The Joy of Teaching

Good reading comprehension instruction begins with an interaction between the content and the reader. It is the ability to read a sentence and make sense of the overall meaning. Reading comprehension is directly linked to reading fluency (see below). After reading fluency is established, reading comprehension begins with children’s ability to plan, check, and adjust their understanding while in the learning process. Explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies will improve children’s ability to monitor their own understanding as they read. Teach your child how to comprehend what he or she reads with these five steps.

1. Make connections: When we make connections between new learning and previous experiences, our brains make stronger links between our learning. Some questions to ask are:

• What does this story remind you of?
• How is this similar to other stories you have read?
• Can you relate to the characters in this story?
• Can the events in this story happen in the real world?

2. Ask questions: Part of developing children’s reading comprehension is teaching them to ask themselves questions as they read. Start this habit early by asking your child questions about what he or she is reading. Begin by reading aloud and asking questions about the story. A few examples are:

• What do you think?
• Why do you think the character did that?
• What do you think will happen?

3. What is important? Narrow down the details of the text

• What is the topic of this story or text?
• What are the details in the text?
• What are the details in the text mostly about?

4. Monitor Comprehension: There are many different techniques for monitoring reading comprehension. Incorporate a few into your nightly reading routine.

• reading aloud
• re-reading texts
• reading slower
• identifying confusing words

5. Provide the right types of books

Choose books that are within your child’s reading level and ability. If the reading text is too difficult, children will spend most of their brain power decoding new words and not remember or understand what they read. If you don’t know how to make sure your child is reading books within his or her reading level, try the 5 finger rule.

The Five Finger Rule

1. Choose a book
2. Have the child read the second page
3. Hold up a finger for each word the child doesn’t know
4. If there are five or more words the child doesn’t know, choose an easier book

If you are still unsure, do the same thing again on another page. Also, discuss whether or not your child understands and likes what he or she is reading.

What is fluency and how does it affect reading comprehension?

Reading fluency is directly connected to reading comprehension. Without fluency, reading comprehension becomes very difficult. Fluency is not about reading as fast as you can, but about reading at an appropriate rate with accuracy and inflection. Every time your child is reading, he or she is decoding the words carefully in his or her head. The more exposure children get to new words, the faster their young minds can remember words and recognize them without sounding them out. This is called automaticity. As students transition into fluent readers, they are able to focus on the content of what they are reading rather than the words.

How Is Your Child Doing?

Listed below are reading level recommendations for students to read grade level–appropriate texts by the end of the year. Experts’ opinions vary, but these are some good baselines to monitor your child’s fluency.

For more information on reading fluency: How Many Words Per Minute Should My Child Read? A Guide to Reading Fluency.

Keep in mind that these are a simple gauge and just one measurement tool used to identify students’ readiness. Every student learns in a unique way and at his or her own pace. If your child is not at grade level, focus on increasing his or her current score by 10 to 15 words by the end of the year and then celebrate your child’s successes!

If you would like to test your child at home, pick a grade level–appropriate book and time your child reading for one minute. Count the number of words he or she reads correctly within that time frame. (Added words and incorrect words cannot be counted.) Please do not ever make your child feel deficient because he or she cannot read the correct number of words per minute.

The most important thing to do to improve reading comprehension is to read consistently throughout the week. Practice is an essential part of students’ word recall and understanding. The more words your child can read with ease, the easier it will be to understand the content of what he or she is reading.

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.

Do you believe in the importance of teaching cursive handwriting?

If your school isn’t teaching your child contemporary or traditional cursive handwriting, you can teach him or her at home with just a little practice a day. Activities involving writing in cursive for kids are still seen as worthwhile endeavors. Many studies have demonstrated the importance of handwriting within children’s brain functions when learning. Often, children recall and retain more information when they write verses listening or typing.

Is there a specific method for learning how to teach cursive writing?

Cursive instruction is usually taught in the 3rd and 4th grades. At these grade levels, children are gaining solid skills in reading and writing comprehension. Before beginning lessons, observe your child’s fine motor skills. Make sure your child has mastered print handwriting and can identify each letter easily before introducing cursive letters.

Steps to Teaching Your Child Cursive Handwriting

Step 1: Introduce one cursive letter at a time

Think of your child as re-learning to write the alphabet one letter at a time. Each letter should be introduced slowly and practiced consistently before moving on to the next step.

Step 2: Begin with teaching lowercase cursive letters

Begin by teaching only the lowercase letters of the alphabet. Start with letters that are similar in form to print letters such as c, a, d, and g. You may also group letters together by formation patterns and difficulty. Begin with the simplest letters and end with the most difficult and infrequently used ones.
1. c, a, d, g
2. h, t, p, e, l, f, q
3. u, i, j, k, r, s
4. o, b, v, w
5. m, n, y, x, z

Step 3: Then teach uppercase cursive letters

Once the lowercase letters are mastered, begin pairing them with the uppercase version in this order.
1. A, C, O, U
2. V, W, X, Y, Z
3. P, R, B, H, K
4. N, M, J, F, T
5. I, D, L, G, S
6. E, Q

Step 4: Have your child copy simple sentences

After introducing and practicing upper- and lowercase letters, have your child start copying simple sentences. Be sure to observe and demonstrate how to connect letters together.

Here are a few examples from Daily Handwriting Practice: Contemporary Cursive:

A continent is a large landmass.
North America is north of the equator.
South America is south of the equator.

Download this free sample page from Daily Handwriting Practice: Contemporary Cursive.

Step 5: Progress to copying simple paragraphs

Copying simple and short paragraphs is the last step in learning how to write in cursive. Continual practice using many different letters is the key to mastering cursive handwriting.

Hints for Teaching Cursive:

Teaching cursive writing to kids requires constant engagement. To ensure letters are being handwritten in cursive correctly, handwriting must be demonstrated and monitored. Don’t leave children to figure out how to connect the letters. Be sure to demonstrate and monitor letter formation and practice.

Use the correct paper. Cursive is difficult to learn on regular lined student paper. Invest in dotted lined paper (the type used in kindergarten and first grade) so children have a reference when writing lower- and uppercase letters.

Allow children to move their paper diagonally so they can create the correct slant of letters.

Some children love writing and learning cursive, while others prefer to print. It is important to let your child choose the method he or she prefers. Handwriting (whether print or cursive) aids in learning and allows students to make discoveries about themselves and how they learn best.

Hidden handwriting benefits
Both manuscript and cursive handwriting are important foundations in children’s development of thinking, language, and memory. Studies have repeatedly proven that writing verses typing stimulates the connections between the right and left hemispheres of the brain in areas of memory and language. In a 2014 study from The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking, students who hand wrote their notes outperformed their typing peers on conceptual questions in three separate studies.

Here’s additional research on the benefits of teaching children cursive writing:
Campaign for Cursive Research
What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades
The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking

Make It Fun!

1. Practice writing letters on mini whiteboards. Here’s a video to show you how to make your own whiteboard.
   
2. Practice letter formation on a chalkboard with a wet paintbrush.
3. Write with white crayons on black construction paper.
4. Create textured cursive letters: write words in glue and cover them with glitter.

Easy Methods for Teaching Handwriting
If you are looking for a simple resource to teach your child cursive, check out Evan-Moor’s Daily Handwriting Practice Contemporary Cursive (available for grades K–6). Daily Handwriting Practice is available in four titles: modern manuscript, traditional manuscript, traditional cursive, and contemporary cursive. You will have ready-to-go handwriting exercises to help your child master handwriting skills in 15 minutes a day or less.

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.