Comprehension

11 Plus English - Preparation and Information

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curiousdad
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 11:25 am

Comprehension

Post by curiousdad »

Hi all
I am a newbie. I am probably starting bit late to prepare my daughter. She is going to yr6. She is finding comprehension a big problem. Not able to focus on key facts. Any help and suggestions on resources please?

I have got some Bond papers and ordered first aid in English. I have also borrowed some books suggested in the forum for her to start reading.

Thanks folks have a good weekend. :)
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Comprehension

Post by um »

Also try Schofield and Sims Comprehension workbooks 3 and 4

and

Quick Fix for Year 6 comprehension

and

Bond secrets of Comprehension
DIY Mum
Posts: 744
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:08 pm
Location: Not in a hole in the ground but in a land where once they dwelt-the Beormingas

Re: Comprehension

Post by DIY Mum »

Hi, which area are you based? Comprehension exams vary between regions e.g. Essex and Birmingham exams.

Although Bond papers are beneficial, they can be quite challenging.

To focus on key facts, I found 'Non-Fiction Comprehension' helpful as it provides questions not only on 'whole' text comprehension but also on 'sentence comprehension' and 'paragraph' comprehension too. Only draw back is the US English but having said that, words affected are obviously few e.g. 'color.'

Also found Schofield and Sims books helpful but my Bond 'Secrets of Comprehension' just collects dust! :roll:

Optimist
Posts: 424
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:37 am

Re: Comprehension

Post by Optimist »

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for comprehension. DC need a mix of interest, text decoding, great vocab and an aptitude of reading between the lines (especially for inference questions).

Bond Comprehension has too much detail. Best to practise comprehension in the books suggested, and read the passage twice, identify and underline key words and then tackle the questions. Also, Manchester Grammar School has many MCQ comprehension papers with answers, that are worth trying.
Chilled
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:13 pm

Re: Comprehension

Post by Chilled »

I used the Key Comprehension books with my DS and we found these really helpful. They contain a mix of fiction and non-fiction and some poetry. If DC is struggling then start with Book 3 and move up to Book 4 if you have time. The only down side is that the answers come in a separate book. However, I just accepted any answer that DS could justify using the text, we discussed all the answers when he had done each passage and got away without having to buy the teacher's answer book.
KS10
Posts: 2516
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:39 am

Re: Comprehension

Post by KS10 »

um wrote:Also try Schofield and Sims Comprehension workbooks 3 and 4

and

Quick Fix for Year 6 comprehension

and

Bond secrets of Comprehension
I bought 'Bond Secrets of Comprehension' today. I have searched the entire book for Practice Test 1, but I seem to have Tests 2 and 3 only (bang in the middle). Could you tell me where it appears in your book? I want to be absolutely certain that it's not me before I take it back.
Thanks.
Thingsbehindthesun
Posts: 463
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:25 pm

Re: Comprehension

Post by Thingsbehindthesun »

KS10- There doesn't seem to be a paper 1 in my book either! :o
;D
KS10
Posts: 2516
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:39 am

Re: Comprehension

Post by KS10 »

:lol:
I think I'm relieved that I'm not going mad but I want that easy paper too.
mangomum
Posts: 137
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:33 pm

Re: Comprehension

Post by mangomum »

Optimist wrote:Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for comprehension. DC need a mix of interest, text decoding, great vocab and an aptitude of reading between the lines (especially for inference questions).

Bond Comprehension has too much detail. Best to practise comprehension in the books suggested, and read the passage twice, identify and underline key words and then tackle the questions. Also, Manchester Grammar School has many MCQ comprehension papers with answers, that are worth trying.
Thanks for the tip on the Manchester papers - that will save me a few £'s. Does anyone else know of free grammar school papers (with answers)?
MangoMum
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Comprehension

Post by um »

I put Bond's secrets of comprehension third on the list for a reason - it just isn't as useful as the other two. It does have a few good tips/exercises but these are geared (imho) towards a tutor/teacher preparing lessons on comprehension, not a parent sitting with their child.

Test 1 is not in the book, and it is not supposed to be - it is available for free at http://www.assessmentpapers.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Sorry if I am not supposed to put that link...just trying to direct to the 'missing' test!

All the tests in the Secrets of comprehension are standard and not multiple choice.

You would need to find out which format was used in your area.
Even if it is multiple choice, there is no harm in running through standard tests to get a feel for the passage, context, vocab etc.
Bond also publishes fourth and fifth papers comprehension if you're looking for further practice, but these are very good at terrifying children and putting them off comprehension for life if they've not covered the Schofield and Sims or similar books first.
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