Courses to help with comprehension

[Mandzi34]

Hi all,

DS recently sat the exam for Colet Court 10+ deferred entry. He is in a good state primary school and the teacher suggested that he try out. He passed the exam and got selected for interview. He didn't get a place because although his maths was 'sound' and writing was good, his comprehension and vocabulary were below the levels they would expect at this stage. In his school he is in the top group for everything, however the comprehension is slightly lower. It doesn't help that he's the youngest, born 30 August. Anyway, his father wants to try again for the 11+ entry. I don't agree but hey ho. We didn't tutor him first time around. I just worked through the Bond books with him but we only had a month as it was a last minute entry.

I don't want him tutored but am looking at courses to further push the comprehension/English in general. Can anyone give me any advice on supporting him? He'll do maths/VR with me but comprehension is another battle altogether!

Thanks!

Hi
I tutor in English and cover comprehension at this level. IMHO the Bond books are not strong in their comprehension training, in comparison with their other resources. Their questions are often ambiguously worded, the answers restricted and at times confusing, and the passages are dull!

Are you good at comprehension? If so, read with your son, and stop every couple of pages to ask him questions, checking if he can work out things that are implied or foreshadowed in the text; if he can work out what a new word means from its context etc. I read to DC every single night in yr 5, from a wide range (usually fiction). We kept a notebook and wrote down all vocab they didn't know then used it often in conversation, sometimes jokily. They both did very well in 11+ at schools of similar academic strength to Colet Court.

Read aloud from authors who challenge young readers: Eoin Colfer, Cornelia Funke, Philip Pullman, Morpurgo, Joan Aitken are all good at developing vocab. Louis Sachar is easier to read but great on story structure and moral concepts for discussion. Hampton school used ot have a great fiction reading list to prep for 11+ on its admissions pages. Not sure if it still does. To familiarise him with vocab of old-fashioned extracts, we used poetry more often as it's shorter and easier to access. Old Possum's Cats by T S Eliot and the dramatic monologues of Robert Browning, short bits of Shakespeare (the rude mechanicals or the Macbeth witches) as these ease them into confidence with archaic language which is sometimes sprung on them. Also make sure he reads a newspaper - even Metro or ES are OK but the I, compact version of The Independent is good for factual reading and structuring.

To increase vocab, play synonym games with him:
how many words can he think of that mean shining (glittering, sparkling, dazzling, glinting, gleaming, polished, burnished, glowing etc) or smell (scent, perfume, stench, reek, pong, aroma etc) Encourage him to reach for a dictionary when he doesn't know a word. Use long words in conversation with him and check if he got them.

We also used to play alphabet games. Pick a subject (eg animals, fruit) and then go right through the alphabet finding an adjective and noun for each letter. It can be silly (ambitious apple; boisterous banana) as this encourages confidence with language. Play scrabble and banagrams and make words he doesn't know so he can learn them when he challenges you.

Oh and the exam technique obvious: make sure he answers in full sentences, checks how many marks each answer offers and makes one point per mark.

Hi,

Thank you very much for the advice. My comprehension and English are good and we do read together most evenings. I agree with you about the Bond books. This is exactly what we have found with the texts being quite tedious and questions confusing. I am further encouraging him to use a dictionary also.

The problem I have with him is that I do want him to practice his exam technique like you mention but have difficulty with him doing his best at home. He is quite lazy when it comes to giving a detailed answer, although he has picked up that the marks for each question are important. He will happily work through a maths paper and VR paper over a comprehension test.

I don't want a tutor for him but am considering sending him to creative writing classes and possibly Kumon? He works hard in school and in a group environment.

What are your views?

Many thanks again.

I know people who swear by Kumon and others who say it's untrained teen tutors rote-quoting with no grasp themselves of any mathematical concepts. Not tried it, as DC were OK with maths. (We did tutor btw. Most do. Is there a reason you don't want to?)
CW classes would be great for essay/descriptive writing element but they might not work on comprehensions.

Something else we did was download previous papers from similar schools. I think schools like Hampton, Kings, RGS Guildford, Manchester Grammar etc had some papers online. can't remember offhand which schools did but we used them a lot as practise papers. And I mocked some up too.

I was thinking about Kumon for English/comprehension as his maths is very good. His VR is also not a problem. I just want to push the comprehension as it is his weaker area.

I have done the papers with him also but some of them don't give the answers and I find it useful to go over them with him, knowing exactly what they are looking for. Do you know of schools which give you the answer sheet?

I am not sure a tutor will be anymore successful than me which is why we haven't gone down that route. He is a sociable child and I like the idea of a class setting to be honest.

I used schofield and sims reading comprehension with my DS. There are four books for KS2 in increasing difficulty. You need to buy the answers separately.
www.schofieldandsims.co.uk/product/506/ks2-comprehension-book-1

Sorry I can't remember offhand, but if you hunt round online, some of the schools do give answer sheets too. Pretty certain Manchester RGS does.

Thanks again girls, I will take a look!

Are there any techniques to help memory of meanings if words? NY 9 yo reads well, and we read to her daily to. However, she cannot retain the meaning of words that are explained to her. Even words she has come across lots.
btw we also read more old fashioned books- the language is so much more mature and the vocabulary wider than modern novels. The subject matter is usually suitable though we've had some interesting conversation s about things that come up, such as smoking, slavery, class structure. In the past.

For goodness sake! I am literate, sadly my phone is not.

I just received an email last week about two comprehension and creative writing workshops in Barnes over Easter which might be near you. We did the Year 5 ones last year and they were great and have now done the Year 6 ones too. PM me if you want details.

Atomic, the best technique I know is to get her to use the words, once she's found out what they mean. Get her to put them in stories etc that she is writing for homework, and see if she can use them in conversation with you. Turn it into a game.

Thanks again all. You have given me some great advice which I will put into practice. I am going to buy a white board so that I can write new vocabulary down and definitions.

I know you said you don't want a tutor but I think it helps if you want him to pass the 11 plus; better to get the experts. All the kids I know who have been tutored have got into good schools.

Must admit, I've not heard of anyone getting into Colet Court from state primary without a tutor. It's nothing o do with how bright they are, but how well the tutors know the schools and how to prepare them. Although I teach English and DH is excellent at maths and NVR and we both could help with VR, we got a tutor because she really knew the score. Our DC had a very relaxed year doing just one paper a week for her, and ended up getting into all three schools they applied for with scholarship offers from one. That was 100% down to the tutor as their state primary was so relaxed they spent most of the day doing dance or out pond dipping (only slight exaggeration there!)

A boy from DS primary school got into Colet Court without a tutor after applying just a few weeks before the exam. He is very bright though and is a September born so far more mature than my DS who is an August baby. I realise that state primary's aren't preparing children for Indy's though.

I understand what you say about a tutor but I'm not sure he/she would get much more from him than I do to be honest. As I mentioned, he will do the maths and VR, but when asked to read a text and answer questions he just creates and we often get tears. He isn't below in comprehension (Yr 5 working at level 5C) but it does need work.

The ISEB comprehension books are a very good source of tough comprehensions, and I think you can get an answer book too. That will really help focus on what a good answer looks like.

Thank you, lastlines

Thanks Beingfrank. I will have a look at the books!

Lastlines any recommendations for tutors who know the SW London Indys and good at focusing on areas such as VR/NVR, interviews Q's which can be indiosyncratic to each school and makes the difference between getting a place or not. PM me if you prefer to. TIA

The thing is, he is much less likely to 'create' if he's with someone else rather than you. We all know how angelic our DCs usually are when they are with other children's parents. If the worst came to the worst, you could bribe him to do the tutoring sessions, based on the tutor reporting good cooperation.

Hi Peltata, wondering if you ever received some ideas of tutors from Lastlines. Our son is probably going to sit 11+ at Saint Paul Jr this year (former Colet Court) and we are looking for a bit of help. Thanks in advance

Good evening, we are looking for a bit of help for our DS who is going to sit 11+ At St Paul Jr later this year. If anyone has heard of a great tutor I would be very grateful. Best wishes