Reading comprehension
Find ways to build reading comprehension in early years children to raise their concentration and focus.
Contents on this page
Why reading comprehension is important
Oral language development is key to children’s development. Language development can be enhanced by the amount of spoken language a child hears and joins in with. Language comprehension is an important pre-requisite to children being able to understand what they read for themselves, when the teaching of phonics begins in reception. It’s also important to later success with writing composition.
Language development links closely to listening and understanding. Introducing children to a wide range of words they would rarely hear or use increases their knowledge of vocabulary and concepts to help them understand the world around them. Hearing and talking about these words in context helps children to understand.
Through reading with children you talk about the meanings of words. This starts with you providing and talking about the children’s interests and gradually extending their knowledge about the world around them.
Listening to stories introduces children to words they would not often hear in everyday speech. It also gives them an awareness of sentence structure.
You should provide a wide range of reading experiences to help children develop a love of reading, curiosity and wonder about the world around them. Providing a well sequenced reading curriculum to develop children’s knowledge of language and how it works, can create fluent, passionate and lifelong readers.
Video
In this video, an early years expert explains the importance of reading comprehension in the early years foundation stage framework. There are also some tips on how to support children in this area.
Transcript
Transcript
Storytelling is one of the great joys of working with young children.
The more we read to and with children, the more words they hear and understand. Books broaden children’s vocabulary and provide them with an understanding of sentence structure. This sets them on the right path to be fluent, lifelong readers.
In this section, we’re talking about reading comprehension and particularly focusing on variety of books that we provide children.
As you both know, children should be read to many times every day because it’s absolutely essential that we help children to develop a love of stories and a love of books, a lifelong skill.
From a very young age, children can form really strong attachments to particular books. How do you actually help children to have a variety of books in your settings?
In the nursery, we have lots of different styles of books, different types of books. So in the construction area, we might have some maps, maybe some books on different buildings. We also then, say, in the home corner, we might have cookery books, so that they’ve got that example, and it’s purposeful, so it’s the sort of book style that you might need if you’re cooking something in the home corner.
Do you have a range of different languages and books?
Yes, we do. Yeah. We’ve also had parents come in and do storytelling in different languages as well, which has been great for the child who has it in their home language to then obviously share that with their peer group.
The next section I’d like us to just chat about is how we vary tone and expression. So when we’re reading to children, it means that we can use the different voices, intonation, and facial expressions. It’s actually the fun part, isn’t it, of sharing books and rhymes with children. It helps the children to begin to engage with the story. It also helps them to anticipate what might happen next and to become riveted and absolutely really engaged in that print and what’s happening through story and rhyme.
Would you like to share some of the examples that you do in your practice?
Lots of books have different characters in, so it’s taking on that character, taking on different voices for that character, different tones.
So if it’s a giant, a big booming voice, obviously, and the children really relate to that, and then they can help associate it with the different characters in the book.
We did a magic cooking pot story the other day, and we got some porridge and we mixed it up, and the little girl turned around and said, “That one’s just right.”
So she’s bringing the story of the magic cooking pot into our wordplay and our stories and our acting out the magic cooking pot story.
And do you ever provide more than one copy of particular stories?
We have lots of copies of the same book so the children can read alongside each other, particularly when we’ve got maybe a new child settling in and they buddy up with one of our children that’s already settled, so that they can share and sort of point out similar parts of the story they like and things like that.
When you’re doing all this beautiful sharing of books and turning pages, how do you actually get the children to engage with the print or the pictures? How do you do that and develop that? Quite often, the older age range, you’ll be running your finger along the words. Quite often see one of their letters that they can see from their name, and they’ll point it out to you, or they’ll be shouting out the words as well, or you sort of pause a bit. As the next page is coming along, you’re pausing, waiting for them to join in and shout the words that you know they know.
We all use books lots of times, but how do you actually help children to understand the certain characteristics that come with the full range of books throughout your setting?
So obviously, even from a young age, you’re encouraging children to open the book correctly. You’re sort of role modelling and teaching them how to turn the pages.
Like we were saying about you pointing to words, so you’re doing the left to right, so they’re understanding how a book would flow. We also talk about the book’s title and how that’s put on the front, the author, and the illustration sometimes, so that they’re learning all those different parts that make up a book.
Through books and reading, children learn to think, reflect, and talk about what they have heard and can see. Both fiction and non-fiction broaden children’s horizons, introducing them to new ideas and helping them make sense of the world.
When reading and storytelling, children respond well to adults using different voices, intonations, and facial expressions. This helps to make reading more engaging and memorable as they begin to recognize books, distinguish between characters, and have an instinctive sense of the developing story.
Reading and storytelling should happen many times a day and be thoroughly interactive during the early years.
Sing rhymes, play games, recall events, and let children play together with books. Sharing books helps develop children’s conversation and vocabulary as they notice, wonder, name, and show curiosity about the different worlds books can open up.
Make sure the books you have portray a diversity of characters and experiences, and introduce children to non-fiction books and online sources, too. It is important to choose books, stories, and rhymes to extend children’s knowledge of words and phrases that they do not normally hear in everyday speech.
What the EYFS framework says
Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together.
Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage.
What this means in practice
You should begin by looking at what you want children to learn and then identify how you can provide experiences that allow children to develop their early comprehension skills.
Adults share books with babies. They may just look at a favourite page or picture. When reading to young children, help them ‘read the picture back’ by letting them grab the book or point to the picture.
By providing children with a wide selection of reading material, children can be supported to choose books for themselves. Adults can talk about why they like a book and share what the child likes too. You should let them explore how books open, while talking about what they see or feel. Be patient, letting them ask or answer questions.
Through the regular sharing of books, the children will become more interested in books, and be able to explain what they are about. You should help them guess what happens next. Make the text come alive by using voices, exaggerated facial expressions and body movements to tell the story.
Providing lots of opportunities for children to make their own books, such as a family books, helps children to begin to understand that written words have meanings. This helps them to start to understand print has meaning and that it works from left to right, and top to bottom.
Suggested activities
Reading aloud with children
You’ll need books the children enjoy. Choosing books that include words that children and adults would be unlikely to use in speech can be particularly helpful.
Before reading think about:
- what the children already know
- which words they are practising or using for the first time
- if they will recognise the book’s language, for example, story markers, ‘once upon a time’, ‘one day’
Sit in a cosy place with your children and as you read with them:
- ask ‘why have I, you or we chosen this book?’
- tell them why you like it, for example ‘I love this book because the cat always makes me laugh’
- point out colours, pictures and characters
- challenge them to point out the book’s title, or author
- stop and talk about the main characters
- look for rhymes, like ‘shark in the park’
When you are reading it helps to be enthusiastic and exaggerate your movements.
Young children might look at one picture, or just part of a book. Older children could use finger or stick puppets to act out the story, or act it out themselves.
Ask children about some of the main points, for example ‘have you seen one of these animals before?’ Provide related toys or equipment, such as musical instruments, a magnifying glass or toy animal.
Think of similar, new words you could use. For example, when hunting a bear ‘what else does walking through mud sound like?’.
How the activity links to the other areas of learning
Reading and talking about books, while asking and answering questions about them (communication and language). Talking to children about what they know (personal, social and emotional development). Talking about words and rhyme (exploring words). Looking at pictures, and talking about them (expressive arts and design).
Reading book groups
You’ll need books the children enjoy. Some suggested titles are:
Traditional tales:
- ‘Three little pigs’, original
- ‘Three little wolves’ and the ‘Big bad pig’, by Eugene Triviza and Helen Oxenbury
- ‘Each peach pear plum’, by Janet and Allan Ahlber
Rhyming books:
- ‘Pigeon poo’, by Elizabeth Baguley and Mark Chambers
- ‘A is amazing’, edited by Wendy Cooling
- ‘Odd socks’, by Rebecca Ashdown
Books containing letters:
- ‘The Jolly Postman’ or ‘Other peoples’ letters’, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
- ‘Snail mail’ (with pull-out postcards), by Sharon King- Chan
Wordless books:
- ‘Mirror,’ by Jeannie Baker
- ‘Knock knock’, by Kaori Takahashi
Develop children’s conversation and vocabulary by talking with them as they read.
Arrange book groups attractively in your reading area.
Invite children to share a book together. Ideally, it would link to something the child has done recently, or what they imagined, watched or explored.
Explore the book’s front and back, noticing any pictures or words that might help guess what happens inside.
Talk to children while turning the pages, asking what they think might happen next. Get them to ‘read to you’, or say what they think is happening. It does not matter if they don’t get it exactly, or if parts are missed.
Sensitively point out words or pictures, asking and waiting for feedback. ‘Do you like this story, picture, character?’ ‘Why? Why not?’. Talk about their responses.
How the activity links to the other areas of learning
The children could explain what they like or dislike and why (personal, social and emotional development). Children could comment or expand on a story (communication and language) and holding books and turning pages encourages physical development. When children come across numbers and shapes in context this supports mathematics. Books are a way of exploring the world beyond their own environment (understanding the world). Reading enhances imagination and creativity (expressive arts and design).
Other activities
Booktrust has suggested children’s books and book lists, advice and games.
BBC Nursery songs is a bank of songs and nursery rhymes that focus on comprehension.
The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education has activities that are suitable for early years.
Resources from Love my books helping parents and young children enjoy sharing books together.
What other nurseries and childminders are doing
“Reading is a huge part of our everyday nursery routine. Allowing children to get engrossed in books, using illustrations and props to enhance how they follow a story, gives children confidence to ‘have a go’. This confidence carries over to many other learning areas, sparking imagination, curiosity and joining in related tasks such as roleplay. All these skills are paramount in supporting early years children’s comprehension. We make our book areas cosy and inviting, offering a range of different book types. Offering this supports each child’s individual learning needs.”
Emma, Newbury Gardens Day Nursery, West Berkshire.
Summary
- Reading is a necessary, lifelong skill.
- Being read to provides comfort for children, improving their concentration and focus.
- Being read to gives children knowledge to understand and talk about the world around them.
- When children understand what is being read this helps them understand how words, phrases and sentences are put together.
- Using and sharing fiction and non-fiction books, poems, rhymes and songs builds children’s understanding and use of language.
Next steps
- Have a good look through all your books or look at what can be borrowed from local libraries checking which ones work for you.
- Use books that support question development, helping children improve their understanding of what’s happening.
- Make sure your book choices give you lots to talk about and enjoy with your children.
- Choose books for different purposes, for example to extend vocabulary, get an emotional response or broaden their experiences of real or imagined worlds.
- Repeat readings of the same stories with the children.
- Discuss favourite books with your colleagues or other providers. Compare notes, and exchange ideas. Ask which ones they use, and why.