5 Hikers Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 My middle child is not where I would like to see him in reading. I don't know what to do. We have done ETC books 1-4, but it is very painful for both of us. We have done phonics pathways up to long vowels, but again it is painful. We also did LLATL Blue book. He knows all the phonics rules and can sound out every word. He has to sound out every word, and this is extremely tedious. I did the same 20 sight words for 6 weeks every day, twice a day and he only picked up a handful. He can read sat, jug, cake, mole, etc...but it takes forever because he doesn't recognize any of them and has to totally sound it out. I gave up on all that and started having him just read Bob books. He is thriving this way and can read Little Bear very fluently. Should I just continue having him read real books? He knows short vowel/long vowel phonics rules. He also knows dipthongs. He just can't seem to pick up speed when reading off a list. Anyone have good advice? I think PP overwhelms him with the amount of words on the page because he freezes. He also hated ETC. In fact, he did really great at the pages where he had to pick out individual sounds. He also can read quicker if I sound it out. Just hearing me say the sounds he knows what the word is, but he has to think longer when he sounds it out. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 You did not post what age your son is. Boys are funny with reading, IMO...if he has his phonics codes in his head somewhere, just have him keep reading. There is a "click" that happens. It does not exactly add up to our expectations, but eventually it happens. If he is 10, then I'd be a bit concerned with him reading no higher than Little Bear. If he is 6 or 7, then just keep having him read anything you can get your hands on outloud to you. Keep doing phonics...we use PR and AAS, but just have him read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 If he knows the rules and can sound out the words, I would use the Bob books, or even something like the McGuffey Eclectic Readers starting with Primer, the words are repeated over and over and continue in story after story for a long time. My son spent about 8 months in this stage, and my daughter is still there. It just takes time after learning to build fluency or commit the words to memory IMO ! It is hard to sit through over and over. If you are a secular homeschooler, there are only a few stories in McGuffey Primer and 1st reader that will be troublesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Hikers Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Thank you both, he is 7 and 2nd grade. I am glad you shared that it took your son 8 months to click, I have been wondering why it didn't click immediately. I will keep having him read and continue along with phonics. I didn't teach my oldest to read, he went to school. So, this is new and scary. I think teaching your child to read is the hardest thing about homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I have 5 children, my first read early but it still took a while to go from sounding out to fluency. My second didn't learn to read no matter what I did until he was 8, one day it just clicked. He was reading Moby Dick just a couple of weeks later. My 3rd learned very easily. My 4th was the one that took 8 months of sounding out every ! Single ! Word ! Yeah, I know it is hard. My 5th is in this stage now, she is just committing a few words to memory. It will come. I would say if he was 9 and still sounding out, then I would look at other issues. Some children, especially boys just need a bit longer. Hang in there. I agree that teaching a child to read it the hardest part of homeschooling, and the scariest ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I experienced something similar with my 7 year old son who is also in 2nd grade. It is just recently starting to click- and I think the consistent frequent reading of books is really what is doing it. I would definitely just keep having him read. We are using the Sonlight Grade 2 readers as a list for book ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I'm waiting for that almost magical click that some people mention. My eldest reads really well. But he still likes me beside him using my finger to underline every word and being there to help him if he stumbles. His reading is inspired from the grade 3 list of Sonlight readers. He will wait for me at night while looking at his book, but wouldn't actually even try to read it without me. I'm just waiting for the 'click' of, "Wait, I can do this by myself" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Yes, have him continue reading real books. It would probably help to pre-read each book several times with him, so that he can remind himself of problem words more easily based on knowledge of the context. Have you tried comic books? DS6 loves Carl Barks duck comic books, for example, and I credit interest in them with driving a lot of his early reading development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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