Why Some Kids Can Decode but Still Don’t Understand — and What to Do About It
When reading sounds smooth but meaning is missing
You’ve probably seen it: a student reads every word correctly, hits the right pace, and sounds confident — but when you ask a question, they stare blankly.
They’re not struggling with decoding anymore.
They’re struggling with meaning.
These students are sometimes called “word callers.” They can say the words, but the story never really comes alive.
The good news? With the right instruction, we can help them bridge the gap between reading the words and understanding the message.
🧠 Step 1: Understand What’s Really Happening
Reading comprehension = decoding × language understanding.
Many kids master decoding but haven’t built enough:
Vocabulary
Background knowledge
Syntax awareness
Comprehension strategies
Their cognitive energy goes to reading the words, leaving little brainpower for thinking about the meaning.
The fix isn’t more phonics — it’s more language and thinking work.
💬 Step 2: Talk Before You Read
Comprehension starts long before a book opens.
Preview with conversation:
“What do you think this story will be about?”
“What clues do you notice in the title or pictures?”
Activating prior knowledge builds anticipation — and gives their brains something to connect new ideas to.
📖 Step 3: Teach Kids to Make Mental Movies
Many “word callers” read in a flat voice because they’re not visualizing.
Pause after a paragraph and ask:
“What can you picture happening right now?”
“What do you see in your mind?”
If they can’t describe an image, reread and model your own visualization aloud.
Turning text into pictures anchors comprehension.
✏️ Step 4: Model Thinking Aloud
Kids can’t use strategies they’ve never seen.
Read a short passage and narrate your thought process:
“I’m wondering why the boy left his backpack — maybe he was in a hurry.”
“That word reluctantly means she didn’t really want to do it.”
Thinking aloud turns invisible comprehension work into visible instruction.
🧩 Step 5: Teach Sentence Understanding
Some children decode perfectly but don’t grasp complex sentence structures.
Break long sentences into smaller chunks and paraphrase:
“The girl, who had been waiting all day, finally smiled.”
Ask: “Who smiled? Why was she waiting?”
Teaching how language works builds comprehension at the sentence level — the foundation of understanding.
📚 Step 6: Slow Down and Revisit Key Passages
“Word callers” often rush, thinking fluency equals speed.
Model purposeful rereading:
“Let’s slow down — this part is important.”
“I want to check if I understand what just happened.”
Teach that rereading is a strategy, not a punishment.
It signals mature comprehension.
💡 Step 7: Strengthen Vocabulary and Morphology
Sometimes comprehension issues are really word meaning issues.
Teach prefixes, roots, and suffixes to unlock unfamiliar words.
Example:
“The word predict — pre means before, dict means say. So it means to say before.”
This gives kids tools to derive meaning independently, not rely on memory.
🎯 Step 8: Use Questions That Build Thinking, Not Guessing
Avoid yes/no or recall-only questions.
Ask open-ended ones that require reasoning:
“Why do you think the character did that?”
“What clues helped you figure that out?”
“How might this part connect to the title?”
These move kids from recalling to reasoning — the true goal of comprehension.
🏠 Step 9: Encourage Discussion After Reading
Have students explain what they read in their own words.
Ask them to retell the story in sequence or summarize the main idea.
If they struggle, use prompts like:
“What was the problem?”
“How did it get solved?”
“What lesson did the character learn?”
Oral rehearsal strengthens mental organization — the backbone of comprehension.
❤️ Step 10: Make Meaning Visible and Joyful
Use art, drama, or movement to bring stories to life.
Let kids act out scenes, draw story maps, or design new book covers.
When meaning is experienced physically and creatively, it becomes memorable.
✨ Final Thoughts
Fluent readers who don’t comprehend aren’t broken — they’re incomplete.
They’ve built the decoding bridge but haven’t yet crossed into meaning-making.
By layering language, conversation, and strategy instruction, we help them connect sound to sense, and words to ideas.
Because reading isn’t about saying words —
it’s about understanding worlds.
