Are you searching for a fun way to teach reading skills? Have you ever thought about using picture books for teaching comprehension strategies? Read aloud books and stories are a great way to engage students in discussion about how they interpret and understand a story or text.
Do you want to skip the article and go straight for the FREE Lesson Plan Guide?
What Reading Strategies Do You Use?
Students should be prompted and guided to interpret and understand both fiction and nonfiction texts through the use of common comprehension strategies.
Think about how you read and comprehend stories and texts. Do you visualize the events and details? Do you make connections with the characters in the story? Do you predict what will occur next in the story or even how the story will end?
These are just a few of the common reading comprehension strategies that teachers should be including in daily reading instruction.
Why Teach Reading Strategies?
Readers benefit from using reading strategies as they work to comprehend a piece of text, whether fiction or non-fiction.
These strategies should not be used in isolation, but instead used in combination with the others to better comprehend the text.
As a teacher, you can prompt students to recall a previously taught strategy while you are discussing a different strategy. For example, when reading a text and focusing on making inferences, you can remind students how to make connections with the characters, settings, and details. This will get students into the habit of thinking this way for themselves as they read independently.
Learning Activities for Reading Comprehension
My favorite way to teach and review reading comprehension strategies is through the use of picture books as a read aloud. Kids love to listen to stories at all ages. My experience is mostly with 5th graders, and even at this crazy age, they still love to be read to!
Teaching reading strategies with picture books is not only fun and engaging, but it is an effective way for teachers to introduce and reinforce the sometimes challenging concepts of these strategies.
Once the skill has been introduced using a picture book read aloud, then you can choose to allow students to work with a partner or small group and read a different story to practice the reading strategy. You will be amazed at how, with effort in reinforcing these skills, your students’ reading comprehension will soar!
Teaching with picture books can continue into your small reading groups as you guide your young readers through prompts that will challenge their reading habits.
Teaching Reading Strategies With Picture Books
Grab my FREE GUIDE for suggested activities and picture books for teaching comprehension strategies.
This article will supply you with all of the suggested read aloud picture books, while the guide offers more detail into each comprehension strategy, such as a statement of meaning and purpose, suggested discussion and activities with pacing, and a printable student reference handout. I like to have my students place reference sheets in their binder or notebook for future use.
The suggested picture book read aloud books mentioned in this article are linked with an affiliate purchase link. This means that if you choose to purchase using the provided link, Teacher Tech Studio will receive a small commission on the purchase at no extra cost to you.
Picture Books for Teaching Comprehension Strategies
Reading Comprehension Strategy 1: Visualizing
Visualizing is when the reader forms pictures in the mind based on the activities or events described in the text, as if watching a movie.
Visualizing helps the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the story that will target long-term memory. This teaches the reader to use input from all senses to form images about what they are reading by actually becoming part of the story or text.
The recommended picture book to introduce or reinforce the skill of visualizing is Sunflower House by Eve Bunting.
Reading Comprehension Strategy 2: Making Connections
Making connections is thinking about how the details from the story or text remind of prior experiences in life, other texts, or the world.
Making connections while reading is important because it helps readers understand the text at deeper levels and make meaning of what they read. This helps the reader to retain information better and engage more with the text.
The recommended picture book to introduce or reinforce the skill of making connections is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
Reading Comprehension Strategy 3: Making Predictions
Predicting is when the reader makes an educated guess about what will happen next in a story or text based on details in the text.
Predicting helps the reader check his or her understanding of the information in the text. As the reader continues reading, they will stay actively engaged because they will either be confirming or changing their predictions. It also encourages the reader to think ahead.
The recommended picture book to introduce or reinforce the skill of making predictions is The Taking Tree by Dan Ewen.
Reading Comprehension Strategy 4: Questioning
Questioning is when the reader generates and asks questions about the characters, settings, events (fiction), details, topics, facts (nonfiction).
Questioning helps the reader understand and stay engaged in the text. Readers should ask questions before, during, and after reading a story or text to understand what they are reading and why they are reading it. Asking questions allows readers to make predictions and connections based on what they know and have read.
The recommended picture book to introduce or reinforce the skill of questioning is Baghead by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.
Reading Comprehension Strategy 5: Determining Importance
Determining importance is when the reader decides which details in the text are important, which are less important, and which are interesting.
Determining importance helps the reader understand the author’s message or main idea. It also helps the reader move through the text smoothly and develop a line of thinking that helps the reading make sense.
The recommended picture book to introduce or reinforce the skill of determining importance is A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams.
Reading Comprehension Strategy 6: Summarizing
Summarizing is when the reader briefly states the main points of a text. Readers summarize while they are reading and after they have read a story or text.
Fiction: Who + Did What + Where + Outcome
Nonfiction: Main Idea + Detail + Detail + Detail
Summarizing a text helps the reader understand the main ideas and focus on key details. This helps them to understand what they are reading and synthesize learning.
The recommended picture book to introduce or reinforce the skill of summarizing is Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy.
Reading Comprehension Strategy 7: Making Inferences
Making inferences is when the reader uses background knowledge to make a connection to the text and to determine what the author is implying, or not directly stating.
Inference = What you know + What you see/read
Making inferences helps the reader draw conclusions about the text’s meaning and purpose. This helps the reader better understand the story or topic.
The recommended picture book to introduce or reinforce the skill of making inferences is Enemy Pie by Derek Munson.
I hope this list of picture books for teaching comprehension strategies has been helpful and inspiring to you to try this exciting method of reading instruction. I would love to hear how these ideas were realized in your classroom. Please comment below or email me at Danna@TeacherTechStudio.com
Have you taken pictures of the ideas and resources in action? I would love to see them! Tag me @teachertechstudio
Remember if you want to grab the FREE GUIDE: How To Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies Using Picture Books, click the image below. You will find additional resources not included in this article. My favorite is the printable student reference handout for each of the 7 strategies.
You might also be teaching full novel studies or organizing book clubs in your classroom. These comprehension strategies will be valuable for these longer pieces of texts in addition to the shorter picture books. Read about some ideas for novel studies in this post.
