reading comprehension & vocabulary

[Alison in KY]

Does anyone have a favorite series of reading comprehension books with some vocab possibly thrown in? I'm looking for something with either smaller reading selections, and possibly less writing. I need simple, user friendly. I love Itsy Bitsy Stories reading comp, but I only found it to go to 2nd grade.

 

Also, any ideas how to help a poor reader understand better what she is reading? DD struggles with understanding what she has read and cannot read large selections and remember details. She's also not good at reading directions and understanding them..she always wants me to re-tell her the directions.

 

Thank you

 

Alison

[Guest]

We use Pathway readers because they are cute and cheap.

[A home for their hearts]

Also, any ideas how to help a poor reader understand better what she is reading? DD struggles with understanding what she has read and cannot read large selections and remember details. She's also not good at reading directions and understanding them..she always wants me to re-tell her the directions.

 

Thank you

 

Alison

 

I don't have any suggestions for books but you might want to have your dd eyes checked by a developmental optometrists. A reading specialist I took my ds10 to said she almost always refers children to a developmental optometrists if they can read well but the comprehension isn't there. She told me that usually in these cases the brain is working so hard to focus on the letters that there is no room left for comprehension. Just something for you to think about and possibly look into. If you do take her you want to make sure they do a sensorimotor exam and not just a routine vision exam.

HTH!

 

http://www.childrensvision.com/OD.htm

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[Alison in KY]

Thank you ladies.

 

Anyone else?

[Alison in KY]

I don't have any suggestions for books but you might want to have your dd eyes checked by a developmental optometrists. A reading specialist I took my ds10 to said she almost always refers children to a developmental optometrists if they can read well but the comprehension isn't there. She told me that usually in these cases the brain is working so hard to focus on the letters that there is no room left for comprehension. Just something for you to think about and possibly look into. If you do take her you want to make sure they do a sensorimotor exam and not just a routine vision exam.

HTH!

 

http://www.childrensvision.com/OD.htm

 

I may check into this. With this particular child, she just has one speed, and it's go. I've always thought that was it. If she doesnt' understand things right off she get's really frustrated. I think because she's reading so quickly, that she's not understanding. I also think her reading ability is a bit behind...or it just coud be her impatience. She's still reading shorter books and basically get's tired of the longer books. I don't know what to do to get her to slow things down and think about what she's reading. She is able to explain short paragraphs much better than a whole page of material. We tried Read and Think 4, but it seemed to tough for her.

[MaMa2005]

Love, love, love Reading Detective.

[Mrs Twain]

I really like the Evan-Moor "Skill Sharpeners Reading" workbooks. They have readings followed by six or so reading comprehension activities for each one. There are many grades available. They are simple, open-and-go style workbooks.

[Alison in KY]

Thank you both, I hadn't thought about Evan-Moor. I have had Reading Detective, I'll have to give it a look, but the one I had was way beyond her ability. I just spent 15 minutes reading through an Abeka Read and Think lesson with her...I'm thinking she's just so fast that she just doesn't pay attention. If I get her to slow down, she can sometimes even sound out the tougher words which surprised me..I thought her vocabulary was really poor also, but now not so much. I just have to train her to go slow...she thinks the purpose of reading is to finish a book I guess.

[blessedmom3]

I love Reading detective for 3rd-6 graders with no reading comprehension issues . I am using it with my advanced 3rd grader .

Abeka Read & Think is more recalling facts with no real comprehension.

Beyond the Code books are excellent for both , vocab & comprehension. I have used them with excellent results for a child with speech delay and comprehension. I have them for sale now :) We just did the work orally , so no writing in the books.

[Critterfixer]

How is she with other visual comprehension tasks? I'm planning to do some in depth picture study with my sons this year to help with wandering attention. I'm hoping that some time spent daily in focusing on the details of paintings, and observation outside, with a focus on recalling events and their order, and things seen will translate into their narration of other material.

[A home for their hearts]

I may check into this. With this particular child, she just has one speed, and it's go. I've always thought that was it. If she doesnt' understand things right off she get's really frustrated. I think because she's reading so quickly, that she's not understanding. I also think her reading ability is a bit behind...or it just coud be her impatience. She's still reading shorter books and basically get's tired of the longer books. I don't know what to do to get her to slow things down and think about what she's reading. She is able to explain short paragraphs much better than a whole page of material. We tried Read and Think 4, but it seemed to tough for her.

 

I would suggests using a notched card to try to get her to slow down. With an index card cut out a notch in the top left corner. You'll use this to cover up the other words revealing one word at a time as she reads. See if that helps her to slow down. After you do this for awhile use a folded piece of paper to cover up all the lines under what she is reading. Also, maybe get a book that is a little above her grade level, one that is not too far above that she gets frustrated, but one that is hard enough that she has to slow down.

 

HTH!

[Mom0012]

I really like Reading Comprehension through Varied Subject Matter by EPS Books. My kids have also enjoyed using the Reading Detective cd-roms by Critical Thinking Press.

 

For vocabulary, I purchased the Wordsmart Vocabulary cd-roms off of ebay and my son has been working through them. I avoid having the kids do a lot of activities on the computer, but one or two short things throughout the school year mixes things up a bit.

 

I also feel that using IEW for writing has also increased his actual usage of his vocabulary. He has always had a very large vocabulary, but IEW forces him to use it in his writing and I'm seeing that translate into his conversational vocabulary.

 

Lisa

[Heidi]

Memoria Press has literature guides. I don't know if that's what you're looking for.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I really like Reading Comprehension through Varied Subject Matter by EPS Books.

I bought this for the upcoming school year, and I'm impressed with what I see.

[plansrme]

]I may check into this. With this particular child' date=' she just has one speed, and it's go. I've always thought that was it. If she doesnt' understand things right off she get's really frustrated. I think because she's reading so quickly, that she's not understanding.[/b'] I also think her reading ability is a bit behind...or it just coud be her impatience. She's still reading shorter books and basically get's tired of the longer books. I don't know what to do to get her to slow things down and think about what she's reading. She is able to explain short paragraphs much better than a whole page of material. We tried Read and Think 4, but it seemed to tough for her.

 

I have been following this thread and wasn't going to say anything, because I hate to be one of those people who sees a learning disability behind every corner, but what you've written above and in your original post sounds so very, very like my daughter. We just had her tested by an educational psychologist, who diagnosed a mixed expressive/receptive learning "issue." Her reading comprehension and language are not awful; they are just far, far weaker than her other skills and aptitudes.

 

All of the reading comprehension workbooks in the world would be of no use to her. Reading a passage and answering questions about it--she could do that for 10 hours a day and not get any better at the end of it. What she needs is not more of doing the same thing but strategies and therapies. We do not have these all in place yet, but I have Visualizing and Verbalizing from the Lindamood-Bell Centers (available from Gander Publishing) on its way to me (the psych recommended this--read the list of "symptoms" on the website and see if they match your daughter's; also, there is more information about it on the SN board), and we are going to work on a technique called PQ4R, about which you can find plenty of information on Google. She also is going to be seeing a speech-language therapist for, we hope, additional recommendations and strategies.

 

As for the bolded part, this is one thing the psych honed in on with my daughter. Her processing speed is, to use his word, "phenomenal," way, way into the 99th percentile. That's great, right? But in her, it shows itself as impulsiveness, an unwillingness to think about problems when the answer does not come easily. He sort of linked it to an ADD-type issue. She doesn't have what I usually think of as ADD, not even close, but as I understand from his oral report (the written one is not finished yet), the impulsiveness sort of verges on it. So, all that is to say that what you have observed in your daughter sounds a lot like what the psych said about mine. I don't know yet what he or the SLP will recommend to slow her down, but that is going to be one of our projects this school year.

 

The psych is not particularly homeschool-friendly and mostly sees kids from the elite private schools in Atlanta, but he completely validated my Mom Sense. I was afraid he would take my money and say, "She's fine, not everyone is going to be in the 99th percentile," but he said not only that my observations were 100% backed up by the testing (and he did not read my narrative until after the testing was complete, and he did lots of testing--6 hours' worth!) but also that if she were in public school, she would get nothing in the way of help because she's "just fine." She is not working where she could be, but it would be good enough if she were in school anywhere besides my basement.

 

I am not sure what the point of this is other than that so much of what you said about your daughter was also true of mine, and I feel like we are finally on the path to remediating her weaknesses. Also, it sounds like you are pretty tuned in to your daughter's issues, so I want to encourage you to listen to that Mom Sense. If you think there is something more going on, you are probably right.

 

Best of luck to both of you.

 

Terri