My children hate to read!! How can I help them?

[bizzymomof5]

I have 13 yo twins (1 boy, 1 girl) Today, just out of curiosity, I asked them if they could drop any subject from their schedule what would it be. They both instantly said reading. That might make a literature based curriculum more challenging or at least less exciting. They do the reading, mostly without complaints, but I want them to enjoy what their reading and learn something from it. I know what it feels like to have to read something you don't like or have know interest in, it's almost pointless. But it isn't so much content interest/subject interest it's the act of reading. I keep thinking we will hit on that magic book that will finally click for them and they will enjoy reading after that. I get that there are somethings that we just have to endure like math or writing or latin but READING! Sigh....I don't get it. I LOVE to read and always have--even when I was in elementary school.

 

How can I help them? Neither of them reads at grade level. Their reading isn't real fluent for their age. They LOVE to be read to. We are reading Moccasin Trail out loud and my son loves it. Do they have to love to read?

Obviously I can't read all of their books to them.

 

I asked them if it was because they sometimes don't know a word or it isn't really fluent and they said no. My daughter did say that she likes it when I read out loud because I do the voices. :)

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Thank you!

Tracy

[Kalmia]

Sounds like they might not have a firm grasp of phonics. 13-year-olds may be embarrassed to admit this.

 

I would devise a challenging word list of unfamiliar words and sit with each one as they read the words to you. Listen to the sounds they make, do they match up with the letters. Are they guessing? Are they skipping over parts of the word? Are they mixing up the order of the sounds? If so, rewind! If not, keep looking for the answer.

 

Find a phonics program that doesn't look "babyish" and drill. I think Spell to Write and Read sells its phonogram cards separately. They are quite plain and won't seem babyish. Once they become familiar with the phonograms have them underline all the phonograms in their spelling words.

 

Keep reading aloud to them, but have them read aloud to you (then they can make the "funny voices"). When they get stuck, have them use their knowledge of phonograms to sound out the words. Give them free reading that is below their level to work on speed, but keep the read alouds above or at their level.

 

Hope this helps.

 

As Nan in Mass says in her brilliant recent threads, you cannot go on without a firm grasp of the fundamental skills.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Kalmia

[Hannah]

I'm afraid that I can't help you with the remedial reading instruction, but to ensure that they do have exposure to good literature you can have them listen to audiobooks.

 

There are many free audiobooks available at http://www.librivox.org. You can buy to download from http://www.audible.com and I believe many libraries have audiobooks available as well.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Hannah
Corrected link

[wapiti]

The very first thing I'd do is rule out vision issues (how the eyes work together, not just 20/20 acuity) by seeing a covd optometrist www.covd.org (a regular annual checkup with an opthamologist is not going to check for the same things).

 

After that I'd be looking into testing for dyslexia and other LDs.

 

Just my two cents :)

Edited March 24, 2011 by wapiti

[Mom-ninja.]

My 10 yr old is not very fluent. I have him listen to audio and "read" along with it. He loves loves audio books and that's how I get in all the good literature.

 

As for his reading, I have been picking books I think he will like as opposed to the classics.

 

I need to help him with fluency first and then I can worry about the classics.

[Joyofsixreboot]

My dh, who is a pharmacist so not stupid, does not like to read. Ever. He reads journals for work...the end. I don't understand it but some people are wired that way for whatever reason.

[JudoMom]

Another vote for working on fluency. How did they learn to read? Did they learn phonics?

 

I'm using Saxon Phonics Intervention with my boys to reinforce spelling rules, but it's actually a phonics curriculum for older students. You could also have them go through Phonics Pathways.

[Crimson Wife]

Eliminate screen time if you currently allow it. I've observed that the families I know with children who "hate to read" all are very liberal in their media use.

[PeterPan]

TV doesn't preclude reading; it only gives people an excuse. We watch WAY more tv in our house than anyone would care to admit (several hours a night at least) and my dd still reads like the wind, is begging for Marrin, plowing through Wodehouse, etc. And that's despite being dyslexic and having had vision problems.

 

Like the others, I suggest you get an eye exam by a developmental optometrist http://www.covd.org This is NOT a regular optometrist. It's a special one who can check for underlying problems about how the eyes work together, things that specifically affect reading. They can do a screening along with a regular appointment, then just do the full evaluation if there are signs of needing it.

 

So that's the first thing I'd do, checking their eyes. Then I'd start looking for dyslexia, phonics understanding, how they're handling sound to written and vice versa. Lots of programs to help you there too (SWR, AAS, Barton, etc.) depending on the severity of the issue. Many kids doing SWR will have a profound jump in a short period of time (4 grade levels of reading improvement in a year!). But you can't do that till you figure out what the problem is. And like WTM says, there is nothing more foundational than the ability to read. It might seem like, at this age, a fancy science program or something is most important, but really an hour a day put into SWR or AAS or whatever they turn out to need could have a MUCH larger effect.

[Rebecca VA]

Some people just aren't readers. My husband hated to read as a child, though amazingly enough he became his high school's valedictorian. He majored in electrical engineering at a very respected university and was a nuclear engineer in the Navy. My daughter is exactly like him. She can read perfectly well, but she doesn't like to. Her attention span is short, and she likes to be active. It's torturous to her to sit still for hours with a book.

 

However, she *does* like to listen to audio books, as long as they're not too long-winded. She can knit and crochet as she listens.

 

We have not been able to use a literature-based curriculum, sadly enough. I'm like you -- I was always a reader, and it has disappointed me very much that I can't have deep conversations about literature with my daughter. Instead, she's a textbook kind of person. I've had to realize that I can't impose my favorite learning style on someone else.

[PeterPan]

My dh who doesn't like to read, also very intelligent and with an engineering degree, turned out to be dyslexic. And it's hereditary--dd is too. And yes, he's an auditory learner, loves books on tape. Not saying everyone is, just that more can be going on.

[MerryAtHope]

Check out www.covd.org and see if the symptoms for vision processing issues might fit for one or both of them. To me, not reading fluently at age 13 is a sign something is making reading difficult for them (and therefore unenjoyable). My son just got done doing vision therapy and it made a world of difference for him. I would also look into things like dyslexia. I hope you can find some answers. You may also want to ask over on the special needs board. Very bright kids can have issues that get in the way of reading and hold them back, so don't be discouraged at the thought that there might be an issue to remediate. HTH some, Merry :-)

[ElizabethB]

How did they learn to read?

 

As my "Why Johnny Doesn't Like to Read" page explains, people taught with sight words can end up disliking reading because reading is not automatic for them.

 

And, I would think, whatever the cause of their reading difficulties, that even if they don't say so, if the act of reading is difficult, it would make reading less enjoyable.

 

If they learned to read with sight words, my online lessons (linked below) and the things on my how to tutor page should help. My phonics lessons have also helped some of my students diagnosed with dyslexia.

 

I would try to figure out why they are having trouble reading and fix whatever the problem is so they can read well and enjoy reading.

[Crimson Wife]

TV doesn't preclude reading; it only gives people an excuse. We watch WAY more tv in our house than anyone would care to admit (several hours a night at least) and my dd still reads like the wind, is begging for Marrin, plowing through Wodehouse, etc.

 

I agree that kids who grow up in homes with a lot of media use *CAN* become big readers. My IL's are huge TV watchers but DH grew up as a big reader.

 

I'm just saying that the one thing in common I've noticed about families I know IRL where the moms complain about the kids "hating to read" is that they are big media consumers. Whereas the kids I know who love to read typically (but not always) come from families where screen time is very limited or nonexistent.

[bizzymomof5]

Wow! Thank you EVERYONE!

Lots of information to look into and prayerfully consider.

I am calling a vision therapist today to see if we can rule that out. One of the twins did have eye muscle surgery when she was about a year old and has been seeing a specialist since then for yearly follow ups. They never have mentioned vision therapy. Her "vision" is good--almost 20/20 but her prescription for her glasses is quite strong. I think one side is 4.25 and one side is 3.75. It's to help keep her eyes from drifting--forcing them to stay pulled in so that both eyes will be working at the same time. If one drifts it will shut off completely. However, she swears up and down that the words on the page don't jump around, it's not blurry, etc. Hmmm.....wonder what we will find out.

 

I do think limiting screen time could be helpful as well. When we first moved into this house we couldn't afford internet or cable for about 4 or 5 months and my son, who never read unless made to for school and that was minimal, actually was found laying on the couch reading novels until 11 or 12 at night while I was working on unpacking and organizing. :) As soon as the cable and internet was up and running that was the end of that.

 

Thank you all!

Tracy

[PeterPan]

Tracy, I don't know much about it, but I know our developmental optometrist (which you find through covd.org) mentioned that she had ways to treat with VT things that opthamologists approach with surgery. Make sure you get a good VT. On that COVD website they indicate if the doctor is a Fellow, which is an extra help, if one is near you.

[mama27]

Some people just aren't readers. My husband hated to read as a child, though amazingly enough he became his high school's valedictorian. He majored in electrical engineering at a very respected university and was a nuclear engineer in the Navy. My daughter is exactly like him. She can read perfectly well, but she doesn't like to. Her attention span is short, and she likes to be active. It's torturous to her to sit still for hours with a book.

 

However, she *does* like to listen to audio books, as long as they're not too long-winded. She can knit and crochet as she listens.

 

We have not been able to use a literature-based curriculum, sadly enough. I'm like you -- I was always a reader, and it has disappointed me very much that I can't have deep conversations about literature with my daughter. Instead, she's a textbook kind of person. I've had to realize that I can't impose my favorite learning style on someone else.

 

 

:iagree::iagree: as much as I wish I didn't...

[Matryoshka]

Just commiserating... my older two are avid readers, and my younger isn't. But in her case she is a fluent reader, has no apparent problem with comprehension or recall, and can decode fluently in English and two foreign languages. And she has been checked yearly by a developmental optometrist (who we see anyway for her sister who needed VT) with no problems found. I've loosened up on the screen time a bit this year, but have been very strict up till then, and this is not a new issue (she's 10 now). Sigh.

 

With the OP's two kids, since they're not fluent readers, I agree with all the suggestions made and to definitely have a Dev. Optometrist check them out. I just wish I could figure out what's going on with my reluctant reader.

 

The nearest I can come is that she's a physically active kid who would rather move about, play with dolls, ride her bike - just about anything other than sit and read. I have to assign her books and give her a number of pages or chapters to read, which she will do, but then stop as soon as she's reached the end of the assigned part.

 

I so don't get it. I was a voracious reader as a child, and my other two are too. History also bores her to tears, and my other two love history. Sigh.

[MerryAtHope]

However, she swears up and down that the words on the page don't jump around, it's not blurry, etc. Hmmm.....wonder what we will find out.

 

My son said the same thing, but one time I asked him if the spaces between words disappeared & he said yes. I had a link to a sight once apon a time that had a bunch of different questions to ask with demonstrations of what each would look like to the child...wish I could remember that now (it was a blog). Anyway, it will be interesting if you can rule this out or find out if it's an issue.

 

Merry :-)