Worried about 11plus - comprehension score

[Tead]

Hello
we are trying to preparing for the 11plus.
a few weeks ago my son visited a tutor who gave him a small test. He scored well on some areas but his comprehension was very, very poor.

looking back, he has struggled with some of the more complicated comprehension work, in particular where the reading extract is more complex and requires greater concentration.

I have been focusing on his reading and making sure he reads everyday. I thought this would be enough but obviously it’s not working.

any suggestions how I can improve his comprehension skills.

Reading yes, but then you need to ask him questions about the text. Are you doing that?

It’s for the 11 plus so the level of comprehension required is much higher than what the school expect. The mark was a surprise.

Go gentle, let him read a lot and talk about the book. Don't put pressure on him, it will be terrible for his confidence if doesn't improve.

If you're talking about the 11+ for a state grammar school, there really shouldn't be an enormous gap between what's expected at school and the papers. Could you arrange an assessment from a reputable specialist 11+ tutor?

I find that getting your child to read out loud really helps. Sometimes when they're reading in their head, they skim through a lot, you'd honestly be surprised. If you decide to go the private tutor route, definitely recommend Kip McGrath Ely. They have great 1-1 online sessions in English and the tutors are very patient and great with the kids.

to he honest, I only read with him 1 or 2 a week. Work makes things difficult, I am usually working whilst he is doing his reading but I make sure he is reading. I guess this is my fault for not reading with him.
Should I be correcting mistakes and asking questions with him whilst reading?

@Tead If you're talking about the 11+ for a state grammar school, there really shouldn't be an enormous gap between what's expected at school and the papers. Could you arrange an assessment from a reputable specialist 11+ tutor?

@CurlewKate i think the expectation is that those sitting the 11plus need to be 12 months ahead.
inwill arrange something with a tutot

@Tead Is it a state grammar school?

Whatever he's reading, you read it too, so you can discuss the story and characters . Sharing a book with a parent can be an absolute joy; it gives a reason for some one-to-one time and conversation.

You can do the same thing with watching TV together; any drama or news report will do. The aim is to focus attention, point out "clues" that he missed, talk about the definition of words; the significance of tone and double meanings and negatives.

Yes, it’s a state grammar school but they admit students on ability rather than ability and catchment, so lots of kids from nearby areas seeking admission.

Are you sure putting him through the 11+ is the right thing to do?

We have a state grammar here that only a few in each year group get into. It very much isn't the expected standard or everyone would get in!

Is the 11+ this September? Tutoring is very much the norm in our area and most people who get in are either tutored or use the cgp books/past papers at home to help their kids familiarise with the test but also to get to the standard needed.

Maths in particular in our area can be anything from yr 6 syllabus and of course at this stage they haven't completely year 6...

I would firstly see what type of testing they are doing and then see if you can get corresponding cgp workbooks to work at the skill.

But as a pp said Id also look at other schools in the area as grammars can be v competitive.

Have the school recommended he be put in for the test? Teachers generally have a good idea of who would be a good fit for a grammar school.

I agree with @fuzball18 that getting them to read aloud is really beneficial. You may be surprised that your DS might skip or add words, or guess at some of the trickier words. This will change the meaning of what he is reading!

I would suggest you take it in turns to read aloud, so he can hear you modelling good reading style, such as appropriate emphasis and expression. You and he can exaggerate some of the voices to make each other laugh.

If you or he spots something to talk about, stop at the end of a paragraph and discuss it. It might be the meaning of a certain word: can he guess it from the context? Then check the exact meaning in a dictionary, and think of some synonyms and antonyms, and then check these in a thesaurus. Or it might be a particularly beautiful phrase or literary device. Or it might be a reference to something that came earlier in the book (can he remember?) or to a key event in history. Or it might be a turning point in how a character is feeling. Try guessing what happens next.

Also, it's great that he's reading every day, but what is he reading? It does need to contain some good vocabulary and be a little bit challenging, though if it is too hard it'll put him off, so it needs to be chosen quite carefully.

I know it can be hard to find the time within busy lives, but if you can do this for 20-30 minutes at least 4-5 times per week, it will surely help. It can be really fun once you both get into the habit.

This may be common in fully grammar areas such as Bucks and Kent, but not so much elsewhere. The OP says the grammar they are targeting selects purely on ability and takes from a wide area, so it sounds like a super-selective school in a not fully grammar area.

In my DD's primary school, teachers didn't tend to bring it up and were cautious about advising if parents asked. They knew very little about the process unless they were parents themselves, and the headteacher refused to support appeals for grammar. We were very much on our own.

Readtheory.org have online comprehension tests that explain the reasoning behind the answers. I sat with DS and did them with him they really improved his comprehension. Bond also have a good reading comprehension workbook.
When I drilled down into why DS was not understanding some of the text it turned out to be vocabulary related so I have also started him on a vocab workbook. This is not for the 11+ as we don’t have this where I live but just to improve his school tests as they were lower than expected.
Another thing we also do is “active reading”. If you treat the text like a conversation, stopping very regularly to make comments such as ‘that reminds me of’, ‘this is like when we…’, ‘I know about xxx, I remember ….’ and constantly interacting and relating to the text it really helps you understand and remember it. I modelled it and then ask him to do it and then he does it regularly (silently) specifically when practicing reading comprehension.

Every dc learns differently. Do not feel like it is your fault for not reading with him. I do not read with my two older dc the last couple years (but read to them daily when they were little). Bc they preferred to read to themselves. Their comprehension was just fine at school and my dd did really well on the 11+ Obviously, if I felt the needed extra support, I would have made them read out loud etc. It is not too late and you can start to support your ds if he needs it.

Forgot to mention, that for the 11+ comprehension is more difficult, so yes, I had a look and went through it with my dd sometimes. But before that, no I did not go through her school hw with her.

My children have done the 11+ in the North. Our tutor advised reading a variety of texts including older books and children’s classics as the vocabulary is different from more modern books and gives them a breadth of vocabulary. She suggested getting books from second hand shops and anthologies and reading sections rather than the whole book. When reading discuss what the words mean, how does it fit with the context and drawing inferences from the text.

@BridasShieldWall thank you, I like the idea of just reading part of a classic book as I know DS would completely balk at reading it from start to finish. I have a stack of e books on my Amazon account that I have found for free or really cheap so I will start by just reading a page or two and use the dictionary help on the kindle (or on an ipad via kindle app).

I think improving his comprehension will help him regardless of whether he gets into a grammar school or not.
we are careful not to push him too hard.