I would do Hooked On Phonics at home. If you cannot afford it and cannot save for it, ask someone to buy it for christmas or see if you can bid for one ebay.
My youngest had a really hard time with reading. The school suggested "Bob" books. They are short and work with distiguishing similar sounds and they helped quite a bit. http://www.bobbooks.com/
We borrowed from school or library and bought some of them.
vickie39360.4700694444You might also check with the high school reading teacher. The school might have a PALS class for students wishing to become teachers. It might be something as simple as one-on-one reading with someone other than an authority figure to build his confidence.Hi ,
I teach first grade. Your son sounds normal for this time in the year. Usually after Christmas, reading begins to click for many students. I would put your son on this website- www.starfall.com. It will help him a lot. He will think that he is playing, but it is all phonics stories and games. We use this website all the time in class.
Good luck, and don't worry. If by the beginning of January your son does not improve, ask your child's teacher how you should help him at home.
Laura
What can your son do? Does he recognise a bank of words by sight eg can what I , and .
Does he know the letters of the alphabet and their sounds?
Is he able to stretch words out eg b-a-t?
Writing and reading in my classrooms have always gone hand in hand. A basic list of sight words gives the child a basis of words he can recognise instantly.
I am in Australia and have taught many years in the infant grades. I use a bank of words and make simple repetitive sentences using pictures. We play with these words on bingo cards, we play snap and using these cards make up sentences. To begin with we start with words like - this is my hand, this is my leg, this is my family etc they read and illustrate. This becomes the reader. Others included an I can... I have ... I am ... I like ...
Get these simple sentences and cut them up into word chunks for your child to reform.
Ask your child's teacher for a list of basic words they base work on. We call this our 100 sight words.
At the same time look at letters - names and sounds
Begin with basic words like bat - stretch the word out and say the sounds of each letter - use your child's finger to move slowly across the letters. I have always drawn a set of eyes on the "reading finger" and tell them that this is like a scanner !!! I find many adhd kids including my own son had trouble hearing the sounds of words so I would write words down and he would trace over each letter using a diferent colour when the sound changed. This works wonders for visual learners and learning spelling. I call this rainbow writing.
The school should support you with reading material. Keep it simple and repetitive at first. As the kids progressed I found Dr Seus books invaluable as the relunctant readers were supported by the rhyme.
There are some great free teacher resources on line with early literacy ideas - try www.abcteach.com - search for teacher language resources. There are heaps of work sheets etc.
With remedial kids throughout the grades, I have always used the diary approach. They dictate a few sentences about their day or a topic of their choice - you type and then they illustrate. They then re-read it back. Glue in a book. Presto instant reading book. The advantage is that this is their own language pattern, about them or something of a special interest. Have then re-read the entries each night. Use reading finger for guide. If you feel entusiastic use the page beside this for language activities - you can take simple words from this and practise sounding them out. Maybe do even rhyming words eg can - what rhymes with can? man, fan, tan, pan etc. See how long the list can get! Also take a sentence and cut it up - have them reform it and glue it back together.
Praise praise praise- read to your child and point to the words. Confidence is the big key to it all. Hope there are some ideas here. PM me if you like and I can be specific. It sounds like the school will help and hopefully if their is a learning difficulty it will be found. Slow but steedy! When the penny drops they just take off racing!!!
My son has been on 30 mg. Focalin for some 9 months. We went through the last school year (2nd grade) struggling with his reading. His grades improved as we adjusted his meds. Although math had always been his best subject, I encouraged him to read above all else knowing that without reading skills, his chances of succeeding in all other subjects would be made more difficult. We read throughout the summer and when school started I was amazed not only at his increased interest in reading but that he was excelling! Also, after failing every spelling test given him last year, he is now consistently getting A's each week.
We have made accomodations with his homework (per the IEP) and some tests are given verbally, but on the whole he is mainstreamed and we are making every attempt to 'treat him like the other children' for lack of a better phrase. He is oppositional and quite defiant in the evenings when his meds have worn off - so we have him on respridol and that helps. We do homework on weekends for the same credit, but all assignements must be turned in on Monday.
After 2 1/2 years of therapy and adjusting his meds, I feel that we have finally made some progress at school. I know that the good grades and hearty applause we give him both at school and at home have helped him feel better about himself.
I don't want to minimize the issue or the seriousness of his condition, but I wonder how much we should consider just plain 'adolecent development' when we consider a course of treatment for our young children. How as parents are we to tell where normal childhood development and age appropriate behavior ends and ADHD begins?I can't tell you what a turnaround my son has made over just the last few months. It is like a light that was dimmed and now shines bright!