place. The goal is to facilitate comprehension by using time markers and other sequencing tools. Finding the main idea also improves reading as the main idea of a story helps understand other ideas conveyed by the separate paragraphs. Finding information is another strategy that involves re-reading certain paragraphs or parts of a text to identify keywords. Finding how phrases and words are used in a context also aids the learning process, with meaning being the main focus.
Inferring is yet another technique that teaches students to examine facts and identify whether they are true or not. This technique is based on visual and written contextual information. Three additional tools are also used by educators – point of view, fact or opinion, and cause and effect. Fact or opinion is a technique that encourages critical thinking by teaching students how to identify opinions and facts. Cause and effect helps identify how causes result in outcomes or effects while point of view allows children to better understand the author’s opinion and why he wrote the text. Ultimately, by using comprehension strategies, teachers help students to improve their reading skills and understand more complex texts.