Bible Reading Can Improve Your Child’s Overall Reading Comprehension!
Maybe you don’t think of Bible as a school subject, but a study of the Bible can actually improve your child’s comprehension!
There is a term used in reading instruction called “close reading.” It involves handing the students a passage printed out on worksheet. The child is encouraged to mark up the text with notes and ask questions for discussion purposes. That sounds a lot like how Bible studies go!
I grew up using the King James Bible translated in 1611. It was all I knew. However, the exposure to the vocabulary and style of writing allowed me to become more familiar with the meaning behind it. For someone who has never read or heard it read aloud, I believe it would be more difficult to understand since we speak a different sort of English now. I use other versions with my kids now, but whenever we read the New King James version, there are always opportunities to explore new phrases and vocabulary.
You can try this “close reading” with any Bible version you choose. You can try printing off a chapter from BibleGateway.com. Print one for you and one for your child. Here are some ideas you can try to model for your child “close reading.” Speak aloud to your child as you are doing each of these tasks, explaining why you chose to do each one. SHOW or MODEL for your child how to do this before you ask your child to do it alone.
Explain the verse numbers so you can refer to them later.
Read the text aloud and highlight anything that sticks out to you.
Draw a box around unfamiliar words to discuss or look them up later.
Write a question mark by anything that seems confusing (word or phrase).
You can also jot down things you wonder about: “How?” or “Why?” or “Not sure” if you disagree with something the author wrote.
After you’ve marked up, or “annotated the passage”, you can refer back to a particular paragraph where you marked something. Show your child what you highlighted and explain why it sticks out to you. Does it remind you of something? Do you agree or disagree with it? Do you think they should have said more or less or worded something a different way?
For the boxed-in unfamiliar words, show your child how you can reread the sentence before, the sentence the word is in, and the sentence after it to try and determine the context. If that is not possible, look the word up and make a note on the page with a synonym or short explanation.
For any section that is confusing, model for your child how you can reread for better understanding. You may not fully understand it always (it may have to come with time and maturity with scripture). However, you will understand it more than you did when you read it the first time. You can allow your child to give input as well.
For the small thoughts you had with wondering questions like “how” and “why” you can share what you think with your child. They might have a guess or several guesses as to how and why. Even if their guesses seem “way off,” allow them to wonder. It is good for the brain. It is good for reading comprehension. More thinking while reading encourages better understanding of the text overall.
You may find that these questions you wonder about never fully get answered or require a bit of deeper research.
That is not a bad thing.
It encourages a love of learning and finding truth.
Comment below how this method has worked for you and your children. Try it out if you have not yet! You don’t even need a full chapter. It might just be a few verses!
Share with a friend.
Remember, YOU are your child’s most influential teacher!