One of the ways we can help our students improve their comprehension is by teaching them to identify “signal” words in text. For example, sequence words such as “first, second, after, next, initially, before” and similar type words, indicate that several things are being discussed in a particular order or sequence in the text. Words such as “earlier, later, and now” can help identify time relationships in text.

We can also point out words that are used to make comparisons to our students such as “although, less than, similarly, and unlike.”  These phrases help students understand that people, things, places or ideas may be compared or contrasted in the text. This helps them better identify the relationships that the author is establishing.  Words that indicate cause and effect like” because, if…then, consequently, as a result and since” help us connect the concepts as we are reading. The last group of words indicate a problem or solution relationship. Words like “reason for, conclude, research shows, evidence is or a solution is…” help students see a problem and then consider a solution that might be proposed to address the problem.  When students better understand word relationships, they improve their comprehension and can better use their prediction skills while reading.