Reading

[Smiles]

Hello, my ds just turned 9! He is able to read pretty good but he has issues with being smooth! He tries but just can't seem to get it down. Sometimes he sounds robotic, its a little hard to listen to (I would never tell him that)! As far as reading he seems right on target (knowing what the words are), he does skip words occasionally, words like of, the, and, etc. He is my first so I'm wondering if I have done something wrong? We did My Fathers World  for phonics and I didn't think he needed anything else but now I'm wondering. He enjoys reading what he wants to read! He doesn't like to read out loud, I feel this is important so I have him read to me everyday. He is able to comprehend what he reads out loud and to himself. He likes to read by himself. The skipping words and flow of the reading is what worries me. He doesn't change his voice much at all! A lot of times I will stop him and tell him how he needs to change his voice, this frustrates him. Maybe I shouldn't be worried I don't know. Please excuse my ignorance on this subject! Thank you for reading! 

[nykatie]

My son is similar -- he is 10 and is a stiff reader. He is much more of a mechanic (very into Legos), so I figure he is developing skills in a different order than my other kids and am not too worried about it. I try to bring him to the library every week so he can get books he likes rather than just his school reader and assigned books. Also, I still read aloud to him before bed which I think fosters a love of reading, gets him used to hearing more complicated stories than he might choose for himself, and is also fun. We just finished the "Great Brain" series by John D. Fitzgerald. He also liked the Henry Reed books by Keith Robertson, and anything by Andrew Clements. A lot of the Andrew Clements books are available on cd at our library; your library might have them too. Hope that is helpful!

 

[Smiles]

Thank you. It's funny you say your son likes legos, mine does too! He builds some interesting things with great detail! I read to them everyday, I love reading! I will look into your suggestions. Thank you! 

[fralala]

Well, er, my husband does this. I mean, he's gotten to the point where he kind of comically tries to modulate his voice to make it exciting, but his emphasis doesn't always make sense.

 

Would your son have any interest in taking an acting class? Or would you two enjoy reading a book together, like a simple graphic novel, with only dialogue and playing roles? Or acting out something you're reading together?

[ALB]

My almost 9 yo son is the same.  I think that he'll probably improve with daily practice, but I'm not too worried about it.  While there is always room to grow and improve, oral reading definitely comes more naturally to some than others.  My dd has read beautifully and emphatically since she was 6, but my ds (who is also more mechanically minded) continues to sound choppy and miss small words.

[ElizabethB]

I would stop reading stories for a bit and work on nonsense words and word lists and get his phonics up to at least a grade above grade level.  I personally don't stop until my children are reading at the 12th grade level.  That took until 5th grade for my son, but I reviewed phonics yearly for my daughter for a few years after she was reading at the 12th grade level, reading is too important of a skill to leave to chance.  

 

All free to print, phonics to a 12th grade level:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/WellTaughtPhonicsStudent.html

 

 

[Smiles]

Thank you all for your feedback! Thanks ElizabethB I will be looking into you link!

[OneStepAtATime]

Your son may need more work on phonics.  No worries.  He has time.  Some kids do need longer and more explicit instruction in phonics to really get it down.  I would keep working on phonics in very targeted fashion daily (but if he gets frustrated then keep lessons really short).  Let him read silently for pleasure.  Don't kill his desire to read.  Out loud reading could be done in small increments with specific material picked out just for that, and you could keep those lessons short too.  Don't make him read his fun books out loud (not sure if you are or not).

 

Maybe start with focusing on the words he is skipping.  Worry about phrasing and his wooden delivery later, after word skipping/decoding are more solid.  Work with just one or two sentences a day and show how the meaning of the sentence can change if the little words are skipped or misread.  Model for him.  Read the sentence to him correctly, then have him read it back to you.  Then play a game where you change the little words and see if the meaning of the sentence changes.  Make it a fun game, not a "Here is where you are failing" thing.  You could work on a dry erase board together.

 

You could also model for him regarding phrasing, but pick one thing to work on at a time for now.  Once he is mostly NOT skipping words, then work on phrasing.  Pick interesting sentences or let him create interesting sentences with you scribing for him so he isn't having to worry about spelling while working on reading/writing at that moment.  Then read the sentence to him with proper phrasing.  Have him read it back to you.  Maybe even let him record himself reading the sentence then play it back and listen if it will help with motivation.  Don't focus on what he is doing wrong.  Focus on anything he is doing right.  For instance, if he has a little bit of a lift to his voice in an appropriate place praise him for it.  Keep lessons short.  Be as positive as possible.  Don't work on a zillion different things he needs to improve in the sentence.  Just focus on anything he did right for now.  

 

And good luck. :)