dd11 struggles with comprehension--advice?

[striving2Bprov31]

My oldest, dd11 is in CtC right now. I have slowed it down to half speed for awhile at the advice of Carrie and that has really helped some of the issues we were having a few weeks ago.

If my daughter has a "weak" area academically it is comprehension. She loves to read. I notice these comprehension struggles aren't just in reading and then trying to narrate. It shows up when she reads directions to something. She really has a hard time connecting with what she read (understanding) and then following through with it. She will read directions (cooking a recipe) and say, "I'm still not sure what to do." I've been working with her to improve this for a long time, at least 2 years. I won't rehash everything that I am doing to help her grown in this area, but wanted to know what you all would suggest!

Thank you!

[blessedmomof4]

I don't have any suggestions, but am definitely interested to see some from others on the board, as I have recently discovered the same issue with my daughter who is 13, not in the narration department, but in reading and following written directions.

[alydar]

Another interested party here. I myself have comprehension issues, especially reading comprehension, and I think I may have passed it on to my DS 6.5. I'll be watching this thread.

[striving2Bprov31]

I really think that Julie and/or Carrie will reply to this when they see it!!

I know they will be able to help us!

[deltagal]

Here's some previous links on this question for you to ponder:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7681&p=56151&hilit= ... ion#p56151

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7681&p=56151&hilit= ... ion#p56151

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3144&p=23523&hilit= ... ion#p23523

[Carrie]

Liz,

I'm seeing two main parts to your question, so I'll focus on the learning to read and follow directions part of your question first with this response, as I believe this is a different area than overall comprehension. Learning to read and follow written directions is a skill that takes time to develop. Just as with any skill, you'll see the most improvement when the skill is worked on daily. Some kiddos do better with written directions than others. Those who automatically follow directions better are typically kiddos who are detail oriented or who are very systematic! I am a direction follower, and my husband is not! However, my hubby has learned to be more of a follower over time.

Usually, kiddos who struggle with following written directions are those who haven't had to do it on a regular basis or have learned to get by without this skill. They learn to skim or wait until someone tells them what to do. In homeschooling this is often an overlooked skill, because when teachers have fewer students to oversee, we often read the directions aloud, do the reading for our kiddos, and make sure they have followed every direction. Come to think of it, it is also an overlooked skill in the classroom, as classroom teachers do this too! Either way, consequently the students rely on us for this skill. As parents, we likely ask students to follow written directions in sporadic cases, like the example you gave when children are baking, but the steady practice is what will bring improvement.

Within HOD, as you work toward having your child do the boxes marked 'I' independently and take time to train her to do it, you will see her begin to take over the direction reading and the work that goes with it. Begin by having your child read the directions out loud to you, instead of you reading them to her. Then, have her do as much as she can by following the directions without you jumping in to fix what she's missed. If she isn't sure what to do, direct her back to the directions with your finger under the first direction. Have her read the first direction aloud to you and follow it. Then, have her read the second part and follow it, and so on.

When she is done with a box of the plans, have her read the directions for that box out loud to you to hopefully catch any parts of it she may not have followed. If you can still see that something is missing from her work that was in the directions, run your finger under that part of the directions while having her read it to you. Over time, she will learn to do 3 important things that will make her a better follower of written directions. 1) She will read the directions through before she begins. 2) She will refer back to the directions when she's not sure what to do. 3) She will reread the directions at the end of her work time to see that she has followed them all. You could even write these 3 steps on a card and post it for her to follow on her own eventually. Just be sure that your days of reading the directions to her are waning, until you no longer do it at all. I know this seems like a lot of work at first, but it is work to learn to follow written directions.

This is such an important skill and one that takes time to develop. It is what helps a child gain independence and is integral to so many parts of life! Yet, it is an often overlooked skill and one that we as parents often love to skip to just "tell the child what to do because it is quicker". You're not alone in finding the progression takes time, and with certain types of kiddos it can take quite awhile! Blessedly, the HOD guide will incrementally train your children in this skill as the student come up through the levels, if you allow them to read from the guide more and more as they come up. Since you've jumped into a higher level of HOD with your daughter, you can expect it to take some time for her to develop this skill. Just be encouraged that as you systematically work on this skill, it will come! The difference in my own boys from guide to guide is tremendous, so do not despair!

As far as overall comprehension goes, DITHR, oral, and eventually written narration practice will make a huge difference in comprehension. It takes time to see the change, but those are the best means toward better comprehension from lengthier readings. These things are built into to each of our programs and will improve comprehension over time.

Blessings,
Carrie

[tnahid]

Thank you, Carrie. This was helpful to me, as my son (10) has a hard time with directions and comprehension as well.

[my3sons]

Within HOD, as you work toward having your child do the boxes marked 'I' independently and take time to train her to do it, you will see her begin to take over the direction reading and the work that goes with it. Begin by having your child read the directions out loud to you, instead of you reading them to her. Then, have her do as much as she can by following the directions without you jumping in to fix what she's missed. If she isn't sure what to do, direct her back to the directions with your finger under the first direction. Have her read the first direction aloud to you and follow it. Then, have her read the second part and follow it, and so on.

This is excellent advice! With my first ds, I realized looking ahead to PHFHG (as I was editing it ) that I had been reading every single direction to him for Bigger Hearts for HIs Glory. I decided I needed to gradually begin moving him toward reading directions too. This is the first time I really let the guide become "his" (before it was mine all mine! ). Let me make clear he was 8 yo and in the last third of Bigger Hearts when we started this. Anyway, I had him do just what Carrie described, with me sitting near him helping him. This was tough at first. He really just wanted me to "tell him what to do". However, after consistently doing this for the end of Bigger Hearts, and then really focusing on the "I" boxes first in PHFHG, he was gradually able to learn to follow directions. Yes, there were and are some flops along the way. Excellent learning comes from that! Turns out salt instead of sugar in cookies tastes bad, who knew? I do not believe he's read that wrong on a cooking assignment since.

1) She will read the directions through before she begins. 2) She will refer back to the directions when she's not sure what to do. 3) She will reread the directions at the end of her work time to see that she has followed them all.

These have been the exact results of teaching my ds to follow directions. In fact, he now PREFERS to follow directions rather than have me tell him what to do... REALLY prefers it actually. I prefer it too. My middle ds finishing the last 1/3 of Bigger Hearts right now is starting to learn to follow directions too. I started by having him get out the appropriate book(s) for the box we are doing. He needs to look in the manual to do this, as I am not telling him the books. Next, I had him look in the manual for page numbers to do for independent things. So, I jotted on a markerboard things for his independent time while I teach LHTH to Emmett. The markerboard looks like this usually: finish history activity (i.e. timeline, art, vocabulary, etc.), cursive, poetry copywork, math (I teach the hands-on earlier), read DITHOR book saving a few pages to read to me, get science ready

This is teaching him to look in the manual for page numbers, and for science to get things ready (i.e. materials for experiments, jot down question and guess for experiment lab sheet, etc). He is just now really able to do this with GREAT success! I can see he is getting ready for PHFHG. Very exciting indeed. These are little ways to begin to teach how to follow written directions. I hope it can help someone in the early stages of this! HOD really does teach dc how to follow step-by-step directions from guide to guide, and it has been a wonderful thing for our sons to learn. I've said it before, but HOD's direction following teaching is the reason my dc can bake, put together shelves, build erector sets, and complete projects on their own. It's a HUGE skill to acquire - very worth spending time to teach! I'm so glad you asked.

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

I wanted to add that if reading comprehension is the difficulty, some things to try are...
*going half-speed to take real time to work on CM LA style skills
*reading fewer pages so dc can focus on a smaller amount of information to narrate upon or to do whatever comprehension follow-up is planned (this works for DITHOR and Storytime)
*reading books that are easier (this works for DITHOR and Storytime)
*stopping every page or two to "recap" what's been read in just a few sentences (this works in history, science, etc.) It might go something like this...
"So, the "Philadelphia" was taken by pirates. The Americans are rowing out in a catch boat to sneak on the "Philadelphia" to overtake it. I wonder if they will succeed? Let's keep reading to see."
*consider if a younger guide in HOD would be a better placement

I hope this helps if someone is having this type of comprehension difficulties!
In Christ,
Julie

[moedertje]

Liz,
Thank you for asking this question! I truly praise the Lord that you asked!!!
I was pondering this week end how my ds 8 was going to increase his independence in Preparing. Julie had already enlightened me on having him get the books out a few months ago and that has worked beautifully. We are almost done with Bigger and I have been letting him do the activities in Day 5, but he misses some of the info at times! I notice this in his math as well. So, now I can do the next step in having him read the instructions to me first.
What a blessing truly a blessing this board is to those of us who are emerging teachers
So thank you Carrie and Julie for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer questions in such incredible detail
May the Lord continue to give you wisdom and bless you for the giving of your time!

[anointedhsmom]

This is a great thread! This is also the very reason I am having my son start Preparing right now and do it through summer too. I wanted to give him an easier lead into CTC in the fall. More time for us to work through the growing pains I'm bookmarking this thread to come back to when I forget how much time it takes to learn this skill and I've lost my patience.

[striving2Bprov31]

Thank you all so much for the encouraging replies to this thread! Thank you, Carrie and Julie, for the attentive and thorough explanations!

Carrie, it encouraged me to see that I am already doing some of the things that you suggested. This encouraged me that I truly CAN teach my kids, and that I am on the right track! Sometimes us newbies have days where we doubt our "abilities"! Your words were great to hear.

Julie, your words are always helpful and encouraging. Thank you!

I am going to be rereading this thread several times until it really "clicks" in my mind!

[mrsrandolph]

I would seriously consider having some testing done. There may be potential processing issues in play.

I have a child with processing issues, and what I heartily recommend is a full battery of Neuro-Psychological testing.

You would likely meet with the neuro-psychologist without your child for the first meeting. Here you would clue the Dr. in about your concerns. From your meeting, he/she will determine which battery of tests to perform with your child.

The wealth of information that can be gleaned from these tests can go a LONG way toward helping YOU help your child...especially as a homeschooling parent.