Reading Comprehension Strategies: A Complete Instructional Guide 

Table of Contents

1. Strategy 1: Monitoring for Meaning – Detecting and Correcting Errors
2. Strategy 2: Problem-Solving New Words
3. Strategy 3: Maintaining Fluency
4. Strategy 4: Core Comprehension Strategies
   • Predicting
   • Making Connections
   • Inferring
   • Asking Questions
   • Summarizing
   • Evaluating & Synthesizing
   • Subtexting
   • Visualizing
   • Retelling
   • Close Reading
5. Strategy 5: Noticing Nonfiction Text Features
6. Additional Reading Skills That Strengthen Comprehension
7. Elements of Explicit Comprehension Instruction

Strategy 1: Monitoring for Meaning – Detecting and Correcting Errors

Instructional Purpose
Readers must recognize when meaning breaks down and know how to repair it.

Student Learning Target
Students learn to notice when something does not look right, sound right, or make sense—and how to fix it.

Key Student Actions

• Pause and reread when meaning breaks down
• Use phonics and word analysis to correct decoding errors
• Ask: Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?
• Reflect on how the problem was solved

Teacher Instructional Language
Teachers prompt students to notice errors and apply fix-up strategies through purposeful language such as:

• “Something wasn’t quite right. Where did the meaning break down?”
• “What clues helped you fix that word?”
• “You reread to check for meaning. Did it work?”
• “How did you know that was the correct word?”

Reflection / Ticket Out
How will monitoring for meaning help you when reading new texts?

Information made publicly available: 

• Unit of study – Monitoring for Meaning K-2.pdf
• Unit of study – Monitoring for Meaning Gr 3-5.pdf

Monitor/Clarify for Students

Why do I Monitor/Clarify?
To make sense of my reading.

When do I Monitor/Clarify?

• When the reading no longer makes sense.

• When I am stuck on a word’s meaning.

How do I Monitor/Clarify?

• Reread the surrounding text. Make substitutions and use picture clues.

• Use prior knowledge (schema).

• Study the text structure.

• Apply other strategies: predict, infer, make connections, ask questions, summarize.

• Identify who/what each paragraph is about.

Strategy 2: Problem-Solving New Words

Instructional Purpose
Readers use multiple sources of information to solve unfamiliar words flexibly.

Student Learning Target
Students apply context, structure, and word parts to determine meaning and pronunciation.

Key Student Actions

• Use sentence meaning and context clues
• Break words into chunks, syllables, roots, prefixes, and suffixes
• Reread and read ahead to confirm meaning

Teacher Instructional Language

• “Is there another word that might fit here?”
• “What part of the word do you recognize?”
• “Read ahead and see if the word becomes clearer.”

Reflection / Ticket Out
How does solving new words help you understand what you read?

Strategy 3: Maintaining Fluency

Instructional Purpose
Fluency supports comprehension by freeing the reader’s attention for meaning.

Student Learning Target
Students read accurately, smoothly, with expression, and at a conversational pace.

Key Student Actions

• Read in meaningful phrases
• Adjust voice using punctuation cues
• Match expression to character emotions

Teacher Instructional Language

• “Make it sound like talking.”
• “What does the punctuation tell you to do?”
• “Show how the character feels through your voice.”

Reflection / Ticket Out
Why does fluent reading improve understanding?

Strategy 4: Core Comprehension Strategies

Predicting

Readers use titles, illustrations, and text clues to anticipate meaning and set a purpose for reading.

Teacher Prompts

• “What made you predict that?”
• “What evidence supports your thinking?”

Predicting for Students

Why do I Predict?

• Gets my mind ready to read.

• Gives me a purpose to read.

When do I Predict?
Before and during reading.

How do I Predict?

• Examine the title, cover, and pictures.

• Consider text structure.

• Use prior knowledge and ask questions: I wonder… Who is… Why is…

• Adjust predictions as you read. Predictions may or may not be proven.

Making Connections

Readers connect texts to their own lives, other texts, and the world.

Teacher Prompts

• “How does this remind you of something you know?”
• “What surprised you?”

Making Connections for Students

Why do I Make Connections?
Reading is thinking! Connections help me:

• Understand text-to-self (T-S), text-to-text (T-T), and text-to-world (T-W).

• Predict outcomes and understand characters’ feelings.

When do I Make Connections?
Before, during, and after reading, especially with unknown words or reminders of similar events.

How do I Make Connections?

• Chart connections. Note which helped you understand.

• Use Venn diagrams.

• Activate prior knowledge with KWL charts (Know, Want to know, Learned).

• Use double-entry journals: one side for key events/ideas, the other for connections.

• Ask, “How does this connection help me understand the text?”

Examples of Connections:

• T-S: “This reminds me of when I… I felt like that character when…”

• T-T: Compare content, genre, author, illustrator, setting, characters, plot, structure, theme, language, tone.

• T-W (Nonfiction): Relate new information to what you know about the world.

Inferring

Readers combine text clues with background knowledge to understand what the author implies.

In class, students can act out scenarios, and students must infer what is happening. For example, coming indoors, shaking out an umbrella. We can infer it is raining. Blowing out candles on a birthday cake. We can infer it’s a birthday party. Slamming the doors and crossing one’s arms. We can infer the person is angry.

Teacher Prompts

• “What does the author want you to understand here?”
• “What clues helped you infer that?”

Information made publicly available:

• Unit of Study – Making Inferences.pdf

Inferring for Students

Why do I Infer?

• To understand characters, events, and settings.

• To draw conclusions and determine word meanings.

When do I Infer?

• Before, during, and after reading.

• Anytime the author doesn’t explicitly answer questions.

How do I Infer?

• Observe pictures and character behavior.

• Ask questions and combine prior knowledge with text clues.

What can I Infer?

• Word meanings, setting, character feelings, pronoun references, author’s message, explanations for events.

Asking Questions

Readers ask questions before, during, and after reading to clarify meaning and stay engaged.

Teacher Prompts

• “Where did you find the answer?”
• “What questions remain unanswered?”

Information made publicly available:

• Units of Study Asking Questions

Asking Questions for Students

Why do I Ask Questions?

• To clarify, wonder, determine author intent, monitor comprehension, synthesize information.

• To deepen understanding: thick questions (interpretive) vs. thin questions (literal).

When do I Ask Questions?

• Before, during, and after reading.

• Ask about content, predictions, visualizations, and personal connections.

How do I Ask Questions?

• Create an I Wonder chart.

• Three types of questions: Predicting (forward), Monitoring (backward), Thinking (inferential).

• Use who, what, where, when, why, how, would, could, should, do, does, did.

• For nonfiction, begin with a KWL chart.

Answering Questions:

• A = in the text, BK = background knowledge, I = inferred, D = discussion, RS = research, C = confusion.

Types of Questions:

• Right There: Who did… What is…

• Think & Search: How did… What happened before/after…

• On My Own: Have you ever… In your opinion…

Summarizing

Readers identify the most important ideas and retell them concisely in their own words.

Teacher Prompts

• “What is the main idea?”
• “Which details are essential?”

Summarizing for Students

Why do I Summarize?

• Identify and organize important information.

• Find main ideas and problem/solution.

When do I Summarize?
Before, during, and after reading.

How do I Summarize?

• Use your own words.

• Preview text: cover, table of contents, illustrations.

• Keep a graphic organizer of key events.

• For nonfiction, follow text structure: descriptive, problem/solution, compare/contrast, sequential, main idea/detail, cause/effect.

• Highlight keywords and omit unimportant details.

Evaluating and Synthesizing

Readers reflect on the text, form opinions, and integrate ideas across texts.

Teacher Prompts

• “Do you agree or disagree with the author?”
• “What message stayed with you?”

Information made publicly available:

• Synthesis Unit.doc

Evaluating and Synthesizing for Students

Why do I Synthesize/Evaluate?

• Integrate ideas, connect to the “big picture,” and form opinions.

• Evaluate relationships between ideas and authors’ messages.

When do I Synthesize/Evaluate?
Before, during, and after reading, especially with new perspectives or information.

How do I Synthesize/Evaluate?

• Fill in these blanks:

  • At first, I thought… but now I think…

  • This text has changed me by…

  • An “aha” I got was…

  • I now agree/disagree with the author because…

• Start with fables or simple texts, then move to complex narratives.

Subtexting

Readers step into a character’s perspective to understand unspoken thoughts and emotions.

Subtexting for Students

Why do I Subtext?

• To understand characters’ thoughts and perspectives.

• To comprehend the text more deeply.

When do I Subtext?
During reading.

How do I Subtext?

• Act out characters, infer thoughts from illustrations.

• Write from different perspectives: child, parent, clerk, doctor, onlooker.

Visualizing

Readers create mental images using sensory details to deepen engagement and recall.

Information made publicly available:

• Unit of Study – Sensory Images.pdf
• Learn about Visualizing and Verbalizing.

Visualizing for Students

Why do I Visualize?

• Keeps me interested.

• Enhances understanding, recall, and interpretation.

When do I Visualize?
During and after reading, with or without illustrations.

How do I Visualize?

• Use senses and emotions.

• Pay attention to adjectives/adverbs.

• Sketch what you see and revise as you read.

• Teachers can adapt Nancibell’s Visualizing/Verbalizing approach: start word-by-word, then sentences, paragraphs, whole pages.

Retelling

Readers recount a text in sequence, including characters, setting, events, problem, and resolution.

Information made publicly available:

• retelling-scaffold-2
• Unit of study – Retelling – K.pdf
• Unit of study – Retelling Gr 1-3.pdf

Retelling for Students

Why do I Retell?

• Build comprehension and storytelling skills.

• Create detailed mental images for someone else.

When do I Retell?
After reading or events (movies, vacations, weekends).

How do I Retell?

• Read 3 times (impression, detail, comprehension).

• Use retelling cards, props, or story guidelines.

• Expressively recount key details in correct order.

• Structure:

  • Fiction: beginning/middle/end, characters, setting, theme, plot, resolution.

  • Nonfiction: problem/solution, descriptive, compare/contrast, sequential, main idea/detail, cause/effect.

Close Reading

Readers reread complex texts multiple times, annotate, cite evidence, and analyze meaning. See Close Reading and Test Taking Strategies.

Information made publicly available:

• Grade 2 Close Reading
• Grade 5 Close Reading

Strategy 5: Noticing Nonfiction Text Features

Instructional Purpose
Nonfiction text features support understanding and organization of information.

Student Learning Target
Students learn how features such as headings, captions, diagrams, and charts enhance meaning.

Key Student Actions

• Preview text features before reading
• Reference features during and after reading
• Adjust reading pace to match purpose

Reflection / Ticket Out
How do text features help you learn new information?

Nonfiction Text Features for Students

Why do I Read Nonfiction?

• To learn and connect school/home experiences.

When do I Read Nonfiction?

• To answer questions about the world.

• Start young to develop lifelong reading habits.

Predictable Features of Nonfiction:

• Table of contents, headings/subtitles, maps, cutaways, comparisons, captions, photographs, labels, tables, glossary, index, close-ups.

How do I Read Nonfiction?

• Build prior knowledge and make predictions.

• Learn vocabulary through context and graphic organizers.

• Use KWL charts: Know, Want to know, Learned.

• Recognize text structures: problem/solution, descriptive, compare/contrast, sequential, main idea/detail, cause/effect.

• Skim and scan text to locate key ideas quickly.

• Highlight and take notes on main ideas and details.

Additional Reading Skills That Strengthen Comprehension

• Activating background knowledge (schema) Unit of Study – Schema – K.pdf and Unit of study – SCHEMA Gr 1-2.pdf
• Determining importance Unit of study – Determining Importance.pdf

• Identifying main idea and supporting details

Elements of Explicit Comprehension Skill Instruction

Effective instruction includes all of the following:

• Link new learning to prior lessons
• Explain what to do and why it matters
• Model with clear examples
• Pause and Prompt students to retrieve evidence
• Guided Practice with feedback
• Independent Application over time
• Reflection on learning and next steps

Resources

• Comprehension Questions for Leveled Texts

• Links to Grade-Level Passages and Questions

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This page was last updated on December 25, 2025.

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