Some children read aloud smoothly and confidently, yet when you ask what the story was about, they aren't sure. It can be confusing for parents, because the reading sounds fine. The good news is that researchers have studied this pattern closely. Here's why reading the words and understanding them are different skills, how spoken language fits in, and what signs are worth paying attention to.
Why can my child read the words but not understand them?
Reading involves at least two big jobs: figuring out what the printed words are (decoding) and understanding the language those words make up. A widely used model called the simple view of reading describes reading comprehension as "the product of both decoding skill and oral language comprehension."[1] ASHA's professional guidance also names decoding and linguistic comprehension as the primary components of reading.[2]
Because it's a product, a weakness in either part can hold comprehension back. A child can decode well, turning print into words accurately, and still struggle if their understanding of language is weaker. Hulme and Snowling explain that children "with adequate decoding but problems purely with reading comprehension" are usually described as having reading comprehension impairment, or more simply as "poor comprehenders."[1]
What is a "poor comprehender"?
"Poor comprehender" is a research term, not a judgment about a child. Hulme and Snowling describe poor comprehenders as showing "a marked deficit in reading comprehension in relation to their level of reading accuracy." Using one set of criteria, 3.3% of a nationally representative sample of 1,324 children in the UK were identified as poor comprehenders.[1]
This pattern is easy to miss. As a 2011 article from the Association for Psychological Science put it, comprehension difficulties "can often go undetected in the classroom—especially early on—because no one asks fluent readers if they know the meaning of what they just read."[4]
How does oral language support reading comprehension?
Understanding written text draws on the same language skills children use to understand speech. ASHA says reading comprehension includes "vocabulary knowledge, using morphological structures of written words to extract word meaning, using cues to 'unpack' complex syntax, and understanding different discourse structures."[2] It also notes that comprehension requires executive function skills, such as using prior knowledge, making inferences and predictions, and monitoring one's own understanding.[2]
Research on poor comprehenders points to spoken language. Hulme and Snowling report that many studies have found poor comprehenders show "substantial deficits on a range of measures of oral language comprehension," including vocabulary, listening comprehension, and grammar, compared with children the same age.[1] If your child has a history of difficulty understanding spoken language, our post on receptive vs. expressive language explains the difference.
ASHA also notes that comprehension difficulties can come from other sources, too: word-level reading problems, language weaknesses, gaps in background knowledge, and factors such as engagement, interest, motivation, and attention.[2]
Signs your child may be struggling with reading comprehension
ASHA lists signs of reading comprehension difficulty that may be seen in the early elementary years, including when a child:[3]
- Shows limited interest in story narratives
- Has difficulty reading and retelling a story in the correct order
- Has difficulty predicting what will happen in a story
- Has difficulty using clues from a story to figure out the meaning of new words
- Has difficulty stating the main idea and supporting details from informational text
In later elementary grades and beyond, ASHA's list includes difficulty making inferences from text, difficulty paraphrasing, poor understanding of text structures like cause–effect, and being "unaware of their failure to comprehend a reading passage."[3] ASHA's parent guide also lists "understanding what they read" and "remembering the details of a story plot" among possible signs of a learning disability.[7]
Why comprehension problems often show up around fourth grade
ASHA explains that some children are identified as having reading difficulties only in fourth grade and above, when the focus shifts from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," and the emphasis moves from word recognition to reading comprehension. Poor reading comprehension test scores in these grades "can be the first indicators of reading problems."[2] That doesn't mean the underlying language differences are new; the APS article describes poor comprehenders as having language difficulties "that pre-date reading."[4]
What helps children understand what they read?
Research offers several directions, reported here as the sources describe them:
- Building oral language. Hulme and Snowling describe a study in which oral language training led to later improvements in reading comprehension, and conclude that "weaknesses in oral language comprehension skills can be ameliorated by training."[1]
- Vocabulary. The National Reading Panel concluded that vocabulary "should be taught both directly and indirectly," and that "repetition and multiple exposures to vocabulary items are important."[5]
- Comprehension strategies. The Panel identified types of instruction with a solid scientific basis for improving comprehension in non-impaired readers, including comprehension monitoring, question answering, question generation, story structure, and summarization.[5]
- Language comprehension approaches. ASHA describes intervention approaches that focus on closing gaps in areas such as discourse organization, complex sentence structure, unknown vocabulary, and making sense of words in context.[2]
At home: talk about what you read
The What Works Clearinghouse suggests having conversations before, during, and after reading together. It recommends open-ended questions, such as "Why did the character do what he did?" or "What else could she have done?", connecting the book to your child's own life, and gradually asking more complex questions.[6] According to that guide, these conversations help children "build vocabulary and develop skills using language typically found in school settings."[6] You'll find more ideas on our home activities page.
The bottom line
Reading the words and understanding them are related but separate skills, and a child who reads fluently can still find comprehension hard. Research often links that pattern to spoken language skills like vocabulary, grammar, and listening comprehension. If your child's understanding of what they read (or hear) seems to lag behind their word reading, a speech-language pathologist can look at their language skills and talk with you about language support options.
Sources
- Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. J. (2014). The interface between spoken and written language: developmental disorders. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.). Written Language Disorders (Practice Portal). ASHA.
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.). Signs and Symptoms of Written Language Disorders. ASHA.
- Herbert, W. (2011). Is reading comprehension a hidden disability?. Association for Psychological Science.
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (n.d.). Report of the National Reading Panel: Findings and Determinations of the National Reading Panel by Topic Areas. NICHD, National Institutes of Health.
- What Works Clearinghouse (n.d.). Tips for Supporting Reading Skills at Home. Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.). Learning Disabilities. ASHA.
Articles from Speech Me Therapy, a pediatric speech-language therapy practice in North Phoenix serving Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and families across Arizona by telehealth. Our posts summarize published guidance from professional and public health organizations; sources are listed at the end of every article.