How to improve Reading Comprehension?

[ByGrace3]

My oldest is 15, 10th grade. She is very studious, diligent, organized, hard working . . . she does well in school work but has to work hard at it. One of her main struggles in reading comprehension. I would say her vocabulary definitely needs to be worked on also. We read a lot. We have done tons of read alouds, we talk, discuss . . . .but she has struggled with comprehension her whole life. Oh the tears over those WWE comp questions when she was little.  I always read that the ket to good vocabulary was reading . . . .not in this case. Now, here we are a year away from full time DE and I feel like she really needs some help and strategies in this area. I know improving vocabulary will help. What is a great resource for this? preferably something I can just hand her but I am willing to be involved if I have to be. And beyond vocabulary, what else? It makes me sad to see her struggling so. Literature, chemistry. . . it doesn't matter what . . . 

[EKS]

There's a difference between comprehension and memory--it's the difference between understanding and remembering.  We used WWE 2, and it drove me crazy because most of the "comprehension" questions were asking to student to remember unimportant details, like what the character took to eat on their picnic.  So, it's important to consider whether you mean she's having trouble understanding her reading or she's having trouble remembering what she reads.  One way to tell the difference is to allow her to look back at the material when she answers comprehension questions--if she can answer them when she has access to the material, it's not a comprehension issue.

Comprehension of language, written or spoken, requires that the receiver have adequate background knowledge about whatever it is.  E.D. Hirsch has written extensively about this.  Here's an article that may be helpful--in fact, it will probably be more helpful that anything I write here (assuming that your daughter is having a problem with comprehension and not with memory)!

One way to improve reading comprehension is to improve fluency (Hirsch goes into the whys of this).  How well does she read aloud?  A powerful technique for improving fluency is to have the student read aloud from text that is easy for them to read (that they can read smoothly and quickly and accurately) for 20-30 minutes every day and gradually increase the reading level until it is in line with their general cognitive ability level.

As for vocabulary--there are two types of vocabulary that students may find challenging.  The first is domain related vocabulary.  So this is stuff like biology terms in a biology book or baseball terms in a discussion of a baseball game.  The second is the sort of vocabulary that was tested on the SAT back in the day--abstract terms like convergent, esoteric, synergistic, augmented.  These are words that people may use less often in conversation and that you probably won't hear on TV.  Kids may learn early on that they can skip over them when they read silently and still (mostly) get the meaning of a text.  They may not even know how to tackle decoding them.  Note that such vocabulary can also be domain related--for example, the word symbiotic has a specific meaning in biology and is used outside of biology as well.

To improve vocabulary, I'd do several things.  First, I'd make sure she can accurately and consistently decode multisyllabic words.  If this is a problem, a run through REWARDS will give her a flexible strategy to tackle such words.  Second, I'd make sure that I was using elevated vocabulary in my conversations with her.  Third, I'd stop when reading aloud to her and discuss any "hard" words.  Fourth, I'd run through her assigned reading to find any "hard" words and make sure she knows what they mean.  And finally, I'd use a vocabulary program that focuses on word roots.

Finally, I'd consider what sorts of books you are reading aloud.  If you only read fiction aloud, it's important to add nonfiction.  Also, consider difficulty level.  How difficult are the books you read aloud?  Are you using read alouds to push her comprehension beyond what she reads on her own?  At this stage, with her being in high school, a test for appropriate difficultly level would be that they are somewhat challenging for you to read aloud and/or they are pushing the boundaries of your understanding.   

Edited October 21, 2020 by EKS

[cintinative]

@ByGrace3 has she taken standardized tests at all? How does she do on those reading-wise?

Can you clarify with an example of a recent incident where you considered there to be a reading comprehension issue?

We used all three books in this series. I am just hesitant to say this is your answer. Plus the last book is for grades 7-8 and she is much older. I would hate to discourage her. I think the skills the book works on are useful. I just wonder if there is a more mature version for her. 

https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/006911/Reasoning-%26-Reading-Level-2.html?

@Garga recommended a book recently about how to read a science text. I wonder if that would be helpful? Garga, what do you think? Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0072346930/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

ETA: @EKS post was so helpful. Thank you.

Edited October 21, 2020 by cintinative

[Garga]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

@ByGrace3 has she taken standardized tests at all? How does she do on those reading-wise?

Can you clarify with an example of a recent incident where you considered there to be a reading comprehension issue?

We used all three books in this series. I am just hesitant to say this is your answer. Plus the last book is for grades 7-8 and she is much older. I would hate to discourage her. I think the skills the book works on are useful. I just wonder if there is a more mature version for her. 

https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/006911/Reasoning-%26-Reading-Level-2.html?

@Garga recommended a book recently about how to read a science text. I wonder if that would be helpful? Garga, what do you think? Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0072346930/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

ETA: @EKS post was so helpful. Thank you.

The book I’d recommended was more about how to study science when learning it in a classroom and talked a lot about how to take notes during lectures and how to study in general.  

However, there was a chapter on how to read a text. For textbook reading it recommended looking at the title of the chapter, the headings, and subheadings and jotting down any words in those headings that looked important. Just jot them down on a piece of paper.

Then it suggested reading if there is a list of goals of the chapter or any pre-reading questions and also jotting down any terms from the goals or questions that might be interesting.  It said to read any comprehension questions at the end of the chapter and jot down terms.

It suggested to jot down any questions the student might have thought of before reading the chapter, or jot down what you think the chapter is probably going to be about.

Then it suggested to read the text and take notes on it.  (Taking notes is a huge lesson in itself.)

And then afterward, the student goes back and writes in the definitions for the terms they jotted down and answers the questions either from the text or that they wrote down for themselves at the beginning.

—-

For my own son, he is taking ENG101 in college and writing is his weakness, so I wanted to be sure he understood what the teacher wanted from him. There was a book he had to read about how to write.  I told him to jot down the main point of every single paragraph in the book.  So, when he read the first paragraph, he could write, “Introducing the author’s credentials.”. And when he read the second paragraph, he would write, “Author wrote book because he saw students struggling.” Third paragraph: “list of ways the students struggled.”. etc. It seemed to help him understand that book better than he normally does. It made him slow down and really take in the information, rather than skimming for 2 pages and forgetting what he was reading about.

——-

For my youngest son, who is in 10th grade this year, I sit with him while he reads dense books like his biology book.  I make sure to show him the headings and sub-headings and read any questions from the text ahead of time (like the study book told us to.) 

And then as we read, we stop very frequently.  And I point out how the books works:  “Did you notice how they are teaching us groupings of things from smallest to largest?  Notice how it started with a population and then a community and how one is bigger than the other.  The next thing will probably be even bigger.”  I try to deconstruct how textbooks work, so he sees that they’re not just tossing facts at him haphazardly, but they’re building up to a point.  

It took us 1.5 hours to read 6 pages in his biology text yesterday.  He took notes and he copied down definitions.  But mostly, we just stopped and talked and were very, very careful when we read.  I taught him how to stop and study the figures in the book as well.  Reading a textbook is hard work and takes time.  You cannot skim a textbook.  You must interact with the material while you’re reading it.

——

That’s all I have!  Summary:

For non-fiction—look over the chapter headings ahead of time and try to figure out what it’s about before diving in unprepared.  Read very slowly and try to figure out the pathway the writer is leading you down (the structure of how they are passing the information to you).  Stop at each subheading and check for comprehension before moving on to the next subheading.  Heck, stop at each paragraph and make sure.  

Consider writing a simple statement of the main point of each paragraph if it makes sense. Writing a summary of each chapter would be too ambitious for a text that is fact-dense like biology, but it can work well for a text that is like my oldest son’s ENG101 “how to write” book. 

 

 

[ByGrace3]

3 hours ago, Garga said:

The book I’d recommended was more about how to study science when learning it in a classroom and talked a lot about how to take notes during lectures and how to study in general.  

However, there was a chapter on how to read a text. For textbook reading it recommended looking at the title of the chapter, the headings, and subheadings and jotting down any words in those headings that looked important. Just jot them down on a piece of paper.

Then it suggested reading if there is a list of goals of the chapter or any pre-reading questions and also jotting down any terms from the goals or questions that might be interesting.  It said to read any comprehension questions at the end of the chapter and jot down terms.

It suggested to jot down any questions the student might have thought of before reading the chapter, or jot down what you think the chapter is probably going to be about.

Then it suggested to read the text and take notes on it.  (Taking notes is a huge lesson in itself.)

And then afterward, the student goes back and writes in the definitions for the terms they jotted down and answers the questions either from the text or that they wrote down for themselves at the beginning.

—-

For my own son, he is taking ENG101 in college and writing is his weakness, so I wanted to be sure he understood what the teacher wanted from him. There was a book he had to read about how to write.  I told him to jot down the main point of every single paragraph in the book.  So, when he read the first paragraph, he could write, “Introducing the author’s credentials.”. And when he read the second paragraph, he would write, “Author wrote book because he saw students struggling.” Third paragraph: “list of ways the students struggled.”. etc. It seemed to help him understand that book better than he normally does. It made him slow down and really take in the information, rather than skimming for 2 pages and forgetting what he was reading about.

——-

For my youngest son, who is in 10th grade this year, I sit with him while he reads dense books like his biology book.  I make sure to show him the headings and sub-headings and read any questions from the text ahead of time (like the study book told us to.) 

And then as we read, we stop very frequently.  And I point out how the books works:  “Did you notice how they are teaching us groupings of things from smallest to largest?  Notice how it started with a population and then a community and how one is bigger than the other.  The next thing will probably be even bigger.”  I try to deconstruct how textbooks work, so he sees that they’re not just tossing facts at him haphazardly, but they’re building up to a point.  

It took us 1.5 hours to read 6 pages in his biology text yesterday.  He took notes and he copied down definitions.  But mostly, we just stopped and talked and were very, very careful when we read.  I taught him how to stop and study the figures in the book as well.  Reading a textbook is hard work and takes time.  You cannot skim a textbook.  You must interact with the material while you’re reading it.

——

That’s all I have!  Summary:

For non-fiction—look over the chapter headings ahead of time and try to figure out what it’s about before diving in unprepared.  Read very slowly and try to figure out the pathway the writer is leading you down (the structure of how they are passing the information to you).  Stop at each subheading and check for comprehension before moving on to the next subheading.  Heck, stop at each paragraph and make sure.  

Consider writing a simple statement of the main point of each paragraph if it makes sense. Writing a summary of each chapter would be too ambitious for a text that is fact-dense like biology, but it can work well for a text that is like my oldest son’s ENG101 “how to write” book. 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, EKS said:

There's a difference between comprehension and memory--it's the difference between understanding and remembering.  We used WWE 2, and it drove me crazy because most of the "comprehension" questions were asking to student to remember unimportant details, like what the character took to eat on their picnic.  So, it's important to consider whether you mean she's having trouble understanding her reading or she's having trouble remembering what she reads.  One way to tell the difference is to allow her to look back at the material when she answers comprehension questions--if she can answer them when she has access to the material, it's not a comprehension issue.

Comprehension of language, written or spoken, requires that the receiver have adequate background knowledge about whatever it is.  E.D. Hirsch has written extensively about this.  Here's an article that may be helpful--in fact, it will probably be more helpful that anything I write here (assuming that your daughter is having a problem with comprehension and not with memory)!

One way to improve reading comprehension is to improve fluency (Hirsch goes into the whys of this).  How well does she read aloud?  A powerful technique for improving fluency is to have the student read aloud from text that is easy for them to read (that they can read smoothly and quickly and accurately) for 20-30 minutes every day and gradually increase the reading level until it is in line with their general cognitive ability level.

As for vocabulary--there are two types of vocabulary that students may find challenging.  The first is domain related vocabulary.  So this is stuff like biology terms in a biology book or baseball terms in a discussion of a baseball game.  The second is the sort of vocabulary that was tested on the SAT back in the day--abstract terms like convergent, esoteric, synergistic, augmented.  These are words that people may use less often in conversation and that you probably won't hear on TV.  Kids may learn early on that they can skip over them when they read silently and still (mostly) get the meaning of a text.  They may not even know how to tackle decoding them.  Note that such vocabulary can also be domain related--for example, the word symbiotic has a specific meaning in biology and is used outside of biology as well.

To improve vocabulary, I'd do several things.  First, I'd make sure she can accurately and consistently decode multisyllabic words.  If this is a problem, a run through REWARDS will give her a flexible strategy to tackle such words.  Second, I'd make sure that I was using elevated vocabulary in my conversations with her.  Third, I'd stop when reading aloud to her and discuss any "hard" words.  Fourth, I'd run through her assigned reading to find any "hard" words and make sure she knows what they mean.  And finally, I'd use a vocabulary program that focuses on word roots.

Finally, I'd consider what sorts of books you are reading aloud.  If you only read fiction aloud, it's important to add nonfiction.  Also, consider difficulty level.  How difficult are the books you read aloud?  Are you using read alouds to push her comprehension beyond what she reads on her own?  At this stage, with her being in high school, a test for appropriate difficultly level would be that they are somewhat challenging for you to read aloud and/or they are pushing the boundaries of your understanding.   

Thank you! This is insightful...I will have to finish reading that article and do some thinking. . . I had not considered the difference in comprehension and memory. Certainly something to consider! 

6 hours ago, cintinative said:

@ByGrace3 has she taken standardized tests at all? How does she do on those reading-wise?

Can you clarify with an example of a recent incident where you considered there to be a reading comprehension issue?

We used all three books in this series. I am just hesitant to say this is your answer. Plus the last book is for grades 7-8 and she is much older. I would hate to discourage her. I think the skills the book works on are useful. I just wonder if there is a more mature version for her. 

https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/006911/Reasoning-%26-Reading-Level-2.html?

@Garga recommended a book recently about how to read a science text. I wonder if that would be helpful? Garga, what do you think? Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0072346930/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

ETA: @EKS post was so helpful. Thank you.

We took the stamford 10 in 4th grade and in 9th. She did great in 4th, meh in 9th. She took the CLT 10 today -- we should have results tomorrow but dd said it was hard. ugh. The Reading and Reasoning books are great. My dd has done all 3. 

3 hours ago, Garga said:

The book I’d recommended was more about how to study science when learning it in a classroom and talked a lot about how to take notes during lectures and how to study in general.  

However, there was a chapter on how to read a text. For textbook reading it recommended looking at the title of the chapter, the headings, and subheadings and jotting down any words in those headings that looked important. Just jot them down on a piece of paper.

Then it suggested reading if there is a list of goals of the chapter or any pre-reading questions and also jotting down any terms from the goals or questions that might be interesting.  It said to read any comprehension questions at the end of the chapter and jot down terms.

It suggested to jot down any questions the student might have thought of before reading the chapter, or jot down what you think the chapter is probably going to be about.

Then it suggested to read the text and take notes on it.  (Taking notes is a huge lesson in itself.)

And then afterward, the student goes back and writes in the definitions for the terms they jotted down and answers the questions either from the text or that they wrote down for themselves at the beginning.

—-

For my own son, he is taking ENG101 in college and writing is his weakness, so I wanted to be sure he understood what the teacher wanted from him. There was a book he had to read about how to write.  I told him to jot down the main point of every single paragraph in the book.  So, when he read the first paragraph, he could write, “Introducing the author’s credentials.”. And when he read the second paragraph, he would write, “Author wrote book because he saw students struggling.” Third paragraph: “list of ways the students struggled.”. etc. It seemed to help him understand that book better than he normally does. It made him slow down and really take in the information, rather than skimming for 2 pages and forgetting what he was reading about.

——-

For my youngest son, who is in 10th grade this year, I sit with him while he reads dense books like his biology book.  I make sure to show him the headings and sub-headings and read any questions from the text ahead of time (like the study book told us to.) 

And then as we read, we stop very frequently.  And I point out how the books works:  “Did you notice how they are teaching us groupings of things from smallest to largest?  Notice how it started with a population and then a community and how one is bigger than the other.  The next thing will probably be even bigger.”  I try to deconstruct how textbooks work, so he sees that they’re not just tossing facts at him haphazardly, but they’re building up to a point.  

It took us 1.5 hours to read 6 pages in his biology text yesterday.  He took notes and he copied down definitions.  But mostly, we just stopped and talked and were very, very careful when we read.  I taught him how to stop and study the figures in the book as well.  Reading a textbook is hard work and takes time.  You cannot skim a textbook.  You must interact with the material while you’re reading it.

——

That’s all I have!  Summary:

For non-fiction—look over the chapter headings ahead of time and try to figure out what it’s about before diving in unprepared.  Read very slowly and try to figure out the pathway the writer is leading you down (the structure of how they are passing the information to you).  Stop at each subheading and check for comprehension before moving on to the next subheading.  Heck, stop at each paragraph and make sure.  

Consider writing a simple statement of the main point of each paragraph if it makes sense. Writing a summary of each chapter would be too ambitious for a text that is fact-dense like biology, but it can work well for a text that is like my oldest son’s ENG101 “how to write” book. 

 

 

Yes, these are the kinds of things I have her doing. Lots of notes, lots of work. It is tedious. Maybe that is just reality. She is just working so hard and it takes so long. Maybe this is just reality....an average student working her rear off to get A's in hard classes. I never studied this much in high school....but she is not me. It just kind of breaks my heart, but I am so stinking proud of her work ethic. 

[kbutton]

Products from Mindwing Concepts. My son (2e) is a junior. He has an expressive language disorder and couldn't write a paragraph two years ago. Now his level is pretty much grade level. However, it's improved his reading comprehension a great deal even though he tended to test well on it (but in reality had some issues, and definitely reported troubles)--he's really enjoying his schoolwork this year. He's super into American History, and he credits his language work with helping him enjoy it. 

[Storygirl]

On 10/21/2020 at 9:57 PM, ByGrace3 said:

 

Thank you! This is insightful...I will have to finish reading that article and do some thinking. . . I had not considered the difference in comprehension and memory. Certainly something to consider! 

We took the stamford 10 in 4th grade and in 9th. She did great in 4th, meh in 9th. She took the CLT 10 today -- we should have results tomorrow but dd said it was hard. ugh. The Reading and Reasoning books are great. My dd has done all 3. 

Yes, these are the kinds of things I have her doing. Lots of notes, lots of work. It is tedious. Maybe that is just reality. She is just working so hard and it takes so long. Maybe this is just reality....an average student working her rear off to get A's in hard classes. I never studied this much in high school....but she is not me. It just kind of breaks my heart, but I am so stinking proud of her work ethic. 

I wrote a long post on your other thread, and I will just refer you to that, instead of writing much here. Except to say that what you write her reminds me even more of my DD18.

I would actually encourage you to consider getting some private educational evaluations to see if she has a low processing speed, low working memory, ADHD, or other issues that are contributing to what you describe above. The DD18 that I describe in the other thread does not have diagnosed learning issues, but my other kids do, and they have had both private testing and testing through the schools for their IEP (2 of them) and 504 (1 of them). These evaluations have really helped me understand the way that my kids think, so that I can help tackle the root issues that are related to their academic challenges.

Homeschoolers are eligible to get testing by the public school, but you have to show there is reason to suspect a disability impeding their academics, which can be hard to do as a homeschooler of a student who is getting good grades. Her recent standardized testing scores may be the proof that you need to convince them, so it may be worth a try. I know that @Garga was able to get her public school to run evaluations, so she might have some suggestions. (We did homeschool our kids, but only got school testing after they were enrolled in a brick and mortar school; we did get private evaluations while we were homeschooling). A private educational psychologist can be expensive, but I really think that evaluations -- school or private -- might be very helpful in your situation. Having things documented by a professional also means that your daughter would be eligible for accommodations when she is college classes.

Also...I would really consider whether your daughter is really, really, truly ready to do college level work through dual enrollment in high school, or whether it would be better to use that time to shore up her skills to be better prepared for her first actual year in a university. With a physical therapy degree as her goal, she needs to be really really really ready for college work, because the college GPA and transcript are very important for PT school admission, and the related college classes are very challenging. I urge you not to rush into college classes while she is still finding high school classes to be so difficult.

((hugs))

Edited October 24, 2020 by Storygirl