Fourth grade student with comprehension difficulties?

I have a fourth grade male student who has learning difficulties. I teach at a private school and his parents will not allow psychological testing to be done. They say that there is nothing wrong with their student.


Often when asked a question he will give a completely erroneous answer. I couldn't understand where these answers or correlations were coming from until we were talking about the three branches of government and as I was asking other students questions about the functions of the different branches he raised his hand and said "You mean like bark on a tree, right?" I couldn't understand where the comment came from until I put together his association of "branch" with bark.


Any suggestions on how I can help this student? It seems like he takes only very literal information and has a difficult time translating the material he has learned to apply it to other situations.

Fourth grade student with comprehension difficulties?
I have run across things like this for years. I would request a specalists to visit my reem and observe. You could also do some self testing games with the class. Think you might find what you are looking for. Approach the parents about differences in learning styles, and how they are different, and in knowing that how they can help.
Reply:Less sugar in the diet, less time on the computer, and less time in front of the TV





Works wonders.;
Reply:Try these links:


http://www.nextup.com


http://csep.psyc.memphis.edu/mcnamara/pd...


http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/rec...
Reply:Perhaps in addition to the other suggestions you could try assigning "word games" along with his regular homework assignments. Simple crossword puzzles have been a great tool for my fourth grader to expand his vocabulary and comprehension. Check the source below for a great link to get started.