Any ideas for improving comprehension for 6th grader?

[mollies73]

My DS is starting 6th grade. Although he scores above his reading level on standardized tests, he's struggling with reading comprehension. He'll pick a book to read, but can't get further than two or three chapters without getting frustrated if it's above a third or fourth grade level. He'll say he doesn't know what it's about. He can't give me a short narrative of the information and often can't even tell me simple things like the main characters, setting, etc. I'm at a loss on how to help him. He's been somewhat stuck on third and fourth grade books for going on three years now. When I try to ease him into any higher level (he doesn't realize it's a higher level), he falls apart. He doesn't struggle over the vocabulary. He seems to understand each word, just not the words as a whole in context. He does seem to understand when I read aloud, and when I allow him to read along with a tape; but he's got to be able to take the next step and read on a higher level on his own. Has anyone used any certain curriculum help to improve comprehension? Does anyone have any practical ideas for me to try? Thanks in advance.

[Mandamom]

I work with several of these "word" readers. They can read words at or above grade level but don't understand what it is they are reading.

 

 

http://www.lindamoodbell.com/professionaldevelopment/workshops/visualizing-verbalizing-workshop.html is a good program and you can buy at least some of the materials on amazon.com

 

You need to make sure that you keep having him practice with books on his current reading level (3rd/4th) and you don't try and push his book level higher until he is comprehending on whatever his level is. Also if you find that he can't retell the books at the 3rd grade level than you'll need to find easier books.

 

You can have success in improving comprehension but it will take some time.

 

So, my suggestions

 

1) use V/V

 

2) read books at his grade level and have him practice retelling/narrating/describing scenes in detail

 

3) I like to use Reading Comprehension for Varied Subject Matter (by epsbooks.com) and the C book is about a 3 grade level and the D book is about a 3/4 grade level. Have him read the passages and re-tell you the story in detail and then have him answer the questions. It will help increase his ability to read silently. The books are short enough that if you want to start with C and then move to the D book that's what I would do.

 

Hope that helps.

[mktyler]

I found a lot of success working at the sentence level. My daughter would say she didn't understand the sentence if she thought she didn't understand. So I would have her give me her best guess. This seemed to ease some of her fears about being wrong and let her think about the sentence. I had to train her to be willing to talk about her idea of the sentence.

 

Higher level sentences tend to have more complex structure, use of idioms, similes, and metaphors, as well as more and more varied vocabulary. If you help your son see these parts (a lot like you probably helped him see the parts of a word) you can greatly increase his confidence in his understanding.

 

I taught my daughter to pay attention to the subject and verb--not in a grammar sort of way, but to answer the questions who or what is the sentence is about and what are they or what are they doing. I used sentences pulled from various pieces of literature and textbooks. Then we looked at phrases (mostly prepositional, but also clauses and phrases using conjunctions, etc.) and would ask how does this change the basic meaning of the sentence. We would also discuss idioms and look at what they literally meant and what they were suppose to mean. Then I would have her read the sentence again and retell it to me. We didn't really have to do this kind of work for long and she got the habit of paying attention to the parts of a sentence.

 

You can then move on to the parts of paragraphs (Ernest Hemingway said that the heart of writing is the paragraph (I'm paraphrasing)), linking the thoughts in each sentence together by just asking how does this change the original idea. Sometimes, as in literature, it moves the story or idea forward in time. Sometimes it adds more detail. Sometimes it contradicts the main idea.

 

You can also help him to think about what a word might mean based on the words around it. Just brainstorm the meaning of a word he's unfamiliar with then look it up. This skill is helpful as he gets into texts where the vocabulary is the main sticking point.

 

Once he can see the parts of a sentence and how they fit and how sentences (ie, ideas) fit together in paragraphs, he should be able to tackle most readings.

 

My .02,

 

Melissa

Minnesota

Reading Program Junkie

dd(11) dd(7) ds(5) ds(1)

[gingersmom]

I like Reading Detective.

 

You can also read out loud with him and stop at every page to go over what you read.

 

Have him take notes on yellow post-its that he can leave in the book after every page or every chapter.

[hanki]

I recently purchased Reading Detective for my ds who will be in 6th grade and has the same struggles. We have not started it yet, but I have high hopes :).

[mollies73]

Thanks so much for the good ideas.

[Chels~]

I really like the Edcon books for comprehension. Great classic books split up in age appropriate chunks. I usually get one level below "grade level".

 

http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1247493105-1879806&subject=6&category=1017