The ongoing saga with ds's reading

LisaTX · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:02 pm

We have about 5 more weeks till we officially start school again. Dd is reading pretty well, but still has some phonics issues, so I'm going through those again with her to make sure they are solid. Then I thought that maybe I should do the same thing with ds.

This is kind of embarrassing. :oops:

He is going into 4th grade, but still hates reading and makes more mistakes than he should be making and doesn't read fluently. I kept hearing that you should start at the beginning with a struggling reader and go through phonics, but I kept thinking, "He already knows his phonics. He learned those in Kindergarten and first grade! He's not getting the word wrong because he doesn't know what sound an "i" makes or an "e" makes. He's getting it wrong because he's not concentrating enough or something." So even though he thought it was dumb, I went over a few phonics pages with him and was surprised how many times he messed up. So is it possible for a kid to learn their phonics and start out reading well, but then forget their phonics? Well, I'm going back over them with him.

I am also doing eye exercises with him to develop his eye strength and see if it helps, which I should have done before, but didn't. I also did a free online dyslexia test and am waiting for them to get back to me with the results. It's hard to tell if he's having a hard time because he hates reading or if he hates reading because he's having a hard time. I figure with all of these things we're doing, something has to work to improve his reading. I want to see him read well with confidence and not struggle.

Anna1111 · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:14 pm **Posts:** 8115

Don't feel bad if he's having trouble! (((Lisa)))

Yes - it is possible to forget ANYTHING that is not reinforced.

I'm also thinking that *you* didn't teach ds his phonics - wasn't he in public school then? Most (if not all) public schools use what they call a "combination" of phonics & sight reading. (I know someone who teaches remedial reading in public schools- and she says federal laws - and federal funding - MANDATE the teaching of sight reading methods) This can lead everyone (kid, parents, teachers) to think the kid knows phonics, when in reality they're relying on words they've memorized the picture of. SOOO, when more complicated words get thrown in the mix, they get confused because they don't truly understand why that word is "subway" and not "submarine" (for example).

What I do with dd is that if she makes a mistake in a word or two while reading - I determine what the phonics unit was that she made a mistake on. (for instance, if she reads boat as "bat" perhaps she is having trouble with the "oa" sound) Then, I get a list of words with that sound (I think them up if they're easy, if I have trouble with that, I might google "phonics, OA words" or get out a phonics text and turn to that page and do a lesson on that phonics principle. That way we get a review in of anything we're getting rusty on. Maybe that will work for you, too.

(PS - I'd put money that he hates reading because he's having trouble with it, not the other way around. If he enjoys having a story read to him, he has the ability to enjoy reading - it's just the mechanics that are giving him trouble. Last year, dd didn't like reading at all, but this year she's better at it & doing it for fun. I'm trying to convince her that one day the same thing will happen with Greek ; )

LisaTX · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:32 pm

Thank you for sharing what you do. That is a great idea and I will start doing that. A couple things he does, that aren't phonics related are, he will say "he" instead of "the", like he doesn't see the t. I don't know how to fix that. He just had a vision exam and doesn't need glasses yet, although he probably will next year. If it says, "I saw a little mouse", he will say "I saw the little mouse". Senseless mistakes like that don't make any sense to me, when he says a word that doesn't even look like the word that is written. Dd does that sometimes, too. If it says "little", sometimes she will say "small". It may mean the same thing, but the words don't look remotely alike. Are these mistakes normal?

Anna1111 · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:14 pm **Posts:** 8115

These mistakes are classic sight reading problems. It is VERY hard to memorize "the" in sight reading, because you try to memorize a picture for each word - and how do you think up a picture of "the"? Likewise, small & little are the same picture in your mind, usually. As for the reading "a" as "the" that's inattention to detail - we have that problem, too! What I do for that one is this: as dd reads, *I* point to the words. If she misreads one, I stop - and point to it again - and again - and again if necessary - till the right word comes out - then we keep going. This problem has cut by 80% for us using this method.

Briva · **Posted:** Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:20 pm

I hope this site has some useful info for you, What You Should Do Before Your Child is Ten http://www.triviumpursuit.com/articles/ ... re_ten.php

I believe it also mentions some of what Anna says about sight words. Maybe getting him excited about picking his own library books, topics boys are interested in...my oldest is a boy and it was always a challenge to find him something to read that he enjoyed. When he was older HE LOVED TOLKIEN and proceeded to read everything that author had written. My dad is the same way, he is an expert on Louis L'amour.

Anna1111 · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:14 pm **Posts:** 8115

Another thing that helps get past the sight -reading habit is to make up nonsense words that follow a phonics rule to have the reader practice sounding out. Words like "Fap" (to practice CVC's or "Boad" (to practice OA words). This way there word can ONLY be sounded out - not guessed at. Lists of words like these can really build up reading muscle : )

LisaTX · **Posted:** Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:19 pm

Thank you guys! I think I was starting to unconsciously give up hope, but now I have hope again!

Tory · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 6:58 pm **Posts:** 5828

He's still young and will get it in time.
Remember, my dd taught her self to read at 4. My ds didn't read his first book by himself until he was 10! I was SOO worried about him.
Once he discovered dinosaur books... welll.. that was it. He would check out every single book our library had on them.
Then his siblings began reading "The Magic Treehouse" books and he got interested.
I would find him reading late at night after bedtime!! It was SUCH a relief!

Anna1111 · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:14 pm **Posts:** 8115

I had a professor years ago who had TWO Doctorates, yet hadn't learned to read till he was 17! It's never too late : )

Pam in Colorado · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:58 pm **Posts:** 1095

Everyone does things on a different time line. I'd step back and let him read when he wants, as long as he wants and make it a non issue. The more pressure (and it may not seem like pressure to you but may be interpreted that way to him) put on anyone can cause struggling, faltering, take away the natural love of learning. He is still very young. He can read. He will get better, more fluent with practice all throughout his life. It is not a do or die, good or bad, success or failure thing if he is not where the scope and sequence that is commonly accepted states he should be. If you relax, if you give him the time HE needs (which could be days/weeks/years) you will see growth and fluency.

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