How to help improve reading "stamina"?

[momsuz123]

My 7 y/o dd has made some improvement in her reading. She can open a book at grade level, and read most of it, if she could just hang in there and read it long enough. For example, tonight the book was a picture book (chapter books scare her too much - too many words), about 20 pages long. She had to work at it some, but could read most of the book herself, but she tires easily. "Mom, you read every other page, okay?" This is what we end of doing quite a bit.

 

My oldest dd taught herself how to read, so this is all new for me. She is also working with an OG trained SLP.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Pen]

First, I want to apologize and say that if I checked "unlike" it was an accident, I was trying to click on the quote. I just realized that probably happened, for all I know it has happened before and I did not even realize. :crying:

 

"Mom, you read every other page, okay?" This is what we end of doing quite a bit.

 

This sounds fine! Maybe bit by bit you can do that with longer books, or she can go 2 pages and you 2 pages, and so gradually work up.

[geodob]

Though at 7 and given that she is working with an OG SLP.

She is very likely reading 'word by word' ? As she decodes each word.

Where perhaps you could take a paragraph, and read it word by word? Where your eyes move from one word to the next, as you read.

I'm quite sure that you'll find it exhausting, just to read a single paragraph word by word?

Let alone a number of pages?

With fluent reading, the eyes move in blocks of words. But this relies on automatic recognition of all of the words within the blocks.

But when their isn't an automatic recognition of the words ?

Then it becomes an exhausting process.

[momsuz123]

Though at 7 and given that she is working with an OG SLP.

She is very likely reading 'word by word' ? As she decodes each word.

Where perhaps you could take a paragraph, and read it word by word? Where your eyes move from one word to the next, as you read.

I'm quite sure that you'll find it exhausting, just to read a single paragraph word by word?

Let alone a number of pages?

With fluent reading, the eyes move in blocks of words. But this relies on automatic recognition of all of the words within the blocks.

But when their isn't an automatic recognition of the words ?

Then it becomes an exhausting process.

 

 

Never thought of it this way - makes perfect sense. Thanks for opening up my eyes to this line of reasoning.

[RamonaQ]

What about reading along with audio? A bit trickier with picture books (since few audio)...However, the Fairy Book series has some good audio.

[Crimson Wife]

Have you had her eyes checked by a developmental optometrist? My DS is a good reader but he tires easily and I recently found out from his pediatric ophthalmologist that his eye-tracking isn't great (he got only 6/9 on a recent screening). Our health insurance supposedly covers vision therapy so I'm in the process of trying to locate a network provider for an eval.

[Lecka]

It has been a while since I have read this, but I read a chapter in a book about fluency, and the fluency section of readingrockets.org

 

Fluency materials should be actually easy for the child. They are supposed to be able to easily read 95% of words. That is the independent level. For my son this year, that is pre-school books and Fly Guy. He likes Rhyming Dust Bunnies. He is also 7.

 

He CAN read harder materials, but they are harder than 95% easy, so it is appropriate for us to do paired reading (every other page or whatnot) and that is a recommended practice.

 

So I think, slow down, and make her reading experiences positive! She can build fluency with easy books!

 

It is hard b/c it takes so long, but I think you have to trust that she is making progress, and know you are doing the recommended reading practices.

 

Also, until kids are actually reading fluently, it will be hard for them to follow along with a story, so if you see she is struggling a little just in reading, then you cannot expect her to have any pleasure or joy in enjoying the story. She is probably barely holding the plot together if at all.

 

Oh, another book he can read is Dumb Bunnies.

 

I try to skim through, and pick books that he really can read, and they are still easy ones.

 

But it is amazing how much progress kids make! The beginning can be slow, though.

 

It is hard for me to follow through with my own advice sometimes!

 

edit: He can plod through Magic Tree House, but it is not his independent level... so it is appropriate for guided reading. I will see if I can find a link about this.

[Lecka]

Well glancing I didn't find a great link.

 

BUT it is worth reading about.

 

The biggest surprise to me.... gains come with repetition,and help, and pre-viewing (so kids have heard a book or passage read to them, or have talked about the plot, or seen a movie version, whatever)..... gains do NOT come from plowing through and struggling through.

 

So it is not a "no pain, no gain" situation. It is really okay to help and provide scaffolding, especially when it is needed.

 

I also have to say.... it is frustrating when it it slow. But, it sounds like she is doing really well!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lecka]

http://www.amazon.co...eywords=fluency#_

 

 

I haven't read this book, but it is the top link on Amazon. I have read the introduction and looked at the table of contents, and it does seem similar to other things I have read.

 

So maybe this would be helpful :)

 

It is counter-intuitive sometimes, like so many other things about reading (with kids who are struggling).

 

edit: Depending on where she is, it may not be appropriate to spend a lot of time on fluency. It may be more appropriate to focus more on phonics and still spend some time on fluency.

 

But she should probably NOT be trying to read for fluency at the same level where she is practicing phonics. You would expect her to be behind that level, and to be building her foundation over time, while at the same time, be moving ahead with phonics. I have an understanding that you expect the phonics level to be higher than the fluency level for a while.

 

Also, if she likes any books like this, my son does really well with books that have blurbs of writing or captions spread around, instead of just text. It is much less difficult for him when the text is broken up for him... it is less work for him. So he does really well with some DK stuff, and things with pictures, etc. It is not cheating, he is still building fluency with these books, even though they are not chapter books.

[angelmama1209]

Though at 7 and given that she is working with an OG SLP.

She is very likely reading 'word by word' ? As she decodes each word.

Where perhaps you could take a paragraph, and read it word by word? Where your eyes move from one word to the next, as you read.

I'm quite sure that you'll find it exhausting, just to read a single paragraph word by word?

Let alone a number of pages?

With fluent reading, the eyes move in blocks of words. But this relies on automatic recognition of all of the words within the blocks.

But when their isn't an automatic recognition of the words ?

Then it becomes an exhausting process.

 

My 7yo dd sounds exactly like yours and THIS is EXACTLY what she's doing. So how do I fix it? I think I read somewhere that they should have independent reading that is below their level, a read aloud that is at their level, and a YOU read aloud that is above their level. Is that correct?

[Pen]

For last poster and also OP, though OP said dd does not like chapter books, nonetheless, I'd like to mention that the Sound Out Chapter books of High Noon Books were tremendously helpful to my ds for solidifying phonics and building fluency, starting from CVC pattern level plus a few short sight words like' the'. He went over each book as a read aloud 3 times (not necessarily in a row, sometimes it went CVC book 1, then 2, then 3, then back to 1 at each level, at at CVC CVCe and consonant blend levels we did all 9 books available before next level...then after blends he was reading regular books like Magic Tree House). For my ds by 3rd reading he was clearly fluent and starting to get the book memorized, but for another dc maybe it would take 4 or 5 readings per book to be fluent at that level.

 

 

The specialist who recommended these, HNB,to me said it would even be okay for me to read it aloud to him the first time through each book thus modeling fluency and helping so that the story would be familiar. (My ds did not want me to read them to him first, however.) As each pattern level got familiar over the 3 repetitions, the reading became fluent for that level. At some point ds became able to put this skill into regular reading that was not so carefully structured around CVC etc. patterns.

 

Modern Curriculum Press has similarly progressive through phonics patterns (plus a few sight words) books that have more pictures and may be more appealing to a younger child or one not in the high interests/low level category. They have far far less actual reading practice per book, since the books are largely pictures, however.

 

Many regular "beginning readers" or "early readers" or picture books are not carefully sequential enough to help a struggling reader become fluent. Even something like green eggs and ham which has few total different words in it and was written to be a beginner book has an awful lot of different patterns CCVVC VCCC common sight word or VCC CVC, just in those few words alone, plus things like would and could with silent letters, and long words like anywhere.

[Pen]

 

My 7yo dd sounds exactly like yours and THIS is EXACTLY what she's doing. So how do I fix it? I think I read somewhere that they should have independent reading that is below their level, a read aloud that is at their level, and a YOU read aloud that is above their level. Is that correct?

 

 

1) read my post above about making sure readers are systematically sequential and ideas for working with readers

 

2) yes, the 3 different levels is a good rule of thumb. But at lowest levels they are not ready for any independent reading (unless they initiate it). On a book with a full page of writing, read aloud level for child would be needing help with about 3-5 words. Less than that it is too easy, more and it is too hard and frustrating. So the read aloud is possibly a bit above level making a stretch in some way, once the past level was fully mastered My idea of fully mastered level is that they can read all the words, but also understand what they are reading and can read it aloud so that it flows in such a way the the listener can also understand the story being read, not just as if it is a list of individual words each being correctly read.

[Lecka]

I spent a long time with my son only reading a few words a page, while I read the rest. It has worked out fine. He was VERY reluctant, though, so not a kid who was wishing he could do more.

[Steffanyace]

We started off with How to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We made it to lesson 75 and moved on to Dick and Jane books. I found the easiest book to start with. I would have him read one story. We would read that story everyday until he could read it with fluency. Then we would move on to the next story. The stories build on themselves. He knew how to use phonics to read the words he didn't recognize. The repetition of the same story helped commit those words to his visual memory enabling him to read with better fluency. We moved onto Abeka for first and second grade. He has done well in reading. Although his speed plateaued at 75 wpm. We started vision therapy looking for a solution. They said his eyes had a slight tracking problem, and he should be reading at 150 wpm in two months. A lot of what they said made sense. If a child's eyes are working so hard to keep their place while reading they get tired quickly.