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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Reading comprehension advice

22 replies

KnotofAnxiety · 05/07/2022 14:37

My son is 9 and struggles badly with this.
He can read well but isn't very fluent and will often add in or miss out small words.
It's like he tries to read fast and reads his version of it if that makes sense. He also would rather do anything but read, we've tried lots of things like reading comics, instructions etc. He will sit and do it but takes no enjoyment from it at all. He's very sporty and fit and that's all he wants to do and reading is an absolute chore to him.
Can anyone recommend some great workbooks that we can use with him to help with the reading comprehension, Amazon have lots but need to narrow it down.
Really want to support him with this over the summer holidays as I'm worried he'll fall further behind

OP posts:
CoastalWave · 05/07/2022 14:41

Hire a tutor. If your son hates doing it, he will absolutely resent you making him do it over the holidays! Workbooks are so boring.

What have his teachers said?

TeenDivided · 05/07/2022 14:43

Just to clarify, is it his reading accuracy that's the issue and/or his actual comprehension?

So if you read out loud would he follow it, and be able to infer correctly?

(Also, if he finds reading a chore, are you really sure workbooks are the way to go?)

glamourousindierockandroll · 05/07/2022 14:51

If he hates it then i'm not sure that workbooks are going to be especially motivating.

To help comprehension, when you're reading with him, ask him to summarise and predict at reasonable intervals. Ask him to define difficult vocab or look it up if it can't be deduced from the context of the sentence.

KnotofAnxiety · 05/07/2022 14:54

I'm not sure if workbooks are the answer..
I just want to help him and thought that could be a good way?

OP posts:
KnotofAnxiety · 05/07/2022 14:56

Teachers have said to make sure we read to him and with him which we do..
If we read a bit and then ask questions he would shrug.. or say I'm not sure.
If we push him a little he will get cross and say he can't do it
I don't want to do anything that will push him further away from reading etc. He is already behind and has support at school

OP posts:
KnotofAnxiety · 05/07/2022 14:59

We thought about a tutor.. would once a week be enough to make a difference?

OP posts:
KarrotKake · 05/07/2022 15:01

To help with comprehension, try readtheory.org
You will need an account, but it's free.
If it's skipping words, I'm not sure. DS stopped when we did some dyslexia intervention with nonsense sentences. But it could have been age or the intervention.

LetItGoToRuin · 05/07/2022 15:51

"He can read well but isn't very fluent and will often add in or miss out small words."

My DD went through a phase of occasionally missing or adding small words, and sometimes guessing at bigger words. With her it was for a different reason, as she was trying to maintain the flow and the expression whilst reading - she loved to 'tell the story'. Having read lots of posts in the Primary Education board on Mumsnet, I understood it was important to be totally accurate, even if that meant slowing down a bit, so any time my DD slipped up, I'd ask her to reread that sentence again. She gradually grew out of the habit of making the little mistakes.

One thing she did for a while was pause for a while at the top of each new page, and I realised she was reading it through silently. She would then read it out loud accurately, with appropriate inflection. Perhaps you could encourage your DS either to read a short passage silently in his head to prepare himself before reading out loud, or instead to have two tries at reading it out loud, where the first time is focussing on the accuracy of the reading, and the second time should include more shape and characterisation. That might also help his understanding of what he's reading.

"If we read a bit and then ask questions he would shrug.. or say I'm not sure.
If we push him a little he will get cross and say he can't do it"

Perhaps you could make the questions easier, eg "Is the character feeling happy or sad?" so he has just two options, rather than having to describe it himself.

Also, perhaps see if you can encourage the humour. Use silly voices for different characters whilst modelling reading to him (for example with you and he taking it in turns to read a page), and encourage him to do the same.

What about 'choose your own adventure' books, where your DS can influence what happens next?

ZebraKid71 · 05/07/2022 19:44

Have you tried asking questions which aren't directly about the story? So things like "how would you feel if that happened to you?" "If you were in charge of writing this story, what would happen next?" So questions that lead to more of a natural conversation but still require am understanding.

I wouldn't do workbooks if he wouldn't enjoy it but maybe find other reading materials - comics or magazines or books from shows that he likes for example. If it is the reading he isn't into you need to frame it around something he does like. Paw Patrol do loads of books (they aren't great but my ds loves them). Good luck!

KnotofAnxiety · 05/07/2022 20:10

We have plenty of things to read, have invested in loads of things to try and get him to enjoy reading. He loves the books but reading is the biggest chore for him!
He has a brilliant imagination but struggles to answer questions like what might happen next etc
I think the workbook might just be some short and sweet ways to get him to practice maybe
I will try anything to be honest.. don't want this to hold him back like it does

OP posts:
DadeeBee · 22/03/2023 06:06

Hi OP
My DD seems to have a similar problem at a similar age. I understand its been a few months since you posted so wanted to check if you have recommendations for what worked and what didn't. I appreciate we are talking about two potentially very different people but would be interested to know if you have recommendations for any books, workbooks or activities that helped your DS?

SamPoodle123 · 22/03/2023 07:38

KnotofAnxiety · 05/07/2022 20:10

We have plenty of things to read, have invested in loads of things to try and get him to enjoy reading. He loves the books but reading is the biggest chore for him!
He has a brilliant imagination but struggles to answer questions like what might happen next etc
I think the workbook might just be some short and sweet ways to get him to practice maybe
I will try anything to be honest.. don't want this to hold him back like it does

Have you tried easier books and just reading for fun, where he can read on his own and you do not ask him questions? My ds was not that keen and we got a Pokeman encyclopedia. Suddenly he was sounding out all the tricky names and had an interest. Then we kept finding other books he loved. I did not ask him questions after and just left him to read for enjoyment. I think once they read for enjoyment they start to retain the information. He went from expected to GDS once he started reading for fun.

KnotofAnxiety · 23/03/2023 14:10

Hi.. unfortunately no advice. We are still struggling with this. He has improved slowly but still a bit of a battle

OP posts:
gato21 · 24/03/2023 06:03

KnotofAnxiety · 23/03/2023 14:10

Hi.. unfortunately no advice. We are still struggling with this. He has improved slowly but still a bit of a battle

This might be totally the wrong suggestion, but how is his memory? Can he play "find the pair" games or "I went to the market and I bought"?

The reason I ask is that mine is doing a lot of guessing whilst reading and skips over the small words and our school have suggested that it is his working memory that needs to be improved. It is worth having a check (and there is a bit of info online although I cannot find a free screening test).

HTH

1AngelicFruitCake · 24/03/2023 13:26

My daughter doesn’t enjoy reading but has good comprehension. I’m a teacher and have always asked her about characters, got her to predict what next etc. I’ve had to make reading for 15 minutes a few times a week and a requirement for pocket money. She’s 8, I hate doing it, wanted her to love reading but I’ve had to accept this is the only way to help her improve. I’ve spent years backing off, library, trying different books everything you can imagine!

Comprehension questions, google some for his year group and try and get a few in each time you read.

YerAWizardHarry · 24/03/2023 13:29

I have used video comprehension with my class which gives them the skills to transfer over to what they read

Itstillgoeson · 24/03/2023 13:38

Has he tried Reading Eggs/Fast Phonics - the online app? Check with the teachers it aligns with what they are doing.

WorkinMumsince4ever · 27/05/2023 00:23

If this is still a problem, perhaps you can take a step back and ask him to imagine being in the story. What does he see, where is he, what is the voice of each character, smells, sounds, etc. in one of your replies you mentioned he has a lot of imagination. Use it for his benefit .
It can also be he doesn’t understand the words. So it’s better to write them down, look for them in the dictionary and write their meaning. It helps wonders because he will be using his memory, fine motor skills, sound, etc. to come with an answer. And then you can help him to remember that word. The more he learns, the less he will have to look for later on.

wish you both successful reading!

thepresureofausername · 01/06/2023 09:07

Put the subtitles on when watching the telly.
Model being a reader yourself - go to libraries/bookshops, pick up a book and read when you're just chilling at home.
Read to him with no expectation of him answering questions, but model your own understanding of the text by commenting on it eg, "my goodness what a horrible character X is but Y is so kind and patient"
Check out LoveReading4Kids website for book ideas.
Read him an excellent series - his age is perfect for Harry Potter, Narnia, Alex Rider.
For some kids it's non fiction books like Guinness World Record book or Minecraft books that they can dip into that ignite that love of reading.
Just try to foster his love of stories/information in a really low key way, but if all else fails - bribe him.
Oh and if you do get him to read to you, keep it really short chunks. 5 to 10 mins max, 2 or 3 times a week.

miccoops · 06/06/2023 14:01

My son has always struggled with comprehension and just sat his year 6 SATS.
We did a few things to help him over the last couple of years. Firstly found a tutor which helped build confidence. Then we read together, an interesting book and took it in turns to read a page each and chat about it. I tried to make it a bonding time, we snuggled up somewhere comfy. In year 6 I did also add some workbooks for us to do together and we started off reading and then discussing answers before eventually moving on to written answers.. It was a slow but worthwhile progression. I also do lots of library trips and try different books. Also a reading reward chart was a good motivator.

The reality for my DS is that comprehension is never going to be something he enjoys, he's much more a maths/science type.. I wanted to do our best to prep his for SATS, and don't get me started on this year reading paper!

Itstillgoeson · 07/06/2023 09:21

Taking it in turn to read a page helped my DS as he was resistant to getting going @miccoops Also getting a range of factual books on subjects that interest him. He loves me reading fiction to him.

colouroftherainbow · 07/06/2023 17:36

I had similar issues with my DC this year, unfortunately had not seen this thread but have followed similar advice to what has been posted.

Firstly, we made sure all books are read together - mostly they read to me but I also read some when they are tired. Regular stops to ask questions about the story and confirm they are following what is happening

For comprehension, I bought a workbook to do together at home. When we do a comprehension, we start by reading the passage from beginning to end (DC reading) then we pick it apart. Ensure they know definition of the words, can infer from the text, understand the nuances and play on words. After this, we look at the questions. I have found that they can answer the questions pretty easily by this point as we have talked about the text. They prefer doing it with me like this and no longer find it so overwhelming which is now reflected in marks at school but this has taken the last 6 months

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