heartofdakota.com

I have posted before about Noah's difficulty with reading comprehension especially comprehending The Story of the Ancient World. I have been having him highlight as he reads and am taking Carrie's suggestion and listing people and places on the whiteboard before he reads. He still just doesn't seem to be comprehending. He does ok with the the daily activities that follow the reading with the exception of the written narration. He reads and then I usually go over the questions with him. On the majority of days he can't answer even one of the questions without looking it up in the book. He appears to have no clue what he has just read. I guide him to the right page to find the answer and once he reads a paragraph in isolation he can answer the questions. Once he answers the questions he can then write his narration independently. In fact he is doing very well with this part. I see some of the same diffictulty with his science reading, but with that he gives more general narrations instead of specific, but at least he can tell me something. I have to admit I am feeling very discouraged. I know there are some processing issues from the CP, but I just don't know how to help him. It seems like nothing I have tried is working. If anyone has any other ideas for him I would love to hear them.

Lynn - I think you are doing a great job with Noah, and I like the ideas you are using! I am sorry you are feeling discouraged, but I just think you are an awesome mom, and you are really doing such a good job of teaching Noah. I wanted to tell you that first.

It is encouraging that Noah is able to read a part in isolation and from that answer the questions. That shows he can comprehend the material, but just not all of it all at once. I am wondering if it would work to try some checkpoints in his reading? Could he read a page silently, come tell you the gist of it, maybe like a 3-5 sentence oral summary narration, and then do the same with the next page, one page at a time, until the reading is done? You could just be near him, and he could pause when he reaches the bottom of the page and give it to you. When it comes to the portion he will be doing his written narration on, you could jot phrases of his oral narration down on a marker board as he says it, and then from that he could compose his written narration. Eventually, you could go to 2 pages he read and then gave the oral summary narration, etc., until he works up to the entire reading. He could easily do this with his science too, and you could have him begin by noting the bolded titles. I think he probably just needs to strengthen his habit of attention while reading lengthier passages and more difficult material, but because he is able to answer questions about smaller parts of the reading correctly, I think this shows he has good reading comprehension in place already. A child who did not understand what he read at all would not be able to answer questions even if he did reread a paragraph to do so - so this is a good sign Noah can do this.

I have to admit that I have even had to work on strengthening this habit of attention when I am reading more difficult material and lengthier passages. When I first began reading Jane Austen, I could read the same few pages several times and all of a sudden find my attention to really thinking about the reading gone. I really had to think to understand and enjoy her books, and it took me awhile of focusing attention to that task before I could truly enjoy what I was reading and understand it well. This was because the books I'd been reading were not of the same caliber as Ms. Austen's - they were much easier. It wasn't that I couldn't read Austen, or that I couldn't understand what I was reading, but more that I did not have the habit of carefully attending to what I was reading the entire time I was reading. I think Noah may be experiencing this very thing. I actually would pause at the end of several pages of reading, and regroup in my mind what had happened. I would imagine what I would tell someone had just happened if I were to want to share it with them. This became second nature the more I did it, and eventually, no pausing to do so was necessary. This is why I think the oral summary narration of just a handful or less sentences would help Noah organize his thoughts more and remember what he was reading more as he goes. This is just one idea, but I want to encourage you that I do think this skill will come, and I do think Noah is a bright boy who is up to this task! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7633

In this link we were discussing a similar problem. But via auditory processing.
I'm wondering is his processing issue visual?
Do you think he would do better if it were read to him?
Many associations for the blind have volunteers who will read the books, you pay a small fee for it to be read aloud, then they have it for their library. So then he could listen to the book as he is reading it or directly after he reads it. Of course you could read it as well into a mp3 file or even an old fashioned tape recorder. Then he can still do the work Independently.

listening to books has been proven to raise comprehension. But in cases where you want him to remeber things I so agree with Julie. You could read it in very small bites. A tiny bit at a time.

Somethign else to consider is brain training. Over at lingui systems there is a book called "No Glamor Memory" it has auditory and visual processing strategies to help Noah learn how to retain information. I use one of these no glamor books with my DD2 (auditory processing) . It is not a curriculum book it is more like training the brain to respond/remember. She loves doing it. I find it is super fun, we do it for 2 min a day. It really helps me see where she is struggling. (cause you stop and move on to next chapter when they get stuck) Adding in brain training has really helped her.

Don't despair he may just need more time Our therapist keeps saying input Input input, Its in ther is just having a hard time getting out. Don't forget that!

Julie-thank you so much for your kind words. I think it is just one of those weeks that I haven't been getting enough sleep and the enemy is taking advantage of that. I really like your ideas of breaking things up into chunks. I think it is training him to pay attention to details. I completely understand your example as I just tried to read Pride and Prejudice and had a terrible time focusing. If I think of it in those terms for him it makes so much sense. I may also try the white-board idea and see if that helps.

Tansy-you know last year he did so much better with the comprehension if he read it himself verses the read-alouds. I have always said he was a visual learner and the auditory processing wasn't as good. This year it seems to be the exact opposite. He does very well with the storytime read alouds. I am very interested in the memory book as I am still figuring out exactly what some of his glitches are.

Lynn,

The ladies have given you such wonderful suggestions that are worth a try. This board is such a blessing at it is full of ladies blessed with wisdom and empathy!

I have other suggestions that I could offer but I hesitate to have you do too much to the reading, in the fear that it may take the joy out of the readings for your sweet little guy. One thing I do want to share is that in CTC since we are having kiddos take over their history readings on their own for the first time, we are not expecting excellent comprehension. The reason for this is that doing the reading on one's own IS actually the skill being introduced. In RTR we will practice this skill and by the following guide, we will be expecting very good comprehension on the readings.

At HOD, skills are always introduced in stages in our guides, and its hard not to expect mastery the first time a skill appears. But the skill of reading to oneself and comprehending it is simply being introduced in this guide. That is why the follow-up assignments for the reading are not as involved in the comprehension area as they were requirement-wise in Preparing Hearts. We know this is a first time out for independent reading of the history texts. This in itself is no easy feat! Simply getting through the text and having some idea of what it is about is a good first step.

I liken this to the transition from an oral narration to a written narration. Once kiddos have been orally narrating very well, they are ready to move on to written narrations. However, when kiddos first begin written narrations, it is normal to expect a very short written narration that is nowhere near what the child would have given you in oral form. This is because it is a new skill, requiring the coming together of the oral and written word (including punctuation, spelling, capitalization, grammar, and simply getting words out of the mind onto the paper in a cohesive form).

The same is true for the history readings. Once kiddos take over this large task, it takes a bit to read and comprehend, even if the story is a familiar one. Plus, the vocabulary used in the living books in CTC is not easy either. So, the kiddos are actually decoding while reading, trying to figure out what the text is saying, trying to assimilate the information into what they already know, and then trying to do a follow-up assignment on what they read. You'll find that the activities in CTC actually layer over one another to aid in better comprehension, making sure the history text isn't the only time kiddos have heard or seen the information. So, kiddos will read it in a different format in their Bible readings, get a different slant on the place in the Geography of the Bible Lands, hear more about the topic in Diana Waring, draw or sketch about it in the Draw and Write, hear a book from the time period in the Storytime and so on. All work together to aid in comprehension.

So, I would honestly let Noah wade through the history reading making his own connections. I would be careful not to "do" too much to the text or make him think he's not doing it right. Otherwise, he will begin trying to read for the one right answer, rather than trying to make his own sense of it, and the working through the text to make his own sense of it is the valuable part. If he can do the activities in the guide and get through the text, then he is doing what we would expect of him in CTC. He is learning to take over the history readings on his own. This is the introductory stage of this skill. Comprehension will come in the coming years as the skill is practiced. Think of it as a journey!

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie-Thanks so much for you well though out reply. It makes a lot of sense to me. I saw a 6th grader reading book today and it made me realize that The Story of the Ancient World really is a challenging book. Vocabulary has always been a weak area for him so I think the tough vocabulary in it make it even more challenging for him. Thinking about it as a beginning step in the comprehension process helps me a lot. I have seen his written narrations really take off this year so I am just going to trust that it will happen with his comprehension also. I am noticing something about him. He seems to do better if he talks out loud as he reads. He will say things like "wow so the sea turtle can't pull its head in its shell like other turtles", and then he goes on reading. It is almost like he needs to do that to process. I have been letting him do it. I don't get in a lengthy discussion I just say wow that's cool and he goes on. He is starting to do that some with "The story of the Ancient World". Maybe that is the first step towards comprehension for him.

Thank you so much for helping me see all the steps and the thought process involved in the way the curriculum is written. Once again I am so thankful for the gift God has given you to be able to write such a comprehensive curriculum.