Your son's choice of books may be preventing him from improving his reading comprehension skills.

 All too often, students are reading books well below their reading level. For example, it is common to find grade 5 students reading graphic novels that are at a grade 3 reading level (there’s nothing wrong with graphic novels, at the appropriate level they are great tools for learning). When these students are exposed to grade 5 or grade 6 level books in class, they are at a loss. It is hard for them to infer (critically think), compare and contrast, analyze characters, see connections in the plot, or perform other higher order thinking skills.

In other cases, students (especially boys) are just not all that interested in the content of the literature. Unfortunately, such themes as friendship, love, and interpersonal relationships are not as compelling as non-fiction,

According to the New Zealand Council for Educational Research in Wellington, Hansen,S. (2002) “Writing Sux!” states that,

“studies show that boys and girls like to read different types of books. Girls prefer romance and poetry, while boys prefer sports, technology, science fiction, and adventure.”

Quite often, a complete lack of interest is mistaken for a lack of ability.

How do you solve these problems?

1. Choose books at the appropriate reading level. You can simply ask your child’s teacher for some guidance to find reading material that suits your child’s level. Clearly, your child will learn new vocabulary, themes, concepts, and improve comprehension when he reads books at his level.

2. Ask your child ‘opposite gender’ types of questions. For example, if your son likes sports and prefers to read books on baseball, try to ask him questions that could be asked in a fiction story. That is, assume he is reading an article about a great baseball player. You could ask him, “How do you think his wife and kids felt being home while he (the baseball player) went on road trips for most of the year?” This is the type of thinking that your son probably wouldn’t think on his own yet it is exactly the type of question that he would be asked in school. Ultimately, you want to have your son start to think differently about what he reads. The same can apply to your daughter who only reads poetry or romance. Be creative! Find ways to open your child’s mind to different perspectives.

3. Find 'Boy' Books. Boys are sometimes hard to please when it comes to choosing books. I suggest that for boys, graphic novels, non-fiction picture books, and classic novels are the best choices. Graphic novels and non-fiction picture books are great because boys are visual learners. Classic novels (i.e. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Around the World in 80 Days) are also excellent choices because they offer your child well-developed characters, plot, settings, problems and solutions, and they provide vocabulary rich text to help improve your child’s reading skills.

Try to follow these strategies and you should see an improvement in your son's reading comprehension skills.