heartofdakota.com

My 6th grader enjoys reading but has the hardest time deciphering how to pronounce words. I've been homeschooling him for 3 years with HOD, and he hasn't gotten any better at it. He is a good speller and I correct him when he mispronounces a word. What else can I do to help him figure out the correct pronunciation himself?

Can you provide some more info? Like what level is he reading on? Is he mispronouncing just difficult words or simple words as well?

His problem is in decoding. After some more info, I might actually recommend some neuro-psych testing for him. It is not as scary as it sounds. But the battery of testing they do can pull out the specific areas of reading weakness and give you ways of addressing the problem.

How is he with grammar/spelling rules? Perhaps helping him memorize the rules and exceptions would help him know what sounds to make.

Perhaps Google for sites with rules lists.

It's mostly more difficult words. But, he will say geo-graphy instead of ge-og-raphy or ad-ject-tive instead of adjective. He reads on a 6th to 7th grade level. He seems to understand what he is reading. He just pronounces some words oddly. He has some difficulty with grammar rules. He doesn't have a problem with spelling. I hope this makes sense!

Ann,

I know some folks out there will think I am a nut, but if you have insurance, I would look into some neuro-psych/language testing. This is a complicated process, especially for a child of his age who is reading on grade level.

These neuro psychologists are unbelievable at what they do. The language tests they do are so very specific, they can pinpoint the most minute (sp) issues with reading/visual processing/language.

I highly recommend it. Hopefully you live within driving distance of a good children's hospital that provides this sort of testing.

Our son had some idiosyncratic issues with reading as well, and the neuro psych testing was able to tell us exactly what the problem was, and we were able to help him work on that specific issue. : )

billswife wrote:It's mostly more difficult words. But, he will say geo-graphy instead of ge-og-raphy or ad-ject-tive instead of adjective. He reads on a 6th to 7th grade level. He seems to understand what he is reading. He just pronounces some words oddly. He has some difficulty with grammar rules. He doesn't have a problem with spelling. I hope this makes sense!

Hi Ann! My oldest ds does this off and on. He had several years of speech therapy as a young boy, and longer words can still be difficult to pronounce. He scored extremely high on his reading comprehension on his last Iowa Basics standardized test though, so it is not hurting his comprehension. Because your ds understands what he is reading, does well with spelling, and only makes errors with difficult words and those areas are just off a tad in pronunciation, I think he's doing fine but probably is just weaker in this area. The number one thing that has helped my ds is to have him listen to audio books and follow along in the book. This is an easy way to help dc build their vocabulary, while letting them hear how to correctly pronounce the new words as well. I would have him listen to at least 15 minutes of an audio book each day with headphones, and with following along in the book as he listens. Here is a past thread that may help with good book selections:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5249&p=38480

Also, correcting my ds right away when he has mispronounces a word, and saying it clearly right within his ear, and then having him repeat it to me before reading/speaking on, seems to help too. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

My son does this sometime. And sometimes, as he is reading aloud to me, he just makes up another word that he thinks that word could be and says it instead! Hoping I won't correct him, of course, which I always do! Creative guy!

Ann,

I completely agree with using audiobooks to help with this! Truly, if your son reads well and decodes well it can simply be a pronunciation thing. Many kiddos who are homeschooled aren't around others speaking as much as kiddos in school, so they don't hear as many words pronounced in the day-to-day. This can lead to some confusion as to which syllable to stress when pronouncing certain words, even though the decoding is right! I had to smile with the example of geo-graphy, as my own 6th grade son did the same thing this year with that same word.

Having your child listen to higher level books on tape/CD while following along with the words in the book helps kiddos learn to correctly pronounce words. It is an easy painless way to work on this area that truly works wonders if done consistently!

Blessings,
Carrie

I never thought to have him listen to audio books and have him read along. That's a great idea! I think he would enjoy it also. Thanks!