Language Arts -- what's out there for an active, "different" learner?

[TheReader]

My youngest son is....different. He has no formal diagnosis of anything, but does not learn in a typical fashion. He's very active, and his brain just doesn't seem to go in a linear fashion.

 

For example, he can look at a group of objects and know how many are there, but it was 2 yrs from then that he could actually count in order.

 

With LA stuff, he can write/print several letters, but cannot give their names. He is still learning letter sounds and his recall is spotty at best. He can match an object to it's "begins with ___" letter if the letter is written (even choosing the right one from a group, most of the time). Yet he cannot print the correct letter from recall if it's not drawn somewhere.

 

I'm still learning how best he learns, but all I know at this point is that the LA stuff I used with my older 2 boys is not going to work for this kid and so I need....something else.

 

But what??? I have no idea what's even out there to start researching.

 

What are some good LA programs for the 1st grade level (or how young do most formal LA programs start?)? I just need a few ideas so I can start researching.

 

Thanks!

[Melissa B]

I have a boy just like this. It has been quite a change after three calm and academic-oriented girls. :) He is very good at mazes and puzzles, can think things through verbally, is extremely active, but has no interest in letters or numbers. I think I am going to use Oak Meadow 1 with him next year. It begins with letters and numbers but ends the year with reading. (One can hope. :D)

 

If I don't go that route I am going to stick with phonics, handwriting and read alouds next year - same as this year.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Check out the sample video for Institute for Excellence in Writing's Primary Arts of Language program here.

 

I haven't used it yet ( getting it for next year ),but the author has a different way of teaching the formation and names of each letter.

[2_girls_mommy]

Oh boy do I have one like that too, and she's a girl! For learning the letters and other L.A. stuff , I didn't do any specifically different curric. But I did adjust how I did it.

 

For early letters and sounds, I taught her ASL with the letters and sounds. That gave her a way to move her hands and help remember the letter and sound together with the sound and sign. It worked well for her as an active wiggly girl to have a way to integrate her movements into the learning process.

 

I keep a poster of the alphabet on the wall. She still refers to it daily at the end of 2nd grade when forming her letters. I keep a lot of posters on the wall for her to refer to actually. I make them of the phonics rules and she can be reminded to look up at them when she needs the help remembering how to spell or sound out something. I also had to just slow down her regular phonics lessons. We stuck with Rod and Staff because I like it, but we took it vey slowly for the first year and a half, doing only a reading lesson one day and a phonics lesson one day, or even only half of one each day. She reads on target, but writing and spelling are still tough for her. We just spend a lot of our time each day on L.A. stuff with this child. Stuff that her older sis did as 4 min. of quick work to start her day easily frustrates this one. So we take it slow and steady.

 

In math, we hopped (and still do hop!) to learn facts when she is chanting something like counting by 2s or 5s or practicing her facts.

 

I am considering AAS for spelling/phonics review next year. I can't really recommend it as we haven't used it, but I keep hearing about it, so I am going to check it out.

[ondreeuh]

I don't really have any suggestions for particular LA programs, just general advice. I have a son who is definitely a "different" learner. His problems all center on language (and it looks like your son's do too). I believe that his brain is not wired in the typical way, and because of this, typical programs don't work as expected. What he has benefited from is consistent, continued work and lots of time. I really believe his brain has had to "rewire" and put the information in other places.

 

We did use AAS, but it was not a good fit for him. I don't think the "rules" were stored in a way that he would ever be able to retrieve him. I've learned he is just not a kid who is going to be able to apply abstract rules. Looking at the tiles also mixed him up and distracted him from the word he was trying to spell. We have finally had success with a visual/kinesthetic/auditory approach to spelling (working through the Spelling Plus word lists, writing on a whiteboard while chanting). These kids need to learn from multiple pathways for things to stick.

 

I think you will do best to stay away from overly scripted/rigid programs and choose materials that you can adapt and also adjust the pacing. Give your son supports so he can move forward in his skill work. Since your son has trouble retrieving words and drawing from memory, consider putting an alphabet desk strip on the table. Better yet, you can get a trifold presentation board and make a little center. Put up the alphabet desk strip, a number line, a word bank, etc. so he has those tools available.

 

I just watched the webinar for IEW's PAL Reading & Writing programs. They use stories and pictures to teach the formation of the letters. For example, the letter a looks like a little girl with a ponytail, and she says "aah" when it's pulled. The letter b is a bomb that dives down to the ground. That's an example of using various pathways to teach something - a child can remember the story, visualize the picture, and recall the motion of forming the letter.

[edeemarie]

Definitely look into IEW PAL. We just started a couple of weeks ago and it sounds perfect for what you need:)

[Micron4]

2 Girls Mommy--thanks for the idea of making a poster with the phonics rules! I l like that--my dd6 is constantly asking me how to spell things, and it would be great to be able to refer her to the poster!

[TheReader]

I have a boy just like this. It has been quite a change after three calm and academic-oriented girls. :) He is very good at mazes and puzzles, can think things through verbally, is extremely active, but has no interest in letters or numbers. I think I am going to use Oak Meadow 1 with him next year. It begins with letters and numbers but ends the year with reading. (One can hope. :D)

 

If I don't go that route I am going to stick with phonics, handwriting and read alouds next year - same as this year.

 

I'll look up Oak Meadow; I'm not terribly concerned over pace -- we're going very slowly (he started these ETC books about 18 months ago, we shelved them, now back to them), but something that encompasses all of it might be good.

 

Will definitely stick with whatever ability/level he needs. If that means another year of phonics & light handwriting mixed with read-alouds, no problem.

 

Check out the sample video for Institute for Excellence in Writing's Primary Arts of Language program here.

 

I haven't used it yet ( getting it for next year ),but the author has a different way of teaching the formation and names of each letter.

 

Will look at this, too. Especially as I see it's echoed a few more times down thread. ;)

 

Oh boy do I have one like that too, and she's a girl! For learning the letters and other L.A. stuff , I didn't do any specifically different curric. But I did adjust how I did it.

 

For early letters and sounds, I taught her ASL with the letters and sounds. That gave her a way to move her hands and help remember the letter and sound together with the sound and sign. It worked well for her as an active wiggly girl to have a way to integrate her movements into the learning process.

 

I keep a poster of the alphabet on the wall. She still refers to it daily at the end of 2nd grade when forming her letters. I keep a lot of posters on the wall for her to refer to actually. I make them of the phonics rules and she can be reminded to look up at them when she needs the help remembering how to spell or sound out something. I also had to just slow down her regular phonics lessons. We stuck with Rod and Staff because I like it, but we took it vey slowly for the first year and a half, doing only a reading lesson one day and a phonics lesson one day, or even only half of one each day. She reads on target, but writing and spelling are still tough for her. We just spend a lot of our time each day on L.A. stuff with this child. Stuff that her older sis did as 4 min. of quick work to start her day easily frustrates this one. So we take it slow and steady.

 

In math, we hopped (and still do hop!) to learn facts when she is chanting something like counting by 2s or 5s or practicing her facts.

 

I am considering AAS for spelling/phonics review next year. I can't really recommend it as we haven't used it, but I keep hearing about it, so I am going to check it out.

 

Thank you for these great ideas!! Teaching the ASL for each letter as we say the name/sound is a GREAT idea. I can definitely do that!

 

Will make a poster as well; I was planning that for next week, anyway, having him cut out pictures of things that begin with the letter and gluing them to a page with the cut-out of the letter. Just to give him a visual. He can print all the letters beautifully, he has next to zero retintion on name of the letter, and like I said, about 50/50 on the sounds of the letters. A chart so that the letters are always visible, with a visual cue, is brilliant.

 

For math we use Miquon; the manipulatives to move around and work with seem to help him a great deal and he does really well with that. Thank goodness! I need one area that's easy for him & me!

 

I looked at AAS briefly but not sure what I think about it. We do have a bucket of letter tiles, and he loves moving letter magnets around the fridge, but not sure if he'd enjoy it or fight the scriptedness of having to do specific words every day.

 

I don't really have any suggestions for particular LA programs, just general advice. I have a son who is definitely a "different" learner. His problems all center on language (and it looks like your son's do too). I believe that his brain is not wired in the typical way, and because of this, typical programs don't work as expected. What he has benefited from is consistent, continued work and lots of time. I really believe his brain has had to "rewire" and put the information in other places.

 

We did use AAS, but it was not a good fit for him. I don't think the "rules" were stored in a way that he would ever be able to retrieve him. I've learned he is just not a kid who is going to be able to apply abstract rules. Looking at the tiles also mixed him up and distracted him from the word he was trying to spell. We have finally had success with a visual/kinesthetic/auditory approach to spelling (working through the Spelling Plus word lists, writing on a whiteboard while chanting). These kids need to learn from multiple pathways for things to stick.

 

I think you will do best to stay away from overly scripted/rigid programs and choose materials that you can adapt and also adjust the pacing. Give your son supports so he can move forward in his skill work. Since your son has trouble retrieving words and drawing from memory, consider putting an alphabet desk strip on the table. Better yet, you can get a trifold presentation board and make a little center. Put up the alphabet desk strip, a number line, a word bank, etc. so he has those tools available.

 

I just watched the webinar for IEW's PAL Reading & Writing programs. They use stories and pictures to teach the formation of the letters. For example, the letter a looks like a little girl with a ponytail, and she says "aah" when it's pulled. The letter b is a bomb that dives down to the ground. That's an example of using various pathways to teach something - a child can remember the story, visualize the picture, and recall the motion of forming the letter.

 

Thanks for these tips as well. Yes, we definitely slow down. In fact, I "schedule" 1 page less per day than what I know he can do on a normal day. Then, if he's tired, frustrated, etc. we stop there. If he's having a good day, he'll ask to "work ahead of time" and I allow him to do extra. :D

 

I will definitely give him a permanent set of visual clues; I typically write out the letters at the top of each workbook page when the page is asking him to recall something, and that helps. Having something already there so that he doesn't get offended that I"m "helping" him would be much better.

 

This PAL stuff sounds interesting; I'll definitely give it a look. Thanks for the brief description; you're so right, he needs lots of input in different methods or styles (ie, going down the different pathways) for stuff to stick. He's brilliant in some ways, but this struggle to recall simple things drives him batty as much as me.

 

Definitely look into IEW PAL. We just started a couple of weeks ago and it sounds perfect for what you need:)

 

Okay, definitely looking into the IEW PAL since this is the 3rd or 4th suggestion for it. Thanks, everyone!

[laundrycrisis]

My youngest son is....different. He has no formal diagnosis of anything, but does not learn in a typical fashion. He's very active, and his brain just doesn't seem to go in a linear fashion.

 

For example, he can look at a group of objects and know how many are there, but it was 2 yrs from then that he could actually count in order.

 

With LA stuff, he can write/print several letters, but cannot give their names. He is still learning letter sounds and his recall is spotty at best. He can match an object to it's "begins with ___" letter if the letter is written (even choosing the right one from a group, most of the time). Yet he cannot print the correct letter from recall if it's not drawn somewhere.

 

I'm still learning how best he learns, but all I know at this point is that the LA stuff I used with my older 2 boys is not going to work for this kid and so I need....something else.

 

But what??? I have no idea what's even out there to start researching.

 

What are some good LA programs for the 1st grade level (or how young do most formal LA programs start?)? I just need a few ideas so I can start researching.

 

Thanks!

 

This is not what you asked, but the parts I bolded are what I experienced with DS1. When he went through vision therapy, which was begun for completely different reasons, testing revealed that he had some pretty severe visual processing problems, and very poor visual sequential memory. He literally could not hold an image of a letter or word in his mind, and he could not keep things like numbers or the alphabet in order in his mind either. This made learning to read at all very difficult for him, building fluency impossible, and math pretty much impossible, until these issues were addressed with therapy, training his brain how to process and use this visual information. Just a heads up - down the road if you do not see your child finding his own way through these learning difference, visual processing might be worth looking into.

[PeterPan]

This is not what you asked, but the parts I bolded are what I experienced with DS1. When he went through vision therapy, which was begun for completely different reasons, testing revealed that he had some pretty severe visual processing problems, and very poor visual sequential memory. He literally could not hold an image of a letter or word in his mind, and he could not keep things like numbers or the alphabet in order in his mind either. This made learning to read at all very difficult for him, building fluency impossible, and math pretty much impossible, until these issues were addressed with therapy, training his brain how to process and use this visual information. Just a heads up - down the road if you do not see your child finding his own way through these learning difference, visual processing might be worth looking into.

 

They can actually check that now, no need to wait. It's a very easy thing to eliminate. Of course the op is in *Brazil*, no clue how to find a developmental optometrist there. If she comes to the States, the organization is COVD.

[Caribbean Queen]

The Writing Road to Reading is worth looking at.

[TheReader]

This is not what you asked, but the parts I bolded are what I experienced with DS1. When he went through vision therapy, which was begun for completely different reasons, testing revealed that he had some pretty severe visual processing problems, and very poor visual sequential memory. He literally could not hold an image of a letter or word in his mind, and he could not keep things like numbers or the alphabet in order in his mind either. This made learning to read at all very difficult for him, building fluency impossible, and math pretty much impossible, until these issues were addressed with therapy, training his brain how to process and use this visual information. Just a heads up - down the road if you do not see your child finding his own way through these learning difference, visual processing might be worth looking into.

 

Thanks for this, I've wondered if there is more going on but didn't want to jump to conclusions.

 

One question (and why I've not yet looked into this in detail) -- he is able to remember a few words. He can spell his name, yes, no, mom, dad, etc. And he has no problem doing short copy work, or when he wants to write something, asking me how to spell it (usually I give him a written example to copy) and then copying it.

 

Likewise, he can fill in the missing numbers on a number line, do mazes like crazy, dot-to-dots, etc.

 

If it were a visual processing issue, wouldn't he have trouble with these things as well? or not necessarily? Because the parts you describe are definitely a part of what we're dealing with, just not sure if it adds up to the same thing in this case. Thoughts??

 

They can actually check that now, no need to wait. It's a very easy thing to eliminate. Of course the op is in *Brazil*, no clue how to find a developmental optometrist there. If she comes to the States, the organization is COVD.

 

I will do some reading (I assume this COVD has a website???) but yes, if we decide we need to look into this, we should be able to track someone down. We are fortunate to live in a very metropolitan and wealthy area of Brazil so we have access to really good medical care of all sorts. This is not the case for all of Brazil, but where we live, yes, we can find that sort of thing. I think.

 

Or we can schedule it for a trip to the US sometime; we usually go once/year.

[laundrycrisis]

If it were a visual processing issue, wouldn't he have trouble with these things as well? or not necessarily? Because the parts you describe are definitely a part of what we're dealing with, just not sure if it adds up to the same thing in this case. Thoughts??

 

There are different types of visual processing and there can be a problem with only one or a few things, causing very specific problems, and nothing else.

 

If you click this link, and then scroll down to the Vision Perception section, it describes the specifics:

 

http://www.childrensvision.com/reading.htm

 

Our son's biggest visual processing problem areas were form constancy, closure and visual sequential memory.

[JadenCalebMom]

My son is six and just recently diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder. He rocks at math but struggles with reading. There are many components to this and not all have to be present to have this. My son can memorize Awana verses but can't remember the letter names for q and w and m. We had been working through some plain phonics and he was not getting it, especially sight words. I placed him in private school in February after he was diagnosed and they are using Saxon phonics. He is finally getting it! The decoding puts a kinisthetic and visual spin on the letter, thus helping him to remember the sound. I will be home schooling him next year and we will be using The Phonics Road to Reading. Both Saxon and Phonics Road are Orton-Gillingham based. I am going with Phonics Road for two reasons: It looks more fun and it is based on levels (not grades) so he won't feel like he is behind and it leads into the Latin Road.

[Ecclecticmum]

Our boy is an active, wiggly boy. TV holds his interest, not much else does. Its kind of shooting in the dark when I choose stuff (toys or curriculum) for him as to whether he'll actually enjoy/play with it.

 

He's got the brain there for the Maths/Logic side of things, but I am still trying to figure out how to tap into it, as he has delayed speech/language/vocab problems.

 

Leapfrog Vids work great for him.

 

This year (pre-k) we are going with AAR Pre-Level + Letter of the Week curriculum by Confessions of a Homeschooler. Using a whole year to cement those sounds into his head and start phonics is how we decided to play it. He will start Kinder Maths (slowly at his own pace) and we'll just see how we go there, its hard for him to give me "oral" answers, he "knows" what he's talking about, but just can't communicate it effectively.

 

For K (looking at this stage) we'll be going with Oak Meadow and Waldorf Enrichements, Rightstart Maths A and Singapore as the Supplement, and Starting AAR Level 1. We may also look into Hooked on Phonics (not really fond of that one for personal reasons though)

 

If I ever finally finishing setting it up, Happy Phonics could be a good try for him too. As its game orientated, it could help keep him enthused. Theres something similar too Phonics Pathways or something Progressive Phonics? I can't remember, thats seems to have a good view as well. Also Jolly Phonics, or Fitzroy (Aus) Readers.

 

Grammar - Theres Cozy Grammar (Video with a little old gran type lady, looks quite engaging. Grammar Punk (have'nt looked at this yet).

 

Vacabulary - He'll be using Wordly Wise K & 1, and follwing that with Hot Dot Vocab,

 

We haven't really looked into stuff other than phonics for the moment. I know your talking about Grade 1, but hopefully these will give you some ideas of what to look into. They are the sorts of "types" we are leaning towards, because of his problems at the moment, as he wouldn't fit the same learning style as most of the stuff my daughter uses.

[TheReader]

Our boy is an active, wiggly boy. TV holds his interest, not much else does. Its kind of shooting in the dark when I choose stuff (toys or curriculum) for him as to whether he'll actually enjoy/play with it.

 

He's got the brain there for the Maths/Logic side of things, but I am still trying to figure out how to tap into it, as he has delayed speech/language/vocab problems.

 

Leapfrog Vids work great for him.

 

This year (pre-k) we are going with AAR Pre-Level + Letter of the Week curriculum by Confessions of a Homeschooler. Using a whole year to cement those sounds into his head and start phonics is how we decided to play it. He will start Kinder Maths (slowly at his own pace) and we'll just see how we go there, its hard for him to give me "oral" answers, he "knows" what he's talking about, but just can't communicate it effectively.

 

For K (looking at this stage) we'll be going with Oak Meadow and Waldorf Enrichements, Rightstart Maths A and Singapore as the Supplement, and Starting AAR Level 1. We may also look into Hooked on Phonics (not really fond of that one for personal reasons though)

 

If I ever finally finishing setting it up, Happy Phonics could be a good try for him too. As its game orientated, it could help keep him enthused. Theres something similar too Phonics Pathways or something Progressive Phonics? I can't remember, thats seems to have a good view as well. Also Jolly Phonics, or Fitzroy (Aus) Readers.

 

Grammar - Theres Cozy Grammar (Video with a little old gran type lady, looks quite engaging. Grammar Punk (have'nt looked at this yet).

 

Vacabulary - He'll be using Wordly Wise K & 1, and follwing that with Hot Dot Vocab,

 

We haven't really looked into stuff other than phonics for the moment. I know your talking about Grade 1, but hopefully these will give you some ideas of what to look into. They are the sorts of "types" we are leaning towards, because of his problems at the moment, as he wouldn't fit the same learning style as most of the stuff my daughter uses.

 

Yes, thank you, this gives me some good places to start researching. We're still very much in Pre-K/K level right now, so stuff for now as well as stuff for later is helpful.

 

We've been on letter sounds for over a year but last night he had a huge break through when he realized that the name of the letter actually gives him the sound of the letter, in most cases. (Buh-eee, B, oh, B says buh!; etc...) Woot! So, something clicked. Now if he can connect all three --- the name, shape & sound --- we'll be doing good.

 

Oh, I should say, I first introduced letter sounds over a year ago. We stopped for a long time and just restarted a few months ago.

[TheReader]

There are different types of visual processing and there can be a problem with only one or a few things, causing very specific problems, and nothing else.

 

If you click this link, and then scroll down to the Vision Perception section, it describes the specifics:

 

http://www.childrensvision.com/reading.htm

 

Our son's biggest visual processing problem areas were form constancy, closure and visual sequential memory.

 

thank you! Will check out the link and see what it says....

[mcmama]

My 7-year-old Aspie is definitely a different, nonlinear thinker. I found Phonics Road to be great to give him a more concrete foundation in printing, phonics, etc. He was already reading some, and writing (messy!) in caps. PR gave him the ability to see, hear, feel, and understand the RULES of phonics. He's very much into rules and WHY things are the way they are. PR helped a lot with that.

[tjneary99]

The children vision site is a good one to look into. They include a quiz/checklist to see if your child has any of the symptoms. I know of 3 children who have problems with their vision that requires vision therapy. I know two of them have a convergence/ teaming problem. The oldest, now 3rd grade, has finally graduated from the vision therapy program and is able to read now after several years struggling undiagnosed. These problems are not well known and are worth looking into if reading issues persist.