The ultimate goal of reading instruction is for students to read with understanding. Yes, the focus of initial instruction should be on teaching sound-symbol correlations so students can decode and encode words fluently. However, instruction also needs to include understanding text and this begins with having good ‘language comprehension’.
Cabell (2025) provides an overview of the key components of teaching language comprehension.
Language Comprehension Includes:
- Wide ranging vocabulary – especially the vocabulary encountered in books.
- Understanding the structure of written sentences and paragraphs which tend to be more complex than those that occur in everyday conversations.
- Knowledge about a wide variety of topics.
Early Years Language Comprehension Instruction:
- Participation in conversations that involve multiple exchanges and build vocabulary and knowledge.
- Reading aloud to students – especially from books that contain vocabulary and sentence structures above their current independent reading level.
- Explicit development of vocabulary which connects to texts and topics being studied.
- Exposure to texts on a range of topics and discussions on those topics.
- Using ‘stop and think’ strategies whereby teachers or parents orally demonstrate how they monitor their understanding of the text and summarising what they have read.
Reference
Cabell, S. (2025). Helping young children read for understanding: What to look for in the early years. The Bulletin, 61, 2-4.