Best book for reading comprehension
10 Best Books to Improve Reading Comprehension - SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT
Have you ever noticed that you fail to grasp any meaning out of it when you read a particular passage? How many times we sit down to read a passage and find ourselves reading and rereading a paragraph because none of it makes sense. I know it is an absurd occurrence because reading should equal comprehension, right? Although that is what most of us believe, however, reading something doesn’t ensure that you will understand the meaning behind it. Reading words as they appear and deriving meaning out of them are two separate things.
Due to the limitations in the way we are taught in school, most of us don’t develop the reading comprehension skills that are required to decipher meaning from text. This is made worse later on in life when we encounter difficult books in college and beyond. The good news is that it is never too late to brush up on your reading comprehension skills. In this article, I will provide the ten best books to help you improve your comprehension abilities.
In this Article
- 1. The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers
- 2. How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
- 3. Visualization Skills for Reading Comprehension
- 4. Essential Reading Skills, Preparation for High School
- 5. The Art of Comprehension: Exploring Visual Texts to Foster Comprehension, Conversation, and Confidence
- 6. I Read It, but I Don’t Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers.
- 7. The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning from Text
- 8. Practice Makes Perfect Intermediate English Reading and Comprehension
- 9. Practice Makes Perfect Advanced English Reading and Comprehension
- 10. Reading Development and Difficulties: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice
This is by far the best of the lot. It is a perfect blend of strategies and practical advice to help you better understand written work.
You will find some 300 tried and tested methods in this book that cover everything from fluency to literary analysis.
Key Features:
- Develop goals for every reader
- Give students step-by-step strategies for skilled reading
- Guide readers with prompts aligned to the strategies
- Adjust instruction to meet individual needs with Jen’s Teaching Tips
- Craft demonstrations and explanations with her Lesson Language
- Learn more with Hat Tips to the work of influential teacher-authors.
Get it here.
“How to read a book” is an all-time classic. It was initially published in 1940, and this version was revised in the 1970s. The book does exactly what it says in the title; it teaches you how to read a book effectively. You will learn how to pace your reading and how different genres require different approaches.
Key Features:
- Learn how to pace your reading for maximum effectiveness.
- Covers a wide range of difficulties – elementary reading to speed reading.
- Learn how to “X-ray” a piece of text to derive meaning from it critically.
- Includes a host of different techniques that work for different genres.
Get it here.
This book is ideal for those who cannot visualize as they read. Visualization skills are vital for comprehension, and some of us do it naturally while others have to learn it. You will learn how to create mental pictures as you read a passage for a richer experience.
Key Features:
- Improve your inferencing and prediction abilities by visualizing written test.
- Step-by-step activities to quickly build the ability to visualize information while reading.
- Gradually increments difficulty.
- No-prep. No extra materials are required. Worksheets are designed for ‘six-minute sessions.’
Get it from here.
Don’t be thrown off by the title.
Although this book is catered towards high school students, any adult can effectively improve their reading comprehension. Lessons focus on how to read effectively using practical strategies.
Key Features:
- 36 complete lessons to support classroom teaching or as a self-study guide
- Filled with graphic organizers and helpful visual reminders to improve student s reading comprehension.
- Learn practical strategies for different genres of text.
- Covers – strategic reading, non-fiction texts, and fiction texts.
Get it here.
“The Art of Comprehension” will teach you how to read texts by using what the author calls “access lenses.” You will learn about the connection between visual and written texts and how to use your imagination to derive meaning.
Key Features:
- Discover inventive ways to prompt students to notice, think about, and synthesize visuals—using the same observation and comprehension skills they can bring to reading and writing.
- Learn about ways to unravel layers of meaning in picture books, chapter books, artwork, poetry, and informational text.
- Explore the book’s eclectic collection of art and illustration by acclaimed illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, 19th-century masters, and more.
- Learn about “access lenses” (such as faces, body language, sound/silence), which prompts students to become active explorers and meaning-makers.
Get it here.
The title says it all. It is indeed widespread that not all reading leads to understanding. This can be found in people of any age as it is not just restricted to children. This book will learn a myriad of strategies that will help you understand text better from different genres.
Key Features:
- Thoughtful explanation of current theories of comprehension instruction and how they might be adapted for use with adolescents.
- What Works section in each of the last seven chapters offers simple ideas you can immediately employ in your life.
- Teaching tips and ideas that benefit struggling readers as well as proficient and advanced readers.
- Appendixes with reproducible materials that you can use in your classroom, including coding sheets, double-entry diaries, and comprehension constructors.
Get it here.
This book is ideal for teachers and students alike. It goes deep into comprehension and uncovers meaning methods that can be employed to understand better written work.
Key Features:
- Get critical background knowledge by utilizing decades of research on reading comprehension.
- Teachers will get a complete framework for organizing instruction, aligned with Scarborough’s Reading Rope’s language comprehension strands.
- In-depth chapters are devoted to each facet of reading comprehension, including vocabulary, syntax, and sentence comprehension.
- Learn everything about text structures, background knowledge, and levels of understanding and inference.
Get it here.
This book uses exciting topics such as deep-sea treasure hunting, Pixar Studios’ computer-generated movie magic, the Flying Doctors of Australia, and more to help students learn reading comprehension. You will also find vocabulary resources in the book.
Key Features:
- Develop your reading comprehension skills at the intermediate level
- Build your English vocabulary
- Prepare for the comprehension sections of ESL tests.
- Master how to read for main ideas, summarize texts, make outlines, remember facts and figures, and more.
Get it here.
Unlike the previous book by the same author, this one focuses on advanced texts such as academic journals and news articles. You will learn how to interpret different texts and derive meaning from them.
Key Features:
- Build your academic and technical vocabulary
- Boost your comprehension skills to an advanced level
- Create reading strategies to use with any problematic text
- Develop critical thinking skills
Get it here.
If you want to understand reading comprehension problems from a research perspective, this is the perfect book. It will dive deep into the various studies conducted on comprehension and offer solutions to some of the biggest challenges.
Key Features:
- Learning the structure of language at the word level.
- Reading comprehension and reading comprehension difficulties
- Assessing reading in second language learners.
- Effective prevention and intervention for word-level reading difficulties.
- The neurobiological nature of developmental dyslexia.
Get it here.
Books for Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies
Teaching reading comprehension is a must. Kids need to know that recognizing and saying the correct words is only PART of reading. Comprehension is the other side of the coin. Making meaning of the text is the ultimate goal of reading.
Reading Comprehension Articles
Over the last few years, we’ve posted quite a few comprehension articles and printables.
I’ve shared from my experience as a classroom teacher, reading tutor, and homeschooling mama. Here are some you may enjoy below.
- Reading Comprehension Strategies: Reading Equals Thinking
- Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies {Fix-Up Strategies}
- Struggling Readers Need to Develop “Thoughtful” Literacy
- Reading Comprehension Strategies {10-week series}
- Before they Read: Connecting: Supporting Comprehension and Fluency Before Reading
- 5 Days of Teaching Text Structure to Readers {fiction and nonfiction}
*This post contains affiliate links.
Included in the list below are books for teaching reading comprehension that have been read and underlined and revisited multiple times by me OR that have been suggested to me by other colleagues and professional reading teachers. Most explain comprehension from a classroom perspective, giving classroom examples, but don’t let that fool you into thinking you can’t use the ideas as a tutor, parent, or homeschooler.
I certainly have!
Books for Teaching Reading Comprehension
Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller is one of the first books I read on reading comprehension {I have the 1st edition}. If you are teaching young readers, say Pre-K through 2nd grade, you will find practical ways that you can teach reading comprehension plus definitions for each strategy that are perfect for younger kids. I love the book lists the end of each chapter, too.
7 Keys to Comprehension by Susan Zimmermann is a GREAT book that I highly recommend for parents. It goes through each strategy and explains it in easy-to-understand terms. It avoids the teacher-y terms that so many other books use. If you’re a new teacher {or even seasoned teacher} and need help for teaching comprehension, I also recommend this book for you!
Strategies that Work by Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis was the second book I read about teaching reading comprehension.
Again, it comes from the classroom perspective, but it has some fantastic ideas for 3rd grade through middle school.
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling by Emily Kissner is a FANTASTIC read for teachers, parents, and tutors of kids in the upper elementary grades and middle school. I devoured it from cover to cover when I was first learning about text structure. I have also had the privilege of having Emily Kissner write a guest post on This Reading Mama!
Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading by Tanny McGregor is not one that I have personally read, but I have heard such great things about it. The thing that impressed me the most is how he takes the strategies and breaks them down into what he calls a “launching sequence.” Starting with using concrete experiences, he teaches students using concrete examples that kids can connect with. He moves through a series of lessons until kids are using that strategy with text.
I would imagine this launching sequence would be great for any student, but especially struggling students or those with special needs.
The Art of Teaching Reading by Lucy Calkins is a long read. And it isn’t completely all about reading comprehension. But it is a GOOD read. This is one that I read while I was still a classroom. It challenged and transformed some of my reading teaching methods. I would recommend this book to anyone, but it would probably be most helpful to classroom teachers and reading tutors. And just in case you’re wondering, I also read Lucy Calkin’s The Art of Teaching Writing and it was equally as good, if not better.
Improving Comprehension with Think-Aloud Strategies by Jeffery D. Wilhelm is another book I’d recommend to parents and classroom teachers alike. A think-aloud is when you take a piece of text {that you’ve planned ahead} and you model a comprehension strategy or two with the passage.
Think-alouds help our thinking become “visible” so kids can hear the thoughts in our head and know how to use a certain strategy. Love this book!
Bringing Words to Life by Isabel Beck is not necessarily a book about comprehension strategies, BUT if you think about it, vocabulary is HIGHLY related to reading comprehension! And Beck’s book is the best I’ve read on teaching vocabulary. It is OFTEN referred to in other books. I’ve even referred to it for teaching vocabulary with my own kids.
Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning by Doug Buehl is a newer one that I was introduced to this year. And just because it says, “classroom strategies”, don’t dismiss this one as a tool for at home instruction or tutoring! In it, you’ll find ready-to-go graphic organizers and strategies for comprehending fiction and nonfiction. I would recommend this one for upper elementary and middle school kids.
The Forest and the Trees by Emily Kissner is another great read for older students {4th grade and above}. Her focus is helping reader identify the important details authors include in texts that will help them comprehend better. She has found that many readers often pay attention to unimportant details and this interferes with comprehension.
And if you’ll allow me to add…
How to Choose “Just Right” Books by Becky Spence {that’s me} is a book I wrote in response to the many emails from parents. It is not completely about comprehension, but does explain the comprehension strategies. It even has a handy list of questions we can ask kids to dig deeper into their comprehension of text. You can purchase the PDF here.
If you’re looking for books to help you model comprehension strategies, find them here!
Follow This Reading Mama’s board Comprehension Strategies on Pinterest.
~Becky
5 books that will help you master speed reading
September 20, 2019EducationColumn
Useful techniques and techniques that will not only improve your reading speed, but also help you remember what you read better.
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0Olesya Skopinskaya
Book blogger, author of the Book Fox channel.
Getting Started
Before you start mastering the skills of speed reading, determine for yourself the main goal: what exactly do you want? Increase reading speed or learn twice as much information with the prospect of further application? Or maybe all at once?
There are many different methods and exercises for speed reading. Which ones are right for you is determined only by practical means. Don't be afraid to skip an exercise if it doesn't work at all. Replace it with another. Any learning process, no matter how difficult and time-consuming it is, should bring pleasure and encourage you to further development.
Classes in a group or with friends are a good spur to the progress.
Make a schedule and stick to it (ideally 1.5-2 hours a day). Make reading a habit and devote your free time to it. Track your progress, it is possible that in a week you will notice a noticeable acceleration in reading.
It is also important to write down your results in order to understand when you find yourself on a "plateau" - the indicators will increase slightly and it may seem that you are standing still. This is not true. Be patient. "Plateau" should be used to develop already learned practices and then proceed to new ones. But in no case do not quit classes until you reach the desired number of words per minute.
Methods that can be implemented now
- Review the book (introduction, table of contents, conclusion) before reading. This will allow you to determine the structure of the material, highlight important places and those that can be neglected. To avoid "water" in the text, scan the page with your eyes.
When reading quickly, the eye clings to specific phrases. By isolating them, proceed to thoughtful reading. - The more you read in general, the easier it will be for you to skip introductory words, repetitions, and set constructions through guesswork.
- You can set the reading speed yourself by guiding the line with your finger, pencil or ruler. And in order not to look back at the paragraphs you read, cover them with a piece of paper.
- Practice with Schulte tables to develop your peripheral vision. These exercises will help to significantly reduce the search time for the necessary information by increasing the amount of visible text.
- You can learn by playing: try to find unfamiliar terms in the text, or all the words with the letters sh, f, l, m, n, o. Such training concentrates attention and perseverance in working with the text.
Books on speed reading and memory development
I used them during self-study.
"Speed Reading" by Peter Kamp
This is a classic self-instruction manual on speed reading, which brings together techniques and techniques for effective reading.
Peter Kamp shares his theoretical and practical knowledge step-by-step on how to read non-fiction in 15 minutes, a novel at lunch, and an article on the Internet in a few seconds.
The course is designed for 6 weeks. Kamp relies not only on reading speed, but also on improving the skills of memorizing and reproducing the material read.
buy the book
Quick Reading in 10 Days by Abby Marks-Beal
A practical guide for "extreme" reading when you need to absorb a large amount of information in the shortest possible time: during a session, when preparing a presentation or report. Classes are organized by day. Marks-Bill reminds of an individual approach to each exercise, so that the reader is not afraid to skip something or adapt it for himself. In active reading, all efforts are aimed at the result, and you yourself choose how to achieve it.
buy the book
"Speed Reading in Practice", Pavel Palagin
Palagin's book is suitable for practicing your existing speed reading skills.
The author, without wasting time, immediately proceeds to practical application: technique → exercise.
"Speed Reading in Practice" helps to determine the goal, correctly identify the main theses of the read and concentrate on the material, regardless of the environment.
buy the book
"Remember everything", Artur Dumchev
A practical guide to memorization using mnemonic techniques. The scope is wide: from the password of mail to paragraphs of books. Dumchev writes without water, with clear instructions and humor, which sets an exciting mood for classes.
Mastering the material goes traditionally from simple to complex. I would advise you to highlight the necessary techniques for yourself at the first reading and then work them out, following the recommendations of the author.
buy book
Einstein Walks on the Moon by Joshua Foer
The value of Foer's book is in personal experience: how to turn from a person who always forgets keys to a winner of a memorization contest in a year.
The author studied the history of memory development in detail in order to use this data to better master the necessary skills. Feuer doesn't look at many techniques—only those he's used himself—but the book will be a great motivator for you to keep going.
buy book
Read also 📚
- How to read faster: tips, techniques, exercises
- What is speed reading and how to master this skill
- How to master speed reading: 5 free apps and services
28 books that influenced my thinking, inspired or made me better - Oftop on vc.ru
My books
133 676 views
I don't like reading book ratings for two reasons. First, most often they are a list of books selected by an unknown author according to unknown criteria. Secondly, the descriptions of books are more like advertising texts of publishers, which are difficult to believe.
Because of this, most of these materials are of little use, despite the fact that they may contain sensible books.
I have long wanted to write a useful review that will not impose certain materials, but will allow the reader to choose the most appropriate ones.
***
Over the past five years, I have read more than 150 books and during this time I managed to rethink the process of reading and understand which books really influenced me, and which only caused a temporary outburst of emotions.
In this review, I have selected only those books that influenced my thinking, inspired me to make important decisions, or helped me understand a new topic.
For each book, I have added a description that will reveal how it influenced me and attributes that will help you choose a book of a certain style. These attributes are:
Practice - advice like "get it and do it."
Motivation - inspiring stories.
Knowledge - a deep analysis of the topic.
At the moment, I like deep books that talk about fundamental things and don't give specific advice.
There was a time when I needed motivation or practical advice to understand a new topic. All of these books have influenced me, so pick the ones you need right now.
In the first part of the material, I will tell you in detail about the most favorite books, and in the second, a little shorter, about those that did not have a strong influence, but, at the same time, made me better.
KEY BOOKS
Ray Dalio: Principles. Life and work»
Practice, motivation, knowledge.
The book begins with the autobiography of the author, who is #67 on the Forbes world list and the founder of the most successful hedge fund ever. Ray Dalio's path was not easy. At some point, he lost all his clients and colleagues and started building his company Bridgewater Associates from scratch, which currently manages over $150 billion in assets.
Throughout his life, Ray Dalio analyzed the results of decisions made (his own and those of others) and, based on these data, formulated principles that help achieve more in his personal and professional life.
The principles are very specific, thanks to which one gets the feeling that the author managed to understand many of the fundamental laws of our world.
Nassim Taleb: Black Swan, Antifragile, Fooled by Chance, Risking Our Skin
Knowledge.
Nassim Taleb is my favorite author. Firstly, his books have helped me get rid of many stereotypes and make more sound decisions in my career (here, of course, time will tell, but at the moment, the results are encouraging). Secondly, I like his style.
Each book by Nassim Taleb contains a key idea, which for ≈400 pages is fascinatingly examined from different angles, during which the author has time to reasonably ridicule several authorities and express a number of deep thoughts.
While reading, I alternate between laughing and thinking deeply. But, the main thing is that the described philosophy helped the author to earn good money. In other words, it passed the reality test.
Daniel Kahneman: "Think slow.
.. decide fast"
Knowledge.
Daniel Kahneman is one of the most famous psychologists in the world, whose book shows how often people make stupid mistakes in everyday situations. Think Slowly... Decide Fast is one of the few books that teaches you to think sensibly.
Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind, Homo Deus. A Brief History of the Future"
Knowledge.
In the first book, the author tells how we ended up where we are now. After reading it, the absurdity of many modern traditions and institutions is revealed. Since by understanding their origins, we can determine the causal relationship of many modern things and, if necessary, free ourselves from their influence.
In the second, he reflects on where we can go (and what we can become). The author talks about modern research in the field of medicine, psychology, artificial intelligence and suggests where these discoveries can lead humanity.
Some assumptions are very strong and make you think.
Richard Dawkins: "The Selfish Gene"
Knowledge.
Dawkins is not easy to read and one should not hope for a complete understanding of the material, but the main thoughts about evolution are clear from the first chapters and sober the brain well. Almost everyone knows about the theory of evolution, but thanks to this book, understanding becomes deeper and is immediately reflected in the perception of the world.
Tim Ferriss: "Tools of Titans", "Tribe of Mentors", "How to Work Four Hours a Week"
Practice, motivation.
Tim Ferriss is known to most readers for his book How to Work Four Hours a Week. I even know people who have been forced by this book to quit their jobs and pursue a personal project. A few years ago, this book also influenced me, telling a lot about effective work (I didn’t work full-time then, so I didn’t have much to give up).
Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors are completely different books. In them, the author collected the answers of dozens of successful people from various fields to very thoughtful questions. For me, these books have become desktop, and I often return to them.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Recall everything. My Incredibly True Story"
Motivation.
I remember the first time I saw this book on designer Tobias van Schneider's recommendation list and thought the bodybuilder's story would teach me little. But over the course of several months, I regularly heard mentions of her from other successful people and decided to get to know Arnold's story better. Of course, I knew that in addition to bodybuilding, Arnold became a successful actor and governor of California, but I did not know how.
What impresses me most is the author's purposefulness. At every stage of his life, he knew his goals, always thought ahead and tried to increase the likelihood of success in any of his undertakings.
His entrepreneurial approach to any business and his mind (Arnold was good at mathematics) is a great example of how people achieve meaningful results, despite the difficulties that stand in the way. Arnold is most associated with the word “success” for me, as he was able to achieve decent results in four different areas: sports, business, cinema and politics.
Kelly McGonigal: “Willpower. How to develop and strengthen”
Knowledge.
The author claims that willpower is a muscle that can be trained and used correctly. And it is used not only during work, but also in everyday things, so its rational use is very important for a full life. The book helped me understand the causes of emotions and explained it scientifically.
Maxim Dorofeev: “Jedi techniques. How to Raise Your Monkey, Empty Your Inbox, and Save Your Mind Fuel0003
Practice.
I read a lot of productivity books and at some point I started to dislike them all.
But after numerous recommendations, I decided to read it and it turned out that Maxim managed to collect key knowledge on productivity under one cover, avoiding banal reflections.
The book discusses the planning of personal projects, the correct formulation of tasks and how to implement them. Maxim introduces the concept of “thought fuel”, which represents the intellectual capabilities of a person and teaches how to use it competently.
Brent Schlender, Rick Tetsley: The Rise of Steve Jobs
Motivation.
I liked this book much more than Isaacson's official biography (they say that Steve's relatives did too). It does not contain well-known stories about the development of Apple, but instead, the authors tell how the personality of Steve Jobs changed throughout his career.
Brent Schlender and Rick Tetsley show Steve Jobs much more than other authors of books and films did. It tells about the many mistakes in the development of the company that the founder of Apple made, and how he behaved in different situations.
Phil Knight: Shoe salesman. The story of Nike as told by its founder"
Motivation.
In addition to the fact that it is always interesting to learn more about the history of the development of successful companies, there is something else in this book. Few people know that Phil Knight, during the first years of his career, only resold Asian sneakers in the USA and, only having been refused further cooperation, decided on a new initiative, which many years later made him the founder of one of the most famous brands in the world. This is a very instructive and intriguing story.
Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson: Rework. Business Without Prejudice", "It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work"
Practice.
Last week, I read Basecamp's new book, It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work. It, like the previous ones, offers an alternative view of business development.
Instead of scaling and changing the world, the authors propose to stay at a comfortable level that allows the business to gradually improve, and the company's employees to live their lives away from the office (although most Basecamp employees work remotely).
The authors give a lot of advice on organizing a corporate culture, product management, efficient work, communication with customers and company employees.
BOOK BLITZ
Igor Mann: "Number 1. How to be the best at what you do"
Brief description of the skills that “Number 1” should have in his business, according to Igor Mann.
Tony Schwartz, Jim Lauer: Full Power Life
This book teaches that energy management is much more important than time management.
David Schwartz: The Art of Thinking Big
A book that motivates you to achieve great things while giving you practical advice.
Cal Newport: "Stop Dreaming, Get Started!"
The author proposes the concept of "career capital", which helps to look at one's career in a new way.
Donald Norman: The Design of Everyday Things
A book that shows the essence of a designer's work using numerous examples.
Peter Thiel: “From zero to one. How to create a startup that will change the future»
Reflections on startups from one of the most famous investors in the world.
Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace: Genius Inc. How to manage a team of creative people"
Pixar founder shares in-depth tips for managing a creative team.
Ayn Rand: "The Source"
A fiction book that teaches healthy selfishness and not to be influenced by the majority.
William Zinsser: "How to write well"
A classic book for non-fiction writers.
***
Instead of conclusion
The best books I've read come from recommendations from people I respect, not from bestseller labels or pretty descriptions.
I transfer all the notes from the books I read to Apple Notes, to which I periodically return and diligently consider how these ideas can be applied in practice.
