question about reading and retention

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by my3legacies, Dec 28, 2013.

  1. my3legacies

    my3legacies Member

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    My son is 13. He reads his silent reading books fast, but can't remember what he read. How can I get him to slow down and take in what he read? Should I have him take notes or what? Am at a loss as what to do.
     
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  3. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    Have you heard of bookadventure.org? I would have him testing on there for his silent reading books.
     
  4. Shilman

    Shilman New Member

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    I used reading comprehension workbooks with dd. They read a passage and answer questions about it. She did that for several years and her comprehension has gradually improved. I can't remember all the different publishers we used, but you could Google "reading comprehension workbooks". There are lots out there. Like crazymamma, we also used bookadventure.

    For literature type books, I try to pick books that have some sort of study guide. She reads a chapter at a time and answers questions about that chapter. For textbooks, I have her read a section at a time after reading the questions that go with that section. Then she answers the questions as she reads. I also let her highlight her textbook as she reads.

    In my opinion, it is very hard to "teach" comprehension/retention. My ds and dh have great reading comprehension skills, dd and I do not! The daily comprehension practice with workbooks seemed to help her a lot.
     
  5. JustTry

    JustTry New Member

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    Have you tried having him stop and ask questions every so often while reading? Any questions will work, it may be specifically about the book "Why is he being mean to someone who is being nice to him?" or it could be something that sparks an interest in him "How long is the Colorado River anyway?" Use sticky notes or the book if you don't mind him writing in it until he gets the hang of it. Any thing to get him to slow down and think about what he is reading.
     
  6. mykidsrock

    mykidsrock New Member

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    My husband says he reads that way. He reads for the impression and the enjoyment, but doesn't retain details when he reads fiction. We've had trouble with my oldest doing the same. In fact he participated in a group book club and had a very different impression of the book than other kids. I was worried.

    When I discussed it with my husband he suggested specifically teaching my DS to retain more. We downloaded reading comp pages and discovered that his reading comprehension was great for science concepts, but with literature he just doesn't retain it the same way. Then I discussed with him the need to slow down and think about the details, and make sure he understands the book. Now he stops and tells me about each chapter before moving on to the next. It has really helped.

    For an older child, perhaps making notes after each chapter would help.

    On a side note - we also found out this fall that my son has a visual tracking problem. So his eyes will jump down the page on him when he's reading blocks of text. In science books, I think he wants to understand the text and goes back, but in literature he doesn't always take the time to figure out where he should be and solve the problem. If you have any concerns about that sort of problem, it's very easy to diagnose.

    Our biggest success was just in teaching our DS that reading comp matters - even when reading fictional literature. lol! Once he cared, his success was much better.
     
  7. CrazyMom

    CrazyMom Banned

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    Big thing is finding books that hold his interest. Ever try science fiction?
     
  8. JaniceEckenroth

    JaniceEckenroth New Member

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    Jotting a small summary - or even just a few words - at the end of each page will help begin to teach his brain to do a little automatic summary on its own. Let him be creative - no worries about spelling, he can draw pics, whatever, so that this does not seem like a chore or burden. Eventually, move to chapter summary when you see improvement.

    Being able to summarize ideas and make inferences at this point onward is huge. Some kids just need to train trick their brains into retaining info that seems irrelevant in the moment.

    If he still struggles over time, definitely get some help.

    Janice
     

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