When it comes to reading comprehension for kids, many parents are confused – They have no idea letting their kids like reading comprehension……
(If you want to know more about Chinese learning for kids, please click here!)
Is your child having difficulty with Chinese reading comprehension in elementary school?
Then come and take a look at this about elementary school Chinese reading comprehension. Reading comprehension not only tests students’ ability of understanding Chinese, but more about their ability to apply Chinese.
Not surprisingly, students often view it as the hardest part of the Chinese test paper to do well.
Keeping an eye out for our next few blog posts for some helpful strategies, tips, and these tips you can use when parenting your kids at home.
Read books since childhood
First, help your child develop an interest in reading, and build a solid foundation in Chinese by developing reading habits from an early age, even before they enter Primary One.
Yes, reading comprehension for kids starts from reading!
As your child is exposed to more Chinese books, he/she will learn to recognize more words, understand more vocabulary and become familiar with common Chinese sentence structures (different from English sentence structures).
In turn, these help your child understand the comprehension passages he/she reads.
Now, you might be wondering, what kind of reading material is right for your child?
Read different books at different ages
Preschool
If you have a very young child, read picture books (picture books).
Picture books usually have a large picture-to-text ratio. Some of them have so little text that you might wonder if they are worth reading or buying.
In fact, picture books can have different reading depths, suitable for children of different ages and different levels of Chinese, and can even be read all the way to the upper grades.
We will share more knowledge about how to make full use of reading Chinese picture books in the next introduction to elementary school Chinese reading comprehension, so stay tuned!
After preschool
Read graded books (graded books) with your K1 or K2 child. These readers are designed to cater to different reading levels. Levels range from urgent/beginner to advanced/independent with increasing number of words.
As your child enters elementary school and builds a larger vocabulary, gradually encourage him or her to study other bridge books, which are usually simpler, shorter chapter books with a smaller illustration-to-text ratio.
Hanyu Pinyin – yes or no?
Are you torn about whether to choose books with or without Hanyu Pinyin (Hanyu Pinyin)?
The most important factors to consider when choosing books are still based on their content and value – whether the storyline is interesting, engaging, appealing to your child, encouraging thought and conversation, and teaching good values.
Then, as much as possible, priority is given to those who do not have Hanyu Pinyin. Your child will get more practice about recognizing and remembering Chinese words, instead of just relying on Hanyu Pinyin to read.
If you need help with this, invest in a dictionary to look up words. Looking it up in a dictionary is also a great skill to teach your child.
Textbooks are not boring
Reading comprehension for kids?
What if your child has not developed a regular Chinese reading habit when he enters P1? Let him/her develop the habit of reading the Ministry of Education’s Chinese textbook “Happy Partners” at home every week, at least three times a week.
This will help to review and remember what he/she learned in school.
Make it a funny activity by taking turns reading alternate lines or paragraphs with him/her, or role-playing.
Enhancing learning by watching animations, listening to songs, and taking quizzes with him/her on LearningNet, the Department of Education’s digital resource library that complements the Joyful Partners curriculum.
Magazines as supplementary reading materials
Another reading resource is the popular Chinese magazine Good Friends (Primary 1-2 students)/Knowledge Pictorial (Primary 3-4 students)/Knowledge News (P5-6 students), also based on the “Partner” recommended syllabus for elementary school Chinese reading comprehension introduction.
You can subscribe through your child’s school or through Etutor’s website Knowledge Network.
Encourage your child to read the magazine at home after completing the exercises in the school magazine. If the subscription includes digital resources, you can also read with him/her on graded e-readers and try online quizzes.
Take reading comprehension seriously
Go to your local library or bookstore and check out Chinese comics such as Noisy Manga Paradise, Diary of This Class, and This Class Again. Written by local authors, the stories are full of country and humor.
Since your child can easily identify the characters, places, and situations in the comics, they may be more willing to read the comics instead of more text-based Chinese books.
Many children feel that reading comprehension is difficult, and they have no idea to answer the questions.
I hope this introduction to elementary school Chinese reading comprehension can make children no longer afraid of reading. In fact, reading is really not difficult to understand!
So reading comprehension for kids is not a difficult and boring thing unless you can work hard on it!