I have a student (2nd grade) who is an excellent reader! However he has a huge problem with comprehension. All around he is a good student so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to help with his comprehension. My cooperating teacher said last semester she sent home a comprehension cube to help him when he read something to answer the questions on it. Any other ideas? Thanks
If you use Guided Reading, I would drop him down a few levels to work on his comprehension. Work on a specific concept per lesson. Have him tell you about the characters, next day discuss the problem, then the plot, etc. Have him complete a story map. I also like to do CASPAR with my students (C=characters, A=adjectives, S=setting, P=Problem, A=Action (plot), R=resolution.) I have the students use a foldable to complete this activity. In all honesty, you are not a good reader unless you comprehend what you are reading. If you do not comprehend then you are just "word calling".
There was some recent discussion of comprehension ideas here: http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=53789 Good luck!
TXTCHR29--love the CASPAR idea--I just made a foldable book for my students to go along with the novel studies they are starting tomorrow!
Comprehension is a HUGE and complex area of academics. Sometimes it helps me when I figure out if there is a pattern in the ideas he is not understanding. For example: - Is he having a hard time simply recalling information? Can he answer, very basic questions about the plot (who, what where when, etc.?) - Or does he know that info, but cannot tell it back to you in a story format? (Try 5 finger story telling. characters, setting, beginning, middle, end) - Can he answer basic questions about plot, but find it difficult to make inferences? Teach the child to look out for hints and clues as to what the author really means. (I would teach this skills outside of the story first. For example, give scenarios such as: The phone rang 7 times, but no one answered. What does that tell you? " no one is home." Did I say no one was home? no - but you saw that there was a clue there. Gradually move to less obvious scenarios. A speech therapist might be able to give you ideas as well - many comprehension difficulties are related to language issues.
Also, Debbie Miller's book Reading with Meaning is excellent for an understanding of what good readers do when they read, in order to comprehend.
