My 6th grade son is not comprehending what he reads well...

[Kim in SouthGa]

He has been an avid reader since he first learned to sound out words. We have done the Abeka Read and Think series for 3rd-6th grade,and he did fine with it, never missing more than a couple of questions. He can tell me about fictional books he reads very well, in great detail. But this year, he has hit a wall with science and history comprehension. We ditched Abeka science after he failed almost every test. We are alternating SOTW 3 readings with A Child's Story of America chapters. He reads a chapter and then takes a test the next day. The books are at least 2 years below grade level, so this should not be a hardship for him. He's never had this problem until this year. Any advice? I know hormones are kicking in, big time. Could that be part of the problem? How can I help him?
Thanks
Kim

[angela in ohio]

Reading for information is a completely different skill. A great discussion of this is in Ruth Beechick's You Can Teach Your Child Successfully. He will need to learn some text-attack skills, such as forming questions before reading, checking his comprehension as he goes, previewing for unfamiliar vocabulary, etc. A great starting point is the SQ3R method - see here (http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm).

Here's a blog post (http://www.wallsofbooks.com/2007/03/reading-comprehension-strategies.html) I wrote about comprehension strategies; it has a few more links to online resources for teaching these skills.

HTH!!!

[Beth in Central TX]

We had a little bump in reading comprehension last year, and I was recommended the following book and answer key:

http://www.bhibooks.net/catalog/item/4154960/4106148.htm
http://www.bhibooks.net/catalog/item/4154960/4106161.htm

You can also find these resources a little cheaper at Rainbow Resource. There are some newer versions of the McCall-Crabbs reading books, but I suggest you use this book which has not been recently edited and simplified.

The book contains 5 levels of timed tests for reading comprehension. Each test is timed for only 3-minutes which we do during our spelling time. On the bottom of each page is a reading level which corresponds to the number of questions missed. We started with Book A, and my boys are slowly working their way through the entire book. I have seen considerable improvement, not only with their scores for this particular activity, but also in what they read in other subjects.

HTH!

[Stacy in NJ]

restate, summarize and review.

[melissel]

We had a little bump in reading comprehension last year, and I was recommended the following book and answer key:

http://www.bhibooks.net/catalog/item/4154960/4106148.htm
http://www.bhibooks.net/catalog/item/4154960/4106161.htm

You can also find these resources a little cheaper at Rainbow Resource. There are some newer versions of the McCall-Crabbs reading books, but I suggest you use this book which has not been recently edited and simplified.

The book contains 5 levels of timed tests for reading comprehension. Each test is timed for only 3-minutes which we do during our spelling time. On the bottom of each page is a reading level which corresponds to the number of questions missed. We started with Book A, and my boys are slowly working their way through the entire book. I have seen considerable improvement, not only with their scores for this particular activity, but also in what they read in other subjects.

HTH!

Thank you! I've been thinking about something like this but had no idea where to start looking.

[mamato4]

I'm starting to see the same problem with my son. He's in 5th grade now. Thanks for asking this question.

God Bless,
Anna

[Kathie in VA]

My 11yo ds is has trouble with comprehension questions (like those on standarized tests). So this year I got him 'Reading Detective' ... the 6th grade level. I got the Cd versions so he can do it himself, check it himself, and have fun with it (because it's on the computer). We don't always get to it but I do see how it helps. He reads a selection. The he is asked a question. Sometimes it's a factual question sometimes it's a inference question. After choosing an answer he then needs to highlight the sentence that best proves his answer. The computer offers explanations for all possible answers. The whole programs operates under a game like format where he is a detective rising in rank as he progresses thru the program.

hth