Reading and Fluency

[parias1126]

My 2nd grader is still having some real fluency problems. She is still sounding out every single sound of most every word except for most cvc words. I am beginning to get worried. We have used so many different phonics programs. I now have her using McRuffy 1st grade which seems to have helped a lot and her spelling is really improved, but her fluency is still in need of help. She doesn't really like to read and I don't want to force her because I don't want to cause any resistance. Some days, if she is really concentrating, she can read faster, but most days she is still sounding out every sound within a word.

 

I don't know if it sounds silly, but I am really beginning to get worried. I have never taught another child to read and sometimes wonder if maybe its me. I thought this for a long while until now. I am teaching my son this year and he is catching on like he has been reading. He picked up his first book and started reading without me even having to ask. I never taught him anything or went over the sounds with him and he knew exactly what to do at the age of 4. He is coming along just fine, but my daughter is really struggling.

 

The funny part about it is that if I ask her to narrate something or ask her questions pertaining to what she read, she can answer everything in complete sentences. She always knows exactly what she read and her reading comprehension is amazing.

 

What would you do?

[ElizabethB]

Some students take a long time in that phase before they finally get it.

 

My game might help get some of the repetitions in to get there.

 

Also, I would add in spelling at the same time as phonics practice--spell 1 word for every 10 or 20 she reads. Spelling the words really helps them stick in the brain.

 

You could also try Webster's Speller, the syllables will be useful for sounding out 2 to 6 syllable words later.

 

She could also work through my online phonics lessons for some extra practice--they also have some spelling and some of the syllables taught in Webster's Speller.

[Katrina J]

Many of the children in my DD7's class at school are guessing every second word and in my opinion that is a much greater problem. Sounds to me like you are doing a great job, some kids just take a lot longer to learn to read than others.

 

I've had some success with the BRI/ARI (I See Sam) books for my DD7, although it sounds like you've already tried a number of different programs. I like the BRI/ARI books because they give lots and lots of practice with the letter/sound correspondences and use shorter words. The other set of decodable readers I've bought introduce longer words much earlier on in the program and my DD7 found these more difficult.

 

She doesn't really like to read and I don't want to force her because I don't want to cause any resistance.

 

I've thought and worried about this too but have made the decision to insist that DD7 read a decodable reader or do a phonics lesson nearly every day of the week. I try to pick a good time of the day and give plenty on encouragement, but I do insist even if she resists and kicks up a fuss (which she does more than I'd like to admit). My rationale is that it is hard to love reading if you find it difficult, but it is even harder to become good at something if you don't practise. DD7 will probably never thank me for making her learn to read, and doesn't need to either, however the rewards are there. She's doing really well in her spelling tests at school, she's reading all kinds of environmental print and just last week she came home from school thrilled because the teacher said she could start reading the 'big kids' chapter books.

[ktmo]

It sounds like you are doing lots of great things. I do think that it is a good idea to have her read at a lower level for some of her reading. That way she can work on improving her fluency. It'll be easier and it can help her become more confident.

[Stacy in NJ]

Try repeated readings to improve her fluency. Have her read aloud and then re-read the material several times in different sittings. After she's read it 2 or 3 times, sit next to her and encourage her to NOT sound out the words. If she gets stuck on a word cover the word up with a finger and say, "you know this word, just say it." Give her as much time as she needs to form the word silently in her brain, but expect her to just say it.

 

Some kids need a lot of extra practice to gain fluency. Unfortunately, more phonics instruction really won't help with fluency. If she has a good grounding in phonics, and it sounds like she does, then just pounding away at the phonics won't improve the situation significantly.

 

HTH, Stacy (Mom to ds12-dsylexic)

[AngieW in Texas]

My youngest dd has dyseidetic dyslexia. While she could automatically spell any cvc word without any problems (except for b/d reversals), she couldn't recognize any on sight. If you typed the same word 5x in a row, she would have to sound the word out every single time to find out what it said. She also got mad when she finished sounding out a word and it was the same as the word before. She was sure that it was some kind of trick I'd played on her. She couldn't even recognize her own name on sight (this was at 7.5yo, the start of 2nd grade).

 

Headsprout helped her tremendously. Even though she didn't learn any new code until halfway through the program, it improved her fluency tremendously. By the time she got to the 20th lesson (at the end of the 30-day money-back guarantee), she was recognizing some words on sight and her reading speed had more than doubled. It's worth trying to see if it will help. The 2nd half of Headsprout has a lot of timed repeated readings.

 

Here's a link that describes dyseidetic dyslexia:

http://dyslexia.learninginfo.org/dyseidetic.htm

 

I have never used Audiblox (the program which has the information I linked above). They just have the best information I have ever seen about the type of dyslexia my dd has.

 

My dd also has amazing reading comprehension. She can completely butcher a passage and still answer every comprehension question accurately as well as do a great narration.

 

After Headsprout, I used Funnix level 2, Phonics for Reading levels 2 and 3, lots of timed repeated readings with DIBELS oral reading fluency passages, lots of work with nonsense words, and Rewards Secondary. My dd has been reading at grade level for the past 1.5 years.

[FaithHopeLove]

My first two children were the same way -- my oldest struggled, while my younger child -- 3 years younger, picked it up with hardly any effort on my part. He sat on the floor working puzzles and listened while I taught his brother and picked it up. :) My biggest suggestion is pick one real good reading program and stick with it. My son finally got over the hump with Saxon Phonics Intervention, he was older. I wish I would have just stuck with one program -- but I jumped around looking for the "perfect" one and that probably delayed him more than helped him. I also would pick out books slightly under her reading level and have her read one book several times out loud to you and other family members to increase her fluency. Still have her read books at her reading level at other times so she is still challenged and not bored with the content.

[EKS]

My son has dyslexia and once he could sound out words, not being able to read fluently for a *very* long time was a sign of dyslexia. Of course I didn't know this at the time. He was diagnosed with dyslexia about a year after he was reading fluently and above grade level.

 

If you're worried, the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz is good. It has lists of symptoms and some good advice (just ignore the part where she says that parents shouldn't try to teach their children to read; what I think she means is that parents shouldn't *wing it* when teaching their children to read).

[kathkath]

I would take her down a notch in the level of difficulty of material you are using.

[kathkath]

This is a cross post from another thread but I think you might find it helpful. Re-reading familiar texts she is capable of reading independently is the best way to build fluency.

 

A highly motivational way to build fluency is to type out a short book/story as a play, and read it as a reader's theatre with your family. Highlight a different part (narrator or characters) on each copy. Sit in a circle and assign each person a part and pass out scripts. Read through. Pass your script to the person next to you, read through again, pass, read etc. Then you can hear each other's inflection and learn from each other. It's a fun way at any level to reread and build fluency. If you're worried about memorizing and not *looking,* at the words, have your child hold a bookmark under the line (s)he is on to show the place. Have a very early reader point to each individual word. More fluent readers begin to see groups of words so it's counterproductive to point to just one word. That's why putting the flat edge of a bookmark (or piece of paper) underneath the current line of text is best.

 

 

Here is a discussion of it that goes into more detail.

http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/carrick/

 

 

 

[mom2att]

When my then grade 2 son struggled with this, I bought a "Reading Fluency" book from my local teacher supply store. It was a book of stories to be printed out and read every day by the student. There may have been 12 or 15 stories in the book, and each one got a little more difficult. I would have him read the same book every day for a week, and then at times would have him come back to completed books later. It was an easy and inexpensive solution to help him gain confidence with reading.