comprehension

I have been working on comprehension with Science.  Teaching students to read non fiction and comprehend is very different than narrative or fiction.  We broke down how we can read it, by using text features that are used in non fiction.  Pointing out the pictures with captions, subtitles, and bold or highlighted words has helped them to understand better what they are reading.  I also have them do a vocabulary card, saying what that word means, how we use it, why we use it, and draw a picture.  This helps them understand better what we are learning.  I make sure that when we are having discussions that we are using those vocabulary words in our conversations.  I have them tell each other what they read and sometimes have them teach their subtopic to the class.  This has helped them understand more in depth of what they are learning and has helped with their comprehension of the subjects.