suggestions needed for a struggling reader

[HappyLady]

My DD is 7 and in the "1st" grade.  Last year we did AAR/AAS level 1 and this year we're working through level 2.  I ended up putting level 2 aside and went with workbooks because she just didn't seem to be progressing.  I thought maybe if I took it down a notch and went with something that looked more fun she'd enjoy it more.  She can read words she can easily sound out, but other than that I just don't know what's going on.  She STILL doesn't know how to write all of her letters and numbers (often writing them backwards), she doesn't remember words that we've gone over and over (for awhile I was giving her 5 new - very easy - words a day to write on one side of a sheet of paper and then I'd quiz her on them the next day), when she sounds out words she adds letters that aren't even there, and while she knows most of the rules we've covered she never seems to implement them when she's reading.  Every time I have her read she ends up in tears and says it's just too hard.

 

I hate comparing her to her peers, but kids much younger than her are reading better than she is.  When I'm with the moms in our homeschool group and they're discussing what their children are covering (some are honestly teaching Shakespeare) and I feel very behind.  We spend so much time with reading that it doesn't leave much time for anything else.  Thankfully, she's very good in math and is already working on multiplication and division, knows how to tell time, and can count money. We haven't even touched any other subjects because we already spend about 2 hours a day just on reading.  She does go to a science class so at least that's somewhat covered.

 

Any recommendations on what to do about helping her with her reading?  

[quietchapel]

I'm sure you'll get lots of feedback about this, but my input would be to keep in mind that all kids are different with this. Some read at five, some at nine. It is easier said than done, but don't worry. keep moving forward, but at her pace. If you don't see any progress within the next year, consider having her evaluated at some point. One of my children progressed very slowly. He just could not do what I expected. But, we kept working, sometimes with two or three weeks break if it seemed we were spinning wheels. He is doing great now. It seemed like one day it all 'clicked'.

 

Hang in there!

[HappyLady]

I'm sure you'll get lots of feedback about this, but my input would be to keep in mind that all kids are different with this. Some read at five, some at nine. It is easier said than done, but don't worry. keep moving forward, but at her pace. If you don't see any progress within the next year, consider having her evaluated at some point. One of my children progressed very slowly. He just could not do what I expected. But, we kept working, sometimes with two or three weeks break if it seemed we were spinning wheels. He is doing great now. It seemed like one day it all 'clicked'.

 

Hang in there!

 

 

Thank you.  :)  

[forty-two]

The adding letters that aren't there thing - both my dds do that, and it turns out they seem to have some phonological processing issues, so that they do not have the underlying skills necessary to learn to read phonetically.  (DD8 did learn to read in spite of it - she had a breakthrough after a year of reading lessons and I thought that those skills finally clicked, that she was just a late bloomer;  turns out, as I later learned, that her breakthrough was in learning to read in *spite* of those deficits, which are still there and still causing problems.)  I'm doing LiPS to help build those skills.  Susan Barton (the author of a reading program for dyslexics) has a free pre-screening test on her site that checks to see if kids have the necessary phonemic awareness skills for her program (which is similar in approach to AAR/AAS - learn to read via phonograms and rules): http://www.bartonreading.com/students_long.html#screen. It's an easy way to see if phonemic awareness is an issue.

 

In the meantime, if she liked AAR, it might be worth going back through level 1, since it sounds like she probably didn't master it.  (I repeat lessons and re-read book chapters myself when I hit a wall.)  It might turn out that AAR won't be enough, though, no matter how many times you repeat it - there are several red flags in your post :grouphug:.

[OneStepAtATime]

Read the Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide.  Read How to Homeschool Your Struggling Learner by Kathy Kuhl.  Look at the website linked below and see if anything there sounds familiar (but you don't need to buy anything, just read the info...).  Do a bit of research to see what the trip ups may be.  

 

http://www.bartonreading.com/dys.html

 

And yes, all children are different.  We are all on our own time line. I started reading very, very early.  My brother did not.  But we both ended up reading well.  He was just on a different time line.  :)

 

That being said. if your child has underlying undiagnosed challenges like dyslexia, the earlier you determine that and start using materials designed specifically for the way their brain works the better off you both will be.

[TheAttachedMama]

If you search through some of my old posts from this summer, you will see that I was posting VERY similar threads a few months ago.   VERY similar.  My son may have some type of undiagnosed reading issues.  So please feel free to take my advice with a grain of salt!   However, I will share my experience and what worked well for us in case it is helpful to you! 

-------------

Anyway, by last summer we had gone through AAS and AAR 1---and made it about half way through AAR 2 before having to call it quits.  The books and fluency sheets were just getting too hard.   I too was feeling very behind with reading...and it wasn't for lack of trying!  We were spending LOTS and LOTS of time everyday working on it.   I think that a lot of that has to do with the whacky scope and sequence order that is in AAR.   They teach a lot of advance skills (like syllable division) and leave a lot of more basic skills for the later levels of AAR.   SO--if you use AAR only, you need to expect that your kids may be behind in some areas compared to their peers.  (Just because of the order that skills are taught.) 

 

Also, some parts of AAR didn't work for us.  For one thing, their word cards!   My child wanted to 'master' his word cards.  The idea behind mastering is not needing to sound out a word.   You are able to read the word automatically.   SO--Their word cards basically started to encourage my child to try read by 'sight' instead of decoding the words.   In hindsight, I wish I would have just allowed him to slowly sound out the words.  (Scratch that....encourage him to slowly sound out the words!)     I am still (months later!) working on teaching him not to guess or read by sight.  It is such a hard habit to break once the kid gets to be as old as my son..  

 

Also, another issue we had about AAR is that it introduces the phonics VERY, VERY, VERY slowly....but increases the amount of fluency it expects from the child VERY, VERY, VERY quickly.   The sentence structure in their level 2 readers is pretty complex based on the level of reading they are teaching.   So we were having to move through the lessons at a snails pace.  

-----

Anyways, Here is just one of my many threads I posted about our reading issues:   http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/518525-help-me-plan-my-learning-to-read-summer/)  Rachel posted some helpful advice in post #28 of that thread that was very, very helpful to me.   You might want to read that. 

 

She suggested that I order the "I See Sam" books and give those a try.   I had actually dismissed those books for a long time because they looked like every other phonics reader out there.  (Bob Books, etc.)   However, they are a lot different.   Rachel's description in that thread above is spot on.     We used the placement test here, and started my son in set 2 of the books based on the results.   Those books were really easy for my son, but they made reading fun again and helped him to gain some confidence.    One of the original developers of the books (his name is Dick) is on a yahoo group gave me a lot of placement advice.    He suggested that we get my son up to set 4 as quickly as possible.   We started a routine where we would read one book, and then do a repeat reading of a previous book in the afternoon.  

 

This summer, my son was testing in a "kindergarten" reading level....and he made it up to set 6 of those books which is about a beginning 2nd grade level.  I had tried just about every thing out there to get my son reading....but those "I See Sam" books were the only thing that worked well for us (personally.)   I can't guarantee that they are going to help every child, but they were miracle workers for us.

 

I posted on the yahoo group A LOT and followed their advice.   I even posted videos so they could see my son reading and give me specific advice.  (I never showed his face, just a recording of the book with his voice.)   Sometimes their advice went against what I *thought* I should do, but I followed their advice and my son went up 2 grade levels in reading in just a few months.   The books worked GREAT.  They were just what we needed to help bridge the gap and work on my son's fluency / decoding skills. 

-----------

Now here we are in February of my son's 2nd grade year.   He is still guessing A LOT when reading.   I really think this is a bad habit he picked up from AAR.  Or it could be a vision issue or an undiagnosed learning disability.   Regardless, I made the decision to pull him off of texts for awhile and start having him ONLY read isolated words.  (This way he wouldn't have context clues to guess from.)    This seems to be working well.

 

SO--We have AAR back out and we are using it again.  (That guessing thread above has some information on how i am using it.)   I am NOT using the word cards or the books.  I am simply using the letter tiles, and the 'dancing bears' cursor method with the AAR words/mixed review.  I am also not requiring mastery of words before moving on.   Just mastery of the phonics concepts if that make sense.   Things are going well and I am feeling really positive.   This might sound weird, but I think that AAR works a lot better for an older child who needs remediation in reading than it does for teaching a child how to read.   (Just because of the order things are introduced and the structure of the lessons.)   Now that my son is reading a little bit, the phonics instruction has been an EXCELLENT review.   I have a love/hate relationship with the letter tiles.  (My toddler wants to eat them!)  But, they are very effective for my son.  I consider them a crucial part of the program.  Being able to touch the tile and say its sound is forcing him to slowly decode the words.  

 

Anyway, this is what has been working well for me.   However, I can't guarantee it it going to work well for you sadly.   I honestly think that every child is so different, and it just takes some trial and error before you find something that starts to work.  You know!?   :)   But I have nothing but good things to say about those "I See Sam" readers.   They are really a unique product, and I think more people should know about them.   They helped give us the fluency we needed so that we could move ahead with our phonics instruction.

 

I wish you the best and hope you find a good solution.  :)

 

 

 

 

[Ottakee]

I was going to say the I See Sam books but The Attached Mom above detailed it much more.

 

Not to "toot my own horn" but I believe I was the first one on the WTM site to introduce the I See Sam books and the Apples and Pears Spelling/Dancing Bears reading.  I started using them 12 years ago with my daughter that was really struggling.  They worked better than anything I have ever used.  I have even had the pleasure of meeting the author of the A&P and DB programs a few times when she came to the states.  I have NO financial interest in either company.  They are just programs that work when many others fail and they are easy for parents to use and cost effective, esp if you consider the cost of private tutoring, etc.

 

Also, post on the learning challenges board for even more input.

[TheAttachedMama]

I was going to say the I See Sam books but The Attached Mom above detailed it much more.

 

Not to "toot my own horn" but I believe I was the first one on the WTM site to introduce the I See Sam books and the Apples and Pears Spelling/Dancing Bears reading.  I started using them 12 years ago with my daughter that was really struggling.  They worked better than anything I have ever used.  I have even had the pleasure of meeting the author of the A&P and DB programs a few times when she came to the states.  I have NO financial interest in either company.  They are just programs that work when many others fail and they are easy for parents to use and cost effective, esp if you consider the cost of private tutoring, etc.

 

Also, post on the learning challenges board for even more input.

 

TOOT AWAY!  (Wait, that sounds bad doesn't it?)  No, but seriously, I owe you a HUGE thank you for bringing those books and products to light on the forum.   They are sort of obscure products, but REALLY effective.  So thank you!  :hurray: :hurray:

[Ottakee]

TOOT AWAY!  (Wait, that sounds bad doesn't it?)  No, but seriously, I owe you a HUGE thank you for bringing those books and products to light on the forum.   They are sort of obscure products, but REALLY effective.  So thank you!  :hurray: :hurray:

Your post above has a lot of great links in it and great reading and information.

 

I liked your comment in the thread you linked about "drip feeding" the reading........just a tiny bit of new information at a time and LOTS of practice but soon they are reading.  At the www.3rsplus.com site my girls are some of the "case studies" but a few details were changed to protect their identities but the progress is accurate.

[HappyLady]

Thanks for taking the time to type all this out.  Wow!  :)  And your description of AAR had me saying, "Yes! Yes!"  I could never really figure out what I didn't like about it, but I think you're spot on with your review of it!  I'm definitely going to check out the "I See Sam" books!  Thanks again!  :)

 

 

 

If you search through some of my old posts from this summer, you will see that I was posting VERY similar threads a few months ago.   VERY similar.  My son may have some type of undiagnosed reading issues.  So please feel free to take my advice with a grain of salt!   However, I will share my experience and what worked well for us in case it is helpful to you! 

-------------

Anyway, by last summer we had gone through AAS and AAR 1---and made it about half way through AAR 2 before having to call it quits.  The books and fluency sheets were just getting too hard.   I too was feeling very behind with reading...and it wasn't for lack of trying!  We were spending LOTS and LOTS of time everyday working on it.   I think that a lot of that has to do with the whacky scope and sequence order that is in AAR.   They teach a lot of advance skills (like syllable division) and leave a lot of more basic skills for the later levels of AAR.   SO--if you use AAR only, you need to expect that your kids may be behind in some areas compared to their peers.  (Just because of the order that skills are taught.) 

 

Also, some parts of AAR didn't work for us.  For one thing, their word cards!   My child wanted to 'master' his word cards.  The idea behind mastering is not needing to sound out a word.   You are able to read the word automatically.   SO--Their word cards basically started to encourage my child to try read by 'sight' instead of decoding the words.   In hindsight, I wish I would have just allowed him to slowly sound out the words.  (Scratch that....encourage him to slowly sound out the words!)     I am still (months later!) working on teaching him not to guess or read by sight.  It is such a hard habit to break once the kid gets to be as old as my son..  

 

Also, another issue we had about AAR is that it introduces the phonics VERY, VERY, VERY slowly....but increases the amount of fluency it expects from the child VERY, VERY, VERY quickly.   The sentence structure in their level 2 readers is pretty complex based on the level of reading they are teaching.   So we were having to move through the lessons at a snails pace.  

-----

Anyways, Here is just one of my many threads I posted about our reading issues:   http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/518525-help-me-plan-my-learning-to-read-summer/)  Rachel posted some helpful advice in post #28 of that thread that was very, very helpful to me.   You might want to read that. 

 

She suggested that I order the "I See Sam" books and give those a try.   I had actually dismissed those books for a long time because they looked like every other phonics reader out there.  (Bob Books, etc.)   However, they are a lot different.   Rachel's description in that thread above is spot on.     We used the placement test here, and started my son in set 2 of the books based on the results.   Those books were really easy for my son, but they made reading fun again and helped him to gain some confidence.    One of the original developers of the books (his name is Dick) is on a yahoo group gave me a lot of placement advice.    He suggested that we get my son up to set 4 as quickly as possible.   We started a routine where we would read one book, and then do a repeat reading of a previous book in the afternoon.  

 

This summer, my son was testing in a "kindergarten" reading level....and he made it up to set 6 of those books which is about a beginning 2nd grade level.  I had tried just about every thing out there to get my son reading....but those "I See Sam" books were the only thing that worked well for us (personally.)   I can't guarantee that they are going to help every child, but they were miracle workers for us.

 

I posted on the yahoo group A LOT and followed their advice.   I even posted videos so they could see my son reading and give me specific advice.  (I never showed his face, just a recording of the book with his voice.)   Sometimes their advice went against what I *thought* I should do, but I followed their advice and my son went up 2 grade levels in reading in just a few months.   The books worked GREAT.  They were just what we needed to help bridge the gap and work on my son's fluency / decoding skills. 

-----------

Now here we are in February of my son's 2nd grade year.   He is still guessing A LOT when reading.   I really think this is a bad habit he picked up from AAR.  Or it could be a vision issue or an undiagnosed learning disability.   Regardless, I made the decision to pull him off of texts for awhile and start having him ONLY read isolated words.  (This way he wouldn't have context clues to guess from.)    This seems to be working well.

 

SO--We have AAR back out and we are using it again.  (That guessing thread above has some information on how i am using it.)   I am NOT using the word cards or the books.  I am simply using the letter tiles, and the 'dancing bears' cursor method with the AAR words/mixed review.  I am also not requiring mastery of words before moving on.   Just mastery of the phonics concepts if that make sense.   Things are going well and I am feeling really positive.   This might sound weird, but I think that AAR works a lot better for an older child who needs remediation in reading than it does for teaching a child how to read.   (Just because of the order things are introduced and the structure of the lessons.)   Now that my son is reading a little bit, the phonics instruction has been an EXCELLENT review.   I have a love/hate relationship with the letter tiles.  (My toddler wants to eat them!)  But, they are very effective for my son.  I consider them a crucial part of the program.  Being able to touch the tile and say its sound is forcing him to slowly decode the words.  

 

Anyway, this is what has been working well for me.   However, I can't guarantee it it going to work well for you sadly.   I honestly think that every child is so different, and it just takes some trial and error before you find something that starts to work.  You know!?   :)   But I have nothing but good things to say about those "I See Sam" readers.   They are really a unique product, and I think more people should know about them.   They helped give us the fluency we needed so that we could move ahead with our phonics instruction.

 

I wish you the best and hope you find a good solution.  :)

 

[rachelpants]

sunlover....

How well does your DD do with blending? Is it choppy?

 

This was helpful to me:http://righttrackreading.com/blending.html

 

Also....

Yes! The I See Sam books have been amazing for us. However, in retrospect, I wish I hadn't quit phonics instruction when I found them. I think we would be a lot farther along if I had done some of both.

 

I'd choose something like Dancing Bears, Alpha Phonics, Blend Phonics or Phonics Pathways to use alongside the I See Sam books.

 

Blend Phonics and Alpha Phonics have a lower reading level upon completion, so you could always have your DD go through one of those and then follow up with AAR 2, 3 and 4 when she is ready. I think I read Blend Phonics and Alpha Phonics will get your child reading on a 1-2ND grade level, Phonics Pathways 4th grade and AAR 12th grade.

 

My 8 year old still reverses letters when writing and reading. ...it's frustrating. Hang in there, I think some kids just need more time.

 

P.s....He used to randomly add sounds to words as well. He has grown out of that for the most part.

 

Good luck!

[sbgrace]

I was going to say the I See Sam books but The Attached Mom above detailed it much more.

 

Not to "toot my own horn" but I believe I was the first one on the WTM site to introduce the I See Sam books and the Apples and Pears Spelling/Dancing Bears reading.  I started using them 12 years ago with my daughter that was really struggling.  They worked better than anything I have ever used.  I have even had the pleasure of meeting the author of the A&P and DB programs a few times when she came to the states.  I have NO financial interest in either company.  They are just programs that work when many others fail and they are easy for parents to use and cost effective, esp if you consider the cost of private tutoring, etc.

 

Also, post on the learning challenges board for even more input.

 

I learned about I See Sam from you, and I so appreciate it.

 

OP, my son finally made progress with I See Sam. We went from I See Sam set 3 to Progressive Phonics (free online), and he was in good shape from there on out. You can get quite a lot, the first 52, of the books free for printing here http://www.marriottmd.com/sam/index.htmlI did end up purchasing when I knew this was going to work so well, but it's nice to try without an upfront cost! edited to add: I did do something like that blending that Rachel above me posted. I had forgotten that.

 

[Ottakee]

Also....

Yes! The I See Sam books have been amazing for us. However, in retrospect, I wish I hadn't quit phonics instruction when I found them. I think we would be a lot farther along if I had done some of both.

 

May I ask if you did all 8 sets of the readers?  That makes a huge difference in covering all of the phonics.  I do agree though that Dancing Bears can be a great addition.  Once we made it through set 4 or so we started the Apples and Pears spelling and that was great as well for the phonics.

[TheAttachedMama]

I learned about I See Sam from you, and I so appreciate it.

 

OP, my son finally made progress with I See Sam. We went from I See Sam set 3 to Progressive Phonics (free online), and he was in good shape from there on out. You can get quite a lot, the first 52, of the books free for printing here http://www.marriottmd.com/sam/index.htmlI did end up purchasing when I knew this was going to work so well, but it's nice to try without an upfront cost! edited to add: I did do something like that blending that Rachel above me posted. I had forgotten that.

 

The OP will have to take the placement test, but she **MAY** already be out of the first 52 books if she is half way through AAR 2.  (I don't know.  Only the placement test will tell.)    I always looked at those first 52 books and sort of discounted the program because those first 52 books were so simple.   They get a lot more complicated.   The 3R site has some more samples of the inside of the higher level books.   So check out the samples.   Also, please post on the yahoo group and ask their advice.   A lot of those tutors have been using the program for years, and their experience is invaluable.   According to Dick Schutz, it is sometimes bad to start them on too easy of books because they can learn to start reading the words by sight instead of saying the sounds.   So get placement advice from him. 

 

Also....

Yes! The I See Sam books have been amazing for us. However, in retrospect, I wish I hadn't quit phonics instruction when I found them. I think we would be a lot farther along if I had done some of both.

 

I'd choose something like Dancing Bears, Alpha Phonics, Blend Phonics or Phonics Pathways to use alongside the I See Sam books.

 

 

I agree with Rachel.   However, I want to add that you don't necessarily HAVE to go out and buy dancing bears or switch to some new phonics program.   (I'm all about trying to use what I have!)  SO--- Since you already own All About Reading, it might be as simple as giving a quick lesson ahead of time teaching the new sounds with the letter tiles.  (Have your child get the whole multi-sensory experience by touching the letter tiles and saying their sounds while blending.)   Then playing change a word to practice decoding words with that sound.   The I See Sam books also have word lists that you could read through if you need extra practice or ideas on words with that sound to use with the AAR tiles.   We also continued on with All About Spelling the entire time we used I See Sam.  (As you know, it is pretty heavy in phonics instruction.)   It worked well too for me personally.   So you don't have to jump ship to an entire new spelling program or phonics program.  (Unless you feel like AAS isn't a good fit for you already...then by all means switch.) 

 

If your child is adding in letter sounds that aren't there, skipping over letter sounds, guessing, or trying to read by sight....be sure to read the information on using the "cursor".  (You will quickly know if your child is trying to read by sight with the I See Sam books.   They put in a lot of similar looking words to check for this.  example:  "stopped" vs "spotted" etc. )   The cursor method is described in this 'getting started' guide on this page.   (the getting started guide is geared towards younger kids, but the cursor method is the same.)    The cursor method is the same strategy that dancing bears uses to help struggling readers...and it will help train them to read through the word instead of looking at the whole word.   I think I rushed and didn't use the cursor long enough, so I am having to go back to using it full time.   (The cursor method felt awkward TO ME, so I didnt use it long enough. )

 

ETA:  My son is 8 and still reverses letters and number too despite LOTS of practice and copywork.   He just has more problems telling if something is backwards compared to a typical kid his age.   Every month gets better, so like Rachel, I am betting that he just needs more time.   Learning cursive has been good for this too! 

[ElizabethB]

Barton screenng, a COVD vision exam to screen out vision.

 

In the meantime, she could try some syllables, either my online lessons or the things here:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/WellTaughtPhonicsStudent.html

 

My phonics lesson 6 and the things linked after it are helpful if there is an underlying speech/language processing problem, you could try that one even if you go the written link above.

[rachelpants]

May I ask if you did all 8 sets of the readers?  That makes a huge difference in covering all of the phonics.  I do agree though that Dancing Bears can be a great addition.  Once we made it through set 4 or so we started the Apples and Pears spelling and that was great as well for the phonics.

 

I own all 8 sets (plus the boosters) and plan on having him read through all of them.  He has finished through set 4.  My DS has such a guessing and memorizing problem that even though he could read a set 4 story with near accuracy, it seemed like he could *only* read the I See Sam books.  After we finished set 4, I suspected that he was memorizing and gave him a "test" of simple words that he should have been able to sound out easily and he did terribly.  He asked me if the word "on" was "one" (among a bunch of other simple errors).  I could tell that he was trying to read by sight. 

 

In hindsight, I wish I would have been more explicit with teaching the words and sounds as they were introduced in the I See Sam books.  For example, a story had the words "girl, bird, and first" teaching the "ir" phonogram.  Even though I showed him the "ir" sound in the words and helped him sound it out when they came up in the books, I don't think it sunk in.  When reading through the books I suspect that he was just memorizing those words because he could not read other "ir" words, especially out of context.  If I had made him keep up with word lists that introduce the sounds as well as that provided mixed word practice, I think he would be a lot farther along than he currently is in the reading process.  He would have had some words to practice his phonics skills on rather then his guessing and memorizing skills, lol.

 

After set 4, I put the I See Sam books on hold for a bit and I'm having him read through the Blend Phonics Reader (free) word lists for now.  When he is done with Blend Phonics in a few weeks, I will have him resume Set 5 of the ISS books, in addition to some daily type of mixed word practice of some sort.  He is doing really well With Blend Phonics and is re-learning in a sense to read through the words rather than just memorize and guess.  I'm anxious to get him back into set 5.  I'm tired of the word lists, lol.

[alisoncooks]

My oldest is a struggling reader...and little sister seems to be following in her footsteps.

I'm pretty convinced that some kids just need lots of time, lots of repetition, and seeing the material presented lots of different ways.

 

We were stuck in CVC Land for, quite literally, years. Years of "The f-f-fat c-aaaa-t s-at."

Years, people! :)

 

Anyway, I don't think there's a magic method, but here is what worked for us:

--Dancing Bears + set 2 & 3 of the I See Sam books moved us out of CVC land

--High Noon Reading Intervention - appealed to DD because she was an older learner, tired of "babyish" reading programs

--Two months break. For real, this was an unexpected boon...but I'm sure it was also timing (in other words, a 2-month break at any other time might not have been beneficial.)

--a book series she wanted to read - I fought to get this child to read just a page, just a sentence! All it took was something she really really wanted to read, and suddenly I have a reader, with her face in the book half the day. Amazing!

 

Anyway, best wishes. And 7 is still young (I understand because I fretted over DD's lack-of-reading at 7...and 8...I never thought she'd be nearly 9 before it clicked!)

[Amy Jo]

With my youngest son we did sounds only when he was 7. Very casually. He wasn't ready to even start at 6 - he could have cared less if it was an a, a p or a 9. This year (he is 8) he has made great and fairly painless progress. Although I would look at the Barton screening as a PP mentioned.

 

And read to her! Seriously, I have been there, with my eldest. At one point I had to sit down and soul search: what if he didn't learn to read (yes, I was discouraged, I think he was 9 at the time)? How much longer would I withhold the beauties of literature from him because we were pounding away at reading? My son's comprehension (by that time) was good, so we made use of librivox. (If you go to Ambleside Online, they have a headphone looking letter [the Greek omega is one of them] that links to available audio books on librivox or lit2go). I can't tell you how much it helped - both the stories and the huge, huge confidence boost. If you want to do Shakespeare, just do it - sit down on Friday after lunch (or whenever) and read together.

 

And on to said eldest (now 12, has had to work very, very hard on every part of reading from comprehension to sounds to blending). Dancing Bears is a miracle. Completely without blasphemy I can say it was a gift from God. And it's cheap. And quick (10 min a day). Oh, and it is open & go. It works. It is much, much more than it appears. My eternal love to the people here for mentioning it many times (took a bit for it to sink into my head that we should get it).

[cjgrubbs]

Andrew Pudewa from IEW has a talk about this - one of his children didn't learn to read until he was much older - like a teenager!  He allowed him to listen to audiobooks and they read a lot together.  He tried many many programs. Im sure you can purchase his talk about this on the iew website for a few bucks.  

 

Some kids just need longer for it to click.  My son is a struggling reader too, so I totally feel your pain. (And I have recently posted about this same thing just trying to get some encouragement!)  This year (3rd grader - turned 8 in June) he has finally begun to make some great progress.  He did need some vision therapy so you could always check about that too.  Be sure to use an eye dr certified to test for this as not many are.  He had a tracking issue and the therapy helped him a good deal.  We also stopped everything we were doing during the therapy except a few minutes per day using the book Phonics Pathways.  That was simple and he made some nice progress with it.  Now he is reading books on the lower end of 3rd grade level (according to AR)  SOme words are still painful and he struggles a bit but it is wonderful improvement.  So while I would never advise you to NOT go be evaluated, at $2000 it was something we felt we needed to do only after exhausting all other resources and giving him some more time.  I do believe he probably has some dyslexia issues but we are going to keep plugging away on the things that seem to help him.