digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: Use three low-prep, playful games (Roll and Retell, a question-catching beach ball, and a Jenga question tower) to build reading comprehension in children, so that retelling what they read feels like play rather than a chore. The host demonstrates each game with her son Wyatt after he finished reading The Puppy Place: Ziggy by Ellen Miles.
Key Points
- Roll and Retell: write comprehension questions on Post-it notes covering a grid of six or twelve squares, roll a die, and the child answers the question under the uncovered square about what they just read.
- Beach ball catch: label a dollar-store beach ball with questions such as "Who is in the beginning?", "What was the problem?", and "What was your favorite part and why?", then answer the question under the right hand when the child catches it.
- Jenga comprehension tower: stick questions on the bottom of Jenga blocks so the child cannot see which question they pull, and answer it before the tower falls.
- The host notes the games work for one chapter a day or for an entire story; Wyatt himself said he liked the Jenga game for its competition and challenge, and the ball game for getting him up and moving.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Roll and Retell: Make a grid of 6 or 12 squares, cover each with a Post-it, and write one comprehension question under each (typed or handwritten). Use a six-sided die from home or a twelve-sided die (the host mentions buying one on Amazon). Have the child roll, uncover the matching number, read the question aloud, and answer from what they just read.
- Beach ball: Use an ordinary beach ball (the host bought hers at the dollar store) and put labels with questions on it. Toss it to the child; whatever question their right hand touches when they catch it is the one they answer. For a single-chapter-per-day reader, the question can be about the chapter's big event; for a full story, it can cover the whole story.
- Jenga tower: Write each question on a Post-it or label, stick it to the bottom side of a Jenga block, and place the blocks in the tower so the child cannot see which question is which. The child pulls a block without knocking the tower over, then answers the question.
- Pick whichever game suits the child's energy level, and adjust the number of questions to the time available.
- The host's sample questions included "What would you do to solve the problem if you were the main character?" and "How did the main character feel at the end?"
- Wyatt's answers illustrate the approach: he identified the main characters (Lizzie and Charles), suggested a solution to the lost dog, and recalled that the story begins with a dog show.
- Wyatt's reviews: he preferred the Jenga game because of its challenge and competition, and ranked the ball game second because it gets him up and moving.
Bottom Line
Simple, hands-on question games turn after-reading retelling into a fun, active routine, and a child's own preference, whether competition or movement, can guide which game to use first.
