Reading comprehension strategies in the classroom

Discover 9 evidence-based reading comprehension strategies that help teachers transform passive readers into engaged learners who truly understand text.

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El Assi, N (2021, December 08). Reading comprehension strategies in the classroom. Retrieved from https://www.structural-learning.com/post/reading-comprehension-strategies-in-the-classroom

In this article

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What are reading comprehension strategies?

Harvey and Goudvis (2017) highlight essential learner skills. Teachers must directly teach previewing and questioning. Duke and Pearson (2002) say visualising, inferencing, and summarising aid understanding. Keene (2008) saw improved comprehension with these strategies.

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For a broader view of how this fits alongside other classroom methods, see our guide to pedagogy for teaching.

Reading comprehension strategies help learners understand texts (Duke & Cartwright, 2021). Scaffolds support expository writing. These strategies build knowledge by extracting meaning. Sight words and phonological awareness are also useful (Ehri, 2020). Learners use cognitive processes to understand reading. Metacognitive strategies help learners reflect on their reading (Flavell, 1979).

Fisher and Frey (2012) suggest whole class reading builds learning, using the same text. Teachers model reading closely, questioning learners and building vocabulary. This helps learners access texts independently, say Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2013).

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Academic

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Evidence Rating: Load-Bearing Pillars

Emerging (d<0.2)

Promising (d 0.2-0.5)

Robust (d 0.5+)

Foundational (d 0.8+)

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Key Takeaways

Explicit instruction of a repertoire of comprehension strategies significantly enhances learners' understanding: Research consistently shows that learners benefit most when teachers explicitly model, guide, and provide opportunities for independent practice of various strategies, such as summarising, questioning, and clarifying (Pressley, 2000). This systematic approach helps learners internalise these techniques, making them more proficient and independent readers across different texts.
Fostering metacognitive awareness equips learners to monitor and regulate their own comprehension: Teaching learners to think about their thinking while reading, including recognising when they do not understand and knowing how to apply fix-up strategies, is crucial for deep comprehension (Flavell, 1979). This metacognitive skill enables learners to become self-regulated learners who can independently navigate challenging texts and improve their understanding.
Prior knowledge profoundly influences a learner's ability to comprehend new texts: A learner's existing background knowledge acts as a scaffold, allowing them to make connections, infer meaning, and integrate new information more effectively than those with limited prior knowledge (Recht & Leslie, 1988). Teachers should actively build and activate relevant background knowledge before, during, and after reading to maximise comprehension outcomes.
Effective comprehension strategy instruction is an ongoing, integrated component of literacy teaching: Strategies should not be taught in isolation or as one-off lessons, but rather embedded consistently across the curriculum and applied to diverse text types (Duke & Pearson, 2002). This sustained and integrated approach ensures learners develop flexible and transferable comprehension skills, enabling them to apply strategies in various academic and real-world contexts.

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1Which phase?

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Conclusion

Teachers, help learners become confident readers. Apply the principles discussed in Rosenshine's work (article). Learners should actively engage with text and check their own understanding. Encourage learners to adapt their reading strategies when struggling.

We aim to build lifelong learners ready for reading's challenges. Teachers developing these skills significantly help learners succeed (Goodwin & McElhattan, 2023). Integrate evidence into lessons and make reading rewarding.

About the Author

Paul Main

Founder & Metacognition Researcher

Paul Main is an educator and metacognition researcher who founded Structural Learning in 2002. With a psychology degree from the University of Sunderland and 22+ years helping schools embed thinking skills, he bridges the gap between educational research and classroom practice. Fellow of the RSA and Chartered College of Teaching, with 128+ Google Scholar citations.