Claire, About ABCD Level C

[Pensguys]

Claire, we'll be finishing up with ABCD Book B-2 in just a few weeks. I'd like your input on Level C. Did it really help your daughter learn to read harder works? I think (can't remember for sure) that after finishing Level B, my ds should be reading 2-3rd grade level?

I know he has improved SO. MUCH. this year. Did you find that Level C was as beneficial as the other lower levels?

He read this yesterday with ease: "Firefighters are always busy, even when there are no fires to put out. After each fire, the firefighters have to dry their fire hoses. They also clean their trucks and inspect their tools. The air tanks and the water tanks must be refilled. Even the boots (he read as boats),hats and coats must be cleaned and checked. Everything must be ready for the next call."

I believe this is only on a 2nd grade level though but that is a big increase from what he was doing at the beginning of the year.

ABCD Level 2 has him reading some really big words (remember, Germany, suddenly, principal)...you know, you did this.

Oh, the neuropsych finally got us her final report...dyslexia with dysgraphia and ADHD.

[Claire]

You should probably ask Janis on the ABCeDarian support list (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/abecedarian/). (You can email her directly from the list if you don't want to post the question to the entire list.) We didn't use ABCD as it wasn't out yet when my dd needed reading remediation. However, I was trained in Phono-Graphix and have kept up with developments in that approach, so I have some of the ABCD materials. That, along with the support group help, has encouraged me to recommend ABCD over PG for parents.

Janis uses Level C following A and B and has had great results with it. She typically follows Level C with either Phonics for Reading (if the student needs more work with fluency) or Rewards Intermediate (for students who are reading sufficiently well after ABCD Level C).

Honestly, I wouldn't change something that obviously has been working for your son. I'd go ahead and do Level C. (Not an expert, but that reading text looks like at least beginning 3rd grade text rather than 2nd grade.)

[Pensguys]

Thanks, I'll do that.

I got the text from this website http://dibels.uoregon.edu/index.php. It said 3rd grade, but a friend of mine who tutors dyslexic children said she thought it was 2nd, but she would have to check somewhere. MSWord said it was 3.9 (per the Flech-Kincaid scale).

[Perry]

We're about halfway through Level C and I am really happy with it. It does seem quite a bit more difficult than B-2, but ds is making pretty good progress. The "looping" technique has really helped my son figure out how to attack bigger words. My only complaint is that there isn't any fluency practice, and my son needs LOTS of practice in that area, so we are still using some of the sentences and passages in Level B.

[Pensguys]

THANK you, Perry! When I talked to my friend about continuing or not, she said that if it is working that she would continue. I decided then to go ahead with it so that he would get practice attacking those longer words. I think Michael has put some fluency practice sheets on the yahoo group but I'm not sure. Or maybe if we ask, he will.