MY CHILD READS AT A 1st GRADE LEVEL, BUT DOESN’T COMPREHEND WHAT SHE JUST READ. NOW WHAT?

Back Up The Train

If you need comprehension tips, I give that below. But let’s back up the train for a minute first…

Here’s the deal, and I will wave this flag ’till I drop: When we try to teach our children with Down syndrome to read by emphasizing phonics first, last, and all the time, comprehension can tank. If instead we teach with high-interest sight words and reading materials right out of the starting gate, the child will get the wonderfully bizarre idea that the point of reading is to find out what’s in the book! 

We don’t want to produce students that are “reading machines” with no clue as to the meaning of what they just read. We want learners to dive into awesome books/materials that are awesome ONLY because they are about what that particular child loves.

So what now? I suggest you back up the train a bit by…

Making Reading Irresistible

To help your child understand that reading is about what’s in the story and not about how the letters combine,  focus for a while on reading materials–at her current level–that are about her absolute TOP interests. Help her understand that reading is for HER fun and satisfaction, not to prove to someone else that she can decode.

You will probably have to create these materials yourself, since her interests are going to be specific to her. Personal books and Modified Trade Books are a great way to do that, and there are simpler ways as well. For example, you can keep a 3-ring binder of pages dedicated to what she did over the weekend, her favorite friends, food, TV shows, etc. Add to the binder every week with a new sheet or two that you’ve written out or (preferably) typed. You’ll build a reading collection this way of “stuff about me.” Awesome. She’ll love it.

Comprehension Tips

To give you some tools for improving her comprehension, I’ve written two articles on techniques you can use to help a child comprehend what she’s reading, and here they are: Cracking the Comprehension Code I and Cracking the Comprehension Code 2.

Reading is for fun, for joy; if you’ll back up the train and get that joy on board with your child’s reading, comprehension will open up a whole new world for her.

Cheering you on,