superfastreader Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Hi everyone:Looking for suggestions for how to help DD (6.5) improve her reading stamina. She says she loves to read but isn't really a bookworm the way many of her friends are (or the way I was). She is decoding at a 1st/2nd grade level, but she's not transitioning into chapter books. I've gotten her some series books (High Rise Private Eyes, Magic Tree House) and also some standalone books like the Step Into Reading books. She seems to be able to read at Level 3 in those, but it's hard to tell because when she reads for herself, she doesn't want to read out loud. What seems to happen is that she'll read one or two chapters, say she loves the book, and then completely forget that she was reading it and never go back to it. I can't tell if this is a sign that she's just not engaged, or not ready, or... She is dx'ed ADHD but is very high functioning. She does tend to drift in and out. We do read alouds and audiobooks and they have been very hit or miss. She loved Misty of Chincoteague and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but has hated the Ramona books and Little House. She does love to be read to and we read to her daily and she only resists if she doesn't like the book. I know one common suggestion is to have reading time every day, but that hasn't worked for us. Telling her that it is reading time triggers her defiance and then we're dealing with a discipline issue. That's not a road I want to go down because I feel it is counterproductive to establishing a love of reading for reading's sake. Our curricula is heavily lit-based and I would say about 75% of the time she can narrate a passage or short story. The other 25% of the time she can't tell me anything because she wasn't paying attention. I just feel at a loss for how to encourage her to reach the next level with her reading. I guess that's enough of a ramble! TIA-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The way to get her to reach the next level is to have her read a lot of books that are way too easy for her. Maybe she doesn't like reading time because the books are picked out for her. My children had times they took 15+ board books into bed and read and re-read them all for half an hour (since they were required to read for 30 min). Simple books build fluency. Try the one-hand rule (or whatever it is called). Have her read a page of a book. If she has to sound out a word, have her put a finger up. If she gets five up in one page, it is a "reach" book, not a fluency building book. If you want her to read harder books (for a lesson), alternate paragraphs or pages. I experienced this reading in a foreign language. I completely lose the story if I have to sound out a few words on a page, even though I speak the language nearly fluently. I just don't have a lot of practice reading in it. This really helped me have compassion for my emerging readers! HTH, Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollo_la Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Yep, definitely have books that are "easy" for fun reading. My 2 readers that are fluent, didn't really take off with reading until they were decoding at a 4th grade level, but able to read 2nd grade level (Frog and Toad), and beginning 3rd grade level (boxcar children) for fun. I have one reader that is "almost" fluent at this point. She can decode at a 2nd grade level well - but it's still hard work for her. Fun reading for her are Bob books and Dick and Jane. :-) It will still be a little while before she takes off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzberrymom Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 It could just be the age. My DD learned to read at 6 and would kind of grudgingly do whatever language arts work I gave her. But her LOOOOOVE of reading only took off at 8 1/2--it felt like one day she was complaining about assigned reading time, and the next day she wouldn't come out of her room because the 400 page novel was too good. It just clicked. I would just keep doing the good stuff you're doing--lots of read-aloud time snuggled up together (so she can follow along), plenty of books on tape, etc. As long as there aren't distractions that are more exciting (lots of tv time, video games, etc.), it will happen in time. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reign Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 One of my girls also did not "love" reading until she was fluent at a higher level. She had to be able to read the books easily. We still work on reading daily so that it becomes easier and she keeps improving. She started enjoying it once she could read Bunnicula and Pippi Longstocking level books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I agree, keep up the read aloud time, drop the pleasure reading level a bit and be patient. Some kids need more time to be comfortable with the actual mechanics of reading. How well does she read when she reads out loud? Does she have any decoding or fluency issues? If so, she may be able to glean enough from context with silent reading to understand the passages, but it may be draining for her to try decoding and reading fluently through harder books until she has gained proficiency in these areas. (And if decoding and fluency with out loud reading are really difficult areas, then you may want to move to a more OG based reading system to smooth that out). Have you had her eyes checked with a Developmental Optometrist? There are certain vision issues that do not show up on a standard vision screening (in other words you could have 20/20 vision) but that can cause a lot of fatigue with reading. Usually only a Developmental Optometrist, not a standard eye doctor, would know to look for these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superfastreader Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Thanks for the suggestions! Just to clarify, I've never dictated to her what she can read on her own. We have a ton of books in the house and go to the library all the time. The discipline issue is not about content, but about telling her that she needs to spend xx minutes sitting still and reading. Anyway, I read through all the suggestions here and came up with a plan. Then, I asked her why she has been giving up on her books, and she said it was because they are too hard. I suspected this, but was glad to hear her articulate it. I went through all of her books and pulled out the easiest ones--Dick and Jane, Fat Cat on a Mat, Biscuit, all the level 1 readers and some of the level 2, and put them all in a basket. I told her that in order to become a better reader, she needs to spend time every day reading her easy books. As soon as they are too easy, she can tell me "too easy!" and I will put it back on the shelf. She really seemed to respond to that idea, and spent some time this afternoon reading. We will see how it goes. Thanks for the encouragement that it will happen in time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I hope you find something that works for you. The best thing for my son was telling him he could read anything he wanted, but he had to read for 20 mins a day. I think we started with 10 mins a day in first grade. That is what built up his stamina. It was when he realized he could finish a MTH book in a day that he got excited. I just built it into school time. It is part of his language arts. We still do it. He reads 30 mins per school day, but it can be any book he wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 If she has ADHD, then she probably has delayed Executive Function skills, even if she is high functioning. Kids who have ADHD often have difficulty focusing on things, particularly things like reading, that they still are learning and feel like work to them. Often kids with ADHD often have slower processing speeds, which can make reading in the early years a lot more work. I don't know if these apply to your child, but I thought I would throw that out there just in case. My dd8 was a lot like that at that age. I read to her a lot of the books that I thought she was capable of reading on her own. Sometimes, I would see her reading them on her own, but she never read them in their entirety. Eventually, we stumbled on a series that was very interesting to her, and I refused to read any more past the first one, and she subsequently read the entire series on her own. Maturity and improved reading skills have also done a lot to improve her reading habits. But it still has to be very high interest in order for her to stick with a book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 My dd loved magazines. The company that publishes Cricket, has a lovely selection. Our library lets us check them out for three weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 My oldest has ADHD symptoms and is also a struggling reader. She hated reading - anything! And we have had a great turnaround in the last couple of weeks. What motivated her was a daily "reward." She's obsessed with the School of Dragons app and wants to play constantly. I only let her play for 2 short times during the day: after all her school work is finished in the a.m. and if she chooses to read me a book during the afternoon. So right now she is willingly reading books to me. Will it last? IDK... but for now I'm happy. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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