How do you improve a 10 year old's reading comprehension (which is it at a 2nd grade level)?

Question

I know it stems from his actual reading skills - it's a bit of a struggle for him to read, so therefore he doesn't know what he's reading! When I read aloud to him, he comprehends everything - he is very attuned to the story and symbolism etc.

Answer 1

Here is a website that may help you solve your problem.

http://www.educatenj.com/reading.htm

Answer 2

Parents come to me with this question ALL THE TIME! You've already overcome a big step by realizing that his comprehension is lacking simply because he's struggling through the actual reading ("decoding"). Try talking to your child's teacher and see if he/she can recommend any high-interest easily decodable text. Basically, you're looking for really exciting books that a 10 yr old will like, but that are simpler to read. Work with those, building little by little on skills such as vocabulary and fluency. As he learns to decode (read) faster and more accurately, the comprehension will pick up.

In the meantime, you can't just drop everything else to catch him up. Have your son read small passages, even paragraphs, and then talk about them (briefly). Stop every page, paragraph - whatever works for you and your son - and recap what's been going on in the book. This "review" needs to be cumulative, not just what's happened in the last page.

Example: "Oh, Johnny's just found a dollar on the sidewalk! What do you think he's going to do with it! Let's keep reading and find out."
*read a page or two*
"What did Johnny do with the dollar bill he found on the ground?"

Basically, in a scenario like that, you're teaching/modeling behaviors that really good readers do naturally on their own. Eventually he will learn to use predicting/summarizing skills on his own.

The two skills combined (faster, more accurate decoding and predicitng/summarizing) will work together to make your son a much better independent reader.

And, last but not least, try and work hand-in-hand with your child's teacher!!! He/she should know exactly where your son struggles most in terms of reading through day-to-day interaction, and where you, as a parent, can help him most in terms of the reading skills he needs for class.

Best of luck to you and your son!

Answer 3

What we did with my daughter was assigned her a bood to read each week and a project to do on that book. We selected 3 books each week. From those 3, she would pick the one she wanted to read. the project was anything from a 2 page paper about the book to rewriting the ending to drawing cartoon strips about a scene. We made it creative, but educational. We also quized her on the book. Sometimes she would have to reread a passage or two, and she fought us over it, but in the end, it worked quite well. Her reading level improved, not a lot, but enough. We had an incentive for her. 12 weeks of doing this and we gave her $100.

Pick from books that would hold his interest. My son is very into dragons and Star Wars. Go to the library every week and if you can, make trips to the book store part of your routine. Look for those step-into reading type books. They are for grade level and just keep getting books that are a step up from his current level.

Answer 4

I've had a similar problem. I sometimes can read a page before I realize that I didn't take in anything. I am a slow reader as a result. (My mind tends to wander [daydream] when I read.) It helps that I take notes now--when I'm reading for a class anyway. Chapter outlines and character descriptions help a lot! The note-taking takes time, but at least I know what's going on now.

PS I got my BA in English literature, so don't lose hope.

Answer 5

You already know he's smart because he does comprehend so well. He may develop better reading skills if he is given things he enjoys reading. Let him read comic books. What subjects does he like best? Put emphasis on those topics. Take him to the book store or the library and let him pick out things he's interested in. It doesn't matter what he is reading as long as he's reading.

Answer 6

It's probable to spend lots of time and money looking for approaches to show your young ones how to see and boost their studying skills. Is difficult to show a tiny child how to see, and also alluring them to learn is challenging in itself. However it doesn't need to be that way when you got the help of the program https://tr.im/DrvNN , Children Learning Reading program.
With Children Learning Reading you may train your youngster how to separate seems and break words into phonemes, a vital thing when your kid is simply learning how to spell.
The reading system from Children Learning Reading program allows you for children to learn quickly and properly, from easy words to sentences until they learn to read stories.

Answer 7

Has he been tested for dyslexia? I know you'd expect the school to spot it, but they don't always. If he's able to compprehend the story, he shouldn;t be struggling so hard to read. Also, get his eyes tested.
Best of luck

Answer 8

Make him read each word with its spelling , help him by letting him read and when he doesn't know some word tell him. You have to have the patience to help him, also the time of course.

Answer 9

Have him learn some more vocabulary. the more the vocabulary the better for him to be at a higher reading level.

Answer 10

If he can understand when you read, he may have a learning disability. You should have him tested for dyslexia.