Remediating, Building on and Maintaining Reading?

[mom2bee]

Are these expectations realistic?

 

I have 3 main students who I (try) to teach daily. Our main focus is reading, but I'm also looking to move into a more structured math program in the future. Our biggest problem is reading.

 

LilGal and ReaderBoy read on late 1st/early 2nd grade level. LilGal (3rd grade) because she lacks a strong phonics base and ReaderBoy because his reading skills are 'out of shape' from lack of consistent reading.

 

Our biggest problem is reading but this is not a question of ability, but bad attitudes on both their parts.

 

I try for a minimalist/maximist approach to school work with these guys for everyones sanity. Meaning I aim to do the most reasonable minimum of the most effecient work, in the most efficient way, every. single. day. Sun-Sat. No exceptions.

 

It works wonders when we are doing it and it drives us all crazy and frustrates everyone when we're not. We've been spinning our wheels for close to 5 months. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but LilGal is probably going to fail standardized testing this year, hopefully this will be a wake up call for her parents who wont listen to me about their very bright, very lazy child.

 

LilGal is reading on a beginning 2nd grade level with almost no fluency. She doesn't have a strong phonics base and isn't motivated. She's a terrible Speller and I have WRTR but can't afford any other spelling program.

 

ReaderBoy has a stronger phonics base and reads at the same level as LilGal (actually he's a little better) but he doesn't read daily like he should and so his skills are stagnating and beginning to decay. He's a very fluent reader when he gets going.

 

LilGal and ReaderBoy have mostly-legible handwriting, but need to improve.

 

I'm trying to put both of them through Hooked On Phonics (and Funnix) by the end of summer. I know they are both capable of reading on a 4th-5th grade level with regular practice and constant help. I'm willing to teach/help and guide them every.single.day. But they have some attitude problems also, so I need the most efficient method of doing the work with them.

 

If he'd read everyday like I told him to since learning to read, he'd easily be reading on 4th grade level by now. He's a very fluent reader when he 'gets going.'

 

I'm looking for a schedule/program that will let me keep ReaderBoy and LilGal together, I want to do their program with them for about 30-40 minutes a day. I want to do Spelling (handwriting) and Phonics instruction during this time.

 

Out side of our time together, LilGal will have 45 minutes of enforced independent reading and ReaderBoy will have 30 miuntes of enforced independent reading every day.

 

Any one have any advise for me? My goal is for them to make the jump from reading word-by-word to reading sentence-by-sentence by the end of the year. ReaderBoy was nearly there last fall, but we fell off track and now have to 'make up' a lot of lost ground.

 

 

 

LilGuy he's getting a thorough Phonics base now by working with me on a lot of Phonic based reading stuff. We're doing TRL to lesson 10 and then going to take a break and use Progressive Phonics, Hooked on Phonics and a set of Leveled readers to rebuild his reading fluency. Then we'll complete TRL and Funnix Level 2.

 

 

Thanks in Advance for any and all advise.

[Ray]

http://books.google.com/books?id=zpQAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=wheeler+elementary+speller&hl=en&ei=3i5tTfyvDpLEsAODnNHFBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

I found Wheeler Speller because of another thread here sometime ago, and imo its worthy of mentioning again it might be helpful.

Edited March 1, 2011 by Ray

[zookeeperof3]

I have my kids read aloud to me every single day, even my 12 yr old, for this very reason. On books.google.com you can find the McGuffey readers and the Elson readers. My kids read one lesson a day to me, I correct their pronunciations, diction etc. You can print the pages to see if you like it, then look for the books used on amazon or here. Of course, you can have hem read anything, but I prefer it to be phonics based.

HTH,

Kim

[ElizabethB]

If they got sight words in school, it is probably not attitude, but habit problems. Sight words make phonics difficult and hard for the brain.

 

With my remedial students, I find it is most effective to do no outside reading whatsoever for a few months and add in nonsense words and spelling to the phonics. My Phonics concentration game makes nonsense words and is a fun way to practice:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

 

I would also either have them work through my free online phonics lessons or the program on my how to tutor page. I would at least do the syllable division exercises on my wow to tutor page either way.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html

 

I limit outside reading because half of all reading material is sight words, and those trigger guessing reflexes and make learning phonics difficult. Nonsense words do the opposite, they force the student to slow down and sound out the word.

[JudoMom]

Are these your siblings? How much time do you have with them each day? If they aren't your siblings, are they siblings?

[ElizabethB]

I just wanted to add that the program on my how to tutor page is designed for groups of children. Also, when you finish Blend Phonics and get to Webster's Speller, it was designed for one room schools so is easy to use with multiple students at multiple levels. You start out each lesson with some syllables for everyone, then work on syllable divided words with each student, moving along at their own pace. But, since the words are all based on syllables, there is natural preview and review build in when watching a student at another level.

[mom2bee]

I just wanted to add that the program on my how to tutor page is designed for groups of children. Also, when you finish Blend Phonics and get to Webster's Speller, it was designed for one room schools so is easy to use with multiple students at multiple levels. You start out each lesson with some syllables for everyone, then work on syllable divided words with each student, moving along at their own pace. But, since the words are all based on syllables, there is natural preview and review build in when watching a student at another level.

 

Thanks, I know I had bookmarked Thephonicspage a while ago, but never gotten back to it. I'm going to give it another look-see.

 

I'm going to try and get all of them through The Reading Lesson, Hooked On Phonics, ProgressivePhonics, and Funnix BR and Funnix 2 and 500 books min, within 200 days. I expect to see dramatic improvement in all of their reading well before the end of the 200 days, but thats my goal. I'm hoping to get everyone firmly on a "4th grade" reading level by the end of this.

[ElizabethB]

Thanks, I know I had bookmarked Thephonicspage a while ago, but never gotten back to it. I'm going to give it another look-see.

 

I'm going to try and get all of them through The Reading Lesson, Hooked On Phonics, ProgressivePhonics, and Funnix BR and Funnix 2 and 500 books min, within 200 days. I expect to see dramatic improvement in all of their reading well before the end of the 200 days, but thats my goal. I'm hoping to get everyone firmly on a "4th grade" reading level by the end of this.

 

I would do some nonsense words first. I have tutored remedial students for 17 years. It takes about 1/2 to 1/3 the time to remediate them if you add in nonsense words, it really helps them focus on the phonics and helps remove their guessing habits. Adding in a bit of spelling also decreases the time to get them reading well.

 

Finally, I would consider doing Webster's Speller instead. Before using the Speller, I used conventional phonics programs like the ones you mentioned and only got a few students at or above grade level. After switching to Webster's Speller, many of my students are above grade level now, and a few have been able to read passages at the 12th grade level.

 

The program n my how to tutor page combines with my online lessons and Webster's Speller is what I use with my students.

[mom2bee]

I looked in my notes about The Phonics Page and my main concern is that there doesn't seem to be a nice, easy to follow schedule anywhere, Could you please link the sequence/pacing schedule?

 

I haven't had the chance to work out a schedule for your program on my own and I'm very much out of town, I hand picked the resources I currently own and have been carefully sequencing them for awhile now...

 

I've managed to sequence TRL, PP.com, HOP and Funnix and sequential spelling 1 almost to the end by now....Unless your site has a really nice, black and white Item 1, Item 2,...Item Z type schedule, I'm worrried I may be out of time for learning and teaching the good old fashioned way. (God knows I wanted too! I remember I considered The Phonics Page last summer when I was teaching Reader Boy to read but couldn't piece it all together...)

 

Hopefully I missed a really obvious link somewhere, right?

[ElizabethB]

The links at the bottom of my how to tutor page.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html

 

#4 tells you exactly what to say and how to teach syllables

 

#8 is a schedule I used with a group of inner city elementary students

 

Also, make sure you are not teaching the sight word as wholes, HOP has a fair number of sight words. My sight word page has tips for teaching all but 5 of the 220 Dolch sight words phonetically.

[kathkath]

I think your biggest issue is that they don't like it. I think you need to work on capturing their interest and giving them time and space for independent reading in their area of interest. At this point I would start with small chunks of time and lots of choice. Start rewarding them with the chance to buy books or staying up late to read in bed. The number one goal is to get them to love reading so they CHOOSE to read.

[ElizabethB]

The most important thing is to make sure you are doing some nonsense words if they got sight words.

 

My game is a fun way to sneak in extra phonics knowledge and makes both real and nonsense words. I usually do it at the end of the lesson when their interest is starting to wane. You can have them play it together and you keep score. When working with 1 student, I play against them.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[dmrranch]

I just wanted to say that I wish I would have used Elizabeth's resources with my own daughter these last few months. I thought my computer would be too slow for the lessons and I too couldn't quickly catch on to how to put the complete program together. So, I ordered a resource instead...Rod & Staff Remedial Phonics.

 

Anyway, I have recently offered to help a friend with her 9 yo daughter who was taught with sight words and decided to go back to the website. I knew the Rod & Staff would be too much for her. I found a high speed connection and spent time looking at the her site. Now, I have my daughter doing the lessons with her for review. It is lined out but researching Elizabeth's threads here and looking at her How To Tutor page helped me put it together.

 

If I have this straight, you do the first 14 of the Phonics lessons then move into her instructions using blending/syllables on her How to Tutor page. Then, everything is spelled out. I believe we will just continue through the online lessons as we work alongside the instructions which will eventually pull in the Webster's Speller.

 

Anyway, we are loving it and the little girl couldn't be happier. She's starting to read from left to right and not guessing at the words and we are only on lesson 4. Thanks, Elizabeth!