Besides reading, how do you improve reading skills?

[carlyincali]

Both of my kids, ages 9 & 11, are a little behind in reading. I don't know what their grade level in reading is, but I would really like to work on it this summer.

 

I did buy the Hooked on Phonics Master Reader Program which I will be doing with them.

 

But I'm wondering what else we could do? Should I just have them reading outloud to me always? Then comes the question, what level reader is the right level for them?

 

[When I tell them to read, for example, my 9yo will come back to me an hour later and say "I just read 6 chapters!" But when she reads outloud to me, she struggles. She wouldn't be able to understand anything if I wasn't constantly pronouncing words for her. I know that she can't possibly be internalizing what she is reading.]

[KerriF]

I have seen a great improvement in my son's reading since we have concentrated more on spelling. I use Spell to Write and Read but I would think spelling in general would help.

 

I would require them to read outloud to you and on their own each day. I have had my son reading one book to me outloud and then he can pick what he reads on his own. The book that he reads outloud to me is a little bit above his reading level and then the books that he reads on his own are at reading level or slightly lower so that he doesn't get frustrated.

 

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/060899.htm

 

Above is a link to a reading level test. It should give you at least a ball park idea of where they are at.

 

Hth

[Sunny]

Making sure they understand phonics is important. They can't figure out words without it.

 

We use McCall Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading to work on reading speed with comprehension. I got the older book from Back Home Industries that sells the older tests in one book. They are categorized by grade, and really help the child to read to understand and answer basic quesitons.

[Kay in Cal]

I think reading is key... but they should be able to tell you what they just read in decent detail if they just finished reading it. This can be hard to do if you haven't read the books yourself, but you could skim...

[nmoira]

Jim Trelease has an example in the Read Aloud Handbook in which kids read along (silently) with audio books. I don't remember all the detail offhand.

[Stacy in NJ]

I'm afraid the only thing that has improved my ds's reading skill it reading aloud alot. I'd get the Reading Detective workbook to do over the summer. Have them read one story aloud to you in the a.m. Then in the afternoon, have them read it aloud again and answer the comprehension questions. Do one story a day. You should correct their pronunciation as they are reading.

 

Just a suggestion.

[Leila]

I made my son read aloud to me in the beginning when he was just starting reading so I can catch the mispronounce words and review his phonics. We did Phonics Pathways along with the read aloud or readers. And it's only through reading aloud can you really check if they are comfortable reading already.

[ELaurie]

she suggested reading a passage aloud to your dc to model fluent, expressive reading, then having your dc read the same passage back to you.

[Rosie_0801]

[When I tell them to read, for example, my 9yo will come back to me an hour later and say "I just read 6 chapters!" But when she reads outloud to me, she struggles. She wouldn't be able to understand anything if I wasn't constantly pronouncing words for her. I know that she can't possibly be internalizing what she is reading.]

 

Er. Not true. Reading aloud and reading silently are different, though related skills. Its entirely possible to read without knowing out to pronounce something. I didn't learn the correct pronounciation of "Andromache" until 3rd year uni, and I'd been familiar with the name since early high school. Are you worried about her reading aloud skills or comprehension? I've always been pretty lousy at reading aloud, but was an advanced reader for my age if aloud to read silently. I expect she makes a temporary pronounciation when reading to herself, or just sight reads it instead of saying it. If she understands what she is reading, I wouldn't worry too much. Just have her continue to read aloud to you while you are cooking dinner or driving (making the 'lesson' less formal.) If its a word she ought to know, tell her to sound it out. If its a word there is no reason why she would know (like 'Andromache') just pronounce it properly and move on. If its something obscure that you don't know either, stop what you are doing, look at the book, and sound it out for her. IMO reading comprehension is worth worrying about, pronounciation of words will come when it comes and isn't too much of a problem unless it interfers with comprehension.

:)

Rosie

[AngieW in Texas]

My recommendations:

 

1 - Have each of them read aloud to you at least 3x/week, even if it's just for 5 minutes. You might even have them do repeated readings this way. You're going to be working on accuracy and "reading like you speak" instead trying to get them to read fast. I would have them read out loud for 1-3 minutes from whatever books they're supposed to read and then YOU read the exact same thing out loud to them. Then have them repeat reading the same passage out loud again and see how much better it sounds. I would probably have a set amount of text for them to read (like one full page or three paragraphs or whatever), but make sure that it's something they can read to you in less than 3 minutes or this exercise will get very tedious.

 

2 - a program like Rewards Intermediate is probably a good idea. If that's too advanced, then Phonics for Reading level 3 is a good choice.

http://store.cambiumlearning.com/ProgramPage.aspx?parentId=019005486&functionID=009000008&site=sw

http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/detail.asp?topic=T0R&sub=T0R3&title=PhonicsReading&Type=SCH&CustId=8743543412104301944433