Reading is More than the Utterance of Sounds

The first step in a child’s journey to literacy is to make the basic letter sounds.  Later they shape sounds into words and sentences.  We’ve been through all of that, struggle and reward, and we’re proud that that portion of our journey is over.  Neil, now 7, is ready to open the next gate and start learning how to retain information.  The need to embark on the next leg of our reading adventure became obvious when I had him read a Magic Tree House book about Pompeii.  I was sitting next to him listening to his reading; and, when he finished, I asked him what it was all about.  He answered, “It’s about a mountain.”  I said, “Okay, Neil.  What kind of mountain?” And, folks, that’s all I got out of him – “A mountain.”  I’m sure he must have known it exploded and that a city got buried, but he didn’t seem able to express it.        

The Best Tack:         

A few days after that incident, I bought him a book about Roman history. Context, I thought, might help him visualize a fictional story about Rome.  It didn’t work.  He read the first chapter about the founding of Rome, and I asked him to explain its creation legend.  It was right on the first page!  Surely he could do that.  No, he couldn’t.  In fact, he didn’t even remember there were twins and a wolf involved. He is obviously proficient at reading words, but he hasn’t been taught to think about them.  But, I’m not surprised because I remember making this transition myself.  I remember having to read chapters three or 4 times before my brain clicked in and I got into it.  Neil is at a natural juncture which, now I know, occurs when kids reach about 7 ½ years old.          

This revelation finds us entering the world of reading comprehension quizzes.  I had him read the chapter in question and, while he did that, I wrote out some questions for him to answer.  The idea was that he should read each question and answer it out loud for me, if he could – or, in the event that he had forgotten, look it up and then tell me.  I have to say, while it took 3 times longer than usual to do our reading lesson, it is much more satisfying to know he’s trying hard to understand it.  It won’t be long before he can read a chapter and answer the questions without opening the book for reference.         

These are the questions I wrote for him, and which he answered after a little digging.  But, don’t worry, all this information was crammed into 10 pages so it’s not like I had him read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire or anything like that.              

 Ancient Rome:         

- The Legend of the beginning of Rome:  Who were the legendary twins? Which God created them?                 

- Who, or what, found the boys, and where were they found?  Who then raised the boys?         

- When the boys grew up, where did they plan to put their city?                 

- They got into a fight over who would be the ruler of the city.  Who killed who, and what city did the surviving brother create?         

- But that’s not the real story; that’s just a legend.  When did construction of Rome actually start?                  

- What sorts of factors helped Rome to grow?  What did early Romans trade as a basis of their economy?         

- Rome built an army.  How much land did they accumulate through war?  What lands did they conquer?                  

 - Who was the last king of Rome?  The Romans overthrew him and installed a different kind of government.  What is a Republic?         

- What is a senator?                   

- What are assemblies?         

- Finally, after the republic died, Rome had emperors.  What is an emperor?  How much power did a Roman emperor have?                  

- Patricians, plebeians and slaves were the three groups of people in Rome.  Who are they?  What is a plebeian?  What is a patrician?  What is a slave?         

- Did slaves have any rights?