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Need help with Language Arts


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My daughter is 8 and second grade. She reads on a third or fourth grade level. She hates all LA I have tried. She is extremely wiggly and has sensory issues. She used to read chapter books but says she doesn't like them anymore. Do you recommend a Language arts program for more kinesthetic and visual kids? I have tried Language lessons, All About Reading, and christian light.

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Well, what aspects of language arts are you hoping to cover?

First Language Lessons I would think would be fairly good, because it's pretty much all oral and you can do it with her while she's jumping on a trampoline, for instance.

 

She doesn't like chapter books anymore.  Well, the mind boggles.  LOL  But maybe get some audio books or do read-alouds so that she can play with lego while listening?

 

In terms of visual stuff, you could introduce parts of speech using the Montessori grammar symbols, that would be a visual thing, and a manipulative.

 

AAR is visual and kinesthetic, isn't it? But she isn't liking it?

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She used to read chapter books but says she doesn't like them anymore. 

 

Try books with more pictures since she's very visual. I remember hating that transition to chapter books with few or no pictures--I couldn't understand why anyone would want to make a book without pictures! She may need to make that transition more gradually. 

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We are using ELTL this year.  I like that it only has 3 lessons per week.  There isn't any busywork, so the lessons are pretty short, especially for the younger grades.  I break the 3 lessons up over 5 days, so we only do a little bit a day.  Some of the lesson is memory work which they can do while moving around or standing up.  For the books, they are all public domain and almost all are in the Librivox catalog, so many parents have their DC listen to the books...She could draw or play with thinking putty during the readings.  There are usually 3 chapters scheduled per week, so it's not an overwhelming amount of reading.

 

 

 

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Anything that I read aloud to her goes through one ear and out the other unless it has neat pictures and it's about animals etc. I tried Story of the World and she said she listened but when I asked her questions she said she had no idea what I just read and that it was so boring. I tried first language lessons and she was bored to tears. She used to read chapter books this summer but is now saying they are too long and boring.

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Writing Tales worked for us.  It addressed my son's need to move while presenting language arts in a simplified manner.  The first book is 3rd-4th grade, though. 

 

What I'm reading, though, doesn't sound on point.  I think you need to start with specific issues (listening skills, comprehension, reading skills, attitude/willingness) and address them individually.

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Anything that I read aloud to her goes through one ear and out the other unless it has neat pictures and it's about animals etc. I tried Story of the World and she said she listened but when I asked her questions she said she had no idea what I just read and that it was so boring. I tried first language lessons and she was bored to tears. She used to read chapter books this summer but is now saying they are too long and boring.

 

She's just 8. If she enjoyed SOTW (that is, if she sat and listened), then that's enough for a little person who is just 8. If she likes stories about animals that have neat pictures, read those to her. If she doesn't want to read longer books, don't make her.

 

Read aloud to her from good books, without expecting anything.  Just read for enjoyment.

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Grammar Tales and Parts of Speech Tales and Punctuation Tales would all fit the bill for having pictures.  Second grades is really young for LA, anyway, so exposure is probably all you need, and it's not really even necessary at that age.

 

Schoolhouse Rock is also really fun.

 

The Sentence Family is great and visual and involves drawing, but it is geared for 4th grade.

 

You really have many years to get the noun-verb stuff down.  No need to rush it.

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I have an advanced 1st grader who is wiggle and extremely visual we aren't really doing LA she does Reading Eggs (eggspressions) She also does Handwriting without tears cursive for a very short time mostly on a chalkboard.  She doesn't read chapter books but she will devour graphic novels.   If you feel like you must do Grammar I would look at Grammar Active, Grammaropolis, or Big Box of Sentence Building. 

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Writing Tales worked for us.  It addressed my son's need to move while presenting language arts in a simplified manner.  The first book is 3rd-4th grade, though. 

 

What I'm reading, though, doesn't sound on point.  I think you need to start with specific issues (listening skills, comprehension, reading skills, attitude/willingness) and address them individually.

 

I agree.  Back up to a level that is comfortable to her.  Just because a book has pictures doesn't mean it's below level.  Do you want to do history with her?  Usborne and Kingfisher both have pictures.  That might really appeal to her and expose her to other time periods and cultures.  There are plenty of quality picture books out there for history or science.  So, find what is comfortable and appealing and then use it as a vehicle to work on listening skills, comprehension, reading, etc.  For language arts, start with copywork.  It might be really good for her listening skills to work up to dictation (REALLY simple dictation with words easy enough for her to spell) this year or next.  You could easily start FLL 3 next year without doing 1 or 2 and she would be fine. 

 

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She's just 8. If she enjoyed SOTW (that is, if she sat and listened), then that's enough for a little person who is just 8. If she likes stories about animals that have neat pictures, read those to her. If she doesn't want to read longer books, don't make her.

 

Read aloud to her from good books, without expecting anything. Just read for enjoyment.

Wisdom.

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Not what you asked, but . . . .
When everything I read is boring, I know that it is time to get new glasses.  (My eye doc laughs when my problem is "boring books,"  apparently normal people complain about blurry vision, headaches, or eye fatigue).

 

You might consider getting her vision checked.  


 

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What about customizing a LA program for her.  Some easy readers (or picture books), copywork (we do 5 minutes 3x per week), and maybe a blank drawing/writing journal if she enjoys it.  There are some books that bridge the gap between picture and chapter books, like James Herriot's Treasury for Children or the Holling C Holling books...and of course sticking with regular picture books is fine too!  None of my DC have been into reading chapter books on their own until 3rd or 4th grade (and they didn't really enjoy listening in before 1st or 2nd).  Unless testing is a concern in your state, that should be plenty of LA.

 

One "hands-on" manipulative we use are reading rods for spelling and phonics.  I've seen people make them with unifix cubes or duplo blocks and a sharpie.  Some of my DC have enjoyed building words instead of writing them out.

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 I tried Story of the World and she said she listened but when I asked her questions she said she had no idea what I just read and that it was so boring.

 

See, if I had read SOTW to my 8yo dc, I would have just read it to her and not asked her questions. It could very well be boring, but it could also be her age and that you were pushing too much.

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She does have vision problems. She wears glasses and has to patch her one eye two hours a day but it's not helping that much. She also has sensory processing disorder. I am the same way with reading though. If it's not something I am interested I I can't retain anything I read.

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