Top 5 Objectives of Reading Comprehension That Every Teacher Must Know

Reading comprehension skills are crucial for students to succeed academically and beyond. As a teacher, it’s your responsibility to ensure your students have a strong foundation in this area. But what exactly are the main objectives of reading comprehension? Let’s take a closer look.

Objective 1: Decode Text

The first objective of reading comprehension is to help students decode text. This means being able to read and recognize individual words and understand their meaning. To achieve this objective, teachers should focus on helping students build their phonemic awareness and phonics abilities. This involves teaching phonics rules, sight words, and decoding strategies like context clues.

Objective 2: Build Vocabulary

A strong vocabulary is essential for students to comprehend what they’re reading. The second objective of reading comprehension is to help students build their vocabulary. Teachers should provide students with opportunities to read widely and provide explicit instruction on new or unfamiliar words. Additionally, teachers can encourage students to use context clues, dictionaries, and other resources to expand their vocabulary.

Objective 3: Teach Comprehension Strategies

The third objective of reading comprehension is to teach comprehension strategies. Students need to be able to understand the big picture of what they’re reading, as well as the smaller details. Teachers can help students with this by teaching strategies like predicting, summarizing, visualizing, and questioning. These strategies will help students to better understand and analyze what they’re reading.

Objective 4: Develop Critical Thinking

Reading comprehension isn’t just about understanding what the words on the page mean – it’s also about developing critical thinking skills. Students need to be able to analyze text, evaluate arguments, and draw conclusions. To develop critical thinking skills, teachers can encourage students to think deeply about what they’re reading and ask open-ended questions that require them to reflect on the text.

Objective 5: Foster a Love of Reading

Finally, the fifth objective of reading comprehension is to foster a love of reading. When students enjoy reading, they’re more likely to do it regularly and more likely to develop strong comprehension skills. Teachers can foster a love of reading by providing students with a variety of interesting texts, allowing them to choose their own books, and celebrating their achievements as readers.

Conclusion

Reading comprehension is a complex skill that requires a combination of abilities and strategies. By focusing on these five objectives – decoding text, building vocabulary, teaching comprehension strategies, developing critical thinking, and fostering a love of reading – teachers can help their students become strong, confident readers. Remember, reading is a lifelong skill – the benefits of good reading comprehension skills will serve your students well beyond their academic years.