Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

11 Plus English - Preparation and Information

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Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by Manana »

I'm preparing DS (currently at the end of Y4) for the Essex 11+ myself and I'm having a wobble at the moment-I've come here to see if I'm alone!

Whilst I think he's ok with the Maths and VR, English is definitely the one he struggles with. He's currently a 4b across the board at school, so I know he's reasonably capable but he's not keen on doing anything English related! We've done the second papers in English (these were fine) and we've just finished the 4th paper in the Bond 9-10 Comprehension book and my goodness it was hard work! It was about limestone and mountains and spring formations. We read it together, talked about it (a lot!) and went through the answers together, but it was so hard-the language was tricky and the questions were hard! We did it-but very much together; I'm not sure he would have done particularly well alone; he didn't know what 'barren moorland' or 'scanty pasturage' meant. What's worrying me is that I've seen the CSSE past English papers (Tess+Captain Corelli's Mandolin anyone...!) and I know they are very hard, too-so we need to keep going.

Am I alone!? Am I doing the right thing by working through them together?! I am confident in my subject matter-I'm a KS2 teacher and have a good degree in English Literature, but am just worried that a) he finds them hard and b) he hates the English papers so much! I remember reading on here a little while ago how the Bond 10-11 papers were much harder than the 9-10, which is now playing on my mind! Do people find that the Comprehension and the Bond English books are equally hard?

Please help!
vasu
Posts: 719
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 3:36 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by vasu »

I started Hayden Richard for my son in year 4. Small comprehension and covers grammar too. Have a look in Water stone. Frankly speaking my son hates Bond, I dont know why :?
Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee.
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by Manana »

vasu wrote:I started Hayden Richard for my son in year 4. Small comprehension and covers grammar too. Have a look in Water stone. Frankly speaking my son hates Bond, I dont know why :?
Thank you for your reply! I've got the Haydn Book 3 kicking around upstairs somewhere; I will dig it out. what did you move onto after that?
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by Manana »

I've just found the Haydn (3rd book). The comprehension exercises are much easier than the Bond ones!

Can I ask what other people use for English prep? At the moment, DS (with my help!) is doing one weekly 9-10 Bond comprehension paper, along with scrabble/bananagram and general word games. Is this similar to others?
11+ novice
Posts: 78
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 12:54 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by 11+ novice »

looking at your post has reminded me how my DS was in the beginning of year 4 .I had the same issue with comprehension did bond 8-9 which went ok ...ish i was not too happy though.

Over the past few months i have used letts success year 4 and 5 papers. They are easier and go higher in level really gradually so their comprehension skills are built up slowly, you could try these. I too have Haydn Richards 3 & 4 but feel they are a bit too easy for them, the grammar is excellent practise though.

Another good source for comprehension is schofield and sims, we started with book 2. I thought they were excellent. Would suggest u get the answers as well as i really did need them a lot.

I also feel reading helps them understand a lot better but my DS was not a good reader until recently,so i used to read/go thru loads of Micheal Morpugo books and see the words he would not know, make flashcards and use these words everyday, these techniques have improved his skills in English immensely.
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by Manana »

11+ novice wrote:looking at your post has reminded me how my DS was in the beginning of year 4 .I had the same issue with comprehension did bond 8-9 which went ok ...ish i was not too happy though.

Over the past few months i have used letts success year 4 and 5 papers. They are easier and go higher in level really gradually so their comprehension skills are built up slowly, you could try these. I too have Haydn Richards 3 & 4 but feel they are a bit too easy for them, the grammar is excellent practise though.

Another good source for comprehension is schofield and sims, we started with book 2. I thought they were excellent. Would suggest u get the answers as well as i really did need them a lot.

I also feel reading helps them understand a lot better but my DS was not a good reader until recently,so i used to read/go thru loads of Micheal Morpugo books and see the words he would not know, make flashcards and use these words everyday, these techniques have improved his skills in English immensely.
Thank you so much-I had added the Schofield and Sims Comprehension to my Amazon basket, actually! Which is the answer book-is it the teachers' guide?
Last edited by Manana on Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
11+ novice
Posts: 78
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 12:54 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by 11+ novice »

Yes, teachers guide is the book for answers.

I just realised i said letts success for comprehension in my post, the books are actually called letts success assesment papers English, they go according to year group.

Good Luck!
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by fatbananas »

Teachermum - does that mean 11+ students are supposed to have read Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Captain Corelli? :shock:
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by Manana »

fatbananas wrote:Teachermum - does that mean 11+ students are supposed to have read Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Captain Corelli? :shock:
I don't think so! They were just examples of past texts used in the Essex comprehension paper. Scary, isn't it!?
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: Bond comprehension 9-10 book=argh!

Post by fatbananas »

Yes! Sounds madness. Many of the themes in those books are pretty adult (in every sense!).
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
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