What should we do for "reading" next year? (4th grade reluctant reader)

[TheAttachedMama]

My son (currently 9) is headed into 4th grade next year.   Learning to read was a REAL struggle for him.

 

After a LOT of work, he is finally reading pretty close to grade level.   In previous grades, he went through AAR 1-4.   So I would say he has a pretty solid phonics foundation.   He is also a very good speller.   Spelling seems to be very natural for him....reading, not so much.

 

This year, he read to me aloud every school day for 30 minutes.  I would help him decode words when necessary.   Then, informally, we talk about the books, narrate, map out locations, etc.   We used Sonlight grade 3 readers as a book list.  (Plus, a bunch of other books that he picked.)   He also did another 30 minutes (or more) of "immersion reading" on his kindle every day during "rest" time.   And I also tried to encourage him to do fun reading whenever possible so he could get more practice in.   (Letting him stay up later if he was reading, left books out in the car and wherever I find him sitting, lots of library trips, etc.)   I also tried to encourage him to read throughout the curricula and throughout the day in other lessons besides reading.   

 

 

Where he is at now:  

--For baseline purposes, I just gave him a quick reading test, and he is reading at grade 3.3.   (3rd grade, 3rd month)  So he is very close to grade level, but not quite there.  

 

--He reads slower than most kids his age.   I gave him a WPM test too, and he read 88 WPM on a cold reading, and 124 WPM as a 2nd reading.   

 

--He is not very accurate when he reads.   When he is reading aloud, the sentences that come out of his mouth are always grammatically correct and usually have the same meaning as the sentence on the page, but often, I find that he doesn't read the actual words on the page verbatim.   He makes small little changes.   When he reads aloud with me, I try to have him go back and read the actual words.   But I don't know what he is doing when he silent reads!  

 

--His comprehension is always VERY good.   He can always give me a great narration.  He is good at pulling out the main point, making inferences, etc.  HIs vocabulary is good.   

 

 

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So what do you suggest we for reading next year?    Any homeschool prescriptions??   

 

Do we try a formal reading program?   Do we just keep doing what we are doing, but keep trying to introduce more difficult books?   

 

 

P.S.   I also have him signed up for another 12 sessions of vision therapy this summer.   He has done vision therapy before, but the doctor thought another couple rounds might be helpful for him.   

Edited May 7, 2016 by TheAttachedMama

[Heathermomster]

You may want to look at High Noon since he spells well.  If he still requires VT, maybe get through that and continue reading practice with controlled readers at zero mistakes for awhile.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Heathermomster

[TheAttachedMama]

You may want to look at High Noon since he spells well.  Since he still requires VT, maybe he just needs to get through that and continue reading practice with controlled readers at zero mistakes for awhile.

 

Yeah, we own a couple of the High Noon sets.   We've read some of those.   The problem is that they aren't the best literature.   My son is a bit of a book snob and wants a well-written story to read.   

[Heathermomster]

In that case, check out Jenny and the Cat Club books or maybe the Elson and Free/Treadwell readers.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Heathermomster

[Lori D.]

Since what you are doing is working… I'd stick with that. No need to fix something that isn't broken. Just take the next step forward. Use high quality books for school reading. Lots of book lists out there to help you choose high quality books that will click with him and that are what he is *asking* for (that is SUPER that he already sees a difference! :) ).

 

DS#2 here has "stealth dyslexia", and we continued to do together reading up through 12th grade, "popcorn style" ("you read a page, I read a page"). We read books at or just slightly above his reading level to help practice and stretch a bit. By ping-ponging the reading, he would get a bit of a "break" so he could listen and focus on "catching up" what's happening, and just enjoy the language and style of writing -- because reading is hard work and sometimes you don't really hear it and enjoy it when you're working hard just to read it. That also allowed us to do what you're already doing at the end of your aloud reading time, which is to discuss. We just did our discussion in the midst, which also allowed for learning vocabulary words in context, right as they occurred. 

 

The errors your DS is making in reading are very common with early readers, and since DS is a little bit delayed in clicking in to reading (and overcoming some vision issues), that seems very normal. I don't think I'd worry about it too much right now; just keep an eye out over the next year, and esp. once he seems to be developing fluency and confidence. Keeping up the aloud reading and correcting errors should help some. Sounds like his comprehension and understanding of texts he reads is super! :)

 

Just my totally non-expert 2 cents worth. Mostly just wanted to say: you're doing a great job, mama! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[justasque]

Since what you are doing is working… I'd stick with that. ... 

Lots of book lists out there to help you choose high quality books that will click with him and that are what he is *asking* for

...(that is SUPER that he already sees a difference! :) ).

 

...Just my totally non-expert 2 cents worth. ...

Mostly just wanted to say: you're doing a great job, mama! :)

 

Agreed!  Comprehension is the main goal for reading, and it sounds like that is working.  I'd keep at it, using a wide variety of books - fiction and non-fiction, long and short books, books with lots of pictures and books without, perhaps a few comic books or graphic novels (Calvin & Hobbes, Tintin), books that read in a linear way and books with lots of sidebars and captions (Usborne, DK).  Just read, read, read.  

[Kiara.I]

Since he wants REAL books, what about having him do readers for reading practice, but otherwise giving him audio books paired with the print version so that he can read along but the audio is there to scaffold?

 

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[alisoncooks]

We're using Mosdos next year, a year behind, with my struggling reader. The story selections seem pretty good; each unit has a literary element focus. Comprehension questions are built in, and each unit has "fun" activities to wrap it up.