Phonics/Reading/Spelling I dropped the ball.

[crl]

In trying to help my DD learn how to read, I may have failed her. She seems to have a mild form of dyslexia. She often inserts "r", "s" and "t" letters into words that don't have these letters. She also commonly confuses the words "saw" and "was". As well as "of" and "for". My DH has a mild form of dyslexia and says that he also struggled with issues like DD. So of course these issues made learning to read difficult for her, but at the time I thought it was the program I was using so we bounced around some trying different programs. We have used (through an off and on process) all of WinterPromise's Pre-K (which uses Explode the Code A, B and C) and Adv K (which uses Explode the Code 1, 2 and 3) LA programs. We also used most of 100 Easy Lessons. And some of Progressive Phonics. Though she still doesn't remember rules like the controlled "r" sounds such as "ar", "er" and "ir". She also has trouble with the "ow" and "ou" sounds. She has also not done any form of spelling yet since we struggled so much with the reading. So at this point, what do I do and where do I start? Is this just something that we need to keep reviewing these until she gets them? Do I move on to WP LA1 like I planned? Please help me so I can help my DD become a confident reader.

[Aludlam]

:lurk5:

 

 

My dd8 has the same issues. I always feel like I've done some sort of injustice to her .... I'm just not sure what.

 

Waiting on someone with more experience to chime in.

 

Angela

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Check my posts in this thread:)

 

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154227

[johnandtinagilbert]

I love and use the Phonics Road. It is my understanding that it works very well with dyslexic students. Here is my review. It's long, but worth the read.

[siloam]

In trying to help my DD learn how to read, I may have failed her. She seems to have a mild form of dyslexia. She often inserts "r", "s" and "t" letters into words that don't have these letters. She also commonly confuses the words "saw" and "was". As well as "of" and "for". My DH has a mild form of dyslexia and says that he also struggled with issues like DD. So of course these issues made learning to read difficult for her, but at the time I thought it was the program I was using so we bounced around some trying different programs. We have used (through an off and on process) all of WinterPromise's Pre-K (which uses Explode the Code A, B and C) and Adv K (which uses Explode the Code 1, 2 and 3) LA programs. We also used most of 100 Easy Lessons. And some of Progressive Phonics. Though she still doesn't remember rules like the controlled "r" sounds such as "ar", "er" and "ir". She also has trouble with the "ow" and "ou" sounds. She has also not done any form of spelling yet since we struggled so much with the reading. So at this point, what do I do and where do I start? Is this just something that we need to keep reviewing these until she gets them? Do I move on to WP LA1 like I planned? Please help me so I can help my DD become a confident reader.

 

You probably need a good Orton/Gillingham program. They aren't cheap.

 

My top recommendations would be Barton Reading or Wilson Reading. I like them because they have tiles, so includes hands on work, though that wasn't originally part of o/g work. Keep in mind with Barton Reading you can see a level to be able to afford the next. Other program that I have heard good things about include Preventing Academic Failure, S.P.I.R.E., Recipe for Reading, and Horizons Reading. There are more o/g programs than that.

 

WP phonics, SWR, WRTR, TATRAS and PR are all vertical phonics programs (ask if you need me to tell you what the abbreviations mean). While they are based on O/G methods they are not true o/g program for two reasons. One is they are not incremental. They don't teach one thing at a time but teach all the sounds, and rules up front. Now some of these programs (PR, TATRAS) might have modifications to normal vertical phonics approaches that make them a little more incremental (this also means it doesn't have controlled reading), but I haven't heard that they do so far. I know SWR and WRTR are purposely not incremental. These program can overwhelm dyslexic students. This is not always true, but given you have tried so much already I wouldn't want to see another failure. The second differences is they don't teach syllable rules. Again I know it is true of SWR and WRTR. The rest I assume is true because they are based on the same philosophy, but it is possible the author decided to combine methods.

 

AAS is also a lower cost possibility. It is O/G based, but it does not have the controlled reading that is recommended. What I mean by that is the program introduces sounds and words before the child is expected to read them. If they haven't been introduced to it then they aren't expected to read it. I am using AAS right now with dyslexics, and it is working despite the controlled reading issues. Though I am trying to control the reading as much as possible. The I See Sam readers are great for being repetitive, and wordy. They can do some guessing from the pictures and from context, but most of the time they need to read each word. Once you cover EE in level 2 you can use those readers. It is one low cost way to make things work. I do long for a more formal, less foot work o/g program. The cost is hard to swallow.

 

There is a possibility that your child needs to step back and do phonological awareness work. Barton Reading has a Student Test that you could give your dd. If she can pass it then she should be able to do any o/g program. If she can't then she needs to do LiPS. LiPS works on both hearing and feeling how the mouth moves to make letter sounds. While my 3rd dd could pass the Barton test she continued to have problems with hearing sounds, especially blends, so I stepped back and have had her doing LiPS, which I already owned for my ds speech issues. It has helped her a lot.

 

One last possibility that I hear lots of good things about is Rewards. It is supposed to be excellent for remedial work with older students, building fluency and working with multi-syllable words. It sounds like you dd isn't that far yet.

 

Mostly keep working on it. When my dd does it I will just ask her, is there a /l/ (or what ever sound) in that word? The I have to be patient, because she tries to say it without the added sound, but it continues to sneak in. If I give her the time she needs she will get it right (and my dd will continue to try to say it right without prompting once she sees she did it wrong). If she getting really discouraged through I just give her the word. She already knows she isn't saying it right, and sometimes they just need a little help.

 

Heather

[mystika1]

Hi,

I am by far no expert but....this may help:) I have just started using OPGTTR and I have gotten some great help with the was and saw issue. When your child is reading use an index card or your finger and make her sound out each letter by covering the entire word and revealing one letter at a time until the word is said. My daughter looked at me today like I was crazy but by doing this I forced her to sound the word out in its correct order thus eliminating the was and saw problem. In only two days I have seen improvement using this method! I really like opgttr as the lessons are short for a kid who has frustration problems.

 

For a free program

 

You can try blend phonics(don potter website)which basicly has each lesson of a list of words. You use a white board to write one letter at a time on the board where the child sounds out the letter and you add another letter and so on until the word is complete and said aloud. Again that forces the child to properly pronounce the word. The lists are words grouped together like bat, hat, sat and each lesson progresses to harder words.

 

I hope this helps you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Penny

[mystika1]

Hi again,

I would not move onto a higher level of material until she the issues are addressed. It may be too much pressure on her right now. I think even using some super easy readers may boost her confidence and get her excited to read.(that always helps) It is better to have a cheerful reader than a frustrated one.

 

HTH,

 

Penny

[Ellie]

Don't make me come over there.:glare:

 

How could you possibly think you have "failed" a child who is just 5yo???

 

And you've used more than one method already, which is surely confusing the issue.

 

What you're describing doesn't sound the least bit like "dyslexia." Although of course you should pay attention to what and how she's learning, nothing you've written is alarming to *me.*

 

People have had much success with each reading product you've tried so far. My first recommendation would be to pick one of them and stick with it until you finish the whole darn thing.

 

My second recommendation is Spalding. I don't see any reason that you wouldn't have good results.

[ElizabethB]

Cheapest OG option:

 

Recipe for Reading by Traub and Bloom, you can make your own entire program from just the $25 manual.

 

The links Priscilla gave have been helpful for many of my struggling students.

 

Also, my nonsense word game helps with L to R decoding and gets in repetition in a fun way.

 

Also, like mystika1 said, white boards are great! My how to tutor page adds in syllables to Blend Phonics, I show how in my guide.

 

And, finally, I find that adding in spelling actually make the phonics easier and is very helpful for my struggling students, I have them spell a few words of each type they are learning to read. If you know something so well you can spell it, it is learned to a much higher level. I do both oral and written spelling. At first, I give a lot of hints and draw out the sounds of the letters. Also, I start with words that they have just read, then work up to words read a few words ago, then phonetically regular words that they have not recently read.

 

Read, Write, Type and Wordy Querty are also a fun way to get in a lot of extra repetition, my daughter enjoyed Read, Write, Type. It's a bit expensive, but you can try a free demo to see if it will work for you.

 

A final note: Rules are most helpful for an older child, my daughter didn't start to learn rules until she was 6 or 7, she learned more by pattern when she was 5 and 6. (I told her the rules anyway!)

Edited February 13, 2010 by ElizabethB