growing and learning

homeschool reading help?

Reading Comprehension

09:14 AM, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 .. Posted by Tiredmamaof5

I would suggest Brain Quest Reading Basics. You can buy them at Sams Club. They are one or two paragraph stories and then are followed by a question or two that you pick the right one. They come in all grade levels. I buy them and keep them in the car for fun read alouds when we are on long trips.

Untitled Comment

10:53 AM, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 .. Posted by Jonash2004

I doubt he is comprehending everything. :) I was reading at 5yo and started on the Black Stallion series about 6yo . . . I thought "Alex" was a girl named "Alice" for multiple books, LOL! The constant switching back and forth from "he" to "Alice" was confusing, but not enough to make me stop reading them. :)

There was also a horse that was given a "bad" name. The Black stallion's son - satan. My mom allowed me to read the book aloud to my brother on the contidion I called him "Satin". So I did. To this day, my brain wants to say "satin" when I see that word!

I think the main thing is to KEEP him reading. :) I think the comprehension will increase with time. Maybe he's interested in books above his level - that was my problem. I learned soooo many words in context by the way they were used!

I dunno. My mom worried about my younger brothers speed, then comprehension for years and years. He read slow, and seemed to grasp it fairly well, but she never let up. She eventually made him dislike reading and to this day he is convinced he can't do it well. So because of my experiences I guess I'm scared of pushing the reading issue!

Keep it fun, whatever you do! :)

Ashley

Reading comprehension

12:05 PM, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 .. Posted by connielj

This may sound too simple..but with my own kiddo and my students I like to just have them read aloud to me from a book of their choosing/interest and compose a few of my own "comprehension" questions to ask when we're done. Things like: what happened first? Where were they when...? Who said ......? Now, tell me again, who is Bobby?

I also like to throw in a couple of inference questions: Why do you think Bobby did that? What do you think might have happened next? How would you have handled that? etc.

I don't do this every time, just on occasion when I want to "assess".

One other thing we do is make connections to the story throughout the day/week. "Hey, this reminds me when Bobby had the same thing happen..."

I like the natural, 'holistic' feel of this type of teaching/learning. Probably because talking things over is how I learn best!

Blessings!
Connie

Edited by connielj on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 01:07 PM

Untitled Comment

02:28 PM, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 .. Posted by Citygal

I have had trouble in this area too, and was advised to use audio books. The child listens to the audio book and then has to tell you all about it when it is finished. If you have listened to it first, all the better! Also, give him short stories to read that are of interest - eg, if he likes danger, find adventure stories - and get him to do the same thing as far as telling you about it or writing a short review of it afterwards. The first time I tried these two things, I was amazed at how much my child hadn't comprehended! Then I got them to go over it again. Much better the second time.
Rachel from NZ

reading comp.

12:36 PM, Wednesday, August 13, 2008 .. Posted by mom2zjh

I have used the Pathway readers for my hildren. They have workbooks that go along with them. The books cover vocab, phonics and comprehension.
Also yeah, the male widow is brown...cool huh? Of course we just imagine them to look like the female. This is the first live one I have seen out in the wild. If you go to www.whatsthatbug.com there are a ton of pics. under black widow search.
Thanks for stopping by my blog :)
~Holly

Untitled Comment

07:26 PM, Saturday, August 16, 2008 .. Posted by Nurseforlife

I wish I had some thoughts or ideas to help but I will be following your teaching and ideas carefully, my son in-law and daughter are talking of home schooling my grandson when he gets old enough; this is an area in which we have a great interest. I do enjoy your writings her and have sent you an award you may stop by my blog for the details.

Untitled Comment

08:17 PM, Wednesday, August 27, 2008 .. Posted by BlueApple

Thank you for the info....I will certainly keep her in my prayers...I miss her and worry about her.

Reading Suggestion

01:06 PM, Friday, August 29, 2008 .. Posted by AndreaMcNabb

I second the recommendation to use Pathway readers. We have used them for years and really love them. They are thorough, conservative (no silly or weird pictures) and affordable.

The readers (hardcover) are approx. $9 and the workbooks are $3. You can also get Climbing to Good English which correspond to the Pathway readers.

I would think you should start him in grade two seeing as he is reading already. The stories may be simple but the comprehension should be right on target.

Untitled Comment

07:32 AM, Thursday, September 18, 2008 .. Posted by Jonash2004

Hey! Looks like your pregnancy is moving right along? How are you doing/feeling, etc?

We pretty much had to "go against" my dh's parents to buy grass fed. They are pretty much convinced that grass fed is full of fat and "icky". So we just went ahead and did it, and when they asked if we were ready for more we just told them we'd bought grass-fed and already had some. The think we're crazy!

Ever since I was little I've been turned off of the huge blobs of fat on roasts, so it was strange to see a roast without it! I haven't made stews but it's on my list to do - soon!

How would you make beef stock? Now that I'm into my grass fed I really want to do this. I cooked my beef in water with a bit of salt and pepper, the water that was left, was that my stock?

Ashley