Reading is more than one skill—it’s a complex, multi-part set of skills that work together to produce meaning. When you’re searching for reading help, it may be useful to know how different reading programs target different aspects of the reading process. At LearningRx, we support kids, teens, and adults, including those with dyslexia and reading disorders. We know how important it is to find meaningful support for building reading skills!
Over the past few years, reading skills have taken a significant hit among young learners. It’s not just about fundamental skills—even those with a grasp of the basics may struggle with reading comprehension.
But what’s the difference between foundational reading skills and reading comprehension? And how does that factor into reading programs? Let’s review this in a little more detail.
Getting Reading Help for Reading Comprehension
Reading Skills vs. Reading Comprehension
When your learner needs reading help, you may not know if they need a reading program that targets foundational skills or reading comprehension skills. Let’s review a few different abilities to see if they’re basic skills or related to reading comprehension:
- Decoding words. When a student reads, they must break down each word by its letter and sound combinations, and then reassemble it into a distinct word. This crucial skill is typically categorized as a foundational reading ability.
- Understanding context. While reading, learners must draw on previous knowledge—including the preceding text and other relevant details—to understand the material. This is a reading comprehension skill that allows students to make deeper meaning of the words.
- Fluency and reading speed. Reading accuracy, speed, and fluency can draw on basic reading skills as well as more complex reading comprehension skills. As students improve each set of skills—they can deepen their overall reading experience.
When in doubt, it’s always worthwhile to speak to your child’s teacher about their skills and abilities, so you can better understand where they’re succeeding and where they’re struggling.
Targeting Comprehension through Reading Programs
Reading comprehension is often seen as an advanced skill—but it’s no less important to the overall reading process. With reading comprehension, students don’t just understand individual words. They’re able to draw specific information from those words, store relevant details, build mental images, and do so much more.
These are skills deeply connected to learning and thinking and aren’t just useful in a classroom context. They’re abilities that we draw on repeatedly throughout life, even well after school, allowing for more meaningful understanding and learning.
If your learner struggles to retain the information they’ve read or has trouble following along with a story, they may need a reading program that targets their comprehension. If that’s the case, LearningRx offers our ComprehendRx® program—designed to help kids, teens, and adults advance their reading skills to the next level.
Reading Programs for All Ages and Abilities
Reading is a crucial ability when it comes to learning, and it also unlocks new doors to imagination, empathy, and discovery. At LearningRx, we help learners of all ages build the skills they need to read effectively. Our reading programs target foundational skills as well as more advanced comprehension skills:
- Through ReadRx®, students learn spelling and reading skills concurrently, building the foundational abilities they need for reading. It’s well-suited for early readers or those who struggle to read at a peer level.
- With ComprehendRx®, learners who understand the basics can tackle more advanced skills. These are the abilities that will help them read more deeply, accurately, and confidently. It’s well-suited for those who want to improve their reading comprehension skills.
Whether you need reading programs to pick up the fundamentals or improve higher-level reading abilities, LearningRx offers one-on-one support. We’re dedicated to helping every learner gain confidence and aptitude in their reading skills. Explore our dynamic reading programs for all ages. To learn more about how we offer reading help, visit LearningRx online or find your local Brain Training Center by calling 866-BRAIN-01.
