Understanding Reading Comprehension: What You Need To Know

Reading comprehension, or understanding what you read, is a fundamental skill that plays an important role in a child’s educational journey. For teachers and parents, understanding what reading comprehension is and why it matters is essential for supporting children’s academic success.

What exactly is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is arguably one of the most complex cognitive tasks that we can do. At the surface, it involves reading printed words and making sense out of those words. While there are many components of reading comprehension, a useful way to think about reading comprehension is through a research-based theoretical model of reading called the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986). 

Decoding (being able to read words)  x Language Comprehension (being able to understand spoken language)  = Reading Comprehension

This equation shows us that a person’s decoding skills multiplied by their language comprehension skills equals their reading comprehension skills. So, if either decoding or language comprehension skills do not exist (= 0), there is no reading comprehension since any number multiplied by zero is zero. 

Why does Reading Comprehension matter?

The impact of reading comprehension skills are far reaching, but here are a few top reasons why developing reading comprehension skills matter:

1. Success in school. Being able to understand what you read is the primary way that we learn information and is foundational for all learning across all content areas. In other words, a child’s reading comprehension skills impact their ability to excel in all subjects. For example, without strong comprehension skills, students may struggle to understand math word problems, read social studies textbooks, or understand science concepts that their teacher is trying to teach them.
2. Critical thinking and problem solving. Successful reading comprehension requires readers to think critically about what they read–to analyze information and draw conclusions. A cornerstone of comprehension is being able to draw inferences, a skill that is necessary for problem solving.
3. Improved communication. Successful communication requires strong comprehension skills including understanding what is being communicated and being able to clearly express thoughts and ideas.
4. Career readiness. Reading comprehension is an essential skill across the workforce. Language comprehension, or the ability to understand what you hear, is a key component of reading comprehension. So even in jobs that require little reading, comprehension skills are still necessary. These skills help a worker understand the broader context and implications of information.

How can teachers and parents support Reading Comprehension?

1. Read together. Reading together every day is the best way to support growth in reading comprehension.
2. Build vocabulary. Vocabulary, or knowing the meanings of words, is essential for comprehension. Read together, have discussions, and explicitly teach the meanings of important words for vocabulary to grow.
3. Build background knowledge. A reader pulls from their background knowledge, or their knowledge of the world, when comprehending. Background knowledge is built through experiences. This can include traveling, helping around the house, playing, and you guessed it–reading together!
4. Ask the right questions. Comprehension grows through conversation. Asking children questions about what they are reading is a great way to foster comprehension skill growth. But the types of questions you ask matters! Opt for questions that require a deeper level of thinking about what you’re reading instead of a simple yes/no question.

Reading comprehension is a foundational and necessary skill for success in many areas of life. Teachers and parents play a vital role in supporting the reading comprehension skill growth of their learners. Understanding the importance of reading comprehension can empower us to better support our children’s education and foster meaningful growth that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial and special education, 7(1), 6-10.