4 Steps to Develop Comprehension and Analysis Skills at Home

By Oxford Tutoring

Education centers on using new research and experience to identify what students need to learn.

This system has been trusted to help students

However, what are parents supposed to do if they feel that more can be done to help their students reach their educational goals?

Oxford Tutoring1. Many parents come to Oxford

Tutoring with that very question.

2. There are times when instruction with our trained and knowledgeable tutors is warranted

At home activitiesThere are a number of activities that are effective, free, and fun

that a parent and child can work on together at home.

● Oral Exercises

● The Socratic Method

● Written Exercises

The Challenge

Most common request of our ELA tutors

Is to help students comprehend and analyze plots and arguments.

Yet, students are not being taught how to explain their findings.

Steps to Take At Home to Improve Comprehension and Analysis

Step #1: Oral Exercises

This is where you simply just talk to your student about an interest.

If your student is an avid Netflix User

Strike up a conversation about what he or she is currently watching.

The Goal

● Get the student to think critically

● And decide what is important enough to be included in the conversation

Next, they will analyze the content in order to explain how each of those “important” scenes fit together into the overall plot of the story.

The Challenge 1. Keeping the student on track

2. And focused on the same topic throughout the entire conversation.

Step #2: The Socratic Method

At heart, the Socratic Method

And the main goal in this second activity, is based on trying to truly understand what the student likes about the topic he or she has chosen to discuss.

Questions to Ask● What makes him or her so

passionate about it?

● Why is it worth talking about?

You are more of the participant now.

To make this activity work

Channel...

● One part: that annoying kid who asks “why” all the time;● One part: wise person who says “hmm…” and “that’s

interesting”;● One part: Devil’s advocate who challenges what is known by

pushing the idea to the extreme.

Once you have completed these oral activities a few times,The student will become accustomed to thinking critically about the things he or she cares about.

Then, the student will be ready to start writing about what he or she has been thinking about.

Step #3: Written Exercises

Journaling

This tried and true method will help students get comfortable with writing.

What’s great about journaling is that there are no rules - so you cannot mess up!

The Goal

● To get the student to put more than a single thought or sentence into the writing process.

● Asking a student to fill a page with text helps him or her get comfortable with putting ideas together.

Instructional/Informational Essays

Now that they have journaled, it is time to move onto essays.

Let’s think of essays as writing down thoughts in an organized fashion.The focus is still helping the student think critically and fully about an idea.

Use what the student has written in the journal and put the thoughts into a rational sequence.

Don’t worry about making it pretty - that’s Oxford Tutoring’s job.

Step #4: It’s the same, but different

Now, it is time to apply these steps to new novels and informative essays.

The Goal● Keep it fun!

● Leave the “work” for school and us here at Oxford Tutoring.

Oxford Tutoring(949) 681-0388