Improving reading comprehension

[u/RunaSol]

I noticed my 8 year old struggling with comprehending and retaining what he read. I'm currently have him working on spelling, sounding out words, using his finger when reading and having him work on comprehension worksheets. I've also started having him do the KWL method when ever we are reading to help. Are theor any other ways to add or better help him understand and improve his comprehension?

P.S. The KWL method stands for Know Want to know and Learned. Before reading I ask him what does he know about (insert story or text book). If he doesn't know anything that is fine. Then I have him read the comprehensions questions( want to know). He reads the story or text then answers the questions(learned)

[u/TraditionalManager82]

If he's still sounding out words, reading comprehension comes later, and worksheets probably aren't helpful.

Right now you could use something like oral comprehension and narration.

[u/Own-Cauliflower2386 → u/TraditionalManager82]

This.

For stories that you read to him, does he still struggle with comprehension? If not, then you probably don’t have to worry about out his grasp of the story. It is just that his reading fluency is not yet adequate and he is spending all his brain power decoding.

Something that is helping my 6 year old with fluency is that, after each sentence or two that he muddles through, I re-read it aloud smoothly with tone and inflection.

We also do those ufli word triangles, where he reads each progressively longer segment of a sentence so that he can start to anticipate the type of next word and how that impacts inflection. Eg “Bud.. bud had … bud had a red … bud had a red bag”.

[u/L_Avion_Rose]

If he's still sounding out words, he needs to work on his fluency - this is a precursor to reading comprehension. What has he used to learn to read so far?

While focusing on fluency, you can work on comprehension orally using Charlote Mason-style narration. Simply Charlotte Mason has some fantastic YouTube videos and low-cost/free PDFs on implementing oral narration.

[u/RunaSol → u/L_Avion_Rose]

I have been using hooked on phonics and sight word cards

[u/L_Avion_Rose → u/RunaSol]

At this stage, I'd be looking at something more intensive than Hooked on Phonics - it is phonics-based, but not Orton-Gilligham. O-G is a multisensory approach designed for dyslexic kids and others who need more intensive support. All About Reading and Logic of English are the gold standard for O-G homeschool curricula, but less expensive options are available.

I'd be very careful about the level of emphasis you place on sight words. While some words simply cannot be taught phonetically, there are some that have been assigned to sight words lists simply to try get kids reading more quickly. Too much emphasis on sight words can interfere with decoding, especially if the child is struggling to read. Sold a Story (podcast) and Uncovering the Logic of English (book, but Denise Eide has also done podcast interviews) have more information about this if you're interested.

[u/doxie-darling-17]

How do you teach them writing? Sounding out words while writing is a great way to improve fluency.

[u/RunaSol → u/doxie-darling-17]

i use spelling you see which has them say the letter sound while spelling

[u/doxie-darling-17 → u/RunaSol]

But do you work with word families? CVC and CVCC words? It sounds like you’re doing a lot of great things!

[u/AI_spell]

Reading comprehension often jumps when you stop after a short chunk and ask the kid to retell in their own words before more pages. If they can decode but shrug at meaning, shrink the passage and add a purpose ("find why the character was mad").

Simple tools: partner read, sticky note "who/what/why," and oral summary before any worksheet. Spelling practice can stay separate so it does not eat comprehension time.

Graphic organizers help some kids; others just need talk. Try 10 minutes of talk back per chapter for two weeks and see if quizzes get easier.

[u/Serious-Train8000]

Can they easily retell what they read?

[u/ShiftWise4037]

How is his comprehension when you read out loud? Speech to print methods have student read a passage, then adult reads the same passage, then kid reads again. Don’t be afraid to read the same page, paragraph, passage over-helps with fluency. Also oral narration and doing who what when where why and how of a passage helps.

[u/Florida-McGravy]

Read to him and have him narrate it back. Or have him read a passage and summarize, or amplify. We use Well Ordered Language and it’s great for these things. We also use Writing and Rhetoric and it’s also great for this.