English comprehension can be a difficult subject, and it is a skill that students need throughout primary and high school. That’s why it’s so important that students form strong foundations in these skills early on. I have had the pleasure of tutoring several primary-aged students in English and I’ve gained some insights along the way.
One of the biggest challenges with keeping younger students engaged in English comprehension is the texts they read. For older primary students, it can be useful to ask what books or movies they enjoy, as this can help you select texts they will be interested in. For younger primary students, I find that they engage more with hands-on activities, such as using grammar clues to solve a mystery. When selecting the right text for each student, there is some trial and error involved where you gauge the student’s interest and engagement with the text, and work from there.
One of the core English comprehension skills all students need is active reading. It can be useful to ask students questions like ‘what do you think will happen next?’ or ‘why do you think the character said that?’. This approach helps students understand the text more broadly, rather than simply reading the words. Predicting what will happen next in a story can also be a fun way of keeping students engaged with the task, as they learn to make inferences from what they have read.
A useful tip when helping older primary students with their English comprehension is timing them as they read a text for the first time. This helps them practice reading at a fast pace, and it also allows the tutor to measure progress throughout the term/year. For example, a student may have taken five minutes to read one page, and with practice, they can now read one page in two minutes. This is particularly important for Year 5 and Year 6 students preparing for high school, where time management and exam skills are crucial.
Hopefully, these tips help make English comprehension a fun, engaging, and useful activity for primary students!
Enya Rose
