What is the best way to improve reading comprehension?

[FairClaire]

I have a first grader who is doing well in spelling, writing, grammar, and reading (fluently at a 4th grade level) but really struggles with reading comprehension.

 

It does not seem to matter whether I read to her or she reads to me. It doesn't matter whether I am reading SOTW or science, or a fairy tale. She remember little details that she finds fascinating, but cannot answer basic questions about the important content in the story.

 

Her younger sister (by two years) usually listens in when I read aloud and she easily answers the questions. I am not sure exactly what the problem is or how to improve her comprehension. It does not seem to be an attention or discipline problem.

 

Any ideas?

[ElizabethB]

This is based on ESL students, but Don Potter recommends the ideas for anyone who has trouble with comprehension type questions.

 

http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/gonzalez_materials.pdf

[MistyMountain]

My dd is similar. She is 6 and in kindergarten and can decode at the 4th grade level. Her spelling and writing isn't that high but it is good for her age and she learns fast in those areas but her comprehension is lagging behind. She barely getting anything from SOTW. Her brother who is 2 year younger also remembers more details from things I read to him. I was going to try WWE and a reading comprehension workbook with good ratings from amazon but I would keep in mind other ideas if someone else has a good suggestion. The Don Potter thing looks good and I like his stuff but I want something that holds my hand through the process an gives exercises in order at least at first.

[freerange]

We found with SOTW that dd1 needed to see the text as it was read, or to read it for herself, for it to stick. So the first thing I'd consider is what her comprehension is like when she reads the material herself. If she still has problems, I found the book I Read it, But I Don't Get It useful for strategies. I also have a 2 page printout from pearson of reading strategies. I'll try to find out later on the pc.

 

Reading strategies are the last 2 pages of this pdf

[freerange]

Since you mentioned a younger sibling - is her recall any better if there's just the two of you? My dd2 had faster recall for details from SOTW, so dd1 basically gave up trying to compete. Some subjects I have to do in a different room with the door shut.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

A few ideas- try building up attention to the story by reading smaller sections and then having her narrate ("tell back") what is happening. This is a Charlotte Mason method for checking comprehension. Also, in first grade, some kids may just struggle with this and need time. My son is an early first grader, and he has a very hard time answering the SOTW questions. However, he will, later in the day or week, re-enact the story, draw a picture from the story, or talk about it in a way that shows me he understood perfectly well, but is just not good yet and the question-response exercises. He is also TERRIBLE at narration, and only able to spit out a couple of words to describe the story. Yet, he can tell me bits and pieces and act it out a few days later, showing he understood it.

 

I would watch your DD and see if maybe she is showing comprehension in other ways. Maybe she is just not good at that particular testing format yet.

[Mandamom]

You are talking about 3 different skills here and I would work on hem very similarly..

 

Listening comprehension: through trial and error figure out what level she is able to retell the story. Begin at that level and use very short passages (couple of sentences or short paragraphs and have her retell what you just described or read about. You can also play some I Spy games -- describe something and have her figure out what you are describing. As you do this more and more you should be able to increase the difficulty of the passage. There are other games like this that you can play to make it more fun.

 

Silent reading comprehension and oral reading comprehension: Very similarly, you'll need to figure out what level she's comprehending at (retelling the story) and practice both skills at this level and slowly increase the difficulty. Start with a couple of sentences and progressively make the reading harder as she has more success.

 

Do not be afraid to start at a very low level (pre-k) in order for her to have success. Building on that success is very important.

 

Many kids get these skills with ease but others need direct instruction.