I need help teaching reading.....

[farm mom]

I am currently reading WTM. Ahem....reading is easy, reading is easy, reading is easy.

 

HOW DO YOU DO IT THEN??! Seriously I am teaching my 9th dc so this is not new. I have used ( over the course of the years) A Beka, Christian Liberty, Rod and Staff, Sing Spell read and write, Phonics Pathways, Teach your child in 100 easy lessons, OPGTTR , ETC and Alpha phonics. :001_huh:

 

Is is me? Or are my dc just predisposed to reading troubles?Only one read easily. I am thinking maybe I do not drill drill drill enough. Then again I have seen many times my dc can recite the info they are being drilled on in their sleep and yet when it comes to a page in a book they really struggle. My 8yo is in tears because I told him no more videos until he starts to read. What a melt down. We do not watch videos every day. Sometimes hardly 1 time a week...but he asks constantly.

 

SO do I drill drill and drill more? Sounds like ow and ar and au or old -just over and over til he gets it? He can see the word kind 3 times in 2 sentences and not have a clue what it is. Does he just not care?? He loves to be read to and loved books way above his level. Chapter books. But reading :blink: he doesnt get it. I am thinking he is a spoiled baby or lazy? *sigh* BTW he is 8 and is doing solid K work now after 4 years of schooling. How discouraging.

 

So how hard to do push your dc?

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Have you considered the possibility that he might be dyslexic or have some other learning problem that is causing the struggling with reading? It seems that if he has made no progress in several years, that would be the place to start. If it were me, I would have him tested for reading problems.

[JessReplanted]

Have you considered the possibility that he might be dyslexic or have some other learning problem that is causing the struggling with reading? It seems that if he has made no progress in several years, that would be the place to start. If it were me, I would have him tested for reading problems.

 

:iagree:

 

I had to drill my son a lot for reading, and he was not a quick learner, but that was at 5/6. I think that when your son is struggling this much at 8, that is a good reason to get him tested.

[merry gardens]

I am currently reading WTM. Ahem....reading is easy, reading is easy, reading is easy.

 

HOW DO YOU DO IT THEN??! Seriously I am teaching my 9th dc so this is not new. I have used ( over the course of the years) A Beka, Christian Liberty, Rod and Staff, Sing Spell read and write, Phonics Pathways, Teach your child in 100 easy lessons, OPGTTR , ETC and Alpha phonics. :001_huh:

 

Is is me? Or are my dc just predisposed to reading troubles?Only one read easily. I am thinking maybe I do not drill drill drill enough. Then again I have seen many times my dc can recite the info they are being drilled on in their sleep and yet when it comes to a page in a book they really struggle. My 8yo is in tears because I told him no more videos until he starts to read. What a melt down. We do not watch videos every day. Sometimes hardly 1 time a week...but he asks constantly.

 

SO do I drill drill and drill more? Sounds like ow and ar and au or old -just over and over til he gets it? He can see the word kind 3 times in 2 sentences and not have a clue what it is. Does he just not care?? He loves to be read to and loved books way above his level. Chapter books. But reading :blink: he doesnt get it. I am thinking he is a spoiled baby or lazy? *sigh* BTW he is 8 and is doing solid K work now after 4 years of schooling. How discouraging.

 

So how hard to do push your dc?

:grouphug:

Reading problems can run in families, but not all members are effective equally. It doesn't sound to me like he's lazy--it sounds like he has a problem with reading. I encourage you to check out the special needs board on this forum. I have a ds with reading struggles and we discuss reading problems alot over there. Just a quick observation, but what you describe sounds like a poor sight memory for words along with possible confusion about some sounds. Please--for your sake and his, check out information about dyslexia.

[Liz CA]

My ds was slow to learn to read but once the bulb went on, he did fine. We just read a ton of chapter books. I was frustrated at times too because I always was an avid reader and seemed to have learned it fast.

Have you had his eyes checked lately?

[mamachanse]

Have you considered trying out Reading Reflex? I found it suggested on a thread here somewhere and bought it for my 5 yo who wants to read, but was having difficulties understanding the other ways I was trying. He is a VS learner and it is working out well.

[Carol in Cal.]

"Reading is easy" almost sent me right out of TWTM.

 

Looking back on it, I am not sure that I interpreted it as intended. It's not easy for every child to learn to read. It certainly wasn't for mine.

 

However, it's a LOT easier to teach reading as the priority if you have a simple, complete reading program to use, rather than a massive, complicated 'language arts' program. The LA program from Scott Foresman has HUGE TE's, more than one of them, just for first grade. I read and read those, and never could really get my arms around what they were trying to get at.

 

When I got 100 EZ lessons and decided to push the issue, DD learned to read. It was not easy, but it did happen. If I had stuck with that big, formless 'integrated' program, I'm not sure whether she would have learned to read from me or not, but I AM sure that I would have stopped homeschooling in utter exhaustion, very early in the game.

 

I did a couple of things differently that WTM said in this regard. I didn't wait to start science and history until DD could read well. I did prioritize reading acquisition, but it was miserable for her, and I wanted her to enjoy homeschooling as well, so I continued reading to her all the time, which she loved, and talking about science, and visiting science and natural history museums, and I added in SOTW before she was really fluent. In other words, I did what I needed to do to teach my own specific child, in the way that suited her the best, while prioritizing skill acquisition as soon as reasonably possible. That is the essential message of TWTM, so I followed it in that respect. Go and do thou likewise, LOL!

[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

I would add in some games to make the repetition easier on everyone. My phonics concentration game is free and fun:

 

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

 

Also, I find that adding in some spelling makes things easier, if you spell 1 word it is equal to reading 10. (For example, you learn as much from spelling cat as reading mat, sat, cat, can, pan, map, tan, tap, rat, fan.)

 

I would also look into a vision problem or other processing problem, ask on the special needs board. (Not normal vision, special vision problems that a covd.org doctor can find.)

Edited April 20, 2011 by ElizabethB

[Elizabeth in WA]

My oldest had a difficult time learning to read. What worked for him when he could not get past CVC words was Dick and Jane. First we read the 1950's preprimers, them we switched to the 1964 series beginning with preprimers and reading up past 3rd grade. I still have no idea how that child reads since it isn't entirely phonetic and he definitely still has a substantial expressive/receptive language gap, but he reads very well, can retell in great detail, and scored a 34 on the McGraw Hill diagnostic for the reading on the ACT, which he will take in June as our required annual test. In spite of his observable expressive/receptive language gap, he no longer qualifies for speech therapy under whatever rules it is that public schools use; the gap doesn't seem to matter if the lower score is high enough.

 

My other children were a piece of cake to teach to read after getting him there. They do read more phonetically, can spell, and can pronounce the words they read. But, they also liked Dick and Jane readers as early readers.

[choirfarm]

Well for my first two reading was easy. It was never, ever an issue. It was effortless. Enter my 3rd child. Something just wasn't right. She could read an individual word; she could spell a word; she would look at a sentence and cry. She couldn't do it.

 

As it turns out she had visual processing problems that we found through our eye doctor. After 1 1/2 years of therapy she is doing REALLY well and now LOVES to read!!!

 

Christine

[Susan in MO]

This must be the day for me to post about reading. I just finished with another post.

 

Have you tried a three pronged reading approach?

1. Reading program at level.

2. Reading books below level for fluency and love of reading.

3. Reading loads of good books (Read Alouds) to them above their level to develop the ability to visualize/follow a story and help to expand vocabulary. (BTW, If you have them narrate this will help with learning to write as well.)

 

Drill, Drill, Drill and add the above may just help greatly. Retention only happens over time. Connections need to be formed in the brain and then they need to be myelinated to signal the brain that this information is important and needs to stay (rather than pruned away.) Myelination only happens if you repeat something over and over again over a period of time. The amount of time spent is different for each kiddo. Some kids can retain after three times others need 50 times. The nice thing is that you can actually train the brain to retain information and slowly it becomes easier to retain information in a shorter period.

 

HTH

 

Susan

[choirfarm]

I He can see the word kind 3 times in 2 sentences and not have a clue what it is. Does he just not care?? He loves to be read to and loved books way above his level. Chapter books. But reading :blink: he doesnt get it. I am thinking he is a spoiled baby or lazy? *sigh* BTW he is 8 and is doing solid K work now after 4 years of schooling. How discouraging.

 

So how hard to do push your dc?

 

THIS WAS MY DAUGHTER!!!! She wasn't lazy, she had vision processing issues. It turns out she was starting words in the middle. Her eyes couldn't go all the way to the left easily. She couldn't follow a pen with her eyes without moving her head. She had to spend so much time decoding each word that she completely lost the meaning of the sentence. I would point out a new word and like your son she couldn'g recongnize it the 3rd, 4th or 5th time. She would laboriously try to sound it out. Now she LOVED being read to and could parrot back anything you told her. She is a very auditory learner. But after a year and a half of intensive vision therapy, she loves to read. She is 3rd grade and read all of the Magic Tree House this year and the entire Mandie series and tons of other books. She tells me she loves to read because she can see pictures in her head. It took a year of crying every day and doing the intense vision therapy exercises and such and hearing, "I can't do this. I hate reading. I hate reading." tears, tears, tears. But the vision therapy made such a difference.

 

Christine

[DawnM]

You may be dealing with a learning disability.

 

However, my oldest didn't read until he was 9. He now reads below his grade level, but he is reading and doing it fairly well. He is 13 and probably reads at about a 5th grade level.

 

My youngest is a natural reader, BUT, I use Christian Light Education's Learn to Read program with him and I am very impressed! You can download samples. It is a very gentle and thorough method.

 

If it is dyslexia you might want to look into a program like Barton or Wilson.

 

Dawn

[mrshomework]

SO do I drill drill and drill more? Sounds like ow and ar and au or old -just over and over til he gets it? He can see the word kind 3 times in 2 sentences and not have a clue what it is.

 

Do you drill the rules or do you require him to read for practice. dd (7) does not do very well sometimes with rules but she does read well. She know basic words when we get big words I get her to break up the word and try reading it. Sometimes she says the wrong sounds and I tell her to try again. I remind her of the rule.

I don't know the programs that you are using I have used ETC and learning syllables rules seemed to help my daughter especially as the words get longer.

[JVA]

I didn't read the replies you got, but when I hear this- this is what I usually recommend:

 

1. Get your child/children examined by a Developmental Optometrist. This is not your typical optometrist- they are looking for how the eye processes images. Check here for more info and where one might be near you: http://www.childrensvision.com/OD.htm

 

2. The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Spaulding. Hands-down the best book out there. It's not especially user-friendly so look around for guidebooks that have been made to go with it. I taught all 5 of mine to read this way and used the Sanseri guide. (Some kids need the phonics rules and some do not. They are all there in this method to take the guess work out of it) The Riggs Institute has a good guide, also: http://www.riggsinst.org/

 

I hope things will get better for your child. Blessings on you.

[Carol in Cal.]

THIS WAS MY DAUGHTER!!!! She wasn't lazy, she had vision processing issues. It turns out she was starting words in the middle. Her eyes couldn't go all the way to the left easily. She couldn't follow a pen with her eyes without moving her head. She had to spend so much time decoding each word that she completely lost the meaning of the sentence. I would point out a new word and like your son she couldn'g recongnize it the 3rd, 4th or 5th time. She would laboriously try to sound it out. Now she LOVED being read to and could parrot back anything you told her. She is a very auditory learner. But after a year and a half of intensive vision therapy, she loves to read. She is 3rd grade and read all of the Magic Tree House this year and the entire Mandie series and tons of other books. She tells me she loves to read because she can see pictures in her head. It took a year of crying every day and doing the intense vision therapy exercises and such and hearing, "I can't do this. I hate reading. I hate reading." tears, tears, tears. But the vision therapy made such a difference.

 

Christine

 

Side note: Have you looked at Brain Gym as well as vision therapy? It sounds like your DD has a midline problem, and there are exercises for your arms and such that address this in your brain. It sounds weird, I know, but I have known it to really help.