Need advice for 1st grade reading badly..

[pbandpickles]

6 months ago we moved from the city out into the county. We were all pumped up by many about the school's here. I was extremely happy with the elementary school in town but planned to pull them out once they reached middle school (whole other story). So they started school here at the beginning of the school year and it didn't take long to realize that something had to be done and we pulled them out of school a month ago.

Ok for the problem at hand. My 1st grader hates to read. I know some of it is he wasn't taught phonics properly. I bought 100 easy lesson and opgtr but I hate to start him from the beginning. What should I do? Everything else has been going smoothly, this is the only thing that has me doubting myself at this point. :confused:

[strider]

Stop reading.

Take a break. Enjoy reading TO your child with absolutely NO expectation that your child read. Focus on other subjects right now. Let those negative feelings about reading evaporate as you and your child just enjoy learning.

After the holidays or at whatever stage you deem your child may be ready for another go at it (wait as LONG as necessary), start at the beginning. If your child seems bored or knows the introductory material, then skip to the lesson that seems to challenge. Keep your lessons brief--ten minutes is plenty.

DO NOT WORRY about catching up. Once those unhappy feelings about reading are gone, I think you'll find the process goes much more smoothly. Once you've got things running more smoothly, you will not have to work at "catching up"--it'll work itself out over time. Be patient, and it will be okay.

[3blessingmom]

:iagree:


Maybe start spelling (and thus reading) via SWR instead of traditional (like the public school) methods. The biggest challenge will probably be overcoming the bad taste for reading he found at ps.

[AnnetteB]

Sometimes we take a few steps backward and start down a new path :) Phonics is too important to rush or skip. I tutored a public-schooled neighbor child with his reading when he fell behind in school and said that he hated reading. He was about 10 and I started him with a phonics pre-test and discovered that there were sounds and blends that he just didn't know! He also had a limited vocabulary and only pretended to understand what his teachers were saying. Reading together is a wonderful habit.

[pbandpickles]

:iagree:


Maybe start spelling (and thus reading) via SWR instead of traditional (like the public school) methods. The biggest challenge will probably be overcoming the bad taste for reading he found at ps.

What is SWR?
My first gut feeling was to take it really slow with him. I think I just still worried that he would never learn to read. It's really hard not to doubt ones self when you feel like people are just whatching and waiting for you to fail at something.

[strider]

What is SWR?
My first gut feeling was to take it really slow with him. I think I just still worried that he would never learn to read. It's really hard not to doubt ones self when you feel like people are just whatching and waiting for you to fail at something.

All of us worry about this one time or another. Trust me, he will read eventually. You will get this figured out, and it will be okay.

My daughter hit a wall in her math studies that seemed insurmountable. With fear and trembling, we took a math break on the advice of someone I respect. (It was a break with occasional card games thrown in for fun.) After a four month break, we started a new curriculum, two years below where dd had formerly been.

It was the best decision I have ever made.

Dd's confidence improved greatly, and her ability to understand math improved tremendously as well. She was actually able to speed through parts of the curriculum fairly quickly. I never pushed, but just moved through the curriculum in response to her ability to understand and feel good about the material. Some units were slower than others. I was very pleased to see her test scores this past year on the IOWAS were grade level.

My son struggled with reading the first time I tried with him. We stopped doing OPGTTR totally, and just focused on letter recognition and letter sounds for a while. We made the Biggest Alphabet Book Ever out of poster-sized paper. When I tried again, three months later, ds was ready to learn to read, and we haven't had a problem since.

Unless you think your ds may have a learning disability, I think it likely that a break and a fresh start will smooth the problem over. Taking it slow is the best possible thing to do--good for you. Anytime you feel insecure or doubt, come back here to TWTM and we will reassure you that he's just in first grade--the two of you can and will work this out with patience.

:grouphug:

[RootAnn]

What is SWR?
My first gut feeling was to take it really slow with him. I think I just still worried that he would never learn to read. It's really hard not to doubt ones self when you feel like people are just whatching and waiting for you to fail at something.

SWR = Spell to Write And Read
It is a language arts program that teaches spelling and is very phonics and rules-based. I used 100 Easy Lessons with my first and she was able to struggle through reading when she got done. Her reading took a huge step up after over a semester of SWR. I don't necessarily recommend SWR to everyone as it has a huge learning curve (for the teacher, not for the kid).

As much as you are feeling pressured, I echo others. Read to him and don't pressure him to read himself. I went so far as to read every single written instruction on every single math worksheet and test to my kid until she finally told me she didn't need me to read it unless she specifically asked (which took until just this month!). Be patient. I know I 'hated' to read until I hit a certain age and then there was no stopping me. (Even with the four kids, I can still squeeze in my own reading nowadays. But mostly only in the bathroom!:tongue_smilie:)

Good luck! Chin up!

[pbandpickles]

Thanks for all of the encouragment. I really truly needed it. I know everything will come in its own time, I just need to let it. He's really great at math and interested in all things science. I think some of it has to do with his shy demeanor and being forced to read out loud in front of others in ps. So it does make since to me to take a break, read to him as much as possible and then wait and see. Maybe he will just pick it right up. Thanks again to everyone who commented, I can't tell you how much it helped.

[newlifemom]

May I just add, when dd stalled with 100 EZ(btw 2 others have been fine with it, just diff strokes diff folks KWIM?) anyway, we w/the advice from SWB took a break & then picked up another program. Of course she recommend OPGTTR. When I purchased it I saw that the first 50-60 lessons she had under her belt. So I tweaked it and started where she was. I did periodic rew, esp as it is directed in the lesson. She is doing well now and in the 100s, lesson-wise. So I would agree w/other posters to 1. not worry; 2. take a break; 3. find a new program. I have heard great things from sing spell read and write, I like 100 EZ well enough. OPGTTR is fine( I don't do all the extras) and I use the phonics museum for 1st grade. This, like sing spell and SWR is more lang. arts based, not just reading. HTH

[Amber in AUS]

You could look at Explode the Code too. It gives a good phonics base without being just reading. My DD is loving it.

[Renthead Mommy]

I first looked at 100EZ and couldn't handle the way it was set up. So we started OPGTR. It was a horrible, painful experience! So we dumped that. What I found was www.progressivephonics.com. You can print it out or read it right off the computer. And it's a read together program. So in the beginning, you read most of the sentence, but they read certain words that have to do with the lesson. The number of kid words gradually increases. Truthfully my son didn't realize for a long time we were having 'lessons', he just thought he was picking out words he knew! And because you are reading also, and can read things they couldn't possibly handle yet, it is much more interesting than "the fat cat sat on the mat". It is fun little silly stories that work especially well for '6yo boy humor'. Plus it is only $19.95.

We just started book 11 (of 15) and it is the first book of the advanced section. It has been great for us.

Good luck!

[pbandpickles]

You could look at Explode the Code too. It gives a good phonics base without being just reading. My DD is loving it.

I just purchased the first two explode the codes. I have heard good things about it. I also just got Spelling workout A and it looks like something I wouldn't have to fight him to do.

As far as TOPGTTR, I really liked the look and feel of the lesson's opposed to 100EL. I thought maybe we could just work on remembering all the vowels slowly with the poem and then catch up to the rest. I know this is going to take time and patience from me. A lot of trial and error.

[mchel210]

My 5 yo loves explode the code. She also uses abeka phonics 1, Sonlight LA and readers.
The readers are nice. The first 3 books of I can read are pretty simple...but cover a lot of words. They ask you to read them very slow...like one story a day only...about 1 page....but it really built up my dd confidence. Now she is reading really well. She didnt let me read 100 lessons to her. She wouldnt sit through even one lesson. I have found our best results using ETC. We started with book 2.

Now we play sight word bingo, sight word memory matching...with words and words...and then words and pictures. Either one is fine. She knows all her sight words after a few games. We also have added starfall.com and we love the website.... www.clicknkids.com But we purchased it at homeschool buyers coop for a lot less money...and it never expires. My dd loves that site...it makes reading really fun.

Good luck

[ElizabethB]

All my remedial students, from K to age 99, start at the beginning.

You do need to go back to the beginning, but you don't need to spend a lot of time on things he already knows, just a few words for each sound to make sure he knows that sound. Spend more time on sounds he doesn't know well. Also, I'd do some oral spelling to really ingrain the concepts in his brain.

Blend Phonics is set up very clearly and easily for this type of review, and it's free:

http://donpotter.net/Blend%20Phonics.htm

You could also try my free online remedial lessons, they start at the beginning, but have a few 2 and 3 syllable words at the end of each 20 minute lesson, there are a few 3 syllable words at the end of the very first lesson.

Sight words also might be part of the problem, most of the children I've remediated had a hard time learning phonics because of too many sight words and too much guided reading in their schools. I use a lot of nonsense words to stop the guessing habits, and also don't recommend teaching sight words as wholes, I explain why and show them grouped by phonetic pattern here:

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

You can give the MWIA to find out if sight word teaching has caused a problem, give the MWIA level I for his age and reading ability, if he misses more Phonetic words than Holistic words or reads the Phonetic words more than 15% slower than the Holistic words, sight words have caused a problem, and you'll need to break him out of the guessing habit with reminders to sound out every word from left to right and the use of nonsense words.

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html

Here's a fun game to play to help reinforce the phonics basics, just use sounds that he's already learned when you're playing the game. You'll get a bigger and bigger stack of cards to play with as he improves:

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[Audrey]

Stop reading.

Take a break. Enjoy reading TO your child with absolutely NO expectation that your child read. Focus on other subjects right now. Let those negative feelings about reading evaporate as you and your child just enjoy learning.

After the holidays or at whatever stage you deem your child may be ready for another go at it (wait as LONG as necessary), start at the beginning. If your child seems bored or knows the introductory material, then skip to the lesson that seems to challenge. Keep your lessons brief--ten minutes is plenty.

DO NOT WORRY about catching up. Once those unhappy feelings about reading are gone, I think you'll find the process goes much more smoothly. Once you've got things running more smoothly, you will not have to work at "catching up"--it'll work itself out over time. Be patient, and it will be okay.


:iagree: What she said. Relax, take it easy. Also, you don't necessarily have to start at the beginning. Skim through the early lessons if he knows those concepts. Go at his own pace.

Enjoy. :001_smile:

[islandmama]

Stop reading.

Take a break. Enjoy reading TO your child with absolutely NO expectation that your child read. Focus on other subjects right now. Let those negative feelings about reading evaporate as you and your child just enjoy learning.

After the holidays or at whatever stage you deem your child may be ready for another go at it (wait as LONG as necessary), start at the beginning. If your child seems bored or knows the introductory material, then skip to the lesson that seems to challenge. Keep your lessons brief--ten minutes is plenty.

DO NOT WORRY about catching up. Once those unhappy feelings about reading are gone, I think you'll find the process goes much more smoothly. Once you've got things running more smoothly, you will not have to work at "catching up"--it'll work itself out over time. Be patient, and it will be okay.


:iagree:

In the meantime, have you tried Starfall.com? My dd loved playing on there, and at the same time learned alot without even realizing it. I hope you find something that will work!

[Myrtle]

6 months ago we moved from the city out into the county. We were all pumped up by many about the school's here. I was extremely happy with the elementary school in town but planned to pull them out once they reached middle school (whole other story). So they started school here at the beginning of the school year and it didn't take long to realize that something had to be done and we pulled them out of school a month ago.

Ok for the problem at hand. My 1st grader hates to read. I know some of it is he wasn't taught phonics properly. I bought 100 easy lesson and opgtr but I hate to start him from the beginning. What should I do? Everything else has been going smoothly, this is the only thing that has me doubting myself at this point. :confused:

I did Explode the Code with my kid who hated to read. Requiring him to read outside of school work was more headache than it was worth. I exposed him to quality literature by listening to unabridged books on CD during breakfast and in the sixth grade he discovered fantasy literature written for juveniles.

It took him a couple of months to read the first novel, a couple of weeks to read the next, and about one week for the last. Having run out of literature for juveniles he picked up a copy of Ringworld, adult science fiction, and isn't having any problems with it in the seventh grade.

Once they find something they really like, and there is no competing twaddle entertainment such as video games and tv, they will make astounding progress.

The other problem I see with reading in the first grade is that their choices are limited to relatively bland readers. This improves in the second and third grade when their knowledge of phonics is enough for them to read bits and pieces of other things.

[EKS]

Just a caution--it can be difficult to use 100 Easy Lessons if the child has had some reading instruction already. It says so in the introduction but I decided not to believe it and went ahead anyway. Anyway, it was confusing.

I would just start with the standard phonics book and go from there. If he already knows some of it then you'll speed through those parts.