Suggestions needed for struggling 2nd grader

[blessed2fosteradopt]

I have a young second grader who attends public school. She struggles all the way around. The school she attends uses Star Literacy assesments and her most recent score was 10th percentile for reading and 14th for math. She is pulled out for RTI time 90 minutes per day.

 

I recently purchased Dancing Bears Reading and am looking for suggestions for other curricula to use with her to get her up to speed. I am also considering homeschooling her next year but would like some recommendations for now.

 

Specifically, she struggles terribly with spelling. She has a hard time with reading and comprehension. She has a hard time putting thoughts to paper. Math is also a struggle. When asked to make change from a $10 bill for an $8 Girl Scout cookie purchase she had no idea.

 

Thank you for your comments.

[Papillon Mom]

Have you looked at right start math? It was a miracle for my late bloomer. Can you school full time over the summer? The next year starts with a lot of review, it might give her the time she needs. Maybe an assessment?

[blessed2fosteradopt]

I can school full time over the summer. It is my plan. I used RS with both my littles when they were in K. We did not finish. I do have RS A but cannot remember how far that goes. She is working on triple digit addition and subtraction in school.

[FO4UR]

Dancing Bears is excellent!  

 

I would add Apples & Pears Spelling, but wait until she's atleast half-way through the Dancing Bears Fast Track book.  Getting her reading well is priority #1, and her spelling will improve faster if she's reading well.  Her reading will improve with the spelling, but until she's really reading at about mid-Fast Track range she will probably need all brain-power aimed at reading.  jme

 

 

Then I would not add any other LA aside from real books to read aloud to her and some for her to read to herself.  Stick there at just DB and A&P until she's finished DB and A&P book A.  Again....benefit from my experience.  Throwing too much at a struggling reader/speller will hinder progress more than help.

 

If Rightstart doesn't work for her, Miquon is also great.  

 

[Guest]

Start with the reading and math. Until she can read well, the other skills are rather useless. If you have Dancing Bears, work through that. Have you looked at Apples and Pears by the same people? It is for spelling.

 

With math, if she cannot even make change, start over with either the RS A you have or something else. We like Christian Light Education. You may like Rod and Staff. These focus on the basics and are not expensive or hard to implement. It sounds like she has a very faulty foundation. Aim on rebuilding that, then move ahead.

 

HTH!

[Mandylubug]

Has she been assessed for dyslexia? I waited till my girls were 8 and wished I hadn't. Dyslexia can affect math as well. Especially the rapid recall required when put on the spot. I hyper focused on just reading and math too long. We should have started accommodations sooner for other subjects.

[blessed2fosteradopt]

She has not be assessed for dyslexia. I will talk to my pediatrician about this. She is definitely not on the same level as her brother who is 18 days her junior (they are both adopted). It is very hard for her to answer questions in an age appropriate manner when it comes to reading. I am struggling to think of an example that might provide some insight. Suffice it to say that when she reads a comprehension worksheet at school and is asked to answer any questions in writing, she is unable to.

[mommymonster]

I will ask an obvious question, but has she been assessed for vision issues? My son's progress stalled in the first few weeks of second grade due to vision processing issues and the need for glasses. 

[blessed2fosteradopt]

Yes, she has. It is not a vision issue. Thank you for asking. I am really considering homeschooling her for third grade and need to figure out what exactly to use with her over the summer. I do have Dancing Bears and also AAS. Any thoughts on how that program would work for her? Should I think about writing (copywork) at all or solely concentrate on math/reading/spelling?

[Guest]

I would suggest just working on reading first and math. Pull simple copywork from her reading program.

 

AAS is excellent.

[MerryAtHope]

Yes, she has. It is not a vision issue. Thank you for asking. I am really considering homeschooling her for third grade and need to figure out what exactly to use with her over the summer. I do have Dancing Bears and also AAS. Any thoughts on how that program would work for her? Should I think about writing (copywork) at all or solely concentrate on math/reading/spelling?

 

When you had her vision checked, was it a regular eye exam, or one by a developmental optometrist that specifically looks at vision processing issues? (For more info on that, check www.covd.org).

 

I haven't used Dancing Bears, but AAS was incredibly helpful here. I would probably start with reading, get her going on that, and then add in spelling. I would not use copywork at all, other than handwriting practice. Copywork can reinforce the wrong habits for kids who struggle with spelling, especially if they are trying to copy words that they would struggle to read or spell on their own. (I wrote more on that in my blog post about Writing mistakes I've made with reluctant writers, item #2) I think you'll have plenty to do for awhile with just reading, spelling, and handwriting, and I wouldn't worry about other writing until she's got a good segment of words mastered for spelling. I find that writing starts to get a bit easier for struggling spellers after they have mastered 1000 basic spelling words. Then they aren't having to think about every single word as they write.

 

Sounds like the school is throwing a bunch of things at her at once when she needs them more incrementally--hard to write down thoughts when reading is a struggle and spelling is a struggle. One on one tutoring from you will be very beneficial for her. She'll get there!

[Mandy in TN]

Fetal alcohol or drug exposed? Even if these have been ruled out, it could still be the neglect and abuse suffered in the care of her birth parents. Before you pull her, have the school do a full psychological-educational evaluation. Of course, you will still be meeting where she is, but the evaluation may help you see a global picture or may allow you access to services even if you homeschool. Request in writing. Don't let the school dawdle.

HTH-

Mandy

[Mandy in TN]

double post

[alisoncooks]

I do have Dancing Bears and also AAS. Any thoughts on how that program would work for her? Should I think about writing (copywork) at all or solely concentrate on math/reading/spelling?

 

These have been helpful here for my struggling 2nd grader.  We no longer use Dancing Bears exclusively (we're using Recipe for Reading to go ahead and intro long vowels) but it was what got DD going and gave her some confidence.

We are just now finishing up AAS1 and even without all the bells & whistles -- we don't do the tiles or review cards -- DD is showing confidence in her spelling. 

 

Writing:  I can only speak for what we've used (and we haven't done copywork b/c I don't care for it....) but we liked Just Write's 1st grade books (Write about me, write about my world).  They were the only writing program that I could find for my struggling reader/writer/speller but that she still enjoyed and felt like she was *doing* something.  (It covers some punctuation, some grammar, creative writing/thinking process, the 5 senses and writing).

[blessed2fosteradopt]

Thank you all for the great suggestions.

 

She has not been evaluated by a developmental optometrist. I will look into that as well as testing through her school. Her birth mom tested negative at the time of her birth for drug exposure but who knows what occurred during her pregnancy. She was very young and on the streets and had no prenatal care.

 

I will use Dancing Bears with her and hold off on copywork. Should I just read a lot with her and have her read beginner readers while using Dancing Bears? What about math? I gave her the placement test for Math Mammoth 1st grade today (just the first part) and she bombed. A lot of her issue, I am noticing, is comprehension. For instance, one question was asking her to make fact families. The illustration showed a 9 and then (2) dots and (7) dots. She had no idea until I explained that she was to use the factors given. She has done fact families in school. It is as if she has no recall. She can read a word on one short line of text and will not recognize it on the next line of text. Is this indicative of something?

 

Thank you all so much for your help.

[ElizabethB]

It is hard to tease out actual dyslexia with problems from sight words and other whole word practices in school. I would have her watch through my phonics lessons while eating breakfast in the morning, or at dinner, that is an easy way to fit in some of the phonics she may be lacking. This is what many of my successful remedial students did. They allowed it as the only screen time in the morning before school and parked the kids there during breakfast and while waiting for the bus or the drive.

 

But, eventually you will want to figure out if there is a speech/language processing issue, vision issue, working memory problems or other things hindering her learning.

 

Students who just have problems from the teaching methods in schools will remediate within a few months of work if you work at least twice a week, 30 minutes a day and incorporate syllables and nonsense words.

[alisoncooks]

It is as if she has no recall. She can read a word on one short line of text and will not recognize it on the next line of text. Is this indicative of something? Thank you all so much for your help.

 

I don't know if it indicates anything but my DD was like this at the beginning of the year.  (She still does sometimes...)   It can be very frustrating -- especially when it's words like "it" or "and" that are so frequent and EASY.

 

I'm not sure what math is best for struggling students.  We started with Singapore 1A and I love the way it introduces numbers and their relationships... but after 1A we jumped ship to BJU, which DD loves.  (She seems to catch on to math faster than reading, though she's not advanced.)  Hopefully someone here can chime in with what worked for them...

[blessed2fosteradopt]

I just started The Phonics Page lessons with her. She did okay on the first one although I did have to pause for her.  I will do another one later.  Thank you for the resource, Elizabeth B.

 

Any thoughts on Math Mammoth?  I do have RightStart A and did it with her when she was younger. I don't know if I want to repeat that with her.  It is very time consuming. 

[blessed2fosteradopt]

double post

 

[alisoncooks]

We found Math Mammoth visually overwhelming (lots and lots of problems on each page, crowded)... with very little guidance for teacher instruction.

I know a lot of people love it, but it is ALL workbook.  No hands on, no manipulatives.  That is all up to you, the teacher, to find out how to add those in if needed.  *I* needed more hand-holding than that.