Curriculum choices for a dyslexic child

[sweet2ndchance]

As I look toward homeschooling my dyslexic son again next year, I find myself in a quandary about curriculum choices.

For example, I love literature rich curriculum, but how do I balance that with a child who finds reading difficult? The obvious answer is to read aloud to him, which I have no problem doing, but how much and for how long should I do this? He's 11 years old so by age he would be going into the 6th grade this fall but he was held back in 3rd grade in public school due to his reading so we have him down as a 5th grader this fall. His reading ability, I think, is a solid 3rd grade level, maybe early 4th grade. He has a speech impediment that makes reading out loud even more difficult for him on top of the dyslexia.

His comprehension is excellent when he doesn't have to do the work of reading it himself. Right now, I have him reading from easy chapter books after school and I'm reading "The Sign of the Beaver" aloud to him which he is very much enjoying. Over spring break, we read "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" which he also enjoyed. I don't mind reading aloud to him as long as it is helping him and not hurting or hindering him. But I can't decide when, if ever, that line would be crossed.

I would love to do Build Your Library or Book Shark with him but I can't decide if that's a silly expectation for a dyslexic child or not. Of course, I would have to do the lion's share of the reading to him, especially at first, but is that defeating the whole purpose of using a literature rich curriculum? What if he decides he still wants to be homeschooled in high school (right now he is saying that he does want to be homeschooled through high school and we do give him a say in his education)? Is it still appropriate for me to be reading his books to him or finding audiobook versions for him since he is dyslexic? I feel really stuck on where that line is between helping him reach his full potential and being an unnecessary crutch for him. And I'm a planner so yes it is important to me to have at least a soft plan through high school even if we ultimately deviate from it.

Thanks for letting me "think out loud" here. I would love to hear other's opinions on this topic.

[happypamama]

I have a 12yo probable dyslexic, and at least at this point, I have decided that I am okay with audiobooks, read alouds, and videos. He can and does read with his eyes, but he can absorb SO much more when it's audio form. Reading is enjoyable and interesting to him, and he knows a LOT based on what he's listened to. He's been through LOTR multiple times, for instance, picking out plot points that I wouldn't have expected. Remember also that there are some advantages to reading with your ears, in that it forces you to slow down and listen to the dialogue. (I read very fast myself and struggle with glossing over things, but listening to books makes me slow down.) 

 

We will cross high school and beyond bridges when we come to them. It's harder to find audio information, but The Great Courses, for instance, exist.

[kirstenhill]

My youngest is dyslexic (currently 6th grade) and I am definitely using mostly audiobooks/read-alouds for content subjects.  We always have one book going that we buddy read (or that he just reads aloud to me), and I am trying to gradually increase the reading level of those books as his skill level improves. Even in high school, I think audiobooks would be a very reasonable accommodation.

I think the thing I might worry about with a very literature heavy curriculum is if it would leave you time to work on the skills you probably want to work on with your DS to improve his reading and spelling.  I'm spending about 1 hr/day with my DS on skils that a non-dyslexic kid would already be done with by 6th grade (multi-syllabic word reading, spelling, basic writing skills).  I put together my own DIY reading lists for literature, history and science.  I think it would be stressful to have to keep up with a heavy list of read alouds in addition to the remediation we do during the school day.  I should also say though that my DS12 spends probably 2-3 hrs or more a day listening to audiobooks he chooses in addition to our school books, so he has no lack of "input" in terms of hearing books read to him.  Maybe I would feel differently about it if he wasn't so often choosing audiobooks in his free time.

Edited March 29 by kirstenhill

[kbutton]

Short stories!!! Then do lots of audio books in the car and such.

Mosdos has great stories, and the questions in the text are insightful and allow for creative assessment options that go deeper than general comprehension questions for kids who don’t need more basic questions. It was a favorite here. 

The text tends to have short stories, poetry, a play, and a novella.

They do have workbooks, and I would say +/- on getting them—it depends on what your child needs. 

 

[Kanin]

If he has great reading comprehension, I wouldn't worry about developing it too much. You could hit major things like metaphors, similes, symbols, etc. Sign of the Beaver is a great book for this! 

I would read out loud to him, and also have him practice with audio books. 

It might be a good age to start listening to audio books, and taking a few notes after each chapter (either by hand or with Google Docs/typing/voice to text).

[countrymum]

I am using Berean Builders audio with my dyslexic son for 7th grade science this year. I plan to continue with Earth Science from Berean Builders with audio for next year. It is experiment heavy which has been very good for my son. I will likely stick with this through highschool. He is supposed to write answers to the 1-2 questions after each reading and we do the chapter review orally together. He's learning and beginning to write for academic reading. ..I will gradually increase this to eventually do tests sometime in highschool.

We are also slowly and successfully using All About Spelling which has some writing in it.

I like the amount of reading and writing in Heart of Dakota a few grades behind his age....you may try a lower level of bookshark just for history so he can read it then read some harder books aloud. 

Writing I will try IEW Medieval next year.

I'd take some time to write out big goals for the next 6 years then write yearly steps to get there ...

[ChocolateCake]

I have a dyslexic/dysgraphic high schooler.  I still read some books to her.  She mostly reads literature books on whispersync (kindle books with the audio synced to the text).  We all enjoy audiobooks as a family and listen to them in the car almost constantly.  All 3 of my kids listened to audiobooks on a regular basis in elementary. 

Curriculum is just a tool.  You can use it as much or little  as you want.  So, if you are using something with a long booklist feel free to pick and choose the books.  There can be books he reads, books you read and books he listens to.  He is learning via all those methods.  You can do whatever works for you and your student.  😀

Edited April 14 by ChocolateCake

[EKS]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:52 AM, sweet2ndchance said:

The obvious answer is to read aloud to him, which I have no problem doing, but how much and for how long should I do this?

I read aloud to both of my kids the entire time we homeschooled (which was through high school).  One has dyslexia and the other was a precocious reader.  I honestly can't imagine homeschooling any other way. 

I started assigning some reading to my son with dyslexia when he was in about fifth grade.  By the time he was in high school, he was reading maybe half of the literature selections himself.  I also assigned some books for science and history.  I read all of the textbooks aloud and we discussed as we went.