How fast a child reads-is it important?

[LynnH]

My DS is in public school right now. One thing they have always been concerned about is his "reading rate". He reads slower than most kids his age. Now to be fair to him they test this by having him read out loud and he has some speech issues due to his mild Cerebral Palsy, so I am not sure that the assessment is completely fair. When he reads silently he reads a little faster, but his comprehension isn't as good. My question for those more experienced with homeschooling is, do I need to be concerned about how fast he reads? Is this something I should work on next year when he is homeschooled? Is it really important how fast he can read? I am one of the fastest readers I know, but I am not very good at then retelling you the details of a book. My husband reads very slow and yet he can tell you every single detail so I guess I don't see that reading slow is a bad thing.

[eazbnsmom]

Hi Lynn,

I have never really thought about how fast my children read. The fact that they were reading was what is important to me, especially having a delayed/reluctant reader last year. I figure speed would come along eventually the more they read. I am surprised that the ps is not taking into account his cp. Personally I would work more on his reading comprehension than his speed. The only time I could see the speed of reading being a problem is perhaps on standarized tests that are timed if they are required by the state and even then, he would have to be a really slow reader. I am sure more experience mothers and teachers will chime in also, I could be wrong.

[Mumkins]

One thing that stuck out to me in your post was that he reads slower out loud and retains more. I think retension is key. I can read probably 50% faster than DH. But I struggle to remeber what I just read, nevermind later on. Whereas DH remebers extremly well and long term and got honours in college. If he's remebering well, I'd say never mind the pace. It'll will probably keep improving as he gets older and gets more practice. I'd rather read slower and remeber more, but I can't seem to change it now

[spidermansmum]

I think comprehension is an issue-speed is not.I know in schools here in the UK allow a 'reader' to be present in examinations -someone that will read the text in certain circumstances.

[LynnH]

Thanks for the replies. It is good to hear that I am not the only one who thinks comprehension is more important than speed. He has struggled some in the past with comprehension, but has improved quite a bit with that this year. One of the reasons I was drawn to HOD and DITHOR is the emphasis on oral narration and also the analyzing that DITHOR has the child do. That to me is what is most important.

[Carrie]

LynnH,

I am late to this thread, but I agree wholeheartedly with the ladies on the thread that comprehension far outweighs rate in reading. Often in the public schools, teachers are forced to measure success in reading through areas that can be tested and quantified (namely comprehesion questions, reading rate, accuracy, and fluency).

I'm wondering if the focus on increasing his reading rate/speed was more of a goal for improving his speech than his reading? That would make more sense, as your son's reading rate would most certainly be affected by his CP and would result in an inaccurate score in the reading area. Don't worry about the rate, just worry about the quality of the reading and enjoy your reading journey!

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

I agree, if a person can read very quickly but retains very little, what is gained from reading? To me, reading rate would be more connected with reading in front of an audience - thankfully NOT something we do on a daily basis, and often something we have to AGREE to do beforehand. My ds was 2 mos. premature and still struggles (he's 9 yo now) with pronouncing words correctly at times, so I really get into reading the poems in HOD several times over with him. They're short, daily, and have really helped increase his rhythm in reading, plus he has learned to love poetry. We stand in our living room near our fireplace and pretend we are reading Robert Louis Stevenson's poems as if he were listening himself. This is fun, however, I would not worry about reading rate overall - it pales as a learning objective when compared to reading comprehension. Sounds like he's doing just great in that department - so keep up the good work!

In Christ,
Julie