Reading Comprehension

[GinainMD]

Hello everyone! I have a question about reading comprehension. This question relates to my second dd. I am kind of puzzled because she is doing really well overall but I've noticed that when I read to her, as in storytime or history reading or even poetry, she doesn't seem to be comprehending. However, when she reads to herself, as in Christian Liberty Nature Reader, she can answer the questions easily and will even elaborate. So I obviously don't want her to read the history, storytime and poetry to herself all of the time, although I do let her read the poems after I do, but I don't know what to do to help her. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[3sweeties]

Hi Gina,

She may just be more of an visual learner than an auditory one. I found that with my DS I had to shorten the amount I was reading before he narrated it. For example, say I needed to read 8 pages outloud for storytime -- I would stop at about page 4 and have him tell me about what we had just read, etc. and then do the same thing after the next 4 pages. This seemed to really help him and now he is able to listen and comprehend for longer amounts. As far as Poetry, sometimes I have to "prompt" him or ask him the questions in a different way for him to "get" it. Poetry and its interpretation is much more abstract and therefore more difficult than just a book read aloud, in my opinion. HTH!

[Tansy]

I would agree with 3sweeties, she is a visual learner.

Some things that work is shorter read alouds you may have to cast around for a bit, how long do you hold her attention before it wanders. is it one stanza? half a poem? 2 pages? 4 pages? keep trying till you find her tolerance. Then slowly extend it a few sentences at a time.

Also letting them look at a picture can help trigger remembrances in a story, let them look at any pictures in the book to help them remeber. They may have a image that the word are attached to in their minds. they see the picture and the words flow out.

also you can have her sit in your lap/next to you and follow along with you as you read the book.

To improve reading comp overall I would have her sit and listen to books on tape as often as possible, as this has been proven to increase reading comprehension. Don't make a big deal of it just pop one in the cd player while you are doing other things like chores.

[GinainMD]

Thanks for the suggestions! I do let her look at any pictures that might be in the text. I am going to try pausing in short intervels to see where I'm losing her. Also I think I'll try some books on tape as I think we would all enjoy this. We'll see how it goes next week. Thanks again.

[my3sons]

Well, your dd is good at comprehending what she reads herself, but not as good at comprehending what she has listened to - this is pretty normal in the younger elementary years especially. Usually dc are just initially better at one or the other, and no surprise the "listening well" one is usually the one dc struggle with more. (Just think how many times as moms we have to tell our dc to do something sometimes! ) I think it's important to help dc strengthen whichever of the 2 they are not doing as well with rather than cater to the one that came more naturally. So, I think you've gotten some excellent ideas to try here already. I agree that shortening the amount narrated upon is a super way to go about building comprehension. Modeling narration on small portions for our dc is another good way to show dc how comprehension works. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Gina,

The ladies have already given you such wonderful tips! I am a highly visual learner myself and have some visual learners in my bunch of boys too, so I know what you mean. One really helpful tip is to allow your visual learner to follow along with the text of whatever you are reading, sitting right next to you as you read. Seeing the words as you're reading is a huge help for those little visual ones! You can even run your finger under the lines of text if it isn't distracting to you or your little listener. I do this for history, poetry, science, and everything I read for my visual little ones (as soon as they can read well enough to follow along). Just a thought.

Blessings,
Carrie