As you read with your child, allow time for conversation that generates predictions and questions for clarification as you move through the story. Thinking aloud, as this is referred to, is a comprehension modeling approach we use to "make visible" our thinking, so children see and hear what good readers do (in their minds) as they read.
Activate Prior Knowledge
Prior knowledge that a child has on a particular topic from personal experiences can be activated and brought to the reading event to aid in comprehension. Proficient readers use what they already know about themselves and the world surrounding them, and extend that information to gain meaning from what they are reading. Activation of prior knowledge can be done by initiating dialogue on the topic or corresponding pictures of a text. If you were reading The Three Little Pigs, you might ask, "What do you know about building houses? Have you ever seen a house being built? What did you notice?" A child might respond, "I remember building a cardboard box playhouse outside once and the rain ruined it. Bricks are not ruined by the rain." Activation of prior knowledge works well for fiction and non-fiction reading
Make Predictions
Predicting what will happen next in a story is an effective comprehension strategy. Asking children what they think will happen next propels the reader forwards and keeps them engaged in monitoring their understanding. Young children can even make predictions from a book's cover picture or title. Looking through a book at the picture, or even at the text's sections, is another way to preview and prepare the reader for reading the book. Teachers often call this act a "picture walk" and rely on this method for opportunities to prepare for a reading assignment, its related vocabulary, and the twist-and-turns of events.
Question
Good readers ask questions of the text as they read, to which they expect answers. Questions are closely related to predictions in the sense that questions and predictions are answered or confirmed as one progresses through the reading. A question might be, "The wolf has gone to the first and second pig's houses so far. What will he do next? Does the wolf notice that the third pig's house looks much harder to blow down?"
Clarify
Clarification is a strategy readers also use as they monitor their reading for meaning. Often we reread parts of a story if we need to clarify something we do not understand. You might say, "I'm a little confused as to which pig build which house. Le me look over (reread) that part of the story again." Rereading is an excellent way to check for meaning. It often makes more sense the second time.
Summarize
Summarizing the main points of a story helps children make connections to other texts and self-evaluate what knowledge they have gained. Retelling the story by stating the characters, setting, problem, events, and ending/solution is a simple summarizing technique. To assist students in summarize skills, I often ask them to retell a story "starting at the beginning, walking through the middle, and landing at the end" so that they familiarize themselves with the story format and the relationship between a text's sequence of events.
Visualize
Visualization occurs when the reader takes the words of the text and mixes them with his/her own preconceived ideas to create pictures in the mind's eye. Combining the words of a book and writing assignment with related background knowledge helps the reader to form mental images that enhance the text and bring life to his/her literacy experience. Children enjoy sharing their own personal visualizations of a story through drawing and conversation and are often willing to offer reasoning for their interpretations.
Reading Rockets--Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/3479
Greece Central School District (NY)--Student Learning is the Goal
Sources of Information Used by the Reader During Reading