Here's the latest entry from Rosemarie Hester, who is a learning specialist in Brooklyn. If you want to get in touch with Rosemarie you can email her here; rosemariehester(at)mac(dot)com.

“My child can read the words perfectly, but doesn’t know what they mean!”

Many children are empty readers.  They decode beautifully, but do not derive meaning from what they read. 

This problem can be effectively addressed through active reading strategies.  Here’s what to do:

Choose a short passage at your child’s level.  Two or three paragraphs will do, and non-fiction usually works better than fiction. 

Ask your child to read one sentence at a time.  Then, ask him/her to choose the most important words in the sentence.  Have him/her underline, highlight or circle those “key words.”  Discuss any questions that might arise.  For example, if a pronoun is used (they, he, she…), ask what the word might be referring to. 

If a child is confused about anything in the sentence, give him/her time to reflect and ask questions.  Learning to pause and ask questions often takes time.  It is an important, separate skill. 

When the child is ready, go on to the next sentence, highlighting and discussing. 

The point is that the child should be doing two things—visualizing the sentence in his/her mind’s eye and discriminating information by answering what’s important, what’s “key.”
These two habits contribute greatly to comprehension.  (For an early reader, I would suggest he/she be encouraged to draw each sentence.)

As with everything, active reading needs to be practiced.  But be sure to break sessions down into small, kid-sized time slots–thoroughness and depth is more important than volume–and never get started when a child is already tired! 

There are other active reading strategies to add over time.  If you have questions or would like to discuss your child’s reading, please e-mail me:  rosemariehester@mac.com
I’ll be happy to share what I know.