Children get stuck - by a tiny set of lessons - and do not know how to help themselves. And, new lessons never stop coming; the mountain quickly becomes impossible to climb.
Teachers believe and tell parents their child will catch up next year; research says no. And, parents mistakenly allow their child to "work at his own speed," instead of stepping in with the required help. Here is the required help: (I am blunt; I now tutor middle school strugglers. Waiting is not your friend.)
Regardless the age of your child: confusing b /d and p / q / g when trying to read words; and slow with tricky sight words are the problem. 15 minutes a day will make a difference.
1) Quit stopping to sound out. Tell your child the word or tell your child to slide over the unknown word and keep reading onward. Have your child read on through several more sentences (or paragraph). Then stop; ask your child what is happening in the story so far. Using that gathered meaning, now try to sound out the unknown word - or tell your child all unknown words - and move on to the next paragraph. This will reap big rewards over a month's time; your child will see how to gather meaning. (canoe means boat) (boulder means rock) etc. Have faith. The brain drops gathered meaning when you stop to sound out; this is the way everyone's brain works.
Sight words - get a list, all sight word lists are the same and in the same order no matter the name your school uses: Snap, High Frequency, Instant, etc. Put on your frig. the list your child is working on: their, there, they're // these, those, then, etc. (My books provide all 300; or download from online.)
B /d and p / q / g rules below: (Upper grade kids need to be aware of these, also. The problem for upper age comes when add ed, ing and changing y to i - too much to think about to get b /d / p / g correct. Use my blog's search box - top left corner- put in comprehension after reading the rest of this page.
Bb rule: b is the 2nd letter in my ABCs and b's round face looks the way words go in a story >. Draw lots of giant b's with a smile and eyes looking the way words go >. Find and point to b at the start, middle, and end of words in print. Repeat the b rule when printing b. Take turns saying b words: boy, bear, bus, etc. (Ignore all other backward letters your child may print; is rarely dyslexia, will not slow your child's advance, will self-correct by mid-2nd Grade.)
Dd rule: the straight line of d blocks d's round face from seeing the way words go in a story. Draw lots of giant d's with sad eyes and a sad mouth; d is sad. Make a big point of blocking d's round face with d's straight line.Take turns saying d words: dog, dragon, door, etc, Find and point to d words in stories - d at the start, middle, and end of words. Learn the d rule.
Gg rule: the fancy tail of g tries to reach up to tickle the round face of g. Draw lots of giant g's with eyes looking down at g's fancy tail. Take turns saying g words: go, goat, green, etc. Find and point to g in stories, at the start, middle, and end of words. Repeat the g rule.
Pp rule: the round face of p looks the way words go, just like b; b and p can see. Help your child draw lots of p's with a smile and eyes looking the way words go. Take turns saying p words: pie, pigeon, please; find and point to p at the start, middle, and end of words in stories.
Qq rule: the straight line of q blocks the round face of q online and in print. The tail of my handwritten q blocks the round face of q and has a small hook curving up and away from q's round face. Help your child draw lots of giant q's - both with straight tails and hooked tails. Take turns saying q words: quick, quiet, quest, squirrel. Qq says kw. Find and point to q in words. (Handwritten q looks the opposite of g.)
All my books teach the tricky lessons plus a special comprehension method which is the next best thing to a magic spell. Lots of color pictures, stories, and special tools. Tricky lessons are in bold - your child will see them. I use ebay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help. All my books will pop up. All are brand new and include my contact info; email or call for help.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Please free welcome to make a comment or ask a question. Have a great day, Mary Maisner
