How do I keep my *learning to read* son from guessing?

[Oak Knoll Mom]

My 6yo is very bad about guessing what a word is based on its initial sound. When I correct him he gets very upset, angry, defeated, or any one of many negative emotions. How can I help him get past this? I guess I'm looking for ways to 1)keep him from guessing, 2) correct him gently and 3) teach him to respond well to correction.

[Tracey in TX]

He may be a delayed reader or it may be an indication of dyslexia. DS did that incessantly, only to later learn that was a tell tale sign (amongst others) of his learning challenge. With substantial phonics he has overcome the guessing, but the guessing still creeps in with completely unknown words.

[magistramom]

Just ask him to sound out the first AND LAST letters. He'll begin to fill in the middle sounds in no time. It won't be long before it all comes together... hang in there!

[kokotg]

When he's reading aloud to you, you could try covering up the end of the word with your finger and uncovering it as he reads....depending on his fluency level, I guess. I've only done this with very early readers.

[tinag]

 

I don't correct every mistake he makes. I praise him like crazy when he does well. Those two things help.

 

In general he has gotten way better about it though. So I'm thinking eventually he will get past this. And he gets an extra big kick when he corrects me. ;)

 

This is me, too. I don't correct everything and lots of praise. It is rare that he guesses anymore and I didn't I would ever be able to say that!

[Mesa]

My son does this too. I find that partially covering the word really does help him quite a bit.

I hate this beginning reader stage. I always question my ability to teach him.. am I doing it right? Maybe he has delays, are the neighbor kids his age reading better than him??? maybe..... Blah, blah, blah I'm worrying myself sick.

[Carol in Cal.]

Reading is still pretty hard for him, at this point. Really, as adults, we rarely do anything as hard as learning to read and facing those challenges every single day.

 

When DD did that, I would often say, "Please sound out that word from left to right." I stayed very matter of fact, not mad or anything. Once she had made a good attempt, I would tell her the word, and ask her to say it, and then to read the sentence over. She didn't like that, but she did it and it really helped.

 

The other thing I did, and this was very effective, is that I reduced the time she was reading to me and increased the time that she read to herself. She had been reading to me at the edge of her capability every day for about 30 minutes, and it was a hard 30 minutes for her. I switched her to reading to me for only 20 minutes, and reading to herself from an easier book for 20 minutes. After the easy book reading, she had to pick a page and I got to pick a page from the easy book for her to read to me--that way I knew that she was really reading it. What this did was show her that she was, indeed, making progress, and it consolidated her gains in reading a bit. She felt more proficient and that helped her across the board.

 

In her particular case, because she didn't like the process of learning to read, I also promised her that I would always read to her even once she knew how, and she is 12 and I still read to her a lot.

 

Also, she used to say that she hated to read (although she had always loved stories and being read to), so once she learned how, her pride was at stake. We were in the library one time, and I came into the children's room and saw her reading to another child in a far corner. I acted as if I didn't see her, and I heard her say to the child that she didn't want me to see her reading. So I decided that I needed to take the pressure off, and this is how I did it. The next time she casually read a street sign to me when we were in the car, I said, "Oh, no, now that you can read, I won't be able to keep secrets from you by writing them anymore!" to which she replied, "Ha ha, Mommy!" I did this constantly for about a week, and then finally I added, "But, wait a minute, I really don't have to worry. After all, you hate to read. So probably you'll make yourself forget how to do it, huh?" And she answered, "Oh no, Mommy, I LOVE to read!" And that has been it from then on. She has been an avid reader and remains so to this day. But getting there was very difficult.