happycc Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 My 9yrs old seems to struggle with reading comprehension. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 You must be more specific. In what way does he struggle with reading comprehension? What material? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 "Reading comprehension" is so broad- what specifically do they struggle with? Unfamiliar vocabulary? Remembering details? Making inferences and drawing conclusions? Something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Is he a fluent reader? Does he decode words pretty well? Here are some things I have done when teaching reading. A lot of these are just things that a good reader generally does (and does without any particular instruction...). But some kids need more explicit instruction to be able to understand a text: Before he reads, get him to tell you what he thinks the story/chapter/article is about. Ask him what he already knows about the topic/character/author Ask him what he thinks will happen in the end. Get him thinking about what it is he is going to read. Teach him to look at the title, pictures, captions, charts, table of contents, chapter headings, subheadings, back cover etc... to get ready to figure out what he's reading about. Have him read easier books or picture books and comic books and re-tell or answer questions about the text. If he's reading a classic, find a children's version first with lots of pictures... or an abridged version, then the real thing. If there is a movie, let him watch it first. Or read a summary of the book first. Do whatever you can to give him support for reading and understanding the real thing. Have him illustrate a story himself in comic book style. Or ask him to act it out with someone and perform it. The goal is to get him to look in the text to figure out what happened first, second... You could even photocopy a short story and cut it into paragraphs. Ask him to put it back together. Have him read aloud to you and stop him regularly to probe what he understood, what he thinks will happen next, etc... Read something a bit more complex aloud to him and model good reading strategies to him. When something seems potentially confusing, stop yourself and admit that you aren't sure what just happened. Re-read the paragraph aloud. Wonder aloud to him. Talk to yourself about what you've read and what you think might happen. Show him how to figure out a word he doesn't know by looking at the context. Let him write in a book or stick post-it notes in the text. Have him put question marks where he doesn't really understand a paragraph. Or circle words he doesn't know. Or write notes in the margins. If I can think of anything else... I'll add more. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 can't answer questions...incorrect answers. Attention to detail. Perhaps it is vocabulary as she struggles with vocabulary.com even though her twin is loving vocabulary.com. Even if I read it, she doesn't get it. I have to break everything down in a conversation form for her to understand it. I think perhaps idioms stump her. I don;t know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 How does she do with the shorter passages in WWE2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I have the kids read below their reading level when it is for comprehension, and above their reading level when we are working on reading skills. I noticed that there is a jump in grammar stage and logic stage materials that need to be read for understanding and will often look for "easier" non-fiction sources so that my older can actually learn content instead of stretching during those reading assignments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 I am not even talking about the grammar/logic stage stuff from the Well Trained mind. We haven't even begun that part yet-such as narrating from the odyssey etc. I am talking about the simple reading comprehension stuff on the superteacherworksheets. At this point with WWE2 I am spooning feeding every sentence with her. But I was hoping I can could just hand her a simple worksheet from superteacher worksheets which is very basic in my opinion and she cant even get the questions right on those. I realize that I will have to have her read it to me and slowly decipher each and every sentence so she understands it and I am already doing it the same for the 2nd grader which means spending even more time during the day which is already pretty tight. I am starting to really get angry at the public school system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I have the kids read below their reading level when it is for comprehension, and above their reading level when we are working on reading skills. :iagree:The first thing I'd do is schedule narration 101 for anybody needing it, whether it is this child or another, and start with something very simple. I started with Aesop's Fables. Short story. Not too many characters. Simple plot. Moral is always stated with the story.After reading it two to three times start putting up the vocabulary on your white-board or a piece of paper and go through that. For the younger child, pick out the difficult words and do a phonics break-down for her if needed. Then the children read the story for themselves. The next thing to have them do is to list the main characters and sequence the story. Once they have the list of what has happened, in the order that it happened, you can ask them to retell the story using the sequence as an aid. Or use a story web. This really seems to help when organizing thoughts in order is a problem. For teaching attention to detail I would strongly suggest incorporating picture study into art or writing. It's amazing how you begin to notice details that way. You could also pick a story or paragraph and ask your daughter to pick out every word that begins with a certain letter. Or a particular name. Or have her take her sequence and mark on the story where that particular event took place. The last thing I'd say would be to have patience. To some extent children expect to be spoon-fed when it is something they are not used to doing on a regular basis. Narration as it relates to reading comprehension is a skill that has to be taught, although some children learn it quite quickly. Others need to have help in seeing how a story fits together. Others are so afraid to get something wrong that they don't want to answer a question at all. Edit-And don't forget to read and read and read to them, while never asking a single comprehension question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 My 9yrs old seems to struggle with reading comprehension. Any ideas? We are chewing our way through Jane ERvin's reading comp in Varied Subject Matter. We started with the "Early" series and he does one a day. When we just did the CAT/5, reading comp was one of his BEST subjects, and even kiddo admitted the books helped (!) It seems workbooky and not romantically "living", but the questions at the end make him pay attention, because it takes longer if he has to go back and search the passage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) Do you think my stepdaughters have these comprehension issues and delay in academics because: 1) they were never read to as babies and toddlers and preschooler 2)left in a crib til 2pm with a net over it 3) mother never sang or played with them 4)she never did crafts with them or games with them how ever they did have plenty of toys/no books though. They spent an extraordinary amount of time watching TV like Sponge Bob not PBS. They still see her one night every two weeks and she sleeps all of the time (drugs) while they are there. We have been to court but to no avail. How can I help them? How do I make up what they did not get? I got 2 of them at about 5yrs old full time and one of them at about 3 yrs old. They have been in school because they were not speaking much and very quiet and unanimated and was thought that might help them. We unfortunately had to switch schools and they did not fare well in school in terms of social stuff and academic issues for the 7yrs old. I have tried to give them as rich of an environment as possible since they have been in my care but my main focus in the beginning was keeping them out of the hospital as they were very frail and sickly and had severe asthma. Their asthma is under control now but they are still pretty small for their ages and they have severe social anxiety. Will homeschooling make it worse? By the way they have a wonderful dad who unfortunately had to work a lot when they were younger. He was gone much of the day to really know what was going on. THe mother has 10 kids and these are her last 3 kids. 4 different dads and none of her kids live with her anymore. What more can I do? Edited October 2, 2011 by happycc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 On the worksheets, could you have her underline or highlight what she feels is important? Read the questions first then read the passage so she is looking for the answers while reading the passage. Have her read out loud. With books that can't be highlighted or underlined, keep Post-It notes or a sheet of paper in the book to jot down important information, thoughts, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 How can I help them? How do I make up what they did not get? With all that they have endured in their lives, it seems to me that reading comprehension issues are part of the larger life comprehension issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 With all that they have endured in their lives, it seems to me that reading comprehension issues are part of the larger life comprehension issues. :iagree::iagree::iagree: The good news is that kids are remarkably resilient. I took a child psychology class in college and we read about children who came from the most horrendous environments (Romanian orphanages and the like). So long as they were removed before puberty, they were able to "catch up" in terms of their language skills. Have your stepkids been evaluated by a speech & language pathologist? Language skills could be hindering their reading comprehension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 So much of comprehension (whether it is life or just reading an article) comes from having the proper point of reference. If a child references everything in terms of television shows then she may actually not pay attention to anything larger than a sound bite. She has to have a whole new way of listening to comprehend something that takes longer to develop meaning. Start with short, simple stories for narration. Read them more than once. Be sure you slow down if you are reading them aloud to her, making it clear that every word has importance and should be read. You will need to stop, but only when you reach the conclusion of the sequence, which might be the sentence or a few sentences. After you've read it, have her read it with you. THEN put the thought up on the board, or on her piece of paper and move on to the next one. She probably does need instruction in how a story works, because she is working from the wrong reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Do you think my stepdaughters have these comprehension issues and delay in academics because: 1) they were never read to as babies and toddlers and preschooler 2)left in a crib til 2pm with a net over it 3) mother never sang or played with them 4)she never did crafts with them or games with them how ever they did have plenty of toys/no books though. They spent an extraordinary amount of time watching TV like Sponge Bob not PBS. They still see her one night every two weeks and she sleeps all of the time (drugs) while they are there. We have been to court but to no avail. How can I help them? How do I make up what they did not get? I got 2 of them at about 5yrs old full time and one of them at about 3 yrs old. They have been in school because they were not speaking much and very quiet and unanimated and was thought that might help them. We unfortunately had to switch schools and they did not fare well in school in terms of social stuff and academic issues for the 7yrs old. I have tried to give them as rich of an environment as possible since they have been in my care but my main focus in the beginning was keeping them out of the hospital as they were very frail and sickly and had severe asthma. Their asthma is under control now but they are still pretty small for their ages and they have severe social anxiety. Will homeschooling make it worse? By the way they have a wonderful dad who unfortunately had to work a lot when they were younger. He was gone much of the day to really know what was going on. THe mother has 10 kids and these are her last 3 kids. 4 different dads and none of her kids live with her anymore. What more can I do? I think the reading issue is definitely part of a larger picture issue, even if it's just catching up on those missing years. I do NOT think public school would be pleasant in the slightest for kids with severe social anxiety. Maybe if you post about this part of it on the general board, the people who have adopted older kids can help you? I don't have experience with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 :grouphug: They probably need a lot of building up of general phonics skills and then vocabulary. I would give the MWIA and the NRRF reading grade level test. http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html My webpage "Why Johnny Doesn't Like to Read," explains some of the problems and talks a bit about the Matthew Effect, I would read more about it, it also applies to hearing vocabulary as well as reading it. You can better meet their needs through homeschooling and deliberately working on building up their reading and vocabulary skills, teaching the things they need in a systematic, direct manner. I like the Parker Readers for building up vocabulary, they have definitions of word right in the text and the reading selections build in difficulty. They are linked at the bottom of my Webster page. Here is the second reader in a direct link: http://books.google.com/books?id=6sFEAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=parker+reader+inauthor:parker&lr=&as_brr=1&ei=YU-nR6O_LIaUzATRuPhK#v=onepage&q&f=false Work on these basic skills and then later things will come easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 My daughter struggled with the reading comprehension part of the Iowa test. I bought Reading Detective by Critical Thinking Co., and she is getting better. I agree that narration is also important, to aid in paying attention and comprehending. Blessings, Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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