Behind in Reading - any suggestions to help in catching up at home?

[chkpea]

My 7 year old son has just been tested at school and the teacher has assessed him to be reading at a level 17 - and needs to be at a 22 at the end of grade 2.  His actual reading scores a 19 but his comprehension is 16 so she is putting him at 17.  She has indicated that he is one year behind in reading.  There is only 2 months left of school this year.  His comprehension is quite weak.  We practice reading a story at home and then I ask questions about the story.  When I tell him the story his comprehension is quite good but when he reads it and tries to comprehend it's like he didn't take any of it in at all.  We are getting him assessed this summer by a pediatrician who specializes in educational assessments to rule out anything.  He also struggles in writing as well.  We have had a tutor for him up until last month when she wasn't available anymore and we can't find anyone else that fits the bill.  We read everyday at home as does he - which he isn't overly enthused about.  Are there any online suggestions for programs to do with hime? We do starfall, reading eggs.  Looking for some sites that would help with comprehension and that are fun.  Also, any clues as to why this is occurring would be great too.  Not looking for a diagnosis just some words of wisdom.  He is a boy and his dob is October - but I know we can only lean on that for so long.

thanks.

[ChristaN]

A couple thoughts:

* First, I'd want to know where the gaps lie.  Things like Starfall aren't going to help if his problem isn't with phonics.  Have they given him an assessment like DIBELS that would let you know if phoenomic awareness is an issue?  Perhaps you'd get further with working on sight word flash cards or a little card that has a hole cut out to place over the text and move along if he loses his place on the page.  Can you check with his teacher to see if she has some idea of where the main gaps are?

* I believe, based on the numbers you are giving, that they are using DRA reading levels.  Levels up to 9 are Kindergarten and then they follow along in a fairly understandable format: 10-19 is first grade, 20-29 is second, 30-39 is third, and so on.  By my estimation, he'd be about a year behind not two.  Level 17 is later first grade reading level.  Ideally it would be great if he was coming out of 2nd at around 29-30, but getting from 17 to 22 isn't as huge of a leap as the teacher may have made it sound. 

You can take a look at sample books here to see what books in those ranges might look like.

My dd is needing my attention, but I'll try to come back later with more thoughts.   

[Jenni1894]

My son is 6 almost 7 (in May) and was behind also.  Our school has a reading program which I enrolled him in.   It's just extra help w/comprehension and what not,  We do levels by number and he was a H and needed to be an I by end of year.  He is now an I.   We do starfall also and the teacher has a site of her own (thru the school dist) and she has some links there I make him do.  

One I like is readwritethink.org

Our school also uses compass learning.

One thing I think has also helped him is writing in his journal.  His penmanship was horrible.   I make him write 2 sentences a day m-T about anything he wants.   I think it helped with his writing and comprehension.   His writing is soooo much better.   And I was the mean mom who made him write in between the lines of a wide ruled notebook.  

I don't know why it's occuring, but I was worried about dyslexia as DH is also and well, he's shown some signs IMO.  

We do read every night also, and he's taken to reading to me or his sisters instead.    And when he does read himself...I make him go slowly and LOOK at the words.  They teach a lot of sight words, so I want to make sure that he is actually reading.  B/c the boy has a memory like an elephant and remembers everything, and I have caught him reciting a book to me, not reading it.

Have you spoken to the teacher and does she have any rec's for yuo?

[FarmerBeth]

I had two later part of the year birthday boys and they both started out behind in reading, one was in the same situation as yours in grade one.  What got him just as much ahead as any reading program was picking whatever he wanted to read (no matter if the level was too high or too low) and reading alternating pages with me for a half hour.  This gave him lots of practice but without tiring him out.  Also, the resource teachers encouraged alternating easy literature that he could read fluently with more difficult literature.  If he is having more trouble with comprehension, he may need more reading in context than phonetics.  We also used very small amounts of game time that required reading (Webkins, Scribblenauts on the DS encourages lots of spelling and reading, Majesty and other age appropriate Sims games).  When he was the most reluctant reading, we got him to earn his computer time with reading time.  This both increased the book reading and the reward required reading anyway.  If you are against screen time, you could use a board game requiring reading, instead.

[Linda on the move]

He has an October birthday and he is YOUNG for grade? Your cut off is really late!!!  Here, October birthdays are OLD for grade. He'd only be in first.

I think it is really, really normal for comprehension to lag behind decoding. And I also think that American schools push reading way too young, and that many kids aren't developmentally ready to start reading instruction until they are 7. I think it is quite possible that nothing is wrong at all, other than the school's expectations of him.

Would the school consider re-evaluating his reading the week before school next year rather than the end of this year? It's possible that just with continued practice and with listening to stories, his reading will improve over the summer.

I think that one of the things that helped my DDs comprehension was me reading things to them that were a little over their reading level. I also think that this stage of being able to read but it being REALLY hard work hurts kids love of the written word, so we ended the day with me just reading a wonderful book (or chapter of a book) to them so they could just relax and enjoy it. Eventually, your little guy will be a heck of a reader, and it would be nice if at that point he actually wanted to read a book. 

Something I used to do when I tutored literacy (but that my kids didn't care for) was duet reading. We would read together, like a duet, for a 5 minutes or so at the end of a session.

[peaceful_mama]

I did some summer school tutoring one time and yes, we did some direct reading and comprehension instruction, but we also played a lot of games.  One matched words and pictures and was a domino-type game (match word to picture instead of same numbers)

Another thing I remember doing is writing a few sentences and illustrating--maybe about a story you read or something you did.  2-3 sentences.

And of course read, read, read.....does your library do a prize thing this summer?  Might be worth it even though I kind of don't like bribing the reading.

[FarmerBeth]

 

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

I think it is really, really normal for comprehension to lag behind decoding. And I also think that American schools push reading way too young, and that many kids aren't developmentally ready to start reading instruction until they are 7. I think it is quite possible that nothing is wrong at all, other than the school's expectations of him.

I just wanted to say that I really agree with this here.  I live in Canada, and from what I see here, the early reading expectations are a lot higher in the US, by a grade to two grades ahead.  While I did have to help my sons catch up with reading, they also didn't have quite this high an expectation and a lot of the catching up was just as much about being ready as the reading I did with them.  My six year old started primary way behind the other kids in letter and number recognition, and could barely read anything at the end of primary, and had some pretty big speech issues.  He's in grade one this year, graduated out of reading recovery, and reading the Thorton W Burgess and Stewart Little books.  He loves reading now, and I'm sure the sudden jump ahead was a lot to do with just being ready.  Canadian schools don't lag behind the US in international literacy testing, so I'm sure the somewhat more relaxed approach isn't hurting.  The kids all seem to catch up to more rigorous standards by grade 3, anyway.

 

I also think that this stage of being able to read but it being REALLY hard work hurts kids love of the written word, so we ended the day with me just reading a wonderful book (or chapter of a book) to them so they could just relax and enjoy it.

I also think this really helps.  Ending the hard work with a book they really enjoy having read to them keeps reading fun.  We still read one chapter book together, all of the kids and me, and sometimes my husband, too.  It's just plain enjoyable and shows everyone appreciates books.  My daughter can probably read just as well as me, and she still loves this special time.

Oh, and one thing I thought of and didn't mention in the previous post is that one of the boys really loved those talking books that you read along with a physical book.  Robert Munsch's website has a joint reading while listening option that he really loved.

[chkpea]

thanks for all the help and suggestions!  I only have a minute to reply but I just wanted to add that I am also in Canada - Ontario to be more specific.  

[whatsnextmom]

I tutored children in your DS's position for a couple years. They were a little behind but not behind enough for intervention. This is what we did and it bumped kids up 2 or 3 levels within 6 weeks.  Find out their working level and start with 3 or 4 books at that level. 15 minutes 4 days a week, have the child read 1 book. It's repetitive but keep having them read one book until they can do it near flawlessly. Then move to the next book and do the same. Talk about the book after each session.... who are the characters, what do they do, why do they do it, what do you think that character learned and what will they do next. Once they seem comfortable at that level move on to the next.

[One_Girl]

My dd wasn't behind but she hadn't made any real progress in from the beginning of Kindergarten to the middle of first grade and I really think it is because the books that kids are made to read are really boring.  I introduced her to Fox on Stage and some others in that series then looked for actual picture books rather than beginning reader books for her.  I also didn't say no to any book be it Barbie or a Fairy book I knew she would pick up and discard because it was too hard.  This made a very significant difference in a very short period of time.  She just blossomed as a reader once she realized reading could be funny and was something she had control over.  I do think that an assessment may be good because it will help identify if there is a problem.  Getting his eyes checked is also a good idea because that can be an issue.  The words get smaller as the text gets harder.