At some point in helping their young readers learn to love reading, most parents have questions about how to improve recall. After all, if a kid reads a book and doesn’t remember or understand what they read, did they really read a book at all?
Scholastic spoke with David Liben and Meredith Liben, educators, researchers, and co-authors of Know Better, Do Better: Comprehension, to get their expert insight into how parents can help kids improve recall and reading comprehension during read-alouds.
Bottom line? It’s not about asking the “right” read-aloud questions or painstakingly curating kids’ reading lists. The best comprehension strategies put your young readers’ interests front and center — and make reading a family affair.
What Does ‘Recall’ Mean in Reading?
First, it’s important to define terms. When we’re talking about your child’s reading skills, “recall” refers to their ability to understand and remember what they’ve read.
Recall is essential for reading fluency, which is when kids can recognize words and read them in a sentence with proper intonation. It’s also the foundation for comprehension, which is when they’re able to really understand the meaning of the story.
What Kind of Story Are You Reading Today?
Recall looks different depending on what your child is reading, explain the Libens in an email interview with Scholastic.
For example, after reading a story, they say a child should have “a good sense of the plot.” After reading an informational text such as a non-fiction book, kids should have “a good sense of what the text is about or what the topic is.”
Start By Talking About the Structure
Not sure whether your reader is grasping the details? Sometimes, it can be helpful to look at how the story is structured.
The Libens say this might mean determining if the story is about:
- A description of something
- A problem and a solution
- The life of a person
- Comparing and contrasting two different ideas or things
Chatting about these points during read-alouds can help your child gain a better sense of the plot (for fiction) or the overall topic of the book (for non-fiction).
4 Tips to Help Improve Recall
1. Read multiple books on the same topic. “Vocabulary and knowledge are key to successful reading,” the Libens say. “The best way to grow both is by reading to children about topics they are interested in: space, sharks, birds, horses, the ocean… but when doing this to read a series of books, not just one.” (Not sure what your child is into lately? Try asking these simple questions to pinpoint their latest interests.)
2. When you tell kids the meaning of a word, ask them to pronounce it. This will help them remember the meaning. You can also ask kids to spell the word (but only if that’s something they enjoy doing).
3. See if the book answers their questions. Children typically have lots of questions during storytime. The Libens suggest that you resist the urge to answer them right off the bat. “If the answer is coming later in the book, tell them, ‘Let’s see if the book answers that!’” they say. “In this way, they learn how to learn from reading books.”
4. Leave room for wondering. The Libens recommend asking kids if there’s anything they don’t understand about a book they’ve just finished. Further, they recommend families ask if there’s anything the book “made them wonder about.”
Ready to find books for your next read-aloud and wonder together over a book? Shop The Scholastic Store and find new favorites. You can search by age, subject, series, and more.
