First grade is an exciting time of discovery for early readers. They are spending less time decoding and solving words and more time understanding and comprehending the texts they are reading. Early readers are creating reading identities and reading for money and pleasure. Teaching reading comprehension techniques such as making predictions, asking questions, repeating and guessing helps young readers to develop the skills they need. This is a good place to start your first grade reading comprehension activities.
1. String up a retailing rope
Learning how to retell a story helps young students as readers and thinkers. It helps them to organize their thoughts when they read and recognize when their thoughts change. Using these symbols, which represent different elements of a story, students can tie a beautiful retelling rope while acquiring valuable comprehension skills.
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2. Imagine the story with the help of pictures
Visualizing is an important skill for understanding what you are reading. This blog has two fun visualizing activities. First, students are given a title and asked to draw a picture that matches that title. In the second, students are given clues about an object and are asked to draw the object to which it is pointing.
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3. Predict with the graphic organizer
Predicting is an accurate reading technique for emerging readers. When reading aloud, find some good stopping points to ask students what they think will happen next.
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4. Create a “start, middle and end” flip chart
An attempt to teach early readers a summary and true way is to instruct them to identify the beginning, middle and end of a story. This easy-to-create flip chart is an 8 x 11 piece of plain paper that folds vertically and then splits into three parts. In the front half, students will draw a picture of what happens in the three sections of the story. Below each flap is a brief written description.
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5. Ask questions with the story stick
Good readers ask questions before, during and after reading. The sticks in this clever story make for a first-class reading comprehension game. Suitable for use with small reading groups or partners.
Learn more: Happy Teacher
6. Master five finger retail
One technique you can teach students is five-finger retail. Each finger stands for a different part of the story. Allocating a separate finger for each part gives students a kinetic connection and makes them easier to remember.
Learn more: Mrs. Wheeler’s first grade tidbits
7. Shorten using simple code words
Sometimes with early readers, the easier the better. Start with these basic questions — who ?, what ?, when ?, where ?, how ?, and why? জন্যto help children deepen their understanding.
Learn more: Read this Mama
8. Practice with story maps
There are lots of fun tools to help students create reading comprehension and story maps are one of them. Here are 15 free downloadable story maps that help your first graders just go beyond words and practice while reading.
Learn more: Education.com
9. Find out the problems and solutions with the help of a graphic organizer
Among the other elements of each myth there is a problem and a solution. This lesson helps students understand that the problems and solutions of a story fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
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10. Repeat the story using Lego bricks
Put together two things that first graders like: read and create. Read a story together, then allow students to use blocks to create a scene from the story. When they build, they can narrate in detail from the story.
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11. Repeat using story cubes
A helpful comprehension skill for retailing readers. These six cubes encourage readers to retell the story in a variety of ways. They are suitable for reading partners and for use with small groups.
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12. Oh play Snap! Word play
Visible words (aka high-frequency words) are words that readers often encounter in the text. Early readers benefit from knowing a large bank of visual words, which encourages fluent reading. This fun word game is a great way to improve reading skills and create reading fluency.
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13. Use scooping phrases
The goal of fluency reading is to understand better. To read with fluency or expression, readers must understand the events of the story. Teach early readers to use “scooping phrases” to create phrases in phrases. This effective strategy works well with struggling readers.
Learn more: Read this Mama
14. Introduce wordless picture books
As readers face more difficult texts, character traits become less clear. The reader needs to do more speculative work to determine what the character is like. Using wordless picture books is a great way to get acquainted with early readers.
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15. Guess using thought bubbles
Basic guessing activities give first graders the opportunity to practice their guessing skills. When they move on to the lessons, first graders can guess what a character is thinking in the story and then add a thought bubble to explain it.
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