Help me advice to a friend with child in ps who needs help in math and reading comp.

[Jennefer@SSA]

A friend just emailed me whose son is in 4th grade. He has struggled in reading for quite some time now. The school assured her that he was doing much better but they just got test results back showing he was below grade level in reading comprehension and math. She has asked me to help her come up with materials to use to help them as they work at home.

 

But what should she use? I don't know that many materials that you can use to remediate a child. Would you just have her work through a separate math program at home? And what to use to help his reading comprehension? I don't use any separate curriculum for this. We just read and discuss/narrate a lot and my kids have never struggled here. Realistically they would only have an hour or so a night b/c he also has his regular homework as well.

 

Thanks so much!

Edited November 3, 2010 by Jennefer@SSA

[rlugbill]

It's good they are going to help him at home. Here is what I would suggest.

 

This is a tutoring situation at home. It is much more effective than the school situation because of the one-on-one. Hopefully, the parent-child relationship is such that this will go well. Otherwise, they may need to hire a tutor.

 

I would suggest several approaches simultaneously. Do not just do his homework with him. Make it a separate tutoring session. Make the sessions short, but fast-paced. I'd suggest 20-30 minutes every evening, or at least 2-3 nights/week. It's easy to overdo it one night and everyone burns out. Instead, stop while things are still going ok.

 

Change activities at least every 5-10 minutes. For example for math, start with some flash cards- 1-2 minutes. Then, use a curriculum that he isn't using at school. Start at his level- take a test to determine the proper level. Do this for 5-10 minutes. Then, switch to his school book. Teach him the next lesson in his book before the teacher does. That way, he'll know it ahead of time and won't be floundering in class. Do this for 5-10 minutes. Then stop- don't overdo it.

 

I like the method of do a problem, then give feedback and re-do it if incorrect, rather than doing several problems and then giving feedback. Instant feedback and correction by him. Let him do the problems instead of you.

 

For Lang. Arts/reading. Again, use a variety of methods and keep moving from activity to activity, so it doesn't become tedious. Do SSR (sustained silent reading) at home- everyone is quiet and reads for 15 minutes every day.

 

Find something he is interested in reading about. Get him a subscription to a magazine he is interested in. And have his parents read aloud to him daily.

 

And find some fun math and language arts activities. The Family Math book is good. So is Challenge Math. And Mathmania. Play Yahtzee or Scrabble or do word puzzles. It's important that math and reading not just be boring school things, but also fun activities that he enjoys.

 

There are lots of good curriculums. Find one that suits him- read the reviews on-line.

 

Best wishes.

[Rosie_0801]

Is there any reason she can't read to him and teach him how to narrate? I'm sure after a hard day at school and homework, the poor lad wouldn't be wanting to fill out any more worksheets. (Not that I ever experienced worksheets as a way to teach reading comprehension, they just tested if you had understood. But maybe they work better for other kinds of kids.)

 

Anyway, conversation isn't so much of an ask. A boy ought to talk to his Mum now and then :tongue_smilie:

 

Not that I'd know, but I'd suppose she needs a maths curriculum, one that doesn't have grade level plastered over it. That would be bad for morale, huh. Or there are those remedial maths books by Liping Ma?

 

Rosie- not experienced in anything, just providing a wordy bump, coz I'm here and felt chatty.

[AmyinMD]

I've used Math Mammoth a little bit with my oldest that is in public school. She was confused on some fraction stuff so I had her do MM pages on fractions. I like MM because I could just buy the specific area she needed to work on for a few dollars.

 

It's hard to find a time to do it with PS. Dd is tired at the end of the school day and often brings home lots of homework. She is not thrilled when I suggest she do extra stuff.

[Jennefer@SSA]

I've used Math Mammoth a little bit with my oldest that is in public school. She was confused on some fraction stuff so I had her do MM pages on fractions. I like MM because I could just buy the specific area she needed to work on for a few dollars.

 

It's hard to find a time to do it with PS. Dd is tired at the end of the school day and often brings home lots of homework. She is not thrilled when I suggest she do extra stuff.

 

Thank you! I am not that familiar with Math Mammoth so I'll look into that more. I asked my friend if the testing results were broken down into skill categories and she said she'd bring me them to look at. If we could just start by pulling sections to help what he is struggling with most then that would be a huge help. I understand what you mean about being tired at the end of the day. I know I need to help them find materials that won't require tons and tons of time. I appreciate the help!

[merry gardens]

A friend just emailed me whose son is in 4th grade. He has struggled in reading for quite some time now. The school assured her that he was doing much better but they just got test results back showing he was below grade level in reading comprehension and math. She has asked me to help her come up with materials to use to help them as they work at home.

 

But what should she use? I don't know that many materials that you can use to remediate a child. Would you just have her work through a separate math program at home? And what to use to help his reading comprehension? I don't use any separate curriculum for this. We just read and discuss/narrate a lot and my kids have never struggled here. Realistically they would only have an hour or so a night b/c he also has his regular homework as well.

 

Thanks so much!

Check for possible dyslexia. Schools often miss that and usually teach reading in ways that don't work well for children with dyslexia. Great information here about dyslexia http://www.bartonreading.com/

 

Barton's Reading and Spelling is an Orton-Gillingham based program designed for people with dyslexia. There are others too. Comprehension can be dramatically affected by improper de-coding. If his problem is stemming from de-coding problems, Bartons offers wonderful remediation of reading.