The Research Report Blues
Learning how to read for information is a big leap for many kids. Here's how to help if yours is struggling.
Help her learn a new skill: Reading for information.
So your 4th or 5th grader reads up a storm, polishing off an enormous Harry Potter title in a single weekend. You'd been feeling pretty smug, when other parents can't get their kids to open a book.
But today is different. Today, the homework involves doing research — using an encyclopedia, maybe. Or even just reading a chapter in that fat science or social studies textbook. Now your ace reader is telling you it's just too hard, maybe even impossible! And when you open the textbook, you also want to howl. Who wrote this stuff, anyway?
Don't lose hope — and don't write off your child's reaction as laziness, lack of smarts, or the onset of adolescence. Chances are he has arrived at one of the most common and demanding transitions in literacy and intellectual growth, as teachers press him to switch from reading just for pleasure to reading for information. Sudden frustration is often the first sure sign, even among the best readers. "A lot of parents are surprised when their child is suddenly struggling with reading assignments," says Mary Kadera, a reading expert and director of the Public Broadcast Service's TeacherSource. "That child has been flying through chapter books. But sitting down with a textbook or an encyclopedia is completely different. It requires some of the same skills, but also entirely new ones."
Most critically, your child must now learn to read for a purpose — to analyze the material and gather evidence to make a case in a research paper or essay. The great switch occurs just as she faces an important crossroads in her own development. "She is beginning to mature intellectually and to think logically, but it's all new," says Jessie Wise, author of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. "Then, suddenly she's told she has to think through what she's reading and organize what she's learned. That's a new skill and she may panic."
A Show of Support
Given the fix your child is in, it's important that you not panic as well. "He needs you to be supportive, to reassure him that he can do it. Otherwise, he may give up or feel stupid," says Wise. "It helps to think of it as a new skill, like learning a sport or a musical instrument. It takes practice to get good at it."
Of course, anyone who's struggled with a keyboard or a soccer ball knows the path to mastery can be a bumpy one without a good coach. These strategies, offered by teachers and reading specialists, can smooth the way:
1. Check the reading level. Most teachers already know this, but parents are usually in the dark: Many textbooks are not keyed to the right grade level. "Usually kids are balking for a reason," says Lucy Calkins, professor of English education at Columbia University. "Too often, the textbooks are too hard." Recently, for example, Calkins's 6th grader came home with several texts written at a high school reading level. "The children don't have the vocabulary, and so they can't construct an image of what they are reading," she explains. Without that mental image, they can't even begin to analyze or organize the information.
So what's a parent to do? Try reading the chapter yourself, and talk about it with your child to help her grow more familiar with the topic. Pick out the key concepts and vocabulary and have a conversation about them. Look up words in the dictionary together. Even better: try to find some angle of interest to your child. "The best thing is to find some cool detail, like the fact that ancient Egyptians didn't wear underpants," says Calkins. "Once kids grab a fact like that, they'll be interested in gathering more details about how the Egyptians lived."
2. Make it easy to wade in. You can also help by introducing some easy books on the same topic to break the ice. Choosing a book with easier vocabulary makes the research rewarding — and helps your child feel successful rather than frustrated. "I've seen it happen over and over again. A child can be in seventh grade and still enjoy a second-grade book about Abraham Lincoln," says Victoria LoRusso, assistant principal and language arts consultant for the elementary schools in Farmingdale, New York. The graphics, pictures, and more basic presentation can make the concepts come alive, and make harder books more approachable. "Once your child is familiar with the ideas, it's easier to take on a harder text," she says.
If you try this approach, don't tell your child the book is aimed at a younger audience. Just get the book to get him started. This can be a particularly useful approach when your child is the one to pick a book that is just too difficult. You'll know it instantly, since he'll stumble over the vocabulary and fail to understand the main ideas. "Say, 'this isn't a just-right book for us. Let's find something on same subject that's easier to understand," LoRusso suggests. Then choose a book that's engaging and easy to read. If you're stumped, ask your local librarian for help. Even better, ask a children's librarian, if there's one on hand. Children's librarians have a working knowledge of reading levels, and books that are most compelling to youngsters working on research projects.
3. Don't play teacher. As your child struggles, it can be tempting to jump in and start acting like a teacher, poring over textbooks, hammering away at concepts and vocabulary. When you feel this urge coming on, resist it! "If you start quizzing your child, making her read and then testing her on the material, you'll probably just end up in a fight. There's so much more emotion between a child and a parent," says LoRusso. "Let the teachers do the difficult stuff, and you do the easy stuff."
Translation? Take her to the library or bookstore. Talk about what interests you about the topic. Tell stories about your own research projects as a kid. Be supportive and encouraging. But don't judge your child's performance. "There's a difference between a test and a conversation. Instead of asking, 'What's the main idea?' or 'What did you learn?' you can ask your child, 'What did you think of it?' or 'Did you agree?' That way, you get her to think about it, but you are not evaluating her performance, like a teacher would," advises Calkins.
4. Show your child the shortcuts. Textbook editors provide a roadmap to reading for information; all you have to do is point it out. Help him recognize and use cues such as:
- the table of contents
- key words in boldface type
- titles summarizing the main idea
- subtitles tracking the main points in the argument
5. Be a role model. "Children observe the ways their parents approach problems and solve them," says LoRusso. "So be aware that you are constantly role-modeling how to do research — whether it's on wallpapering, finding the best price on a pair of shoes, or going on a trip." Thus, it's helpful to include your child in the process. "You can say, 'Let's see, what do I know about this subject already? Where would I look for answers for my questions?" says LoRusso. "In the case of wallpaper, you might be looking through the yellow pages, going online, or getting books from the library."
Likewise, when your child stumps you with a question, use that as an opportunity to show her how to find the answer. "It's really important for children to see their parents reading for research. You might just say, 'Gee, I don't know what that word means, either. Let's go look it up in the dictionary," says Kadera.
6. Expose your child to the world. Reading sticks when children have more knowledge about the world. That's because experiences provide a context for the words and ideas. Trips to museums and travel are nice, but such learning happens everyday. "Those conversations you have with your child at the grocery store or while reading the paper will help with reading for information," says Kadera. "The broader his experience, the more connections he can make with what he reads." A trip to the aquarium makes reading about sharks easier and more interesting. Talking about the organic fruits at the supermarket makes studying pesticides or pollution more relevant.
7. Be empathetic. When the whining reaches fever pitch, the books go sailing across the room, and your child loses all patience, you may be tempted to lose yours as well. But hang in there. The worst thing you can do is make your child feel stupid or incapable. Instead, remind yourself how frustrating it can be to learn a new skill. "I recently had to learn a new computer program, and my husband was trying to teach me. He thought it was easy, but I just couldn't get it. I was so frustrated that I started crying," says Wise. "I always keep that in mind as I work with kids. It's always hard to learn something new. You feel stupid, whether you are nine, nineteen or fifty-nine."
Let your child know how you've struggled to gain new skills, had to break things down, step by step, to make progress. Let her take a break, have a snack, joke a little, and then come back to the text. When things are calm, help her talk it through. "Once your child can put things in her own words, what we call 'narrating' what she's read, you know she's making progress," says Wise.
8. Get help when problems persist. If your child's frustration persists, however, don't delay in getting help. "Children have to have some basic reading fluency before they can read for research," says Kadera. "If you see your child is stumbling and having to puzzle out words, he may not be ready for reading for research. Reading for information requires a basic fluency, so you can step back and analyze what you are reading."
Your child may have memorized words, for example, instead of learning phonics. Or he may have trouble moving from the simplest ideas to more complicated ones. Your child's school should have a reading specialist who can diagnose such problems, help your child gain fluency, or recommend additional help, if necessary.
