Your child reads through the book, sounding out each word carefully. As he closes the book, you ask him “So, what was the story about?” In response, he answers with a blank stare. Does this sound familiar?
If it does, then your child may be experiencing some form of reading difficulties.
There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the book may not be developmentally-appropriate for your child. This means that the book may be too long, and the vocabulary may be too difficult for your child’s age. Imagine trying to comprehend a book in Spanish when you are still struggling with memorising some of the basic words. That’s exactly what your child is facing. There are simply too many unknown words for the sentences to make sense.
In addition, the text may not be “considerate” enough for your child’s age. This means that there are not enough pictures and diagrams to support your child’s understanding of its content. Think back to non-fiction children’s books. Aren’t they filled with colourful illustration? These images support your child’s understanding of the difficult words in the book, making them easier to read.
However, if the book is rightly pitched at your child’s age, then other factors may likely be at play. Reading is a very complex process, and several skills need to be in place in order for your child to make sense of what he sees on a page.
In this diagram below, I detail the different skills involved in reading comprehension based on the Simple View of Reading by Gough & Tunmer.
WRITTEN WORD IDENTIFICATION
Phonics
The very first piece of the puzzle is phonics. Phonics is basically the knowledge of what sound each letter or group of letters makes, as well as the knowledge of how to blend and decode letter-sounds. Decoding allows your child to sound out the words on the page. By sounding out the words, your child can then access its meaning.
Certainly, your child can also learn to read without decoding the text. But this means that he will have to recognise all the words by sight. Considering that there are approximately 171,000 words in the English language, learning by sight may not be the most efficient way to learn to read. Therefore, if your child is able to decode, he will have an easier time when it comes to reading.
Fluency
Simply knowing phonics is not enough. Fluency, which is reading with speed, accuracy and proper intonation, is equally important as well. One critical factor affecting reading fluency is how easily your child can decode the text. Our brain’s processing power is limited. Therefore, the fewer resources we expend towards sounding out the words, the more cognitive resources we have left to figure out its meaning.
As we become more and more proficient with reading, the process of decoding becomes so automatic that we spend few resources trying to figure out the word. That is why proficient readers tend to have better reading comprehension: they simply don’t have to grapple with the drudgery of sounding out words and can pool all their resources towards figuring out its meaning.
Therefore, if your child reads haltingly, there might be a chance that reading fluency is impacting his reading comprehension skills.
VOCABULARY
Vocabulary
As mentioned earlier in the introduction, vocabulary plays a big part in understanding what one reads. The more difficult words there are in the text, the less likely your child is to understand its content.
It’s kind of like reading some advanced mathematical theory book. Unless you are very well-versed in the subject, you probably will have difficulty comprehending the words you see on the page as there will be too many unfamiliar words.
So take a look at the book your child just read. Does it have more than 5 difficult words on each page? If so, the text is likely too hard for him.
In addition, there could be a possibility that your child does not understand your question. Many children with language disorders struggle to understand the different question types. Some signs of their difficulties are: Giving answers that do not match the questions and frequently saying “huh?” in response to queries. If this sounds like your child, the question and text, are likely too hard for him.
LANGUAGE
Syntax / Sentence Structure
Not only do words change the meaning of the text, sentence structure too can affect its meaning. Take these two sentences for example: “The girl worked hard since she failed” vs “The girl worked hard but she failed”. Just one change of word can alter the meaning completely.
In English, there are many different types of sentence structures, each with slight differences; yet each may bring about a complete change in meaning. Therefore, a mastery of the different sentence structures is required in order for children to understand higher and higher level of texts.
If the text you have selected has long flowery prose, it is likely that the sentence structures are too difficult for him. Try choosing a simpler reading material and see if it helps your child’s understanding of the text.
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge about the Topic
Try reading this paragraph about Quantum Physics from Wikipedia:
“A quantum state can be an eigenvector of an observable, in which case it is called an eigenstate, and the associated eigenvalue corresponds to the value of the observable in that eigenstate.”
Did your eyes gloss over with all the difficult words? Even if you were to pull out a dictionary and look up the words, you’d likely have a difficult time picturing what all of these words mean together.
This is why prior knowledge is important. Unless you have direct experience, have read about it before, or have seen it in videos, the information on the page may not make sense.
For example, if a child has never seen snow before, he may not understand the following line: “She walked carefully, trying to avoid the puddles that had already turned black with dirt”. Most people who have never seen snow would think that snow is white, but those who have experienced it would know it turns black when melted, as it mixes with the dirt on the ground.
Therefore, if the text is about a topic that your child has no prior knowledge about, this may pose as an additional obstacle to his comprehension.
COMPREHENSION PROCESSS
Level of Thinking
In the 1970s, developmental psychologist, Marion Blanks and her team of researchers analysed children’s ability to engage on different levels of thought processes. They then came up with what is now known as Blanks’ Levels of Questioning. The lower levels deal with questions relating to the here and now, such as “What colour is the ball?”, “What is this?” or “Who is this?” with reference to something present in the room.
As the levels increase, the child is expected to engage in more abstract thinking. This means that the information is no longer presented directly to him. Rather, he has to infer and make predictions. This is not some sadistic method that educators conjured up to torment children in examinations. Rather, it has real life implication in reading as well as communicating with others.
Ever heard of the phrase “Reading between the lines?” This is one of such scenarios. When people talk and write, they don’t always spell everything out in black and white. Having to clearly state everything makes the writing or speech extremely boring.
Take for example the line “I got into the car”. The part about the author opening the car door is implied. Imagine if the author has to list down every single step he took to get to the car; It will not only make the writing too onerous to read, but also detract from the meat of the plot.
Therefore, if a child struggles with these higher level thinking processes, he will find it a struggle to comprehend what he reads.
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
Attention and Motivation
Have you ever found yourself reading a book and then realised that you are still stuck on the same page twenty minutes later? More likely than not, your attention had drifted off to something else and you likely had no recollection of what you had read.
This may be the case for your child too, since attention is the gateway to learning. After all, if your child is thinking about the Pokemon he is going to catch later, he is most likely not paying active attention to what he is reading.
Certainly, if this is a topic that your child can’t care less about, it would be even harder for him to focus his attention on what he is reading.
Conclusion
Reading comprehension is a complex process that requires many skills. This is why there are many children who have spent years in English tuition and yet, do not see any improvements to their results. Enrichment centres can benefit children who already have these skills in place and who just need an additional nudge. However, for children with other underlying difficulties, they may need a little bit more intensive work in order to make progress.
By understanding the processes involved in reading comprehension, you can focus on the areas your child needs help in. In addition, by taking a step back and working on foundational goals, your child can build confidence in his abilities to read and comprehend.
The mountain may seem high to surmount now, but with slow and steady practice, he will get there too.
