Six Strategies for Mastering Comprehension

Let’s be honest, most children (and even some adults!) groan at the thought of comprehension tasks, as if the passage might leap off the page and start asking questions! Reading comprehension can be challenging, but with the right strategies, it becomes much easier, and even enjoyable. Here are some practical tips to help understand passages and answer questions effectively.

1. Read the Passage Carefully
Take time to read the passage thoroughly, making sure to understand the main ideas and details. A careful first reading helps children understand what the passage is mainly about before tackling the questions. Rushing through the text often leads to missed details and confusion later. By reading slowly and attentively, children are better able to grasp key ideas, follow events, and build a clear picture of what is happening, making the comprehension questions far easier to answer.

Tip: Summarising each paragraph in your own words helps ensure the meaning is clear.
Fun thought: Pretend you’re a detective searching for clues, every paragraph has a secret waiting to be uncovered!

2. Highlight Key Information
Underline or highlight important points with a pencil. Marking important words or phrases while reading can make a big difference to comprehension. Lightly underlining or highlighting key details, such as names, reasons, or strong descriptive clues, helps children keep track of what matters most in the passage. This makes it much easier to find answers later without re-reading the entire text and also encourages active, focused reading rather than passive scanning.

Tip: Only mark the key facts, names, or dates; highlighting everything can be confusing.
Fun thought: Think of your pencil as a highlighter wand, magically picking out only the treasures in the text!

3. Read the Questions First
Look at the questions before reading the passage again. This helps focus on what information to look for while reading. When children read with the questions in mind, they are more likely to notice important details, understand what is relevant, and answer more accurately. This is especially helpful in timed comprehension exercises.

Tip: Circling key words in the questions can make it easier to find the answers.
Fun thought: Reading the questions first is like having a treasure map. You know exactly where to hunt!

4. Use Complete Sentences
Answer in full sentences, restating part of the question. Encourage your child to answer comprehension questions in full sentences by using some of the words from the question itself. This shows a clear understanding and helps them stay focused on what is being asked. It also prevents vague or one-word answers and naturally improves sentence structure.

For example, if the question asks “Why did the boy feel nervous?”, a strong answer would begin with “The boy felt nervous because…”. This simple habit can make a noticeable difference in clarity, confidence, and marks, especially in 11+ style comprehension.

Tip: This ensures the answers are clear, complete, and show understanding.
Fun thought: Think of it as telling a mini-story with your answer. Make it interesting enough to read out loud!

5. Refer Back to the Text
Always go back to the passage to find evidence for answers, rather than relying on memory. The correct answer is usually in the text, and re-reading helps children pick out key details, clues, or exact words that support their response. This habit reduces careless mistakes and trains children to justify their answers with evidence, which is an essential skill for 11+ comprehension and beyond.

Tip: Quoting or paraphrasing text can strengthen responses.
Fun thought: Treat the passage like a wise old friend, it always has the proof you need!

6. Check Work
Before putting the pen down, children should take a moment to review what they have written. This final read-through helps ensure every question has been answered, responses are complete, and ideas are expressed clearly. It also allows time to correct small mistakes that can easily cost marks. Developing the habit of checking work teaches children to be careful, confident, and responsible for their own learning.

Tip: Reading answers again can help spot mistakes or missing information.
Fun thought: Imagine you’re an editor for a magazine. Every answer needs to be perfect before it goes to print!

By consistently following these steps, reading comprehension becomes less daunting and more rewarding. Taking time, staying organised, and checking work helps build confidence and improves understanding of any text.

Tip: Avid readers make comprehension tasks look easy. The more you read, the more these passages will start to feel like old friends!
Fun thought: With a little strategy and a touch of fun, even the trickiest comprehension passage can feel like an adventure waiting to be solved!