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My ds13 has special needs and is reading on about a 3rd grade reading level right now. He still reads pretty slowly, however. I am trying to decide between the Victory Drill Book and the McGuffey Readers as out-loud reading practice for him to improve his reading speed. Which do you suggest I use with him? Or is there another option I don't know about that would be better than either of them? TIA!

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I don't have experience with those materials, so can't comment on them. However, I am wondering if you are planning on doing repeated readings? Repeated readings are the most frequently used technique to work on improving reading speed and fluency. These can be done timed or untimed. Basically the child reads a page or so out loud, then reads silently, then reads out loud again.

 

There are materials specifically designed for repeated readings. You might want to post on the ReadNOW list to get the names and websites. Dibels is one that is online and free, and can be quite useful for homeschoolers who want to work on fluency, but you need to know how to navigate the site to get to the appropriate materials.

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I think Victory Drill Book might fit the bill. I don't know all the specifics of it as I haven't gotten the book yet, but to the best of my understanding it is a series of word lists, gradually increasing in difficulty, that are timed and a certain speed has to be reached on each list before you can go on to the next one. It is supposed to go all the way to 8th grade reading level. And it is only about 18 bucks. Is this kind of what you're talking about?

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Timed word drills are fine, but what I am talking about is timed reading of actual text. The content must be at or below the comfort level for the reader. Usually you time the first reading out loud, let the student re-read the material silently once or twice, then do another timed read. Some materials come with a chart and target goals for speed and accuracy.

 

The Six-Minute Solution is good, but it's almost impossible to find the old edition, which was much less expensive than the new one. The ISBN of the old edition is 1-570355-919-9. This was a single book containing 20 one-page readings for grades 3 through 8. It was so popular the publisher split it into 3 parts and upped the price on each part. You can find the new edition here. You would want the primary level. The new edition has 25 one-page readings per grade level. I really like my old edition, as the readings are varied and interesting. There is a table of target fluency rates for each level (accuracy plus speed) in the front of the book.

 

Another program is QuickReads. These are more school-oriented. The readings are much more content-oriented (teaching the meaning of the U.S. flag, for instance) and in addition to the readings there are comprehension and other questions.

 

Another program possibility is Great Leaps. This program is well laid-out and easy to implement. It is divided into 3 sections that work separately (if I am remembering correctly) on drilling individual sounds, individual words and phrases, and text for repeated readings.

 

It isn't enough to drill words individually. Repeated readings of text is the approach typically used to improve fluency (accuracy in combination with speed).

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I wanted to reiterate that the Dibels website has free downloads by grade level. Dibels is often used for assessment purposes in schools, so you don't want to use these materials if you think your child will be assessed with them. If not, though, they are great materials for timed readings. Typically timed readings have carefully selected vocabularies for the grade level plus word counts to the right of each page so it is easy for you to figure out how many words were read per minute.

 

For Dibels, try logging on as dibelsuser with a password of 980679. Downloads are where the pages are for assessment, and these are the ones (again, if I am remembering correctly) that make good repeated reading material. I think there are about 20 different reading pages per grade level. If you do decide to use these, I would definitely start with the lowest level and work your way up.

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Thanks for the further info. I went on the dibels website and printed off the 1st grade materials. Would it be helpful to use VDB in addition to these materials, or will they be enough on their own? Also, do you know how many words a minute should be achieved before moving on to the next reading sheet?

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I think it would be fine to use VDB in addition to the text materials. I'm pretty sure the target rates are published somewhere on the Dibels website. Someone on the ReadNOW list might know too.

 

My Six-Minute Solution book gives the following oral reading rate targets for cwpm (correct words per minute):

Grade 1 40-60

Grade 2 50-95

Grade 3 80-115

Grades 4-5 120-150

Grades 6-8 150-180

Grades 9-12 180-200

 

The targets are guidelines. I wouldn't stay on a sheet too long if it gets boring, and you can always recycle sheets.

 

There are two different ways to do timed readings. The easiest way is to time for one minute, determine the number of words read, and then subtract mistakes to get cwpm. It is probably more accurate to allow the student to read the entire passage and time that, subtract mistakes, and then divide in order to get correct words-per-minute.

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My ds13 has special needs and is reading on about a 3rd grade reading level right now. He still reads pretty slowly, however. I am trying to decide between the Victory Drill Book and the McGuffey Readers as out-loud reading practice for him to improve his reading speed. Which do you suggest I use with him? Or is there another option I don't know about that would be better than either of them? TIA!

 

 

Does your ds also stumble at multi-sylabic words? I'm wondering if, in addition to fluency readings, if REWARDS might also help his reading speeds. Claire, please chime in here.

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I originally got it from the library through inter-library loan so we could try it out. My son does a repeated reading with me 4 days a week and he has almost doubled his reading rate over the last year. He went from 60 WPM to over 100 WPM.

 

Read Naturally is another program that I have heard of that does the same thing and as Claire mentioned, the dibels readings are free.

 

Lisa

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Does your ds also stumble at multi-sylabic words? I'm wondering if, in addition to fluency readings, if REWARDS might also help his reading speeds. Claire, please chime in here.

 

Rewards Intermediate could be worth trying, but I would leave it until fluency has reached target levels for 3rd grade. RI is good for teaching multi-syllable word attack skills, but it moves fairly quickly. It might be necessary to repeat lessons before moving on.

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