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Ms. Riding Hood

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Posts posted by Ms. Riding Hood

    How are the second-semester college students doing?

    in The College Board

    Posted · Edited by Ms. Riding Hood

    I'm so proud for all these kids and moms! It's sweet to know they *can* do it out it the big, wide world!

     

    Ds is about burned out. He said, "I'm ready to come home and do nothing. Well, I mean nothing that requires thinking." I'm ready to let him do that, too. :001_smile: He appreciates home a lot more these days!

    Those using AAS w/dyslexic child

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    What is A & P?????

     

    I've been considering Barton's for ds, and I was wondering about AAS. I'm all :bigear:.

     

     

    Maybe somebody who's used both can address this, but Barton is very, very expensive, *intensive* reading and spelling. AAS addresses the spelling side of it, but not sure it would be nearly as comprehensive in scope. In other words, I wouldn't see it as a choice between one or the other. Or maybe this isn't what you meant?

    Those using AAS w/dyslexic child

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Okay, so after looking through all the A&P samples I feel like that is what we're going to do. I've been thinking AAS was my best option, O-G based, very thorough, etc. But I *hate* what it is. It makes me cringe to think of it. I did not like Barton, and I think even ds would rebel at anything Barton-like. We took that medicine for a long time and now blech! But the A&P morpheme approach really clicks with me, especially since ds's big decoding issues tie right into this. Whether it will work for him or not, at least I'll feel like it's practical. All the rules just sit in his head like so much syrup.

     

    Hmm, I seem to be answering all my own questions today. Something about posting them here helps me to clarify things in my mind. But thanks!

    Those using AAS w/dyslexic child

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'm really thinking about trying this out next year w/ 5th grade dyslexic ds. He's been through Barton level 5, so he's seen all these rules before (in fact AAS looks eerily like Barton to me). I suppose my hesitation is this: his spelling improved very little using Barton. He can *know* the rule, and yet fails to apply it in writing. Same for decoding, but that's another story. :001_smile: I suppose I get to a point where I wonder if I should still keep drilling, drilling, drilling for spelling, or if I should let it go and focus on more productive endeavors. I'm wanting to hear experiences of people using AAS, good and bad. Have you seen improvement? Is it worth the time and cost to you? Have you tried it and moved on to something that's working better? :confused:

     

    I'm also trying to figure out Apples and Pears, so feel free to comment on that too.

    Spelling for a 1st grader?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    After much frustration I finally figured out I can search for tags...duh. I found several threads asking this same question that I hadn't been able to dredge up before. Now can anyone tell me if there is a way to search by "phrases in quotes"? Then life will be good.

     

    Thanks for both these suggestions, you two!

    Spelling for a 1st grader?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I want a program, don't especially like SWO, and think that AAS would be overkill for her. She's spells very naturally, so she mainly needs something that can systematically take her through spelling patterns and give her practice. And cheap is good, too. : ) Maybe SWO best fits the bill for that, but I wondered if there is something else out there that I don't know about.

    can I just let cry it out for a minute?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I do appreciate all of your words. As someone said, there is just a need to mourn, both her problem and my (lack of) recognition of it. I'm easily discouraged/overwhelmed at the best of times and some days it just seems like the mountain is too high to look at.

     

    Thanks for the encouragement all the way around! Very much appreciated here to help me through a rough spot.

    can I just let cry it out for a minute?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I posted on the k-8 and HS boards earlier asking about dd's reading comprehension. Laurie was kind enough to answer and refer me to this board. I've been here before, though not for dd....

     

    We began homeschooling when my 16yo ds was in 2nd grade. He struggled with reading all year. At some point I knew something was wrong; he was dyslexic and dysgraphic. We spent the next 3-4 years working one on one together, mainly me groping my way along in the dark. It was discouraging to see what, at the time, seemed like so little progress.

     

    During this time dd was beginning kindergarten. She read easily, spelled easily, did everything without much difficulty at all. I was so relieved! And because she could function, and ds needed my attention, she was left more on her own.

     

    By the time she was in 3rd grade, my next ds was beginning K. It soon became obvious that he, too, was struggling with reading. We began the difficult, time-consuming journey of helping him achieve fluency. As a now 4th grader, he still struggles mightily with multisyllable words, though he reads voraciously and with decent comprehension. But while I've been focusing on him, dd has still been churning along.

     

    I don't know when I realized she might not be "getting" the things she read. Maybe when she was 10 or so, probably about the time her reading material got a little more difficult. I suppose I just thought it would come with time. She just needed to slow down, to try harder, to read more carefully. It would work itself out...sometime.

     

    Just this year I've realized that she is what might be called "borderline" ADHD...what has been called an Edison trait child...a "dreamer"...totally "right brained". And her comprehension difficulties, as you might guess, are only becoming more obvious as she reads increasingly more demanding books and is expected to recall more facts.

     

    I suddenly, very clearly, see that I have failed her in so many ways, both in her comprehension and much more importantly, in understanding her nature and personality and dealing compassionately with them. She feels stupid. I think I'm a big part of why.

     

    It's strange how all this has just suddenly become apparent to me. It's like I've had a revelation and the "scales have fallen from my eyes". I feel sick over it, and truthfully, very helpless...to make it up to her or to help her on her way.

     

    I don't know why I'm unloading all this here, other than because you are the only homeschooling people I know who are dealing with kids that have learning or behavioral difficulties. I'm sorry for whining and self-pity. I guess I just needed to say all this out loud to somebody.

     

    Just getting out helps some. Thanks for the ear.

    site for finding books at the right reading level

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I found this leveled book list

     

    http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/index.html

     

    earlier in the year and have used it a lot to help my kids find books at their reading level. I've found it helpful for both my emergent reader and for my dyslexic older reader. I thought somebody else might enjoy it, too.

     

    As far as finding their reading level to begin with, this is a good way (I copied and pasted, with citation below):

     

    FINDING THE READING LEVEL

    Most authorities define three reading levels.

     

    1. Independent Reading Level. Easy reading. In oral reading, a child would have one or less word calling errors in 100 words of text, with 100 percent accuracy on comprehension questions about the story. A student could read it alone with ease.

     

    2. Instructional Reading Level. This is the best level for learning new vocabulary. It requires the assistance of a teacher or tutor. The word error range allowed while reading orally to the teacher is from 2 to 5 word calling errors per 100 words of text (95% accuracy or better), with at least 80 percent comprehension on simple recall questions about the story. This is where the best progress is made in reading. Children who are forced or permitted to attempt reading beyond the 5-word error limit soon begin to feel frustration when in an instructional setting.

     

    3. Frustration Reading Level. This is too hard for the reader. Word errors are over 5 per 100 words of text. Comprehension questions are below 70 percent accuracy. Unfortunately, teachers sometimes allow this to happen, especially when the words missed are basic vocabulary sight words, such as "was" for "saw" and "what/that." The practice of having young children work in frustration level reading materials is not professionally sound. It is, however, all too often observed in the classrooms of well-meaning teachers.

    (Taken from http://www.willapabay.org/~thelewis5/section3.htm)

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