Determining reading difficulties

[kimsclan]

Hi everyone. I just received Preparing for my dd10 and LHFHG for my ds7 a couple of days ago and I have been intensly studying and preparing for the great year ahead.

My question is how do you determine if a child is at grade level for reading and how do we assess if there are reading issues? What is "normal" for a 10 yr. old (skipping words, substituting similar words in place of correct word, etc.) I have a fairly reluctant reader who seems to read satisfactorily, however, not well. She has read the whole Felicity series (American Girl) however has taken no interest in anything since or any other American Girl series. Getting her to read for pleasure is a difficult task, and she will often pick a picture book far below her level if forced to read. Incidentally, I have dozens of books to choose from in my home of interest to young girls -and- we go to the library to pick a book and not much interest there either. Do we NEED to determine reading level or do we just meet them at their level and work from there? I suspect dd10 is a little behind (or alot) and I feel I should address it before we are falling behind in middle school because of weak reading skills. Then the next obvious question is if there are issues, how do homeschooling families fix them? Last school year my solution was read, read, read and reading comprehension workbooks, without very much improvement in accuracy or fluency reading aloud. Reading is so important that I feel I need to deal with this potential challenge this coming year. How do all of you ladies determine if your child is a weak reader?

[lmercon]

My ds is younger than your child, but I'll share with you what I have set up to do with him. He is an emergent reader who is picking up sight words slowly. He still has to decode quite a bit. For him, reading is still hard work, so it's not something he does for pleasure - yet. There are three levels of reading. The independent level, instructional level, and frustration level. Your child should only be reading books that fall within the independent level. You can easily determine if a book is on her instructional level by having her read just the first paragraph or page in the book. If there are more than a few (3-4) mistakes, it is not an independent-level book. Books that she can read but needs help from you are at her instructional level. Those should only be read with your assistance. Frustration-level books are ones that are too hard for her, even with occasional help from you.

Just yesterday, my ds and I sat down with a huge stack of books that vary from very easy for him to challenging. We sorted them into 4 piles. I made a checklist with blanks and boxes next to each blank. For the easiest books, I have 4 boxes beside each blank. For the most challenging, I have only 1 box beside the blank. I placed 2 and 3 boxes beside the blanks for the mid-level books. I then wrote the titles of all the books on the blanks. I put the easy book lists on the pile first and worked down to the most challenging. I stapled the whole thing together. Now, in his room, he has a basket of the easy books and his checklist. He must read each easy book 4 times and check the box each time. I want him to read books over again to increase his fluency and sight word knowledge. As he completes each checklist, he will move up to the next "level" of books. This will be an assignment for him, although he has started on his own because he is eager to work through the list. He deep down wants to be a good reader. It's just such hard work right now!

The key is reading lots of easy books and being read to using more advanced reading material so as to be exposed to more complicated plots and higher-level vocab. I think it is unreasonable to think that struggling readers are just going to pick up a book and read on their own. They need lots of variety of books that are easy and comfortable to them. This builds up confidence and fluency and gives them the desire to read more. I would select books for her to read and require a certain amount of reading every day. We give our ds a small reward after completion of a certain amount of reading.

Geesh...that was long-winded, but I hope somewhat helpful.
Laura

[gotpeace91]

kimsclan- Thank you for asking this question. What you have described exactly matches my dd as well. She has been reading the Amelia Earhart biography aloud for DITHOR and it is definitely at the frustrating level I would say but I haven't had her quit it because she is interested in it and laughs at all the scrapes Amelia is getting into. (she has an adventurous spirit like Amelia did) But it takes a long time to get through the set 7 pages. Hang in there we'll figure this out and I'm going to be gleaning information from those who reply as well.

Laura- Yes, that was very helpful. I'm trying to decide if we should go back to the emerging readers for DITHOR or keeping plowing ahead. I don't know it feels like I keep letting her read easier books to no avail. But I like your checklist idea where they read the easier books several times to become more fluent. I have some A Beka books from 1st-3rd grade and I think I'll have her read those again at bedtime.

Leah

[kimsclan]

Thanks Laura for your excellent idea on how to build fluency with an uninterested reader. I have so many books to start with (been collecting books since before they were born!).

Kim

[my3sons]

Hi everyone. I just received Preparing for my dd10 and LHFHG for my ds7 a couple of days ago and I have been intensly studying and preparing for the great year ahead.

Have fun going through your PHFHG things - I bet you'll love it as much as we did!

My question is how do you determine if a child is at grade level for reading and how do we assess if there are reading issues? What is "normal" for a 10 yr. old (skipping words, substituting similar words in place of correct word, etc.) I have a fairly reluctant reader who seems to read satisfactorily, however, not well.

Skipping words, omissions, and substitutions are fairly normal - as adults we do it when we are reading quickly, and it actually can be a sign of a mature reader skimming, believe it or not. However, with dc learning to improve their reading skills yet, the answer is to have them read less more carefully. This fits well with DITHOR's plans, as bite-sized readings are encouraged so dc can really savor books and enjoy them to their fullest.

She has read the whole Felicity series (American Girl) however has taken no interest in anything since or any other American Girl series. Getting her to read for pleasure is a difficult task, and she will often pick a picture book far below her level if forced to read. Incidentally, I have dozens of books to choose from in my home of interest to young girls -and- we go to the library to pick a book and not much interest there either. Do we NEED to determine reading level or do we just meet them at their level and work from there?

My ds would only read Little House on the Prairie books for the longest time. Then, he branched out and wanted the Little House books on audio. What you are describing is pretty common, and DITHOR addresses this need to branch out superbly by having dc experience reading different genres. After 1 year of DITHOR, my ds still loved his Little House books (the nonfiction genre), but he also loved the genres of Mystery, Adventure, and Historical Fiction. He's now starting his fourth year with DITHOR, and he honestly enjoys all of the genres (thanks to HOD's great book packs, I'm sure ). Your dd is going to have fun exploring new genres and finding new favorites. There really is no need to determine her reading level - the idea is to meet them at their level and work from there.

I suspect dd10 is a little behind (or alot) and I feel I should address it before we are falling behind in middle school because of weak reading skills. Then the next obvious question is if there are issues, how do homeschooling families fix them? Last school year my solution was read, read, read and reading comprehension workbooks, without very much improvement in accuracy or fluency reading aloud. Reading is so important that I feel I need to deal with this potential challenge this coming year. How do all of you ladies determine if your child is a weak reader?

I think using DITHOR will adequately fill in any gaps dd may have. I would be sure to choose a book pack (or books of your own choosing) that are at or below her reading level to build her confidence and reading fluency. I'd look at Book Pack 2 or 3 to start with, and see what you think about those books. I'd also do DITHOR 5 days a week for a year, to get her doing reading daily and keep her improving those skills more and more. You can still do Student Book 4/5 if she is a good writer, or because she is new to DITHOR, you could spend the first year in Student Book 2/3 and then next year do Student Book 4/5. Finally, I'd have her listen to an audio book each day, following along (but not reading out loud) in the book as she listens, probably for around 20 minutes or so. The audio books she listens to should be several levels above the level she is reading well independently. This has been proven to do more to improve dc's reading fluency than just about anything else out there, and it's easy and enjoyable. It is very important the audio is unabridged so the words of the book are read exactly, and it is also very important she follows along in a book as she listens. Blackstone audio and Amazon have quite a selection of audio books, and your local library may as well. Also, my ds enjoys using headphones as he listens, so you may want to consider having a those on hand.

I think your dd will bloom with doing DITHOR - my ds sure did! Just be sure to pick books she can read quite well, schedule them in small segments of reading, and try to do it daily. Be sure to have her read out loud to you, at least a portion of it - you can alter reading it with her by page or by paragraph otherwise too. Adding audios will also be a simple thing to do that will give big dividends. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[kimsclan]

Wow ! Thanks so much to everyone for a wealth of information and experience. Last year was my first year homeschooling and this is a question I have had for a long time. I love the audio book idea and I already received DITHOR for her so we are all on the same page. She is a very creative writer and loves stories so I think implementing all these suggestions will really do the trick! I also think having her read the easier books repeatedly will really help to build her fluency also. I printed this whole thread. Great information!!!!

Kim

[1shortmomof4]

I'm so glad that Julie mentioned and encouraged the use of the audio book - this is what really helped my dd pick up speed and interest in her reading and I'm slowly seeing results in her younger brother who is almost 10. He has been a very challenging child when it comes to reading but we are making progress steadily - reminds me of the Little Blue Engine "I think I can, I think I can." I've found that even here in the summer, he has to read each day or the gains he made are almost gone and if we don't make the effort to read (how much can you do out in the heat anyways?) then he struggles when we pick it back up again. My son doesn't like to read either if he knows it will be a major chore on his part to get through the pages. I have him read stuff (and listen on tape/CD) below his level and we read together on his level. We're still working through the emerging readers - you'd be surprised how difficult they become towards the end of the list - so be sure to take the time needed to get to that level. I've found for my son that not only using the emerging readers but also the readers on the Sonlight in the Level 2 and Intermediate are great without a big jump in skills between books. Just more practice and so much more fun than reading snippets from a basal-type reader. I think kids who struggle to read run a fine line in easily getting discouraged and never wanting to read again if they had the choice. I'm still taking things a day at a time here with him but eventually, I know he'll get there.

Heidi

[playschool]

Thank you Laura and Julie for posting those great tips. My ds (9) still struggles with reading smoothness and substitutions although he does enjoy reading. I will have to try some of those wonderful tips to help him in his reading. On the other hand, my older dd can read beautifully BUT does not enjoy reading like her brother (9) does. Go figure??