Has anyone had a daughter who struggled with cvc words?

[mama2cntrykids]

I always have heard of boys having problems, but hardly anything about girls. Well, I think I have one of those girls. She's 5.5 yrs and really wants to learn how to read.

 

She's known her letter sounds since she's been 3 yrs old or so, but lately she's been struggling.

 

First of all, she can say the letter sound if I just show her the letter by itself. If I show it to her in a cvc word, she get's stuck. Especially with u or o.

 

That brings me to the other problem, she frequently tries to put a letter sound in where there isn't even that letter. For example: dot...she might try to say d-a-g or something like that.

 

She also has a difficult time actually blending. She recently has started getting stuff like cat, hat, mat, sat and she's hit/miss with stuff like pin, sin, fin, kin. Other stuff, for get about it, she starts adding in the wrong sounds or guessing.

 

We're currently using Explode the Code and just finished book 1. I'm slowly moving into book 1 1/2. I've totally ditched the part of the book where the child reads the two sentances and then looks at the picture and puts an X on the correct picture box. She was getting super frustrated with it and it was taking a very long (tedious) time.

 

I'm not sure what to do next. Last year we did Hooked on Phonics and she was fine with it, but it seems like we're hitting a huge brink wall and I feel sad about it. The poor girl just wants to read dang it:001_unsure:.

 

What should I do? I feel like she'd behind and like I'm failing her by her not doing better with reading.

 

On the plus side, we're using McRuffy for math and she's doing fine and liking it for the most part.

 

Thank you for any suggestions!

[HiddenJewel]

My dd knew her sounds in kindergarten but didn't take off reading until 2nd grade. I ordered the level with CVC words that year because she was just not getting it. Now she reads like crazy. So I wouldn't stress about it. Learning the sounds and blending are two different skills.

[beaners]

Have her eyes been checked? Some of those problems sound like they might be related to vision.

 

Sorry I don't have more answers. It sounds like she is making some small progress? Hopefully she will take off soon! :grouphug:

[Momling]

I wouldn't worry... At 5.5, it's perfectly normal to not yet be entirely ready to read. Just give it a little time.

[pitterpatter]

Just curious. Why didn't you continue on with the Hooked on Phonics program? (We're finishing up the Kindergarten level right now.) Fluency takes time.

[momsuz123]

Maybe more of a phonics program? We used All About Spelling to really work on phonics more than spelling. They also have a great reading program - All About Reading, I know they have a pre-level and level 1.

My oldest dd needed almost no phonics or hand holding to learn to read. I am still holding my younger dd's hand and doing A LOT of reviewing of phonics. I am trying to do more game playing.

 

One game we played last week was where I put 3 cups on the table. Under each cup was a post it note that said, beginning, middle, end. I would say "where does the "s" sound in silly happen?" She would put a tic-tac in the cup that said beginning.

 

You could use cvc words and any little yummy snack.

 

I got this from a book that was recommended to me called "Games for reading" by Peggy Kaye.

 

Hope this helps some:001_smile:

[HiddenJewel]

Maybe more of a phonics program?

 

It sounds like she is already using a phonics-based program.

[raceNzanesmom]

It may be she's not ready for blending. I know more boys than girls start slow, but that doesn't mean all 5.5 y/os are reading. I have a slow and steady boy. I really like Reading Reflex. It's inexpensive and works well to teach them to segment then blend.

 

Other things to do- *use an index card with a corner cut out to use as a cursor. Guide her one sound at a time. So the word /dog/ you'd uncover the d and let her sound /d/ then the o, /o/, then the g, /g/, then have her read it fast /dog/. If she gets a sound wrong just correct it and move on. *You can also use tiles (bought or make your own) or magnetic letters and have her build words. One day do /og/ words, another /bi/ words, another /a/ words, etc. Switch it up and keep it fun. Mine likes to do it when he's the teacher too- do a few where he says the sound/word and I have to build it. *Don't teach /e/ and /i/ at the same time. We use a cue to remember the difference- a hand to the ear is /e/, a finger on the lips is /i/, use whatever works.

 

If you can afford it Dancing Bears is a great program. You might also look at All About Spelling/Reading. Pricey but really good.

 

If she's really struggling with ETC I, personally, wouldn't keep going.

 

Definitely get her eyes checked, if they haven't been in the past year.

 

Best wishes!

[NASDAQ]

Every time the topic of reading comes up, people suggest that a child may not be ready at some point after five. I'm not sure that the research supports that.

 

You say she's having trouble blending words. Can she unblend words? Can she rhyme? Have you done anything with phonemic awareness? I would suggest going down that avenue. 100EZ Lessons has pretty good phonemic awareness exercises in the beginning.

[momsuz123]

It sounds like she is already using a phonics-based program.

 

I thought her post said she did Hooked on Phonics last year, I didn't know if she was still doing it or not.

[kitten18]

I would re-type anything that she is reading into all capital letters. It sounds like she is doing some guessing, and using all caps can help with that. Then I would just keep working on blending.

[Momling]

Every time the topic of reading comes up, people suggest that a child may not be ready at some point after five. I'm not sure that the research supports that.

 

I don't know whether research has much to do with it. Talk to any kindergarten teacher about the range of reading ability in their classroom. There will be 5 1/2 year olds who are still working on letter and sound identification and 5 1/2 year olds who can happily read full-length novels and both are entirely within the range of normal. In a lot of areas, kids aren't even taught to read until 6 or 7 (including our local school district).

 

I always have to remind myself when I'm working with my kids (or other students) that we as parents and teachers aren't really in control of their learning. Developmental readiness matters much, much more than curriculum. It doesn't matter how many "walking lessons" or "potty training lessons" we try to give our kids, they'll get there when they're ready -- and our early efforts are futile. It's the same with reading and math and bike riding and anything... It's our job to be there when the time is right. I'd just keep it light and be patient and probe periodically to see if some things have clicked.

[grace'smom]

My daughter had the same issue. She has auditory processing "delays" and it makes it difficult for her to distinguish vowel sounds. What we did was drop Phonics Road for a while and use ElizabethB's kindergarten lessons for the Webster's book. It made all the difference. You go through many days of blending only two letters before getting into CVC at all.

 

Webster's is free but it's a lot to print. I would recommend that if you are not planning to stick with it in the long run you might print off 5 pages at a time. Once my daughter started doing CVC words well we used Blend Phonics (also free and amazing) and then moved back into Phonics Road later.

[Carrie12345]

After having two early readers (3 and 4, boy and girl), my third (girl) just wasn't "getting" the move from letter sounds to blending. When it got to the point of tears, I decided to drop the whole thing and just read to her. She came to me one day, maybe around 6/6.5, said she was ready, and pretty much took of with reading fluently. She read a whole story to dh about a week later.

 

I'm now a firm believer that they're ready when they're ready!

 

(But I'll also give a plug for AAS. Love that pricey dang program!)

[mama2cntrykids]

Have her eyes been checked? Some of those problems sound like they might be related to vision.

 

Sorry I don't have more answers. It sounds like she is making some small progress? Hopefully she will take off soon! :grouphug:

Yes, infact, she just got glasses the Thurs. before this last one. I had thought the same as you, but it hasn't made an improvement on her reading, sadly.

 

Just curious. Why didn't you continue on with the Hooked on Phonics program? (We're finishing up the Kindergarten level right now.) Fluency takes time.

Well, we were using MFW Kindergarten, but she hated the phonics instruction, so we dropped it and just did ETC. Even that's frustrating her (and it's simple).

Maybe more of a phonics program? We used All About Spelling to really work on phonics more than spelling. They also have a great reading program - All About Reading, I know they have a pre-level and level 1.

My oldest dd needed almost no phonics or hand holding to learn to read. I am still holding my younger dd's hand and doing A LOT of reviewing of phonics. I am trying to do more game playing.

 

One game we played last week was where I put 3 cups on the table. Under each cup was a post it note that said, beginning, middle, end. I would say "where does the "s" sound in silly happen?" She would put a tic-tac in the cup that said beginning.

 

You could use cvc words and any little yummy snack.

 

I got this from a book that was recommended to me called "Games for reading" by Peggy Kaye.

 

Hope this helps some:001_smile:

Good idea! I forgot that I HAVE that book :lol:!

 

It may be she's not ready for blending. I know more boys than girls start slow, but that doesn't mean all 5.5 y/os are reading. I have a slow and steady boy. I really like Reading Reflex. It's inexpensive and works well to teach them to segment then blend.

 

Other things to do- *use an index card with a corner cut out to use as a cursor. Guide her one sound at a time. So the word /dog/ you'd uncover the d and let her sound /d/ then the o, /o/, then the g, /g/, then have her read it fast /dog/. If she gets a sound wrong just correct it and move on. *You can also use tiles (bought or make your own) or magnetic letters and have her build words. One day do /og/ words, another /bi/ words, another /a/ words, etc. Switch it up and keep it fun. Mine likes to do it when he's the teacher too- do a few where he says the sound/word and I have to build it. *Don't teach /e/ and /i/ at the same time. We use a cue to remember the difference- a hand to the ear is /e/, a finger on the lips is /i/, use whatever works.

 

If you can afford it Dancing Bears is a great program. You might also look at All About Spelling/Reading. Pricey but really good.

 

If she's really struggling with ETC I, personally, wouldn't keep going.

 

Definitely get her eyes checked, if they haven't been in the past year.

 

Best wishes!

Thank you for the idea. She just got glasses with in the last two weeks and they're not helping with the reading. I have thought about ditching ETC, but then I thought I might just keep it and add in phonics games.

 

I would re-type anything that she is reading into all capital letters. It sounds like she is doing some guessing, and using all caps can help with that. Then I would just keep working on blending.

Not a bad idea, thank you!

My daughter had the same issue. She has auditory processing "delays" and it makes it difficult for her to distinguish vowel sounds. What we did was drop Phonics Road for a while and use ElizabethB's kindergarten lessons for the Webster's book. It made all the difference. You go through many days of blending only two letters before getting into CVC at all.

 

Webster's is free but it's a lot to print. I would recommend that if you are not planning to stick with it in the long run you might print off 5 pages at a time. Once my daughter started doing CVC words well we used Blend Phonics (also free and amazing) and then moved back into Phonics Road later.

I will look into Websters. Do you have a link?

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Both my boys went to PS for Kindergarten, so I'm not very confident in what I'm doing. They didn't overly struggle with cvc words like dd is, so it's really shaking my confidence in teaching her to read.

 

Maybe she's not ready. Maybe I'm not doing it right with her. I don't know!! She wants to read and has wanted to for some time, but she's getting really frustrated and down about it.

 

I really appreciate everyone's words of encouragement and ideas. I'm sure in a few years looking back on this, I will laugh, but as for right now...I'm not laughing:glare:.

[deerforest]

I wouldn't give up hope on the glasses yet. My daughter was super interested in reading around 4-5 and did great with letters and even some words in isolation but struggled with them in text. She ended up being diagnosed with astigmatism and got glasses just over 2 years ago when she was 5. It took a while for her eyes to retrain themselves. I thought it would be immediate but it wasn't. I can't remember when it did. She now chooses to wear them for reading and other schoolwork because she can tell the difference. Her reading level is far beyond grade level at this point @ 7.

[Celia]

My dd has been very much like this, until the last month or so. 100EZ lessons has been successful with her in the last month, I think because of its approach to blending. It was either that, or simply time. I'd say if she's frustrated, put it down for a few weeks as well.

[5Bmom]

I just bought The Reading Lesson this week for DD who has trouble with the concept of blending. it was highly recommended for this type of struggle. Going through it, the concept looks like it could work... DS is an ETC type of kid... And DD is not.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

She sounds a lot like my DD, who just turned 6 days ago. She knew her letter sounds for quite awhile, but for some reason she just wasn't getting blending. (And often put sounds that weren't even there, like f-r-a-n for fan, or guessing completely and saying any word that started with an f)

 

We took a break. I stopped all phonics instruction, focused on reading to her and other things, and when we came back to it, it was like a light bulb had went on. She's doing so well now. (But still likes to guess/substitute things- she does this more towards the end of a lesson, so it signals to me that we're done for the day.)

 

Also check out progressivephonics.com. My DD loves this program, because it has the adult reading little stories while the emergent reader reads select words throughout the passage. DD likes that we are reading together, and that she's actually reading something- not just random words.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I teach my children word building first. They learn to orally sound out words, then pick the correct wooden alphabet pieces to build the words. We stick with this (and AAS) until their reading takes off. It really does just click one day. When my oldest was 4.5yo she went from slowly sounding out single words (that she could spell very easily) to reading a whole book overnight. My second is 5.5yo and still building words. He's my one who waits until he knows he can do something well before he tries it, so has done things later than my other kids (walking, potty training, etc.).

[mama2cntrykids]

I wouldn't give up hope on the glasses yet. My daughter was super interested in reading around 4-5 and did great with letters and even some words in isolation but struggled with them in text. She ended up being diagnosed with astigmatism and got glasses just over 2 years ago when she was 5. It took a while for her eyes to retrain themselves. I thought it would be immediate but it wasn't. I can't remember when it did. She now chooses to wear them for reading and other schoolwork because she can tell the difference. Her reading level is far beyond grade level at this point @ 7.

Thank you for that. I didn't realize that it would take awhile for her eyes to re-train themselves, but it makes sense!

 

My dd has been very much like this, until the last month or so. 100EZ lessons has been successful with her in the last month, I think because of its approach to blending. It was either that, or simply time. I'd say if she's frustrated, put it down for a few weeks as well.

If I haven't sold it, we have 100EZ lessons in the attic. I will check when dh gets home. My boys hated it, but obviously dd is a different kid. She likes workbooks and both ds' acted like they were allergic to them;).

She sounds a lot like my DD, who just turned 6 days ago. She knew her letter sounds for quite awhile, but for some reason she just wasn't getting blending. (And often put sounds that weren't even there, like f-r-a-n for fan, or guessing completely and saying any word that started with an f)

 

We took a break. I stopped all phonics instruction, focused on reading to her and other things, and when we came back to it, it was like a light bulb had went on. She's doing so well now. (But still likes to guess/substitute things- she does this more towards the end of a lesson, so it signals to me that we're done for the day.)

 

Also check out progressivephonics.com. My DD loves this program, because it has the adult reading little stories while the emergent reader reads select words throughout the passage. DD likes that we are reading together, and that she's actually reading something- not just random words.

I will check that out. Thanks for the kind words also!

 

I teach my children word building first. They learn to orally sound out words, then pick the correct wooden alphabet pieces to build the words. We stick with this (and AAS) until their reading takes off. It really does just click one day. When my oldest was 4.5yo she went from slowly sounding out single words (that she could spell very easily) to reading a whole book overnight. My second is 5.5yo and still building words. He's my one who waits until he knows he can do something well before he tries it, so has done things later than my other kids (walking, potty training, etc.).

I'm looking at the AAS site right now. It would have to wait until after taxes however, unless I could get it uber cheap used, which probably WON'T happen:tongue_smilie:.

 

It's funny b/c she can tell me what sound comes in the middle of many cvc words, but when it comes to blending...:001_huh:. Maybe she's not ready. I thought that when she was 4 1/2 too. I feel like we're making NO progress.

[Critterfixer]

My daughter had the same issue. She has auditory processing "delays" and it makes it difficult for her to distinguish vowel sounds. What we did was drop Phonics Road for a while and use ElizabethB's kindergarten lessons for the Webster's book. It made all the difference. You go through many days of blending only two letters before getting into CVC at all.

 

Webster's is free but it's a lot to print. I would recommend that if you are not planning to stick with it in the long run you might print off 5 pages at a time. Once my daughter started doing CVC words well we used Blend Phonics (also free and amazing) and then moved back into Phonics Road later.

__________________

Take a look at this. I have boys, so I couldn't speak as to girls. But Webster's literally UNLOCKED reading for my youngest boy. He knew his consonant blends cold from OPGTR, and even knew what two vowels would say in combination. He could not figure out CVC pattern but would persist in treating them as individual sounds. Just drilling the syllabary was huge for him. He started to see a vowel and a consonant as being able to make a combined sound, just as he had already learned with his consonant blends. Reading is still not his favorite thing (never will be--he's a math fiend) but now he can do it, he knows he can do it and when faced with a word he's never read he is perfectly willing to accept that every word can be conquered by taking it in "bites".

I think it's less about blending and more about chunking, to tell the truth. But that's what he needed. Webster's is phonics, but it's very different from so many phonics programs out there. It reminds me almost of a morpheme approach.

 

My favorite place to get Webster's would be Don Potter's Website. Get the all caps version if you can. You could print it out, or enlarge the print by keeping it in the PDF and using it that way. Contact Elizabeth B about how she used Webster's with her son. There should be a thread on here about that.

I use the Webster's and for word practice I've worked through Word Mastery by Florence Akin. (You would probably want to work through the Blend Phonics first.) That's a really nice book to have in print. The font is a nice size for young children. Webster's is pretty small. So if you use it, teach it from the white board or the charts that Don Potter has. You can take care of a lot of frustration just by making the words big enough that there are not so many on the page, and you minimize the strain on her eyes that way too.

Edited January 22, 2012 by Critterfixer

[grace'smom]

Here's ElizabethB's thread on teaching Webster's reading method with kindergarteners. She is an amazing lady. I asked her lots of questions last year and she was always kind and willing to help.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208407&highlight=webster%27s+kindergarten+schedule

[RootAnn]

You say she's having trouble blending words. Can she unblend words? Can she rhyme? Have you done anything with phonemic awareness? I would suggest going down that avenue. 100EZ Lessons has pretty good phonemic awareness exercises in the beginning.

 

I would do quite a bit of work orally along these lines (above). Make it a game you play a couple times a day in different ways. Just practice blending & unblending out loud without any written guides.

 

... And, I have to throw this out there -- just because her eyes were checked (normal eye doctor) doesn't mean there isn't something between the eyes & the mind that isn't working right. That's where people point you to COVD.org. They can find things that a normal eye doctor won't even look for.

 

My oldest didn't start "reading" (fluently) until 7. My dd#2 didn't start reading fluently until recently (8 - 8 1/2). (Dd#3 is very close to fluency already.)

[NASDAQ]

I don't know whether research has much to do with it. Talk to any kindergarten teacher about the range of reading ability in their classroom . . . Developmental readiness matters much, much more than curriculum. It doesn't matter how many "walking lessons" or "potty training lessons" we try to give our kids, they'll get there when they're ready -- and our early efforts are futile. It's the same with reading and math and bike riding and anything... It's our job to be there when the time is right. I'd just keep it light and be patient and probe periodically to see if some things have clicked.

 

Are you familiar with Jeanne Chall's work on the subject of reading? She suggests that for the most part "reading readiness" is a myth, and that almost all children can progress at five with phonemic awareness and sound phonics-based instruction.

 

Incidentally, the age at which children are successfully potty trained varies widely based on date and culture, and even trends upwards as diapers become more convenient. There's no biological marker for potty training; For almost all children it depends on when and how they are trained and how important training the child is.

[Critterfixer]

Are you familiar with Jeanne Chall's work on the subject of reading? She suggests that for the most part "reading readiness" is a myth, and that almost all children can progress at five with phonemic awareness and sound phonics-based instruction.

 

I'm going to partially agree with you on this one. It makes an important point. If the child is struggling at an normally accepted age for reading (age five or six) then it makes sense to get it checked out! More than likely there is a problem in the phonemic awareness part or there is something not right in the visual department or both.

That said, most people would tell you that some things cannot be diagnosed very early--dyslexia for example. I think the start point for diagnosis is 8 years, and most auditory processing disorders I think are around the same time. Which means that there would be some differences in when children are expected to pick up the whole game of reading.

 

Bottom line--try explicit phonics instruction for a reasonable amount of time. If this is not helping or causing immense frustration for the student and teacher, I'd go seek some help. That can sometimes be hard to find in a hurry, so it makes sense to start thinking about it earlier rather than later.