|
1)
My son can read very well. He reads the words but doesn't seem
to understand them. He just can't seem to remember what the
story was about. Some times he can't remember even after he
rereads the story. Is this a reading problem?
Hello,
It can be. It sounds like your son is doing quite well in the
area of letter sound relationships, so there's a lot to build
on. If your son can read the words fine but cannot understand
and/or remember the story, he probably has some of the same
troubles with oral language. He may not remember oral
directions, may not remember what happened in a movie or may
have a hard time following a complex conversation. This kind
of problem is sometimes classified as a "reading
comprehension" problem, but it should really be called a
"language comprehension" problem, since the
difficulty probably isn't specific to just reading. On the
other hand, some children put so much cognitive energy into
"sounding right" when they read that they don't
focus on meaning. I have observed this most often when the
student is reading aloud to an adult. Think about when you
have to read a passage that has very difficult words in it,
words that you don't use often. (Like an engine manual for a
tractor) By concentrating on sounding out these unfamiliar
words, you may not be attending to the concept of the passage.
Try to observe your child to see if he has the same kind of
difficulties understanding and remembering oral conversation.
If he does, it may be a language comprehension weakness. If he
doesn't, it may be a reading weakness. Either way, having him
assessed to determine his exact reading strategies is probably
your best bet.
2)
My fifth - grader is doing poorly in his history class. His
teacher says it's because he can't do the reading. But when I
have him read his textbook, he has no difficulty at all. What
do you think the problem might be?
Hello,
There are any number of possible reasons why a child may have
difficulties in a particular subject. In your child's case,
his history teacher feels that the root problem has something
to do with reading. Without knowing more about the situation,
it's hard to say if the problem lies in the amount of reading,
the interest the material has for your child, the strategies
your child brings to history - text reading, or some other
factor. You mention that when you have your child read his
textbook to you, he has no apparent difficulty. If you mean
that he's able to read it smoothly, without
"stumbling," the problem might lie in comprehension.
Sometimes students put so much cognitive energy into
"sounding right" when the read that they are not
actually attending to the meaning of the text. History
textbooks contain features that can be challenging to children
who are more familiar with narrative text: tables, graphs,
headings, timelines and so forth ....
3)
Is it helpful to read aloud to my child every night?
Hi,
Every exposure to reading and literacy-related activities is
always helpful. However, this does not always foster the
independence in using good reading strategies and behaviors.
You can make reading aloud to your child a more meaningful
experience by modifying your nightly read-alouds. For
comprehension, talk about the story as you read it with your
child. Ask meaningful "What do you think?,"
"How do you suppose?," or "Why do you
think?," types of questions. Try to stray away from
factual questions. To practice oral reading, take turns
reading pages or paragraphs aloud. Or, when you use text with
lots of dialogue, have your child take the voice of one
character while you take the voice of the other character. Not
matter what you decide to do; making your nightly read-alouds
more interactive will make it a more meaningful learning
experience for you child.
|
