cajunrose Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 My daughter (8) has some vision problems that put her behind in reading. We are going through vision therapy and she's doing much better now. We are up to magic tree house books and junie b (yes, I know...crude, but if the word 'stupid' gets her to want to read, then I'm all for it). My problem is, she has zero comprehension. She can read the words now but doesn't understand what she reads. If she mis-read's something, she doesn't KNOW she mis-reads it and keeps right on going. She gets to the end of a paragraph and can't tell me anything it was about. It's very frustrating. What can I do to help her comprehension?? Thanks Stephenie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 What can I do to help her comprehension?? Thanks Stephenie :bigear: We are doing WWE and just keep plugging away at it. I have him read the selection. If he says he's "good to go", we try the questions. If it is a tough one, I read it first, and we learn the pronunciation and meaning of all the words. I might quiz him a bit, and then next day have him read it aloud to me. I ask a couple general questions, and it is clear from a riproaring enthusiasm, he's ready to answer SWB's questions and do the narration. If he stumbles around, we read a paragraph at a time and discuss each one. Usually, we can be done in two sessions. WWE 2 was easier. For fun, we just back-tracked to Babe the Gallant Pig, and we both had fun doing this cuddled in bed with no narration looming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truebluexf Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I would try WWE as well, and get he oral comprehension up to speed first. Perhaps the decoding is so much work in the books she is reading, that her mind can't process the content yet? Maybe use easy readers to practice comprehension? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I would try WWE as well, and get he oral comprehension up to speed first. Perhaps the decoding is so much work in the books she is reading, that her mind can't process the content yet? Maybe use easy readers to practice comprehension? :iagree: Or, short stories in the 1879 McGuffey Readers, they have the difficult vocab first, so you have them pre-sounded out first, making the reading selection much easier. You might also want to try a larger font and having her read short selections twice, once for decoding and a second time with more emphasis on understanding. The 1879 McGuffeys are free at Gutenberg, the pdfs are the ones you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EppieJ Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 You might also see if Critical Thinking Co. has anything that suits your fancy. We started using Reading Detective and previously used something similar by Steck-Vaughn (I think). Ds' comprehension scores on his latest assessments was way better than I was expecting! We also do a lot of me reading to him and discussing what we've read (also periodically pointing out words/phrases and asking what they mean, etc) He also reads quite a bit on his own. FWIW, ds is still reading Magic Tree House simply because he enjoys them (and I think because he doesn't have to work as hard to understand because they are below his reading level). I agree with a pp that reading easier books can help with comprehension and confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen. Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Your daughter is reading at her frustration level - she doesn't understand what she's reading. Find the easiest book you have with very few words on the page. Have your daughter read it for fun and ask her about it (specific to broad questions). Build her confidence until you thinks she's got it. Also, you could read to her and ask her questions about the book. Perhaps her listening comprehension is higher. Good luck. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Could you try having her read a book that is 1-2 levels below her current reading level? That way she is not being required to do two things at once. Also, have you tried audiobooks? DD was reading way too much during the day and I was worried about her eyesight. I started playing audiobooks above or at her reading level since March and have noticed that she can narrate the story in detail. I think WWE1 could work well for her since the passages are short and interesting and the questions are prepared for you. I noticed that after listening to so many audiobooks recently we've had a much easier time with WWE and narrating the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Right after I wrote this last night, she read a chapter and a half of Junie B to me. I asked her questions after each major section and she was able to answer them. YAY I think baby steps....she won't go back to 'frog and toad' types of books...I tried that. I will just read several times a day with her and ask her questions I think. I will also get WWE. It has been suggested to me before for something entirely different. I think it will help for sure. Thanks for the suggestions. Stephenie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Right after I wrote this last night, she read a chapter and a half of Junie B to me. I asked her questions after each major section and she was able to answer them. YAY :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 She's not reading, she's decoding. It's just a phase. Don't worry about it. It will come together with practice. Once she gets really proficient at reading, she will start to have room in her brain to hear the words as well as decode them. In the meantime, read to her a LOT, at her level, and above and below it. And talk about the books you read to her, with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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