Reading Comprehension?

Question

My youngest son has problems with reading comprehension. He is in the eighth grade and has to pass the final exam to progress to the ninth. He will read a video game magazine until the cover is shopworn, but can barely get through a chapter in a novel. He admits that he has a hard time with understanding what he reads on a test. I am currently printing exercises from some educational websites and he sails through them and can give me the idea of the paragraph. I am a "mature" student and trying to be a role model to him. What more can I do a parent to increase his interest and comprehension level?

Answer 1

There are different ways how teach children to read. And there are different things to consider while teaching them. I am a 3rd year college taking up Bachelor of science of Secondary Education major in English, and in my courses, my instructors taught us lots of things about education. One thing to consider in teaching is their mood. You must first motivate them as a start of the activity. Motivation should be connected or highly relevant to the topic or the readings. (You can start giving you student some short passages first). Remember that learning is developmental. Meaning you should start from small to big. In motivating students for example, you could share some of your experiences relevant to the text you are teaching. ANd try to ask him of his reactions about it or maybe you could ask him if he has a experience. Another example is, you could start by using inferring. You could show him first the title of the book or a short story and let him try to infer to the title of the story. Another thing to consider is that students nowadays are more practical. You need to give them ideas on how this is related to their lives and how they use their knowledge about it.
In conclusion, you should consider the mood of your student, their capabilities and interests. I hope was able to help you.

Answer 2

You are doing the right thing. There is plenty of info out there. You should search for "reading strategies," "fix-up strategies," and "active reading."

Be aware that reading literature (stories) and reading informational text (social studies book) are very different and should be approached differently. Most kids at your son's age do not understand informational text and can benefit from a "how-to."

You should be sure to ask his teachers. They will have material for you or they can direct you to the reading specialist in his school. "Literacy in content areas" types of material will be helpful too.