Hello, I am currently tutoring a kindergartener and I am still having trouble with her comprehension. We've been reading the same book every session for our familiar read (seven times), but I can't get many detailed events out of her. I've had her sequence the story and she's been writing sentences of the events in order, I've talked with her about specific events that happened, I've had her draw pictures, but her answers are always the same when I ask her to retell the story to me. When I ask her to tell me about the beginning of the story she replies with, "His friend is sad." Her response for the middle of the story is, "His friend is still sad." Her reply to the end of the story is, "His friend is here now." She understands the very basic points of the story which is good because I realize that she is still young. Should I accept her responses and move on or should I keep trying to pull more detailed responses out of her? If so, do you have any suggestions as to how I can help her remember more events about the story?
Athena Ako
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4 comments:
Maybe the student is not very interested in the story. Maybe take the students to the school library and have her pick out a story she is more interested in herself. Then I have talk about the story by just looking at the cover and reading the title first. then I would have a picture walk, which is just looking at the pictures and having her describe them to you. Have her tell you what is going on in the story by just looking at the pictures. then I would read the story to her first. Talk about what happened in the story, then have her read to herself or aloud to you. Ask her about her predictions to the story. Sometimes having the students using the pictures as clues helps them comprehend the story better. If that still doesn't work, I would model! Modeling what you think the story is about is better. Ask her to relate personally to the story, how did it make her feel what would she do in the characters position, other questions that help her connect to the story and she will have a better understanding of what is going on.
I have seen teachers do exactly what Tara was talking about. They introduce the book by just looking at the cover and asking the student what he thinks it is going to be about. Then they look at the pictures and try to predict what is going to happen in the story. This seems to really help the student with comprehension because they already have an idea about what is going to happen and they can also think back to see if their predictions were correct. I also think that student interest plays a key role in a student's comprehension. If they are not interested, they will not put much effort into understanding the story.
I am in a first grade class and I have students who do the same. What I do first is ask the question im asking for , then I usually give an example of what kind of answer im looking for(modeling). If I want details I pretty much guide them towards that path. I start with a story thats fun and we are all fimilar with and pick it apart. Then we move on to a new story the next day or so, I make sure its interesting for the students and at their reading level. The students have seen what I expect from them and we have practiced it so they usually give me more detailed answers on the 2nd book. I would accept her answers and move on to another book. Work on sequencing one at a time. So one day read the beginning and summarize it in details , then middle ,and end. Once its all done reread story and have her answer in details what happen beginning,middle, and end. Each student is different you might have to try other teaching methods on sequencing to find what works best with that student. Good Luck!
Hi Athena:
I would have the student pick a new book out of several you have selected, and see if she is more enthusiastic about talking about a book she chose.
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