Teachers??

The school where I teach is not a Title I school but I used to teach at a Title I school. Title I schools have to jump through some hoops to get that Title I funding. They have to cover their a$$e$ more than schools that do not receive Title I funds. That might explain why they're quick to put students in spec. ed. services.

Kris, it sounds like in your son's case, it was a lack of exposure not a learning problem. I hope he has recovered from his low reading self-esteem. It breaks my heart when a kid thinks he's a bad reader.

[PrincessFiona]

This is where you could give me some much needed advice.

He never really did recover. He is a completely normal reader for his age...he's not above the curve nor is he below it. All of his STAR reading tests last year (second grade) showed that he was progressing nicely just in the middle of the pack.

But he never got past feeling like he was bad at it...Part of the reading program that they had here to help the kids involved having them read the same stories 3 times a day every day until they were fluent in that story. Then they had to move on.

We had some health issues going on in our home and it was a tough year in general, but and as a result, we weren't on task with the reading program. Our teacher was wonderful in that she had some parent volunteers help with the reading. But he hated it. He didn't like a lot of the reading material and I have to confess that listening to the stories three times was sometimes pretty painful too.

He just...doesn't enjoy reading at all. It really worries me because I have to force the issue with him. My other 2 read quite a bit, but he won't unless I physically sit with him and make him read out loud. He read fine when he does read, but...he just won't do it on his own.

Can you give me any suggestions at all?

Kris

[Momo]

I have allowed the kids to use http://www.starfall.com in preparation for Montessori.


http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/methodology.htm?n

Kris,
Alex is your 3rd child right? Can you have him read to the younger children to increase his confidence? What about having him read into a tape recorder so that he can listen to see how fluent he sounds? He might be surprised to hear how well he's reading. To get him more interested in reading, what about getting him to read things that interest him. A kids' magazine subscription, books at the library, books from the Scholastic Book Club order forms (lots of teachers send these home), books from a bookstore are all good places to find stuff that Alex would want to read. When he picks up a book, have him read the first page. Each time he gets to a word he doesn't know, he should put up a finger. If he gets five fingers up before he finishes the page, the book is too hard. It's the five finger rule. Maybe a reading incentive plan at home would help. Something like a sticker chart and each time he reads a book (you can decide if it's a book he's assigned to read or one that he chooses), he gets to add a sticker. Once he's gotten to a certain number, he can buy something new (maybe even a new book). The more you can get Alex reading, the better he'll get at it and the more he'll enjoy it.
Hope that helps a little.

[PrincessFiona]

Thanks Jules....I'm printing your post out!

Kris

[planet]

Those are great ideas!

[madeintaiwan]

Kris,
If he is into nature, we get the Ranger Rick Magazine (ages 7 and up) and Jase loves it. We used to get Your Big Back Yard (ages 3-7). Ai-Lan gets Animal Baby(0-4) which Jase reads to her without any problems. They are all made by the World Wildlife Foundation. We really enjoy them and the kids really look forward to getting their magazines in the mail. I read a lot as a kid. My mom used to have me read out loud to a recorder 2 hours a nite and I still have the books I learned to read on that have all the words that I missed pronounced listed on the last page. I started out as a shakey reader but ended giong on to winning reading contests. Yes, total nerd. Hijack over.. we've been really pleased with the magazine series and wanted to recommend it.

I was still thinking about this as I was running errands tonight. Another thought, I had several students who used those timer bookmarks. They could just hit start when they started to read and stop when they had finished reading and it would just keep a running a total of their minutes read in a week. The kids loved seeing how many minutes they had read. I just saw the timer bookmarks the other day in Borders around their gift/stationary/journal area. That might be a motivator for Alex.

Another thought, after Alex reads something, ask him some questions about what he read. You might learn some new things yourself! Plus that would not only motivate his learning and reading but it will also greatly improve his reading comprehension.

Good luck, Kris!

[DCJenn]

and this is yet another example of why Teaching is as much of a "Calling" as medicine or religion.

Hats off to our current and former teachers.

Jenn

[PrincessFiona]

Timer bookmarks?

I'm off to search amazon for those. He would really respond to that! He's my gadget kid.

Actually, I might even like one for me

Those are great ideas Jules -- thanks!

Jacob can read - but chooses not to. He also seems to continue to rely on phonics for words that he's sounded out time and time again. He was able to master the sight word list for kindergarten (not sure if your school uses the same list - but similar, I'm sure). He was able to do it w/in 2 days after I bribed him with $5. This after dragging his feet for the first 1/2 of the school year.

I think he would really dig the timer idea.

Any other thoughts you might have are much appreciated.

[Vanquisher]

I got a two pack of the bookmark timers at Sams Club or Costco last year for DS's stocking. He loves them, and I do too, because now I don't have to answer, "Has it been twenty minutes, Mom?"

[madeintaiwan]

My brothers have the timer thing too. Part of their homework every nite (beginning in 1st grade, they are in 3rd and 5th grade now) is to read for atleast 15 minutes (increases with grade) and they also read for a set time period and count the number of words read in that time.