More Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter

 High School  No Responses »
Jun 242010
 

I have four children and have taught three of them to read to advanced levels.  Most of my children have been able to master reading comprehension through reading and discussion quality literature.  However, some have needed more practice in order to do well on standardized tests.

More Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter by Jane Ervin – Level 1is a resource that provides practice for students who need a bit more exercise in various reading comprehension skill areas.

Book One is intended for use with 8th to 9th graders.  There are twenty-five reading passages covering a variety of topics taken from social studies, science, philosophy, logic and math.  The book is secular in nature and does contain occasional references to evolution.  However, because we are using this product with a high school student, we simply review such passages and apply our Biblical world view.  We are in the world, but not of it!

Skills Addressed in Book One:

  • Story recall
  • Sequencing
  • Identifying facts
  • Drawing conclusions
  • Vocabulary development
  • Main idea
  • Extending thoughts in writing
  • Inference

Within each exercise is a test sized portion of text, roughly five to seven paragraphs in length.  At the top of each selection there is a section entitled: “About the Passage,” which helps the student understand what he is about to learn, and another section called, “Reason for Reading,” which shows him why he is reading the passage.

All vocabulary words are bolded for ease in finding them later while answering questions.  After the student finishes reading he begins to answer various types of questions.  A very short essay response is handled in “Thinking It Over.”  This helps me know if he has truly taken in the information and has been able to understand and apply the information in the requested manner.  There are also multiple choice, true and false and numerical order questions.

A special bonus in the program is that it doubles as a vocabulary resource.  Every bolded word can be defined in context as the student reads and then is recalled later within the exercises.

Lastly, the student is asked to develop a longer essay type response to the passage.  “Explain how…,” “Describe…,” “Make up a tale…,” “Write a short mystery…”  The teacher can decide how long or short these written pieces should be depending on the skill level of the child.

We have been very pleased with More Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter.  Having used the book three times a week, we are definitely seeing an improvement both in skill level and confidence.

Highly Recommended

Written by Yvonne Ferlita, homeschooling mother of four, ages six to eighteen. Having home educated for more than twelve years, her purpose is to learn Jesus everyday using an eclectic, yet Christ-centered, learning approach. She blogs about homeschooling and life at Gr8tful4grace.

Reading Detective Review

 Junior High Language Arts, Language Arts  No Responses »
Jan 272010
 

Some children are natural readers.  They analyze, synthesize, understanding inferences, cause and affect and other advanced reading comprehension issues in a natural manner.  However, other children will struggle with one or more of these issues for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps they simply need more experience with reading, or maybe, as with my own high school student, they are in the process of overcoming a learning disability.

In my search to find tools to help my son overcome his challenges, Reading Detective Rx was recommended. It is a program geared toward 6th-12th graders who need extra help in reading comprehension.  The program is divided into eleven main units:

  • Main Idea and Supporting Statements
  • Conclusions and Inferences
  • Story Elements
  • Literary Devices
  • Theme
  • Vocabulary
  • Figurative Language
  • Cause and Effect
  • Prediction
  • Fact and Opinion
  • Mixed Skills

Within each unit are both fiction and non-fiction genres written in a fourth to fifth grade level to facilitate focus on learning the basic skills within reading comprehension.  The students are asked to analyze each selection by answering a variety of questions (multiple choice, short written responses) while providing supporting evidence.  Requiring students to provide evidence to support an answer, gives them another avenue to hone their skills.

A full answer key is provided, along with a copy of the reading text.  Although the answer key provides a recommended answer, all answers should be discussed with the student.  Discussion provides yet another way that comprehenion can be sharpened.    A few pre-tests are provided at the beginning of the program to help the teacher determine skill level.  Once the student is finished with the book, there are two post tests included to help the teacher ascertain skill improvement.

The program is designed to be used in an independent manner, however, discussion with a teacher is foundational in determining strengths/weaknesses and gives the teacher opportunity to further guide and direct their student.

Because the book is written at a 4th to 5th grade level, I would recommend alternating this resource with a more appropriate grade level reading comprehension program to provide ample practice for standardardized tests.  The students can take the skills they develop in Reading Detective Rx and apply them into more difficult material.  All in all, Reading Detective Rx is an excellent resource for those who need to sharpen basic reading comprehension skills.

Written by Yvonne Ferlita, homeschooling mother of four, ages six to eighteen.   Having home educated for more than twelve years, her purpose is to learn Jesus everyday using an eclectic, yet Christ centered, learning approach.  She blogs about homeschooling and life at Gr8tful4grace.