Comprehension - please don't send me off to 11+ forum!

[toutlemonde]

I'm looking for some easy confidence-building comprehension tests as a gentle run up to 11+ (think 7 or 8yr old abilities). Can anyone recommend me a book please? They are mean on 11+ forum, I'd much rather follow a nice mumsnetters advice

The problem that I've observed is that comprehension tests designed for 8 year olds are nothing like those for 11 year olds. In year 3 comprehension tests are very much of the type "the answer is always in the text". For 11+ the skill is quite different, and children are expected to infer a lot more.

If you want to teach good technique for 11+ then I recommend Bond's Secrets of Comprehension. There are a number of comprehensions in there where the child is led through the techniques.

If you do want comprehensions at different age groups (bearing in mind the skills of analysing text will be quite different) the it might be worth looking at Galore Park's "so you really want to learn junior English". Each chapter starts with a comprehension.

Thank you Ladymuck that's really helpful - I will try both of those! My DS has convinced himself that he just can't do comprehensions, so I was hoping to give him some designed for children much younger, just so that he can see they are not impossible. I take your point that he won't really be covering the skills he needs for 11+ if I take that route too long though.

Having the comprehensions as part of a bigger English paper gives him the chance to hide his weak comprehension (or so he thinks!) so I was hoping that someone has published a fat book of pure comprehension exercises - I will find it yet...

Thanks again Ladymuck.

There is a series of comprehension books by Haydon Richards. They are full of comprehensions and are often used by 11+ tutors. HTH

Thank you constantly, I will check those out

toutlemonde, how were they mean to you on the 11+ forum? I've always thought them completely loopy, obsessive etc but not so much "mean"

And lots of us are on here too!

But seriously I would recommend Bond as well.

The Bond books come in age-related bands, so you can start with the one marked for his age, and move up as he's ready.

Hmm, maybe 'mean' was an inexcusable exaggeration... its much friendlier on mumsnet and I'm scared of 11+ forum.

Thanks for further recommendations - looks like its back to the bond books.