Improving Reading Speed and Comprehension

For and Adult or Child

Reading. Such a great amount of knowledge is imparted through books. More than that, a great part of our self-image is based off of how we compare our beauty and intelligence with those around us. If you have a hard time reading or understanding what your read, then your self-image will suffer. It's a vicious cycle. The less comfortable you are reading will lead to your reading less and less; this will only aggravate your discomfort with reading further. There are many ways to strengthen your reading comprehension and the speed you can absorb the information from the words on the page, it just takes a little bit of effort.

I'm an avid reader. I like to joke that if I don't have at least two new books waiting to be read then I begin jonsing for new ones. When I moved recently, we had to have plumber's and electricians come in to make some necessary changes. While they worked, I began unpacking my books, after a while of stacking the books alphabetically on my kitchen floor, I realized I had an audience. The electricians and plumbers stood gaping at my piles of books (there were over 12 boxes). One of the plumbers asked if I had really read all of those books; to which I replied, most I've read more than twice. Another asked me how many books I read in a week, I explained I read one to two books a day. They actually looked a little appalled.

Now that I'm homeschooling my boys, and teaching them to read, I'm working at developing their strength for comprehension, which I had to develop on my own over the years. It wasn't something taught to me in a classroom, more I learned it through trial and error. This allowed me to take almost double the amount of classes I could take in college, more than my friends were taking, and still graduate deans list. Further, reading is my one vice, my true passion. It allows me to escape from reality after a stressful day, it gives me the opportunity to expand my mind with more knowledge, it offers romance, tragedy, friendship and betrayal...all without risking my own heart in the process.

Here are my tips for teaching reading comprehension and speed as well as developing your own: