How to improve Reading Comprehension?

[cin]

DD is 6 and can read the WORDS of 4th-5th grader. She can tell elaborate stories, but she cannot answer questions about what she has just read. We are doing R&S 2nd grade readers and she repeatedly messes up the part where they ask the questions about the story. Some of it is laziness. She has to look up answers in specific paragraphs and she NEVER gets those correct. She does know what a paragraph is, because when I look over her shoulder, she can do it. Is there a way to improve reading comprehension?

I am getting ready to walk out the door, but I am anxious to see all the responses. I really need help on this one. Oh, this is the part that she scored lowest on her IQ test....short term memory. She couldn't repeat 4 digit numbers, AT ALL. She could remember 3, and as soon as he went up to 4, she bombed....

THanks!

[Susie in CA]

IMPO, I think at this age just letting her read, reading with her and talk about what you/she are reading is plenty for comprehension. I would just back off for a while and, if you really want to use this program, try again later.

Susie

[vmsurbat]

First, I do agree with Susie that 6 is awfully young to be *overly* worried. However, there is no reason not to work on short-term memory and overall reading comprehension.

First, there is a *big* difference for a young child in comprehending material they are reading and material that you are reading to them.

For young children, the mere act of *reading* can have them so busy focusing on the words (eg. sounding them out) that they don't even think about what the word means. That *may* be a real factor.

What I would do:

First and most importantly: if you are not *already* in the habit of reading aloud to her, you need to start this practice. While your daughter is listening to your words, she will be developing how to "see" the action of the words in her mind without first having to put the words in there by reading them. Children who are read to have much greater comprehension when they do learn how to read than those children who are not exposed to read-alouds. If reading aloud is not something you currently do, I would focus on this aspect of reading for quite some time--2 or 3 months minimum.

Second: When the "read-aloud" habit is established (or if it already is), *You* read aloud a interesting passage. (Check www.mainlesson.com for plenty of short, interesting stories--don't use school texts--they are not engaging enough!) At the end, ask her to tell you all about it. If she can't, don't panic! You might model what you are looking for. (give a *very* simple retelling). You might need to do this several times. You might need to read a paragraph and get a response after each one. Your job at this stage will be to find and read a short enough bit of an interesting passage that your daughter *can* succeed in giving a short retelling. Practice this for a good, long time.

Third: at some point (we are talking several months from now), you can try having her tell you about something *she* read on her own. Again, if she can't tell you at the end of the story anything about it, don't panic. Just have her read the first paragraph and tell you about it. If she can't do that, start with a sentence! Some children need to work on developing paying attention to written material.

If, at this point (after months of read-alouds and telling a bit back of what you read aloud), she is reading by herself and cannot tell you even on a sentence-by-sentence level what she just read, then I would consider contacting learning experts.....

HTH,

[Beth in Central TX]

Here are the resources I use to improve reading comprehension in my boys:

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

In their description of the series, Book A is for 2nd graders with superior ability, average 3rd graders, and less able 4th graders.

I do think there's a distinction between being able to read and reading for comprehension. Some kids can read at a very high level very early on, but being able to understand what they read comes with understanding vocabulary and context. It's not automatic and develops with reading experience.

Even if my boys were reading early, I still read to them and had them narrate the passage back to me to develop their reading comprehension for Kindergarten and 1st grade (ala FLL). This process strengthened their comprehension because they were not focused on reading to me, but listening to the story. I think it's very difficult for a new reader to focus on reading and keep the storyline in mind at the same time; this skill requires a lot of practice and will ususally develop over time.

Also, this is just my opinion, but I think that the R&S reading program is pretty much on grade level. Not necessarily the reading level of the books in the program, but the phonics and reading comp work that is required in the workbooks. Grade 3 is going to be even more challenging for your daughter because it is on the Kings of Israel. By the end of the book your child will have memorized all of the kings, for both Judah and Israel. I think it's a great program, and I even learned a lot from it, but you don't want to get there too early.

So, I would slow down on the R&S reading program, start narration work from stories you read, and pick up challenging readers at the library that don't require comprehension to keep up her already incredible reading ability. I also recommend the McCall-Crabb book linked above, but definitely not before 2nd grade. I just found this book for my oldest boys, so they started Book A in 4th & 5th grade. My youngest will probably start in 3rd grade.

HTH!

[angela in ohio]

Honestly, I would put away the reading comprehension program at 6 yo and work on narration and poetry memorization. Also, read, read, read, to her and with her. One of the key factors (some studies say THE key factor) of comprehension is the experience and knowledge the child brings to the material being read.

[OhElizabeth]

I agree with the others that I would put away the comprehension program. I have the McCall-Crabbs and Harby books from BHI and would NOT do them with a 6 yo. I don't even think they're that helpful, personally. To me they just reflect how she's reading. At this age I'd just let her read. Do you consider her K5 or 1st? Either way, she's NOT 2nd and DOESN'T need to be tested on comprehension using a 2nd gr book.

If you don't get as much reading aloud done as you intend (do any of us?), you might like to invest in books on tape, oops cd. I bought many of them for my dd at that age, Narnia, Charlotte's Web, Old Mother West Wind, Uncle Remus, Little House, etc.. Your library will have them too. My dd would listen to them by the hour while she played, and I definitely think it helped with vocab and comprehension.

I don't know anything about the memory, but it does sound like you're concerned. Just do something gentle, reasonable, and fun. Did the tester have any recs or feel concerned?

[8FillTheHeart]

Re-tells. When she is reading aloud to you, stop her every couple of minutes and ask her to tell you about what she just read.

If she can, then keep pursuing that avenue with longer intervals between re-tells. If she can't, she is still spending so much energy on decoding that she really isn't able to focus on comprehension. I would continue with the higher levels to help encourage her reading progression, but I would also add in lower level books for discussion to help develop comprehension (she shouldn't have to focus on decoding so much with lower level books.)

[Tammyla]

I'd still consider her Learning to Read vs. Reading to Learn.

An easy way to boost comprehension is with read alouds or books on CD. Ask her to retell you what happened. Stop and ask, what will happen next etc. Its been awhile, but I'm pretty sure TWTM has a list of questions or Ruth Beechick's A Home Start In Reading addresses comprehension in the Fluency section.

Some younger children enjoy creating their own story pictures. This can be an easy window into what they are comprehending.