Gifted mathematicians find English comprehension not logical

[MrsK40]

Hi, has anyone experienced this problem with their little mathematicians? DS finds mathematics really a natural skill that he does not have to try too hard at (inherited trait from DH, definitely not me!!!) But he does struggle with English comprehension, as I suspect it is not logical enough for him. Now by 'struggle' I don't mean he is really bad, but just average and there is quite a big gap in his levels of ability in both subjects. (Maths is Level 6 in Year 6 and English is 4A tipping into Level 5 occasionally). So I wondered if anyone had come accross this issue and had any ideas? We've tried some 'how to' books but I feel comprehension is one of those areas that's quite hard to explain.

[yoyo123]

I think mathemeticians sometimes struggle with the fact thatthere is not a 'right' and ' wrong' answer..

I certinly find maths and science far easier to mark than english

[zvrk]

MrsK40, I think there might be something there. My DS is very good at Maths (very natural, almost efortlestly easy to him), English, he is good at , but his comprehension is not to the level of his reading and writing and not once did we hear from his teacher that he can't cope with text or something they work on, being not logical enough for him.He probably likes the right and wrong of Maths (and no grey areas in between).

[MrsK40]

Thanks for the reply Yo yo123! In fact DS can argue conclusions quite clearly to all his answers, they are just not the ones the examiners/teachers are looking for. What to do? It seems the problem is teaching him the conventions of thought in the English language. Most people do this fairly automatically, without it having to be explained!! It's like having to explain a joke, ... it's not that funny when you dissect it and examine it a close quarters. So, similarly, having to de-construct inference and try and explain it is confusing and painful to all involved. There must be an easier way for the mathematicians of this world, surely?

[MrsK40]

Hi, zvrk, that is interesting that your child also has a lower comprehension age than spelling and reading, our DS is exactly the same. The kind of books he reads are really meant for teenagers and his reading age is a couple of years ahead of his actual age, but the comprehension age is not as high. I wonder sometimes whether he just reads too fast sometimes and misses the meaning due to missing out words!

[zvrk]

Hi, zvrk, that is interesting that your child also has a lower comprehension age than spelling and reading, our DS is exactly the same. The kind of books he reads are really meant for teenagers and his reading age is a couple of years ahead of his actual age, but the comprehension age is not as high. I wonder sometimes whether he just reads too fast sometimes and misses the meaning due to missing out words!

At the age of 6 (he is almost 9 now) his reading age was 12 but comprehension did not follow it.
We sometimes ask him after he's read the book what it is about, and if he was to write a review of the book what would he write about.

[MrsK40]

Wow zrvk!!, that is an impressive disparity of real age and reading age!! My younger DS has a ridiculously high reading age and comprehension age, and is certainly good at maths, (scored highly this year) but does not have the natural flair for numbers that the older DS has. I think DS1 is quite unusual and has an unusual way of thinking. Do you find you have had issues with the school curriculum suiting your DS's needs? I feel sometimes that the national curriculum has been more of a hinderance than a help! Not in all subjects, but I've hated to watch my son's natural enthusiasm for numbers and learning gradually eroding away and utter boredom and cynicism setting in (at 10!!). That's been hard to watch.

[Ed's mum]

With regard to comprehension, especially with your nearly 9 year old Zvrk, it might be an idea to read a book/chapter/passage together stopping frequently to ask questions like 'why do you think he said/did that?' or 'why do you think the author chose to tell you x about this character? Lots of open ended questions which get the child thinking.

[zvrk]

To tell you the truth it shocked us when they told us at the parents evening, we did not ask, they just volunteered that information.I think they did it because they wanted to bring up the 'problem' of comprehension.
(he is at level 4A in English at the moment).
Will try to ask him questions.
The only 'problem' (it's really not a problem :) is that I'm not born English (I'm Croatian) , and I had this romantic thoughts of me talking to him all the time in Croatian, well it's not working like that, when he is doing something re. school we speak in English,his written English is miles ahead of me .

[um]

wow this sounds exactly like my son, he also thinks very logically, which can actually be good in some types of comprehension/reasoning, but not in others. he really did struggle with comprehension but still got into the grammar of his choice.
on the other hand i am the exact opposite, but i'm starting to understand him more now.
i would just suggest to ensure that he loves reading and reads a wide range of good books as i think that helped my ds a lot.
however i wouldn't push review writing unless he wants to, my friends kids attend a school where they have to write 1 book review a week for homework, in my opinion that is the easiest way to put them off reading for life! he is only 9, so let him enjoy reading and in time he will start to talk more about books as that is what my ds has done, now he gives me books and tells me to read them, as he's just finished them, and we have great discussions about them. i think a few years maturity may help too.

sorry no caps holding baby.