reading or skimming?

[Joamit]

My son is in Yr 5, preparing for 11+ as well.He's not reading the boks properly.He skims.He's not slowing down.He tells me the story but when it's comprehension time- lack of attention to detail.I am worried about it.Can anybody shed light on it please?

[Reh]

With books esp fiction he is probably understanding the general storyline and hence able to tell you what the story is about. With the comprehension exercises you have to read the passage in detail in order to answer questions otherwise you miss vital info needed.
Do you listen to him read? If so it might be worth asking him questions about what he has read that will give you some idea as to how much of the text he understands.

[Daogroupie]

Comprehension questions are designed to trick those who skim through. If he wants a good mark in an English paper he will have to learn to slow down and read the texts slowly and property. I suggest you take him for a mock so he realises where he is in terms of others who will be competing with him for the places. Some top table students just do not realise how many other students are trying to get the places so it is those who prepare carefully who will get the places DG.

[Immortal Dreams]

A technique I used in my 11 plus exams (a few years ago, I admit) was to read the questions before the text, meaning you can look out for the particular details the questions ask you for instead of just gathering the general gist of the text.

With this you still have to read in detail, but you know to re-read until you find the answer you need.