Reading help needed!

[Erica in PA]

My 6 yod has been stuck with reading for over a year now. Since she was four years old she's known all the letter sounds, and has been able to blend them in three letter words, but she has not moved on past that stage. We used Phonics Pathways for about a year, then switched to First Reader and we've used that for 6 months-- no progress. She is still on level one Bob Books reading level, where she's been for the past two years! :confused:

 

I'm wondering if a strictly phonics-based program is the right choice for her, or if I try something different. (My two boys both learned quickly and easily with Phonics Pathways, so this is new for me.)

 

I also am considering having her tested for learning disabilities, (esp. dyslexia), due to a combination of struggles with written work, but in the meantime, I would like to find a different reading program to try out to see if that helps at all.

 

Any suggestions are welcome!

[Ellie]

Whether or not she does have learning difficulties of some kind, Spalding would still be a good method.

[Chris in VA]

Y'know, looking back over my dd's reading progress, I see something similar. She read her first CVC word two weeks before she turned 4. She stayed on CVC words or slightly harder, pretty much all thru 4yo, and 5yo, too, although I added in more words via a sight word box. We kept going in PP, but I felt she made little progress, although I was still satisfied with her reading, because she was still "ahead."

 

I remember going to visit her preschool teachers in September of the year she started 1st grade. She was reading things like, Put Me in The Zoo and A Fly Went By (which was slightly challenging). They asked if she was reading Henry and Mudge, and I said no, it was too challenging. But about 2 months later, something clicked, and she absolutely charged ahead. She picked up Little House in THe Big Woods (which we had read aloud maybe 2ce at that point), and went thru it alone, up in her bedroom. She found out that she could read most of the words, and I think the very act of reading it gave her practice enough that she rose to that level by the middle/end of the book! From then on, there was no stopping her. She read Magic Tree House books, picked up the other Little House books (the first 4 that year), and by early second grade, was reading challenging things like (unabridged) The Secret Garden and Heidi. I was amazed, and still am. She thoroughly loves to read.

 

So, perhaps adding in a few sight words to smooth the way towards more interesting material would help--I went thru some of the very simple books we had (like Pathway Readers) and picked out 3 or 4 words whose phonectic constructs we didn't know yet, and just made them sight words. We wrote them on 4X6 cards (she actually wrote them) and played "flash cards," bingo games, etc with them. I wrote some little commands ala Montessori Command Game and we played that. I got some cool Montessori objects (just little toy-like things with cards that have the name on them--for example, a short O box might have a tiny fox, a little box, a tiny baby sock, etc.) and we played with them--but not for teaching, just review.

 

Anyway, hang in there, and let her absorb what she needs, and I bet she'll take off.

[ElizabethB]

I'd try Webster's Speller. The syllables are totally different from any other phonics approach and may help. It was very helpful for my daughter and greatly improved her reading abilities. The combination of spelling and syllables is very powerful. I just finished up a 20 minute movie showing how to use Webster, it's linked from the written explanation of how to use Webster below.

[Stacy in NJ]

I don't think the answer is another program. You may find that you both experience the same frustration regardless of the program. To succeed at reading kids need to have developed several sub-skills: phonemic awareness, vocabulary, symbol identification and speech fluency. She needs to be able to hear, pull apart and put back together the sounds in speech. She needs a large enough vocabulary that the words she's trying to read make sense in context. She needs to be able to identify, access, blend and articulate the sounds/letter/words. She's probably having difficulty with one for more subskill. How does she speak? Is she really articulate, or does she have trouble finding words to express thoughts/ideas? The way she speaks will give you many clues to the underlying difficulties. If she is having difficulty with number identification? Reversals in writing? These are signs that her ability to identify symbols and then what they mean is weak.

 

The most valuable activity I did with my dyslexic son was repeated readings. Reading the same material over and over and over and over and over again, until he reached fluency with that particular text. I would then set it aside and start a new book. After he reached fluency with that one, I'd return to the first, then back to the second, then on to a third, then back to the second, then back to the first..... you get the idea.

 

Some folks with dyslexic kiddos will tell you to seek out professional help. I have mixed feeling about that. I'll just provide some stop-gap advice until you determine how you want to move forward.

 

1. Make sure your developing her phonemic awareness. Here are two resources http://www.amazon.com/Phonemic-Awareness-Activities-Reading-Success/dp/0590372319/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1230585231&sr=8-3 and http://www.earobics.com/

 

2. If you're not already doing it, memorize poetry. It helps develop both vocab and memory.

 

3. Continue on with a phonics program. Since both of you are already familiar with it, I'd continue with Phonics Pathways. Start from the beginning of the book and move through it as many times as is necessary.

 

4. Start repeated readings. Make sure she's reading the same material over and over and over again. Use Bob Books, Dick and Jane readers, Dolch readers and easy library books like Frog and Toad.

 

5. Relentlessly drill sight words. Get a list of the Dolch words and drill with flash cards multiple times per day. Here's a sight to help get you started: http://www.englishraven.com/ttools_dolch.html

 

6. Contine with handwriting. Do the same workbook numerous time if necessary. I like HWOT or Kumons books http://www.amazon.com/First-Uppercase-Letters-Kumon-Workbooks/dp/477430705X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230586068&sr=8-2

 

Here's a really important tip: If she's sounding out the same word over and over again, discourage the sounding out. Cover the word up with your finger and tell her to just say the word. Do this everytime she tries to sound out words that she encountered multiple times in the same text. Some kids use sounding out as a crutch. At some point they just need to REMEMBER the word.

 

HTH, Stacy

[Tiramisu]

Y'know, looking back over my dd's reading progress, I see something similar. She read her first CVC word two weeks before she turned 4. She stayed on CVC words or slightly harder, pretty much all thru 4yo, and 5yo, too, although I added in more words via a sight word box. We kept going in PP, but I felt she made little progress, although I was still satisfied with her reading, because she was still "ahead."

 

I remember going to visit her preschool teachers in September of the year she started 1st grade. She was reading things like, Put Me in The Zoo and A Fly Went By (which was slightly challenging). They asked if she was reading Henry and Mudge, and I said no, it was too challenging. But about 2 months later, something clicked, and she absolutely charged ahead. She picked up Little House in THe Big Woods (which we had read aloud maybe 2ce at that point), and went thru it alone, up in her bedroom. She found out that she could read most of the words, and I think the very act of reading it gave her practice enough that she rose to that level by the middle/end of the book! From then on, there was no stopping her. She read Magic Tree House books, picked up the other Little House books (the first 4 that year), and by early second grade, was reading challenging things like (unabridged) The Secret Garden and Heidi. I was amazed, and still am. She thoroughly loves to read.

 

So, perhaps adding in a few sight words to smooth the way towards more interesting material would help--I went thru some of the very simple books we had (like Pathway Readers) and picked out 3 or 4 words whose phonectic constructs we didn't know yet, and just made them sight words. We wrote them on 4X6 cards (she actually wrote them) and played "flash cards," bingo games, etc with them. I wrote some little commands ala Montessori Command Game and we played that. I got some cool Montessori objects (just little toy-like things with cards that have the name on them--for example, a short O box might have a tiny fox, a little box, a tiny baby sock, etc.) and we played with them--but not for teaching, just review.

 

Anyway, hang in there, and let her absorb what she needs, and I bet she'll take off.

__________________

 

:iagree:

 

A good program could never hurt, but don't suspect a problem yet.

 

My children were all very similar. They all knew their alphabet and sounds very young. One even knew them at two. They proceeded to CVC words quickly. And then, nothing....FOR YEARS. Blending took FOREVER. Then, for two of them, they hit 6 1/2 and flew without me doing anything. It must have just been a developmental thing. My dd now 13 was even later when things really clicked for her and now scores between the 97-99th percentile on the language areas of standardized tests.

 

I'm curious. When is your dd's birthday?

 

BTW, we love ETC. It's fun, can work in little bites, has given the one dd we've used it with great word attack skills.

[Ottakee]

Check out the I See Sam books at http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/3RsPlusRead.html You can print out the first one for free.

 

http://www.piperbooks.co.uk/index.htm is the UK site that has lots of great information about the books on it. These are cute little readers that move slowly but very carefully through phonics.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Beginning-Reading-Instruction/ Is a yahoo group where you can find more samples, get some free downloads, and tons of help from reading specialists.

 

This is an OLD program--from the early 1970s that got pushed out of the way when phonics went out of style. Some reading specialists "rediscovered" it and started using it with great success with struggling readers and younger kids.

 

I taught my 2 girls to read using this program when NOTHING else was working. One has LDs and the other is mentally impaired.

 

These books are FUN for kids as well as they are real BOOKS and not boring worksheets, etc.

[Confuzzled]

I second the "I See Sam" books. They worked for my daughter when the phonics workbooks didn't.

[MerryAtHope]

My son was like this, and Reading Reflex really helped us. It has a few simple tests in the beginning part that help you know where your child is struggling and then they point you to the type of exercises that help with that. My oldest has auditory processing struggles, I learned from that, and it's possible that both of my kids are dyslexic but I've not had them tested. Ironically I just keep bumping into programs that are good for kids with dyslexia, LOL and we keep making progress. All About Spelling has really helped us too, for both reading and spelling.

 

I hope you find what will help your dc. My son stayed at the same place from 5.5-almost 8, then suddenly could read Frog & Toad and within 6 months was trying to tackle chapter books. It was a huge night & day difference around age 8.

 

God bless, Merry :-)