Making Predictions

The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension.  In other words, it is important to make sure your child truly understands what he or she is reading at home.  One comprehension strategy that you can use to improve your child's comprehension is the strategy of making predictions.

A prediction is a guess that one makes using clues from the text or pictures.  The best predictions are supported by evidence.  "I think ______ because _________" is a basic way that students can respond in a clear way.

Before reading, take a picture walk.  Look through the pictures and think about the title.  Then, have your child predict what he/she will read about.

During reading, stop and think every few pages and have your child predict what will happen next.  It is very common for students to stop and adjust their prediction along the way as they learn new information in the story.

After reading, always make sure you reflect on the prediction with your child.  See if your child was right in his or her prediction and talk about it!

If you find that your child is having trouble making predictions while they read, try out the skill while watching their favorite TV show.  Predict what may happen, and then adjust the predictions during commercial breaks.  Then, when the show is done you can have a conversation with your child about how their prediction changed throughout the show.  After your child has made predictions with TV shows, it may be easier to generalize the skill into their reading.

Here's a link to a list of several great books used often by teachers to teach how to make predictions: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/good-to-teach-prediction

Happy reading :) As always, we are here to help so contact us with any questions you have!