English for struggling reader

[anointedhsmom]

My son is not reading well at all. He's still painfully sounding out each and every word. We are working oh phonics but his memory is not good either. We are using BJU English 2nd grade and the curriculum if fine. He's more than ready for this level of English because of his age (9.5) but BJU does assume he can read some of the worksheets which he can't so I have to stay right with him so I can read everything. I don't want to make him read and lose the purpose of teaching him English. If he has to struggle though almost every word he loses the focus of the English lesson KWIM? He can totally tell me every thing I am teaching such a subject, action parts etc. So I know he can handle the knowledge. I also have to write out every sentence on the white board so he can do the worksheets. I just wonder if I should stick with it since it's not overwhelming him in content or should I change gears and do something else.

Not sure what I should do

p.s. I don't know if completely orally will stick with him so that's why I haven't just gone to R&S yet.

[GingerN]

Hi Paige. I have a 9dd who also struggles with reading, but just recently has made some real improvement with Reading Made Easy. For grammar, I use R&S 3 for both that dd and my 10dd (who will be 11 tomorrow!). We do the lessons orally together, and honestly it has been working out great. I use an easy does it approach, and read through the short lesson and explain the concept. Then I go down the exercises and read the sentences to the younger and ask them to answer each question. Sometimes I let her read a few simple sentences if I know she can handle them. Praise, praise, praise the reading success, no matter how small. It will come with time. I think they are both really learning their grammar with this low key approach. Take care~
Ginger

[Rebecca]

Dear Paige,
I am sure that many moms/ladies who have much more educational expertise than I will join in here- but I care about your posts so I wanted to reply to you!
Is your son having trouble with phonics? I know that some might say to really focus on getting him reading- assuring you that he will "catch" up in grammar easily once that task is accomplished. I also understand how "scary" that might feel.

I have always been one to keep my children moving forward- while developing their skills. For example, I would never not read aloud high quality, high level reading material to my children- just because they were not able to read it themselves. I would never deprive them of that joy and knowledge!

However, you seem to be in a tricky situation! My gut would say to keep moving forward with the content- if he can handle it well- while focusing on his learning skills- as long as you have the time available to do that (meaning the time available to do the grammar lesson completely with him while also focusing on reading lessons).

Again, I am sure that Carrie and the other moms will have more insight- but that is my encouragement for you!
In Christ,
Rebecca

[water2wine]

Hey there. I wanted to answer this question here and I will pm you on what you asked me about earlier as well. I agree with Rebecca. I think I would lay off English and really get the reading under way. You can catch up on grammar quickly and having one that is older and struggles with reading it takes full focus on that I know. Have you tried using the emerging readers? What I did that really helped us a whole bunch was to have her read it to herself then read it aloud to me. Then we did the oral questions. Then we did a spelling thing that works really well for us. I used the ABC's and all their tricks so we went by word families and we did dictation with the spelling words. In the beginning you are trying to get an idea where they are then you start more organized from there. I had her write all the words that she missed ten times and then the next day or two I made up sentences that used all the words she missed and dictated those to her. If she missed anything again she had to write the sentence a few times and the individual words. Then I had her make a list of the spelling rule and had her write those. In the end she ended up with index cards that had spelling words and the rules next to them to study. This combined with the emerging readers was huge for her. We also threw in some copy work and that has really helped. But whatever you decide to do and however is best for you I would take the next 6 months a year to get the reading on grade level and worry about grammar later.

Hope I have not totally confused you. Hang int here girlie, teaching reading to struggling kids is very hard but it will pay off I promise!

[anointedhsmom]

Thanks ladies. I appreciate your perspectives on this. I have been wondering if I should just drop the english totally right now and just do phonics until he comes along with reading a bit. My problem is I am wondering where I would start with grammar later if I stop doing it right now (I am considering his age in this - finding age appropriate grammar at that point without making him feel like a baby). I have also been thinking is it necessary to do grammar and writing right now if he can't read well or fluently? My gut says it doesn't matter right now. I have been really trying to sense what's in my gut about this because I've found that if I push out all the chatter around me concerning issues like this that my gut feeling is really the Holy Spirit talking to me quietly telling me he's got it all figured out if I'll just get still and listen.

w2w I did try the emerging readers but he was just struggling so much to read anything. It would take him so long to get through the sentence he had absolutely no comprehension at the end. He really can only quickly read CVC words. Part of it is my fault that I haven't done a ton of phonics with him because he's struggled so much with it all. I should have been plugging along more consistently but I didn't want to push him if he wasn't ready. So without a doubt I know that he needs to have consistent intense phonics right now. Beyond that I don't know. I feel right now that I could cover english with him orally and if he retains it great and if he doesn't that's ok too. When he's reading a bit better then we can tackle where to start him in grammar at that point.

What do you think about that plan ladies? I am still open for more thoughts from anyone that wants to give theirs.

[wisdom4us]

Hey there! I have a struggling reader too - a boy who is 8. Well, actually I have 3 boys but the oldest is struggling w/reading. I am using Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons and it's working great for him! I tried it last year but he just did NOT like it at all. Now he is flying through the lessons and really catching on.

I have been really trying to sense what's in my gut about this because I've found that if I push out all the chatter around me concerning issues like this that my gut feeling is really the Holy Spirit talking to me quietly telling me he's got it all figured out if I'll just get still and listen.

This is what the Lord has been speaking to me about too for the past few days. Instead of getting still and listening to that still small voice, I am trying to find an answer. Crying out to the Lord in prayer but not being still to listen. I have been allowing my research to lead me instead of the Holy Spirit. So I just wanted to encourage you that you are not alone and that the Lord does have a plan.

Isaiah 54:13, "All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children."

As far as grammar is concerned, I do all of my son's orally right now. He is at a point where he can comfortably read some of the sentences so I let him but otherwise I read it aloud to him. It's working just fine and he is retaining it!

We also tried doing the emerging readers and it frustrated him and really knocked his self-esteem way down. So that too has been laid aside until he is more confident in his reading ability. We will probably start those in the spring and finish up at the end of summer.

Follow your heart - it's where the fountain of living water flows!!!

[my3sons]

Paige - I taught 3rd./4th. grade and over the course of 7 years about one-third of my class typically fit the description you're giving of your ds - and of that third, the majority of them were boys. So, it's pretty common actually. I think you have a good plan to stop grammar and focus on getting your ds reading. Have you looked at Reading Made Easy? I think that is a terrific phonics program, and it doesn't come off as babyish at all. Using a white markerboard with a black marker to write out difficult words sound by sound one word at a time really helped my dc when they were struggling with a word. Showing my oldest ds a rubberband, and explaining that first we stretch out a word by sounding it out, and then we say it quickly a second time as it snaps back helped him with sounding out words. Like w2w mentioned, it was a big help for my dc to practice reading whatever they were going to read for me before they read it to me. I had them practice out loud (they can hear when things don't make sense that way). We also kept the reading times short - like 15 minutes at a time. We did one in the morning, and one in the afternoon to break it up and get in 30 minutes, and eventually quite a bit later we added an independent reading time with beginning readers for about 10 minutes. They again practiced first, then read to me, and we went through the books several times. The BOB books were also great first books and funny too. Dick and Jane books were good for repetition as well. You've got a great idea to focus on reading, and I know your ds will begin to make good progress over time!

In Christ,
Julie

[deltagal]

HI Paige,

Simply wanted to jump in and share that I have 3 boys - the oldest 2 have been slow to go with the reading, but when it comes together - WOW! My oldest started to "turn the corner" in January of his 4th grade year. My 9 year old is in his 4th grade year and hasn't "turned the corner" yet, BUT I know he will. With my 9 yo we are currently just doing a quick review of phonics (15 minutes a day). And he has improved so much. Each day we do "2 review and 1 new". This gives me a chance to see where his challenges are specifically and we can focus. He also reads aloud to me a little bit (2 -4 pages) each day from a late 1st grade level reader to try to develop fluency. I did this with my oldest at this age - first grade level book after first grade level book and then when I had him assessed he was reading on a 4th grade level! I think my current 9 yo's BIGGEST issue is he appears to be cross-dominant, so I provide him plenty of opportunities to play and do gross-motor work knowing that God will work this out and have him reading in God's time. We have begun gently working with grammar concepts, but all of the work is oral or using a white board. You can use any material you like for the phonics and the grammar and just adapt it to provide your son with gentle, consistent instruction.

Hope this has provided some reassurance to some great or small degree.

With Joy!
Florence