poor reading fluency

 

This means the child is reading too slowly, or is  reading words incorrectly, or losing his place, or not getting much meaning. 

Many children have these problems. It is rarely dyslexia, nor lack of ability, nor immaturity - it is usually weak skills.

Tip: quit stopping to sound out when your child is reading to you. Tell your child any unknown words - and ask your child to keep reading onward. 

This method will build a better connection to good comprehension. ("Stopping" breaks the Working Memory. Use the search box at the top of this blog to find my Working Memory lesson.)

1)  Sit down with your child and any storybook. Ask your child to find any word, point to it, and tell you what it is. Try this with several words. (You are checking on if your child has trouble seeing. Is your child squinting? Does he need a good eye exam?)

2) Give your child pencil and paper. Say: I want you to write down as many of the letters in each word as you can. (You are only concerned with letters b /d and g / p / q.) Say: 

1) rainbow, 2) stable, 3) handle, 4) bike, 5) saddle, 6) sample, 7) riddle, 8) apron, 9) alligator,

10) label, 11) regrow, 12) window, 13) pedal, 14) dragnet, 15) maple.

You are checking to see if your child correctly prints b / d and g, p. (Letter q sounds like k, so we are skipping letter q.)  A child must correctly identify every letter in the words he is trying to read. Confusing b /d and g / p / q is the reason many children start falling behind in 1st Grade. 

And, these children do not catch up even though they are smart kids. This is tragic and easily avoided. If your child is behind, teach your child the steps in the next paragraph.

Tell your child - no more stopping to sound out. We are going to read one paragraph at a time (or the whole page when there are not very many words.) 

1) Tell the child to read the words he knows, slide over unrecognized words, and continue reading onward. 2) Now, talk about what is happening in the paragraph - and story - then use the gathered meaning of the paragraph and story to go back and decode the unrecognised words using the letters in the words. (Many words are alreading known to the child and in his mental "word bank" he just does not yet recognize the words in print. This process will be slow at first, but it will work!!!)

Then, practice the child's weak reading components. Those components will be: 1) confusion with b, d, g, p, q; 2)  ce, ci, cy that say s; and 3) ge, gi, gy that frequently say j - as in giant - and so on.  (Find them on this blog.)

3) Also, get a list of the 1st 300 sight words.(All my books include it; all sight word lists are the same.) Start with the 1st word, learn 3 at a time. Ask your child to search for each sight word and circle the word 20 times in used books that he can write it. Being slow with sight words will cause poor fluency.

4) This blog has other supporting skills lessons to search: ce, ci, cy and ge, gi, gy, and gh and compound words, etc. When a child has poor fluency, things can quickly get worse. Think about getting my book for your child's grade level. If your child will not work with you, ask Grandma to help or hire a personal tutor to teach my book because my books provide the lessons every reader needs. Contact me through this blog. I will help you. 

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, Mary Maisner

teach child letter b

Let's teach b (and later d) by helping your child pretend the round circle of b is the face of b. 

The face of b likes to look the way words go in the stories we reading together. (Take a minute right now to get a storybook and ask your child to show you - by running his finger under a few sentences - the direction words go in the storybook >>.)  

Next, on a sheet of paper, help your child draw the line of letter b for a giant b (wobbly is perfect) then draw a giant circle-face. Say: let's make b's eyes looking the way words go >>. Let's make a smile for b. (Let this be your child's b; his fingers will be uncontrolled with a pencil or fat crayon. 

Your goal is securing the idea that b's face looks the way words go, wobbly b's are perfect. Let your child make tons of giant b's - line 1st, then the circle face with eyes and a smiling mouth.  Take turns saying b words: bee, bumble bee, buzz, busy, bear, bird, baboon, boy, beetle, book, etc. Draw pictures of b items. ) Later, help your child point to letter b in the words of the stories you read together. Explain that books do not make eyes for letter b, but we are going to pretend b has eyes looking the way words go and a smile.

Later, after b is solid for your child, you will be teaching that d's face cannot see the

way words go because d's line is blocking d's face. Letter d is sad that d cannot see the way words go; d has sad eyes and a sad mouth. Help your child start with d's circle, then make a big point of blocking d's face with d's line. Ask your child to make tons of giant d's. Ask him to tell you over and over what he is doing - drawing d's round face, then blocking d's face with d's straight line. Let your child draw sad eyes and a sad mouth. Say: even though d is sad, d has special words: dragon, dinosaur, dog, diamond, dragon fly, etc.

Most children print their ABCs backward; this is rarely dyslexia, will not slow your child's reading progress, will self-correct by mid 2nd Grade. Spend your limited time mastering tricky, easy to confuse b / d and g / p / q. Help your child start 1st Grade able to correctly identify every ABC letter within words. Being slow to recognize letters within words will cause a child to fall behind. (Smart to start 1st Grade in control of the 1st ten sight words, too.)

If you would like a book, 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, Mary Maisner

confuse p and q, mix up p and q

                                            commercially printed q            handwritten q

Children learn through stories so we are going to create a tiny story (called a rule) for the letters g, p, q. Repetition is the key to learning.

Gg rule: g loves to look down at g's fancy tail.  Ask your child to draw a giant letter g. Tell your child that g's circle is a face. Letter g loves to look down at g's fancy tail. Ask your child to draw many giant letter g's with eyes looking down at g's fancy tail. Repeat the Gg rule together over and over so that your child can remind himself of the g rule when he is reading and you are not nearby to help.  Also take turns saying g words: gorilla, goat, girl, green.

Be aware: lowercase q as written at school has a tiny hook at the bottom of q's tail, curved up and away from q's face. Handwritten lowercase g and handwritten q are reverse images. This can be a problem in learning names and sounds. Online and in print, lowercase q has a straight tail, not a fancy tail - which is why the words fancy tail is the clue for g.   

**Now sit down with your child and a storybook. Tell your child you are going to talk about a special letter g. Show your child that letter g in storybooks has a special fancy tail: g. 

(Commercially printed materials used Times New Roman font. The school g is Arial font.

I am naming the fonts because this blog may self-correct. I do not know what you will see. Both symbols for g have a fancy tail, providing your child with a reliable clue. Also notice different fonts for capital I. Arial capital I looks to a child like the l in lamb. Times New Roman font capital I has lines at top and bottom. Help your child feel sure of both forms for g and I.)

Pp rule: p's eyes look the way words go in a story. Ask your child to draw a giant letter p; start with the straight line then draw the circle. The circle is p's face. Letter p is looking the way words go. (Be sure your child knows the way words go >>. Ask your child to point to each word as you read stories together.)

Tell your child to draw many giant p's with a smile and eyes looking the way words go when we read stories together. Words go this way >> and p's eyes look the way words go >>. Repeat the Pp rule together. Also ask your child to find p in the words of the stories you read together: porcupine, penguin, puppy, pet, apple, sleep, creep, etc.

Qq rule: q's tail blocks q's face from seeing the way words go.  On a sheet of paper, ask your child to draw a capital Q and a lower-case q. Ask your child to point to his Qq as the two of you say q words: question, quick, quiet, quill (porcupine quill). Ask your child to draw a giant lower-case q. Start with the circle, then draw the straight line. Tell your child the circle is q's face. Explain to your child that q's tail blocks q's face from seeing the way words go. Ask your child to point to q's tail to be sure he knows what you are talking about. Ask your child if q's tail is blocking q's round face? (Yes.) Tell your child to draw sad eyes and a sad mouth for q; q is sad because q cannot see the way words go in a story.

Ask your child to draw many giant q faces, then block q's face with q's tail. Draw sad q eyes and a sad mouth. Repeat q words together. Help your child watch for lowercase q in the words of a story: squirrel, squeak, squeal, quiet, quick. Help your child learn that your child makes lowercase q with a little hook curving away from q's face but in storybooks q has a straight tail blocking q's face. (This clue separates lowercase q from lowercase p - the eyes of p can see the way words go because it does not have a line blocking p's face.)

Tip: Do not ask your child to stop to sound out when your child is reading to you. Tell your child any unknown words and have your child read onward. This will build better comprehension.

If you would like a book, 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, Mary Maisner

confuse b and d, mix up b and d

 

The face of b looks the way words go; d's line blocks d from looking the way words go. Dd is sad because d can't see. Remember: d don't; d still has fun words like dragon and dinosaur.

Children learn from stories so we are going to create a tiny story - called a rule - for b and d. 

On a sheet of paper, you print Aa, Bb, Cc. Ask your child to point to each letter and tell you the letter's name and two things that start with the letter, like a apple, b bumble bee, c cat.  Ask your child, which is the 2nd letter in his ABCs?  (Yes, Bb is the 2nd letter in our ABCs.) 

Ask your child to draw a giant b on a sheet of paper. Start with b's line, then draw b's circle.  Say: let's take turns saying b words: bumble bee, bear, boy, bat, ball, busy, baboon, etc. Bee and b have the same name; that can help your child remember the b sound.

Say: b has a big round face - can you point to b's round face? Do you know that b's round face always looks the way words go in the stories we read together? What way to the words go? Yes, words always go this way >>. 

Let's make eyes in b's round face that look the way words go > and let's make a smile because b likes to see the way words go. (Repeat this tiny story - the Bb rule - many times while making giant b's with a smile and eyes looking the way words go in a story. Repeating it helps your child remember the rule when he sees b in words and he needs a reminder because he is not sure.)

Bb rule: Bb is the 2nd letter in my ABCs and b's round face always looks the way words go in a story. 

When you and your child read stories together, ask your child to hunt for letter b and point to  letter b at the start, middle, and end of words. Also, circle letter b in the words of used books, or old magazines.

Dd rule: d's straight line blocks d's round face, d is sad because d cannot see. (Draw sad eyes and a sad mouth. Start with d's circle, then make a big point of blocking d's face with d's straight line.)  Tell your child, even though d is sad because d cannot see the way words go in a story, still d comes at the start of fun words like dragon, dinosaur, dump truck. When reading stories together, help your child find letter d at the start, middle and end of words. Circle letter d in words in old magazines and in used books.

Your child may print many other letters backward; this is very rarely dyslexia, will not slow your child's reading success, and will self-correct by mid 2nd Grade. Please spend your child's limited energy learning b / d and also g / p / q because being slow to correctly identify these letters within words when your child starts to read in 1st Grade - can cause your child to fall behind. You and your child can make an ABC letter strip; or buy one at Target, Walmart, Office Max. Help your child practice pointing to each ABC, saying its name and something that starts with its sound. Help your child be ready to identify each letter within words when he starts reading in 1st Grade.

Please feel welcome to ask questions or make comments in the box below. If you would like a book, 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, Mary Maisner

ge, gi, gy say j: reading help

Did you see that giant gerbil?

Letter teams ge, gi, gy usually say the j sound. Notice in a word like gi gan tic; there are two different sounds for g:

gerbil        legend          edge       page

gentle       emergency   ledge    outrage

  

       

giant           giraffe        magic        cringe

gigantic      engine        magician   twinge

gym     gymnasium    gypsy   Egypt   energy    apology    technology    strategy 

Try:

angel               danger              courage           suggest           surgery         urgent         logic        

hedgehog       dangerous         courageous     exaggerate      surgeon        urgency      logical

Listen to yourself say the sounds of g in suggest sug jest and exaggerate iks aj er at.

In about thirty words ge and gi say the g sound of go: get, forget, gear, girl, give, forgive, giggle, gift, geeko, geese and tiger, anger, eager. 

Help your child realize our ABCs often work in teams. Also be alert that your child knows the g symbol in print can look like g or g. Arial font g or Times New Roman font g. I am naming the fonts because this Google blog may self-correct. I do not know what you will see.

I have books you might like to use to strengthen your child's skills. 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. Have fun reading with your child. Thank you, Mary Maisner

Should my child repeat 2nd Grade?

Such a tough question; no parent wants to hear it. One out of three struggling readers has college graduate parents. Whether or not you decide to have your child repeat, start today: use my search box - top left corner - put in backward b and download it. 

Then put into my search box working memory.  Put in how the brain learns to read.

All children getting a slow start are ambushed by exactly the same lessons. Your child is beyond the grade level at which these lessons are taught. 

You are going to need to help your child or hire a personal tutor to teach my book. (One-on-one tutoring, not group tutoring. You have been warned by your school, please realize you want to turn this situation around for your child and yourself. You want to help your child be in control of skilled reading by this time next year.)

Reading tip: Quit stopping to sound out. Stopping breaks the short-term memory, causing all gathered meaning to drop away. Everyone's brain works this same way. Tell your child the unknown word and encourage your child to keep reading. This is will reap much better results.

Fifteen minutes a day will be enough time for a good lesson.   I use ebay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will pop up for you. All my books come with my contact info, email or call for help.

Best wishes, Mary Maisner

Should my child repeat 1st Grade?

One out of three struggling readers has college graduate parents. 

Research is clear that children who are not in control of 1st Grade reading skills will have a very hard time catching up because new lessons never stop coming and the basic skills are not in place to help the child.

Reality is that a small set of letters and sight words must become instant; a child is going to stumble around forever without these lessons. The child cannot help himself; reading is a code that must be taught.

Whether or not you decide to repeat 1st Grade, start today:  use my search box- top left corner - put in backward b, then working memory, then how the brain learns to read.   Your child depends on you - my letter rules are not taught in school - your child needs these specific letter rules.

Download the 1st 100 sight words (my books include the 1st 300).  Take your child to a used bookstore (Goodwill, ARC, etc). Get whatever books appeal to your child. Ask your child to find and circle the 1st sight word - the. Work down the sight word list.

Tip: quit stopping to sound out words, tell your child any unknown word, have your child keep reading. Stopping breaks the short-term memory, thus all comprehension is lost.

Instead, show your child how to keep reading using the words he does know. At the end of the page, you ask questions - what is happening on the page, who did what, etc. Then go back to unknown words. Help your child figure them out or tell your child the words. Many words cannot be sounded out. In a few weeks, this method will reap great rewards.

Some parents and children do not work well together - this is common. Get my book and hire a private tutor (not a group tutor or tutor company). You want your child to be in control of skilled reading by this time next year.

I use ebay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will come up. You do not have to use my books but get a book from somewhere to give you support and structure. 

My books include my contact info, email or call for help. Best wishes, Mary Maisner