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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling
Strategies to teach reading comprehension



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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Sep 11 2021, 11:13 pm
DS6 is reading at age level. The problem is that he doesn't understand what he reads unless I digest it and present it to him. I figure that the more we read and digest together, the more he'll improve but is there any other strategy that can help him?
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amother
Amaranthus


 

Post Sat, Sep 11 2021, 11:20 pm
Break it up into chunks. Read a story together, and ask questions about who/what/why every so often. Also, read aloud to him, and model your thinking about how you understand what is going on.
(BTW, if he's only 6, I wouldn't worry so much. Many kids at this age are more focused on the mechanics of decoding than what's actually happening.)
What sort of books are you reading with him? When you say "age level" what do you mean? Do you mean first grade? How do you know the level of books?
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Sep 11 2021, 11:23 pm
Today he read the entire "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile" treasury. He likes Amelia Bedilia because she's silly but the play on words is way too subtle for him. He like Curious George for the same reason.
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amother
Amaranthus


 

Post Sat, Sep 11 2021, 11:29 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Today he read the entire "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile" treasury. He likes Amelia Bedilia because she's silly but the play in words is way too subtle for him. He like Curious George for the same reason.

Amelia Bedelia is more second grade level.
Totally normal that he doesn't get the multiple meaning words etc Plus, it's a bit old fashioned for kids nowadays, so they don't always have the background knowledge to get what's going on.
Curious George works more as a read aloud than an independent read for first graders. Sometimes people assume that picture books are automatically for younger children but some have hard vocabulary and/or complicated concepts and actually are on a higher level.
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amother
Coffee


 

Post Sat, Sep 11 2021, 11:42 pm
I I don't want to take away from your thread but your total realy got to me dd just started 4th grade and has issues with reading comprehension books on facts that are boring-but need for school like science type of books or history are very hard for her if anyone has any tips.
For a 6 yr old I will tell you what dd teacher told me. When children start out the focus is on having them "learn to read". Reading to them helps with vocabulary and reading comprehension. In third or fourth grade that switches to "reading to learn" its that grade that they see who has the comprehension issues.
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amother
Amaranthus


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 1:01 am
amother [ Coffee ] wrote:
I I don't want to take away from your thread but your total realy got to me dd just started 4th grade and has issues with reading comprehension books on facts that are boring-but need for school like science type of books or history are very hard for her if anyone has any tips.

You can teach her how to locate and use text features. For example, look at headings to identify main idea of sections. Look at photos/captions, understand how to read a diagram or look at various visual aids that support the text. You can teach her how to highlight details that support the main idea in a section. Etc.
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#BestBubby




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 1:26 am
SEIT here.

The reason DS does not comprehend what he is reading is that he is too busy
concentrating on "decoding" to pay attention to the story.

In other words, he is not reading fluently enough for comprehension, although
he is fluent enough to read the words.

When YOU read the story to him, then he can comprehend because he does
not have to concentrate on decoding.
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amother
Honeysuckle


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 2:50 am
#BestBubby wrote:
SEIT here.

The reason DS does not comprehend what he is reading is that he is too busy
concentrating on "decoding" to pay attention to the story.

In other words, he is not reading fluently enough for comprehension, although
he is fluent enough to read the words.

When YOU read the story to him, then he can comprehend because he does
not have to concentrate on decoding.

Exactly this. School Psychology graduate student here.You should work on phonemic awareness, blending the sounds so he can first get the decoding part. Once decoding is easier, he will be able to focus on comprehension.
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amother
Tuberose


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 2:53 am
Hi, im an SLP.
I work on reading comprehension with my students. That includes play on words, sarcasm, jokes etc. Speech therapy is cool, you can do so much with it!
Maybe see if your son qualifies for2x a week to help with reading.
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amother
Amaranthus


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 3:14 am
amother [ Tuberose ] wrote:
Hi, im an SLP.
I work on reading comprehension with my students. That includes play on words, sarcasm, jokes etc. Speech therapy is cool, you can do so much with it!
Maybe see if your son qualifies for2x a week to help with reading.

It's ok if a 6 year old doesn't get figurative language just yet. It doesn't mean he needs speech therapy or has a learning disability or reading problem. It's normal! He probably needs to be reading different types of books, with simple storylines and less complex vocabulary while he is still working on becoming a more fluent reader.
Signed, a reading specialist.
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amother
Honeysuckle


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 3:21 am
amother [ Amaranthus ] wrote:
It's ok if a 6 year old doesn't get figurative language just yet. It doesn't mean he needs speech therapy or has a learning disability or reading problem. It's normal! He probably needs to be reading different types of books, with simple storylines and less complex vocabulary while he is still working on becoming a more fluent reader.
Signed, a reading specialist.

At age 6 he should be able to decode quickly enough to focus on comprehension. Focusing on visual aids to assist with reading stops working once they are in upper grades and stories have less visual aids. The earlier she assists him the better, doesn't mean he needs therapy but he needs response to intervention level 2, in other words, about 30 minutes twice a week for 3-6 weeks on phonemic awareness. Focusing on phonemic awareness is the key to everything.
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amother
Amaranthus


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 3:35 am
amother [ Honeysuckle ] wrote:
At age 6 he should be able to decode quickly enough to focus on comprehension. Focusing on visual aids to assist with reading stops working once they are in upper grades and stories have less visual aids. The earlier she assists him the better, doesn't mean he needs therapy but he needs response to intervention level 2, in other words, about 30 minutes twice a week for 3-6 weeks on phonemic awareness. Focusing on phonemic awareness is the key to everything.

That's pretty much what everyone is saying. Except it sounds like she's worried abt his comprehension for above grade level books. If he doesn't "get" Amelia Bedelia books in first grade, it is NOT a cause for concern. It certainly doesn't mean he needs to be in an intervention program or get speech therapy. I really doubt he would qualify.
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amother
Honeysuckle


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 4:07 am
amother [ Amaranthus ] wrote:
That's pretty much what everyone is saying. Except it sounds like she's worried abt his comprehension for above grade level books. If he doesn't "get" Amelia Bedelia books in first grade, it is NOT a cause for concern. It certainly doesn't mean he needs to be in an intervention program or get speech therapy. I really doubt he would qualify.

Yeah, doesn't mean he needs intervention or therapy, but it would be good if he could get a reading screening like Morris Informal Reading Inventory to pinpoint the issue.
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amother
Amaranthus


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 4:41 am
amother [ Honeysuckle ] wrote:
Yeah, doesn't mean he needs intervention or therapy, but it would be good if he could get a reading screening like Morris Informal Reading Inventory to pinpoint the issue.

Sure, it never hurts to have an informal reading assessment done. Most schools that I've worked in keep regular running records for all primary students, just to stay on top of things. (The informal you mention is just one of dozens.)
But, honestly, it sounds like he is perfectly on grade level and there is nothing to worry about. (Again, speaking as an experienced reading specialist.) Especially considering it's the first month of first grade; it sounds like his decoding is just fine if he's able to read Amelia Bedelia books (which are second grade level). And if his comprehension "issues" are just based on not understanding the figurative language and idioms in a second grade level book, he sounds fine in that area, too.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 6:38 am
Thank you to everyone for your input. It looks like I gave misleading examples. (I was answering the poster who asked what he likes to read.) He is able to read the words in the higher level books I mentioned. He is unable to independently understand the story line even in simpler books like "I can read" books. He also doesn't understand the story line if I do the reading (unless I digest it too).

His preschool teacher from last year mentioned that his comprehension difficulty will become more obvious when comprehension becomes the focus in 3rd grade. She added "so you have a few years to work on it." So that's what I'd like to do. Will focusing on phonemic awareness (I had to Google that) help?
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#BestBubby




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 12 2021, 8:22 am
If DS has trouble comprehending an
I CAN READ book when YOU are reading it to him then it is a comprehension problem.

Read one page of the story. Then ask DS to tell you back what you read in his own words.

If he cant ask him WH questions: who?what? when? where? and How?
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