Reading comprehension help/resources

[ML82]

Hello mums,

My DS reads and has always read beautifully. However, now that he is in Year 3 (selective independent school) we have realised his text comprehension is not where it should be.

Can anyone recommend resources/apps/books we might try to use to support him at home.

He is a super smart kid and I suspect it's more about finding the whole thing quite boring than anything else. Of course he has to do it whether he likes it or not so any suggestions on how to make it somehow less painful would be much appreciated!

You could try the GL books, there are loads of comprehension options on amazon.

I have just put many comprehension books/ papers on facebook marketplace. I tutored for selective tests for many years.
Pat Wakefield

Comprehension practice books by Kate Heap, available on Amazon are worth a look.

Lots of Year 3 children read well but find comprehension harder, so it’s pretty normal. Schofield & Sims or CGP books work well for short practice, and apps like Reading Eggspress can keep things fun. You could also try a few reading comprehension worksheets; they’re quick and not too overwhelming. Keeping sessions short and chatting about the story usually helps more than long tasks.

It’s really hard to find good comprehension. The Collins easy learning for 5-7 and then 7-9 (there’s a bumper edition) are the best I’ve managed to find. CGP are very dry with some esoteric and sometimes questionable texts, although I like their grammar and punctuation resources.

You can also ask AI to create a range of questions based on the book or chapter he has just read. You can also just ask him questions when reading. Start with simple retrieval questions and then inference and dedication. If he find it hard to comprehend what he is reading, listen to the audio book as well or ask questions about what you read to him at first.

The ‘how do you know’ type questions are the ones to focus on: I think he feels x because… then find evidence from the text.

Also focus on searching the text for key words from the question to locate the answer (like a boring wordsearch) and teach strategies like the answers to the first questions can usually be found near the start…

Work on reading questions carefully and checking answers. Use a highlighter pen to highlight the answers in the text. Use words in text and questions to support with spellings…

I have many comprehension resources that I am trying to find a home for. I am a retired primary school teacher living in Banstead. If you would like to view my various books please let me know.