<![CDATA[English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension]]>[Moderator's note: Topic selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/tackling-english-comprehension.]


Heyya...

Try this...
Before attempting to read the comprehension passage,
read through the questions first - like once through...
Twice even better. Then read the passage. Why this
works? ( For me and my kiddie, at least... 😉 )

The once through with the questions has provided the
child with an idea... a sneak preview to what the story
or the passage is about.

Hence, when reading the passage the answers come
almost automatic, cos they already know it was being
asked in the questions (that they read earlier...).

Another is to scoop out for the main word - read from
the question itself and the answer should be around
there. Better to have a clue than a blank - i dunno...
cannot find.

Sometimes the question is tricky cause the word has
been changed to another with similar meaning - sieve
that out from the passage as well. For example :

The passage goes...

>...after spending all the money her mum gave her on
the stationery from the bookshop, she was not left with
any balance of coins to make that one important phone call.

The question then reads...

>What happened to the remaining coins? Why couldn't she make the call?

> Or - Was there any amount left from the pocket money to make the
call? Why?

In this example, the main word was intentionally replaced to test the
child's vocabulary skills. 😉 Child must know that these words
all provide similar meanings.

>ie. balance=remainder= whatever amount that is left....
..... to know that (that word) it is the main word from the question given.

Child must also watch for the very direct clues - why, what, where, how,
whose, who, etc indications of what of answer the question needs...

With our home practise, we also follow a general rule to underline the
answer and number them accordingly (to the corresponding question),
to save the trouble of looking/scouring for the answer again by having
to read through the passage AGAIN.. That, i find the children don't like
to do. They do not fancy reading the passage over and over again...
especially when they already know they couldn't find in the first place.

So, they totally dislike this statement...
\"Read through the passage again and understand...
The answer is in there.. Try again..\"

Left to that on their own to solve for so much so..
more than what they can tahan (to hear), they will
switch off and lose interest.

I'm not sure if this technique will help but just sharing
what i work with my girls and my students. 😉

Cheerios!
:celebrate:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/2576/english-tackling-primary-school-comprehensionRSS for NodeMon, 24 Aug 2026 13:59:33 GMTThu, 02 Apr 2009 04:29:20 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 19 Nov 2013 03:18:17 GMT]]>Is Comprehension Skills P1 good?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1148293https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1148293Tue, 19 Nov 2013 03:18:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:41:18 GMT]]>As kiasu as I can get…went to Popular after lunch yesterday…combed through the shelves of P1 assessment books. Bought ‘Conquer Comprehension’ by SAP and ‘Comprehension Skills P1’. Plan to start next week.


Was also looking for ‘Sentence Rearranging’ but not many titles have it.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/314414https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/314414Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:41:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:12:33 GMT]]>

buds:
Usually the kindy would have started on with grammar and compre

towards Term 3, janet_lee88... in preparation for Primary 1. 😉

Agree with 24hr-mum. In your case, must start liao... if you haven't.
Okie doke, will go through her books tomorrow to see if there are any simple comprehension passages. Thanks.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313506https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313506Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:12:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:00:03 GMT]]>Usually the kindy would have started on with grammar and compre

towards Term 3, janet_lee88... in preparation for Primary 1. 😉

Agree with 24hr-mum. In your case, must start liao... if you haven't.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313453https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313453Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:00:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:50:52 GMT]]>

24hr-mum:
start asap. takes long time to get the skills


i tried Comprehension Skills. forgot the publisher. quite gd
Think I saw that book before...think it's by Marshall Cavendish. Thanks.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313435https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313435Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:50:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:02:23 GMT]]>start asap. takes long time to get the skills


i tried Comprehension Skills. forgot the publisher. quite gd

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313422https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313422Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:02:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:28:51 GMT]]>Hi Mummies,

My daughter is a Nov child…going to P1 next year. Just wondering when you do start teaching/getting your kids to do EL comprehension ?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313087https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313087Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:28:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:03:01 GMT]]>

24hr-mum:
get compre assessment bks that teach compre skills eg inference skills, they are different from normal test papers

There are so many in the market. Any recommendations ?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313074https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/313074Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:03:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:16:08 GMT]]>get compre assessment bks that teach compre skills eg inference skills, they are different from normal test papers

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/312966https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/312966Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:16:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:34:38 GMT]]>As long as you have something for them to work on

it is fine. It is not a must to purchase the compre bks…

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/312687https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/312687Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:34:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:22:49 GMT]]>Do you think it is a must to get comprehension books for the child to practise? I thought since some websites have past year exam papers, might as well print from there and let them practise.


Anyone can comment?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/312678https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/312678Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:22:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:48:30 GMT]]>cant answer straight to the point

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310582https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310582Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:48:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:47:45 GMT]]>hi ctct61t


my girl will be p3 next year, tho she will just turn 8, being a 1 jan bb.

the prob is she cant

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310581https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310581Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:47:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:15:01 GMT]]>

24hr-mum:
thanks. my girl is an avid reader. but she is not mature yet.


will persevere
Hi 24hr-mum, my DD is the same as yours. She likes read various books, the most favourite is fairy stories.

She always has her own opitions when answering comre questions, although the answers seems resonable sometimes , but it's not the really anwer that teacher wants, thus all marks losts in her SA2 exam are in compre. Both her chinese and english have the same issues.

My DD will be P3 next year, how about your DD?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310454https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310454Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:15:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:40:28 GMT]]>

buds:
optimistforum:

DS used a pneumonic to help him: TELLS

optimistforum:
One final thing about comprehension, I would recommend your DC uses the above pneumonics, and then.......
I do believe you meant... \"mnemonic\"....... right? :?
A learning technique that aids memory?

I have not come across this word \"pneumonic\" before in learning
techniques... I believe this word is associated with a medical term... 😐
Pneumonia? An inflammatory condition of the lung.

Hi Buds

My apologies; I forever spell words incorrectly such as: knowledge, necessary, commitment. :oops:

I even misspelt \"pasrt\", when I meant \"part\" - in the post you are referring to.

I guess I need to enhance my orthographic, syntactic and semantic abilities. :salute:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310333https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310333Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:40:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:36:17 GMT]]>Oops

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310332https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310332Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:36:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:38:45 GMT]]>

optimistforum:
DS used a pneumonic to help him: TELLS
optimistforum:
One final thing about comprehension, I would recommend your DC uses the above pneumonics, and then.......
I do believe you meant... \"mnemonic\"....... right? :?
A learning technique that aids memory?

I have not come across this word \"pneumonic\" before in learning
techniques... I believe this word is associated with a medical term... 😐
Pneumonia? An inflammatory condition of the lung.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310320https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310320Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:38:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:30:18 GMT]]>thanks a lot optimistforum

i always wonder why my girl loves to read but still cant do well for compre n math problem sums. maybe she just speed read

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310152https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310152Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:30:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 06:48:12 GMT]]>

buds:
24hr-mum:

how to improve compre?


Heyya 24hr-mum... i shared something here sometime back.
Dunno if it'd be useful in your case. > http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2576&highlight=tackling+primary+school+comprehension

Hi buds, 24hr-mum

I think you should try as many short-term methods as possible as possible to get your children through the comprehension pasrt of the exam. However, the fundamentals of reading comprehension will still need to be addressed. I have found that the best readers with good comprehension skills can understand most texts and can also decipher mathematical word problems.

A good vocabulary enhances good comprehension. Also let your child read any books that they wish to read; it's better that they read books that they are interested in rather than ones that they are disinterested in.

The \"Conquer Comprehension\" books by SAP would be of use to your DC, beyond a short-term fix.

I hope you found my contribution useful as I have gained so much from this forum; and yet, I always like to give something back.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310103https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/310103Tue, 07 Dec 2010 06:48:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 01:25:17 GMT]]>thanks buds.

i knew abt the first mthd, ie read the question first but didnt know the rest of the mtds.
u r right that the kids are lazy to re-read the passage

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/309878https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/309878Tue, 07 Dec 2010 01:25:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:51:00 GMT]]>

24hr-mum:
how to improve compre?

Heyya 24hr-mum... i shared something here sometime back.
Dunno if it'd be useful in your case. > http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2576&highlight=tackling+primary+school+comprehension

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/309815https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/309815Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:51:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 02:10:42 GMT]]>Hi to the posters on this thread


I have a possible solution that helped my DS, who was in the same predicament.

My DS had the same problem with comprehension; infact he could read (i.e. decode words) but not understand the story/passage. He is P2 age, and he can successfully now do MCQ and open-ended comprehension questions from the difficult "Challenging English" book by EPH.

What we did was pain-staking but here goes:

DS used a pneumonic to help him: TELLS

T = What is the story title
E = Examine/skim the passage/story to get a flavour of it.
L1 = Look for important words.
L2 = Look for difficult words.
S= Story - determine if it is fact/fiction.

E still posed a problem, and I used "Kiplings" "5 W’s and a H", to help DS understand:

W1 = Who is involved in the story (name/title)
W2 = Where did the story take place
W3= When did it happen (look for clues, eg ate breakfast means early morning etc)
W4= What happenened (An amalgam of W1 to W3 will indicate what happened?
W5= Why did the incident in W4 occur.
H = How did the incident in W5 occur.

My DS has improved in the last 4 months using this (and it is only in the last few weeks he has made a dramatic improvement). This method is worth persevering with.

One final thing about comprehension, I would recommend your DC uses the above pneumonics, and then

1 - Skim the passage once (to get an overview)
2 - Skim the questions (to get an overview)
3 - Read the passage and use TELLS and 5 W;s and H. - after a while it becomes instinctive for DC to use this method.
4 - Answer the questions.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/309173https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/309173Sun, 05 Dec 2010 02:10:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:49:28 GMT]]>she reads anything from the library. no particular preference, tho she likes geronimo stilon,

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/306553https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/306553Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:49:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to English - Tackling Primary School Comprehension on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:16:42 GMT]]>

24hr-mum:
thanks. my girl is an avid reader. but she is not mature yet.


will persevere
Yes Jia You, lots of good books help a lot too. What books is she reading now?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/306508https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/306508Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:16:42 GMT