What are Some Creative Ways to Check Your Child’s Reading Comprehension at Home?

By Julie Diamond, Founder & CEO Diamond Teachers Group

Check out ‘How to Set Up the Perfect Study Space’ for ideas on lighting, comfort and personalizing the space to help your child get excited about reading. 

Reading comprehension is about understanding, interpreting, and connecting with a story, not just saying the words correctly. While traditional questioning works, children often respond best to hands-on, creative approaches that let them show what they know in fun, meaningful ways.

Here are some ideas for you to try at home using art, music, and movement:

1. Illustrate the Story

Encourage your child to draw their favourite scene, create a comic strip of the main events, or even design new illustrations for the book. 

Ask questions while they draw:

• “Why did you draw the character like this?”
  

• “What part of the story does this scene show?”
  

Illustration helps children process details, identify main events, and express emotions, all while reinforcing understanding.

2. Build a Diorama or Model

Children can build a 3D representation of a scene or character using materials like cardboard, clay, LEGO, or craft supplies. This activity requires them to think about spatial relationships, character traits, and plot details, showing that they understand the story beyond just words on a page.

3. Story Soundtrack or Musical Interpretation

Music can be a powerful way to connect with a story. Have your child create a “soundtrack” for the book, selecting songs or sounds that match different scenes or characters. 

For younger kids, using instruments or household objects to act out action sequences works beautifully. 

Then discuss:

• “Why did you choose this song for this part of the story?”
  

• “How does the music show the character’s feelings?”
  

This approach combines creativity with comprehension, encouraging kids to think about mood, tone, and emotion in the story.

4. Reader’s Theatre and Role Play

Reader’s Theatre turns reading into a performance. Assign characters and act out dialogue, using props, costumes, or different voices. You can also improvise new scenes or endings. This helps children practice inference, character understanding, and sequencing while making reading highly engaging.

5. Movement-Based Story Mapping

Create a “story map” on the floor using tape, chalk, or sticky notes. Each note represents a scene, event, or character. Have your child walk the path of the story, stopping to explain what’s happening and why. Movement strengthens memory and helps children organize events sequentially.

6. Character Collage or Mood Board

Use magazines, newspapers, or printouts to create a collage representing a character’s personality, emotions, or environment. Ask your child to explain their choices. This activity promotes reflection on traits, motivations, and setting while integrating visual creativity.

7. Story Poetry or Songwriting

Invite your child to turn a chapter or scene into a short poem, rap, or song. They’ll need to identify the main events, key emotions, or lessons, which deepens comprehension while tapping into language rhythm, rhyme, and creative expression. If they are up for the challenge, they can try online software, like BandLab, to write and publish their song. This makes it exciting and gives them complete autonomy over their creative expression. I’ve used BandLab with students and it gets them excited and proud to showcase their work. 

8. Comic Book or Graphic Novel Retell

Older children can summarize a chapter or book as a comic strip or graphic novel page using this story map template. They learn how to condense information, identify main events, and capture characters’ expressions and dialogue, which helps strengthen both their comprehension and storytelling skills.

9. Make a “Character Interview” Video

Record your child interviewing a character from the story, asking questions about feelings, decisions, and events. This encourages critical thinking, perspective-taking, and oral explanation skills. Here is a framework of how to approach this character interview. 

10. Creative Journaling

Keep a “Story Journal” where your child can write or draw their responses to prompts like:

• “If I were this character, I would…”
  

• “This part made me feel…”
  

• “I think the character learned…”
  

Combining writing, drawing, and reflection makes comprehension interactive and meaningful.

Checking comprehension doesn’t have to be traditional or dull. By integrating art, music, movement, and hands-on activities, you allow your child to show understanding in multiple ways while keeping reading exciting. These strategies help your child engage deeply with stories, strengthen their memory and critical thinking, and develop a love of reading that lasts a lifetime.