Discuss problems with higher order reading skills.

Problems with higher-order reading skills encompass challenges that individuals may encounter when engaging in advanced reading comprehension tasks that go beyond basic decoding. These skills require a deeper understanding and critical analysis of text. Some common problems associated with higher-order reading skills include:

1. Inferential Comprehension: Difficulty in making inferences based on the information presented in the text. Struggling readers may have trouble drawing conclusions, predicting outcomes, or understanding implied meanings, which hampers their ability to grasp the deeper layers of a text.

2. Critical Thinking: Higher-order reading skills demand critical thinking, which includes evaluating the credibility of sources, identifying bias, and analyzing arguments. Some individuals may find it challenging to critically assess written material, leading to potential misunderstandings or misinterpretations.

3. Summarization: Summarizing complex texts while retaining key information can be problematic. This skill is essential for academic and professional settings, where concise and accurate summaries are often required.

4. Synthesizing Information: Integrating information from multiple sources or different parts of a text can pose difficulties. Readers may struggle to synthesize information to form a coherent understanding of the subject matter.

5. Comparative Analysis: Analyzing and comparing themes, characters, or ideas across different texts or within a single text can be challenging. This skill is crucial for literary analysis and critical essays.

6. Contextual Understanding: Understanding a text in its broader context, whether historical, cultural, or sociopolitical, can be complex. Lack of background knowledge or contextual understanding may impede comprehension.

7. Complex Vocabulary: Some texts, especially in academic or specialized fields, may contain complex vocabulary that hinders comprehension. Readers may need to acquire domain-specific knowledge to fully understand the material.

8. Discourse Coherence: Maintaining coherence and understanding the logical flow of a text, especially in longer and more complex documents, can be problematic for some readers. They may lose track of the author's argument or struggle to follow the narrative.

Addressing problems with higher-order reading skills often involves targeted instruction, practice, and support. Educators and reading specialists can provide strategies to improve these skills, and individuals can enhance their reading comprehension through consistent practice and exposure to diverse types of texts. Reading is a dynamic skill that can be developed and refined over time with patience and effort.