Full Method Write Up - Why your child does not understand what was read.

Find out why your child does not understand what was read.

Here is how to locate the exact cause and handle it.

The first step is to know exactly when your child has stopped completely understanding.

If you watch and listen while the reader is reading out loud you will be able to see and hear when he has stopped understanding.

When one understands what is being read, your reader will appear awake and alert.  He is reading the text correctly, naturally, and smoothly.  He can read with ease and without mistakes. 

The moment someone has lost track of what he's reading, he looks and feels less bright, possibly looks a bit dull, and might even have a blank stare.

He might look confused, not read the text correctly, or show other reactions that can be observed. He has lost attention on what he’s reading, and can’t remember what was just read. His memory will be blank on what was just read.  He will start stumbling over the words or he might slow down his reading. Might start reading with effort or like a robot (Not Naturally). He might start to fidget nervously, move his feet, or tap his fingers nervously. Any non-optimum reactions are your clue to non-comprehension of what is being read. It's time to stop the reader!  To go further is a waste of time.

This is not a complete list of possible reactions that can be observed. Anything other than reading perfectly and easily is your clue that the reader has gone past perfect reading comprehension.

The Steps:

Start by sitting across from the reader. Ideally, you will need a copy of what is being read to ensure it is being read correctly.  At the same time, you will need to see the reader to observe any signs indicating non-comprehension.  If you do not have a copy of the text, take some photos of the text, so you can view them while the reader is reading.

Before starting, let the student know that if he doesn't fully understand anything he's reading, he should stop and let you know.

You should also let the reader know that you might be stopping him if you think he has gone by something he didn’t understand.

Have the student start reading out loud while you are watching the text and listening to the student.

Be watchful of any reactions on the reader's part that indicate a lack of understanding. Also, be watchful of any incorrect reading of the text.  Both of these things indicate that there's a word that needs to be found and cleared up.

When you first observe any sign of lack of understanding, you stop the student and ask if there was a word he didn't understand. If he questions why he was stopped, let him know what reaction you observed. Then ask again, "Is there a word that you didn't understand?" It will always be in what has just been read. It will be found before or at that point when you stop the student.

If the reader is new to this, you need to encourage looking again for any word that the reader cannot tell you what its meaning is. There will always be one. You can spot check by asking for example, "What does the word 'of' mean in that sentence?"

It is NEVER a whole sentence, paragraph, page, or chapter that is causing the lack of comprehension.

It is always a word or symbol that the reader lacks understanding of!

What to do when the student cannot find any word on his own.

If the reader cannot find the word, after looking earlier and earlier, you should choose words from the text the student has read and check to see if he knows the meaning of those words. Start checking near where you stopped and continue going earlier until it's found. The word you're looking for will not be beyond the point where you stopped. Your checking is done by choosing an earlier word and asking, "What is the meaning of ________?"  If there's any uncertainty or the student gives a wrong or incomplete definition, you will have to clear up its meaning.

Locating the word that is causing the comprehension difficulty is not a fixed procedure. Here are some additional things to help you.

Let the reader know, they will be looking for a word that they could not tell you what it means. If the reader doesn’t immediately have an idea of what the word means, that is the word the reader needs your help with. I have sometimes told the reader, "I noticed you stumbled on the word ________.  Was there a word just before that that you didn't know the meaning of?” I have also found this useful. Since memory shuts down the moment the reader goes by a word not correctly understood, I have asked the reader what they remember of what they just read. They will give you one or more parts they remember but will be missing some. Have them look in that area just before the part missing in memory. It's right there. If they still can't name the word then spot-check them on those words just before the blank memory area.

When the word is found and cleared up, the reader should brighten up and be able to read correctly and easily again. If not, have the student look earlier for another word that needs to be cleared up.

How to clear up the meaning of a word:

While clearing up the meaning of a word, we do not want a memorization of a definition nor do we want a substitute word - synonym. That's just having some other words for the word you are working on.  Give examples of the meaning of the word, the way it is being used in the text.  If you use enough example sentences of how the word is used, the reader you are helping will be left with a general idea or concept of the meaning you are working on.  He will now have his own ideas and understanding of the word.

If you need some AI (Artificial Intelligence) help to come up with example sentences and an easy-to-understand definition, find and install an application on your phone called "Claude".   Here is an example of how to use Claude.  Your reader does not understand how the word "on" as is used in the sentence, "The band played on."

Ask Claude this:

"In the sentence, 'The band played on.' what is the definition of the word on, using a first-grade reading level.  Then give five totally different example sentences using that definition."

Even Claude is not perfect, so you can always check with an online dictionary, via your phone's web browser.

After the reader has the general idea of what the word means in the sentence it was found, you would then have him continue reading from that sentence forward, using the procedure above. If he is not bright and ready to continue, locate another word that needs to be more fully understood.  Look earlier for another word.

Small Words

Don't assume that it's only the big words causing the comprehension difficulty.

The small word "of" has over 16 definitions in several beginning student dictionaries.

Because these common small words are used more often than bigger words and because each small word has so many possible definitions, they will be more often the cause of your comprehension difficulties.

So, when searching for the word that might be causing a lack of understanding, see if the reader can tell you what those small words mean in the text you just read.

If the reader does not understand a symbol, such as a punctuation mark, a letter, or a group of letters (phonics), you might have to clarify that a letter is a shape and sound and also what the possible sounds are for one or more letters. A reader going past any symbol that is not understood will also cause non-optimum reading that can be observed.

If you persist with using the above reading-aloud method, the following goals will be obtained:

 1) A reader who can detect when he is no longer fully and correctly understanding what is being read and stops himself to look for a word or symbol that needs to be cleared up or if needed goes to get help from someone.

 2) A reader who can more easily find his own words that need to be cleared up.

 3) A reader with better reading comprehension and increased vocabulary to fully understand anything being studied.

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