Outschool
Open currency, time zone, and language settings
Log In

Foundational Reading Comprehension Skills

In this four week course, students will enhance their foundational reading comprehension skills to better understand any text and will learn how to become active readers.
Dr. Tara Schmidt
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(16)
Class

What's included

4 live meetings
3 in-class hours
Homework
Students will NOT have to read a novel or any kind of book. Instead, students will be given practice exercises during class sessions. They will be given one short reading to further apply these skills.
Assessment
Fun informal, quizzes (exercises) to test students' reading comprehension skills.

Class Experience

US Grade 8 - 11
Please NOTE-this class is for struggling readers or for students who want more practice with active reading strategies and with identifying main ideas and critical details. If you are a very strong reader, then this is NOT the class for you.

Does your child struggle with identifying main ideas or major details in a reading? Does your child struggle with remembering what he or she read?

In this course, students will get a chance to improve their reading comprehension skills. Students will learn and will enhance their foundational comprehension skills, which are critical to advanced reading.

Throughout these four weeks, students will learn the three major steps to reading comprehension, which include the following-

1. how to locate and identify main ideas in any paragraph
2. how to identify major and minor details of any paragraph
3. how to summarize main ideas

They will also learn how paragraphs are structured and how to identify these structures while reading. 

Finally, students will learn how to be active readers through various reading strategies such as annotating, questioning, and employing comprehension strategies to increase reading comprehension.

In week ONE, students will be introduced to active reading strategies and will be given a short reading to apply these to.
In week TWO, students will learn how to identify main ideas and how to summarize or paraphrase them in their own words. They will use the reading from week one to apply these skills to.
In week THREE, students will learn how to identify and locate major and minor supporting details. We will learn how to identify these, and in class, students will be given example paragraphs to help them practice.
In week FOUR, students will learn various ways that paragraphs can be structured and how to identify the organizational pattern of a paragraph. Students will be given example paragraphs to help them practice.

Learning Goals

Students will
1. locate and identify main ideas in any paragraph
2. identify major and minor details of any paragraph
3. summarize main ideas
4. learn how paragraphs are structured and how to identify these structures while reading. 
5. how to be active readers through various reading strategies such as annotating, questioning, and employing comprehension strategies to increase reading comprehension.
learning goal

Other Details

Supply List
PowerPoints and handouts will be given after each class session.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Short readings will be provided. These are from a textbook.
Joined January, 2022
5.0
16reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Doctoral Degree in English Language and Literature from Cardinal Stritch University
My PhD is in Language and Literacy, so I am an expert on reading strategies and on enhancing reading skills for increased learning and retention. I also have a Master's degree in Reading and a Bachelor's degree in Elementary and Middle School Education.

Reviews

Live Group Class
Share

$50

for 4 classes
1x per week, 4 weeks
45 min

Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
3-18 learners per class

This class is no longer offered
About
Support
SafetyPrivacyCA PrivacyLearner PrivacyYour Privacy ChoicesTerms
Financial Assistance
Get The App
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
© 2025 Outschool