Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be able to accurately understand written material, children need to be able to:

1. decode what they read

2. make connections between what they read and what they already know

3. think deeply about what they have read

 

One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the meanings of enough words. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what they read – what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, which characters are funny. Thus comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning.