Understanding and Improving Reading Comprehension in Children and Adolescents

This concise, accessible guide bridges the gap between scientific research and practical application, offering parents and professionals in educational and psychological settings a clear understanding of reading comprehension difficulties in children and adolescents. Drawing on evidence-based approaches, the book explores the fundamental nature of reading comprehension and its critical role in everyday life, key theoretical models explaining how comprehension develops and functions, and why some children with adequate decoding skills still struggle to understand texts. It presents early intervention strategies for preschoolers and pre-readers, metacognitive techniques and strategic instruction methods, and practical approaches for integrating comprehension into broader study skills. Whether you're supporting a child or an adolescent who finds reading challenging, or seeking to enhance comprehension, this guide equips you with actionable strategies to identify comprehension problems early and implement effective techniques at home and in school, ultimately fostering understanding, achievement, and a lifelong love of reading.

Barbara Carretti, PhD, is Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Padova, Italy. Her research focuses on learning, memory, reading comprehension, and individual and age-related differences. Ambra Fastelli, PhD, is a developmental psychologist who studies language acquisition, reading comprehension, and learning difficulties in children and adolescents with typical and atypical development. Her research explores the interplay of cognitive processes, learning, and contextual variables, focusing on the use of digital technologies for assessment and intervention. She has collaborated on multidisciplinary projects and contributed to the development of educational resources. Davide Fazzolari, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who earned his PhD from the University of Catanzaro. His doctoral project focused on developing a training program to enhance oral text comprehension in preschool children. Based in Piacenza, he works at Centro TICE and at Potenzia-Mente in Reggio Calabria. He specializes in developmental and educational psychology, with expertise in learning psychopathology and associated disorders. Eleonora Pizzigallo, PhD, is a developmental psychologist and her research focuses on assessment and intervention for neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically specific learning disabilities in children and adults. Her current focus is on applying technologies to support the assessment and treatment of learning abilities in clinical practice.

Introduction 1. Understanding reading comprehension and its underlying processes 2. Models of reading comprehension 3. Reading Comprehension Difficulties and the Case of Poor Comprehenders 4. Empowering Young Listeners: From Vocabulary to Overall Text Comprehension 5. Empowering Young Readers: from Text Types to Comprehension Strategies 6. Empowering Adolescent Learners: Methods, Tools, and Motivation