Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 5

Poor Reading Comprehension

November 11, 2014 by Dr. Linda Silbert

Is Reading Comprehension a Problem?


Sometimes kids think they can read. After all, they know all the words. But that doesnt
mean they understand what they read.

Disinterest, struggling with decoding individual words, text is too difficult for a childs
reading level, deficit in working memory which is common with kids with ADHD, visual
processing disorder, and limited vocabulary cancause poor reading comprehension.

Poor Reading Comprehension Skills Lead to Poor Grades


When kids dont understand what they read, it affects their ability to succeed in school.
All subjects, including science and math, require reading comprehension. Even Tests
and exams require good reading comprehension which results in low grades and poor
test scores if a student has poor reading comprehension.

Signs of Poor Reading Comprehension


Cant answer questions about what they just read
Dont understand the logical sequence of a story
Unable to tell the story after reading it
Cant connect individual sentences or paragraphs of text together to make sense
of what theyve read.
Doesnt know the meaning of individual words
Loses interest in reading or give up quickly
What Causes Poor Reading Comprehension
Disinterest and boredom causes children not to pay attention to what theyre reading.
Some bright children find the story or material theyre reading so simple that theyre
bored. Others are disinterested in what theyre reading because it doesnt relate to
anything they care or know about.

Decoding individual words slows down or prevents reading comprehension. If the


assigned material includes too many words a child doesnt know, theyll focus on
decoding rather than understanding. Many will simply give up trying to read whats
assigned. ESL children and kids from families who dont engage their children in
conversation and have few books will often not understand words that other kids in their
class know.

Difficult text challenges some students. For others, its so frustrating they give up. A
story may be appropriate for the grade level of the child but too hard for an individual
children. In addition to not knowing the vocabulary, the context can be unfamiliar or the
story too complex.

Oral language deficit is often associated with poor reading comprehension. Children
with limited vocabulary and oral reading fluency will have difficulties understanding
written text. Recent research has shown that spoken language training seems to have
resulted in a generalized improvement in the kids ability to understand language.

Working memory deficit occurs with kids who cant remember what theyve read long
enough to talk about it or explain the story immediately after reading. Its common with
kids with ADHD,

Visual processing disorder affects students reading comprehension if they skip words
or lines. They may also be unable to judge depth and distance and reverse letters and
numbers. Children with visual perception problems usually have poor eye-hand
coordination. Visual processing disorder can affect not only reading comprehension but
math and motor skills.

Poor memory skills affect all of learning including reading


comprehension. Researchers at Vanderbilt University have recently been investigating
Specific Reading Comprehension Deficits or S-RCD. Theyve discovered from brain
scans that kids with dyslexia have abnormalities in a different part of the brain than kids
who have poor reading comprehension.

Executive Function Disorder (EFD) involves being able to plan, organize, makes
changes, and complete a task. ADHD kids often have poor executive functioning. Kids
with EFD will have trouble figuring out the organization of a story and the time line. They
often give up and dont complete a reading assignment if they think its too hard. Since
their self-monitoring skills are poor, they have trouble figuring out strategies to help with
reading comprehension. These include sounding out a word they dont know, asking
the teacher for help, looking the word up in a dictionary, and reading a little bit more to
see if they can figure out the word from the context.

Limited vocabulary can cause poor reading comprehension. If children dont know the
meaning of the words theyre reading, theyll miss the meaning of the story or chapter.
Many wont bother trying to decode the unknown words, especially if they find lots of
words they dont know.

Aphasia and dysphasia, which are caused by brain injury, tumor, or a virus, can
cause difficulties in reading comprehension. These children will also have speech
problems. If common strategies used by a teacher or reading specialist dont help,
testing by a neurologist and speech therapist is recommended.
ADHD kids have difficulty concentrating on a task including reading. When they cant
focus, they wont understand what they read. The problem isnt as much a reading
challenge as an inability to sit still and focus long enough to finish a story.

Strategies to Improve Poor Reading Comprehension


Fun and interesting stories keep kids with poor comprehension engaged. Research
has shown that kids (and adults too) learn faster and remember more when theyre
enjoying what theyre doing and having fun. Children often understand a story they find
interesting even if the vocabulary is more difficult.

Subvocalizing can help kids who lack skill in reading silently. Children begin reading
by reading aloud. Eventually they read to themselves, but many of them havent learned
how to visualize what theyre reading. Suggest to kids who have difficulty understanding
what they read to subvocalize. In other words, to move their lips as if theyre reading
aloud.

Decoding Difficulties get in the way of kids understanding the story. Make sure that
children have sufficient decoding skills. If they cant decode the words, they wont know
what theyre reading.

Appropriate Materials for childs reading level is essential. If a child is in 3rd grade
but still reading at a 2nd grade level, this child will need stories at a 2nd grade level.

Scanning involves look at the title, summary, review, end-of-chapter questions, key
words, headings, diagrams & captions, graphs, maps, back cover, and pictures for non-
fiction. Or the front and back cover, table of contents, and pictures for fiction.

Encourage children to think what the story or chapter will be about after scanning.
These clues pint to whats ahead. Discuss whether the reading material will relate to
something the children already know about or something they may be interested in.

After the students have finished the assigned reading, see if they were right or wrong
about who the important characters were, where and when it takes place, what happens
and why.

Since we learn by connecting new information with stored information in the long term
memory, it doesnt really matter whether the children were right or wrong. What matters
is that kids can relate what theyre reading with something they already know or have
thought about.

Reading is purposeful now. Theyre looking to see if they figured out what the story or
chapter was about by scanning the clues.
The Five Ws help kids organize the story theyre reading and keep track of the
important points of a storyline. Five Ws include 1. Who do you think are the important
characters? 2. When do you think the event takes place? 3. Where do you think it takes
place? 4. What do you think its about? 5. Why do you think it happens? Now children
can now relate what they read to something in their memory.

TEACH Method

TEACH stands for think, explain, ask, clues, and handwrite.

Think about the topic of the reading assignment. Have students tell you what
theyre thinking about.
Explain further. Ask kids what they already knows about the topic. Theyll be
more engaged in the reading if they can relate it to something they already know
about, something in their memory and experience.
Ask kids to explain what they think the reading will be about. Even if they say
that they dont know as they read theyll say, Im right or Thats who its about!
Clues about the reading helps kids to focus on when they read, and whats
important to remember. Clues are found throughout the book and the back cover as
described above under Scanning.
Handwrite or draw everything they think is important as they read. by organizing
the reading material into an outline, picture-story, mind map, or any other graphic
organizer. By writing and drawing while they read, students will understand and
remember much more. For older children, this method is more effective than
highlighting or typing notes into the computer. Organize the reading material into an
outline, picture story, or any other graphic organizer. Handwriting and drawing help
kids understand and remember.
Vocabulary building and preview: Before reading, a teacher or parent goes
over possible new words, pronouncing them and explaining what they mean. To
help the kids understand the new words, ask the students to use the new word in a
sentence.
Before a students poor reading comprehension can improve, teachers and parents
must figure out exactly what is causing the problem. Once the cause of comprehension
difficulties is discovered, the appropriate remediation strategies can be used.

Multisensory approaches to reading comprehension are the most effective. Youll find
these in the Tiger Tuesday Multisensory, Interactive Reading Program. Kids find the
program fun and interesting. Tiger has everything from stories to games, from plays to
fun worksheets, even a doll. Click here to see if Tiger is right for you.

Causes: That which produces an effect a person or thing that makes something
happen.
Effect: A change, produced by an action or a cause.
Reading: The act of been able to interpret or understand something written or
printed.

Вам также может понравиться