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Angel
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| Posted: Feb 07 2011 at 3:36pm | IP Logged
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I'm wondering if anyone has any experience teaching reading the way Charlotte Mason did in her series on education, and if anyone has any thoughts about applying it to kids who struggle to read.
My 7 yo (nearly 8) is really having trouble learning to read. Part of the problem is vision, which we're working on. But I'm a little worried at this point that we may be dealing with some level of dyslexia as well.
I've put Delightful Readingby Simply Charlotte Mason on my list of curricula to think about, but I'm not sure that I need to change my approach that much... or if it would be a decent supplement for a kid having trouble, or what.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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rose gardens
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| Posted: Feb 07 2011 at 5:34pm | IP Logged
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I don't have experience working with Charlotte Mason's method of teaching reading, but I have experience teaching reading to a child with dyslexia.
The books on the link you posted looked really cute, but if a child really has dyslexia, that program would probably move too fast and it doesn't seem to address the underlying problems. Dyslexia usually has some type of underlying cause, either visual (which you mentioned, which can include eye tracking, double vission, visual memory for words, etc) or auditory (not "hearing" the individual phenome sounds in words) or both. There are things that can be done to remediate the underlying problems.
My son struggled with learning to read for a long time. We worked with both sight words and phonics. I tried various suggestions recommended for people with dyslexia. By the time he was eight, it was clear that he needed something more than what I had tried. I decided to use a program developed for dyslexia called Barton Reading and Spelling, but before he was ready to start that he needed a portion of a different program called LiPS by Lindamood-Bell. (edit: Like the program you linked, both those programs also work with letter tiles.)
Maybe your child's reading problems aren't as severe as my son's were, or maybe her reading problems will resolve when her vision problems are fixed. The program you linked does look very nice, but I can tell from looking at the sample pages that it would not have been a good choice to teach my son to read. The letter tiles would have helped, but he needed a program that moved very slow, step by step. At this point, he could do something like what you linked as a supplement, but he's been working with a Barton for a year and a half.
I hope that helps.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Feb 07 2011 at 6:49pm | IP Logged
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I use CM methods with my dd, age 9, who is dyslexic. I also supplement heavily with my own home-made phonics-based materials and Montessori methods. I have found that this multi-prong approach has been what dd needs to progress in reading. Even with all of that, it is slowwwww going. BUT...there is definite progress, however slow.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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cmmom
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| Posted: Feb 17 2011 at 5:51pm | IP Logged
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Hi, my daughter is struggling to learn to read also. She just turned 8. It has been a severe trial to me that I haven't been able to help her learn to read. I have tried the Bob Books (some success), CHC (Catholic Heritage Curricula) phonics (too many gaps and progresses too quickly). I have also tried flashcards of sight words (no progress there either). I have tried Hooked On Phonics (some success), but I have not really found anything that she is really excited and happy about. I decided to back off, and to just READ TO HER, which is, I think, a good Charlotte Mason approach. I am trying to work with her, bit by bit, in subtle child-directed delight-directed approaches. That is, I try to draw her attention to the words, read things for her, point words out to her, and try to read, read, read to her. We also do books on CDs from the library, which she loves. - cmmom
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Feb 17 2011 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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We have started tutoring for my son (unofficial dyslexia diagnosis at this point) and they are using the Barton Reading & Spelling system. We just started so I don't have a lot of experience but one thing I did read that I found very interesting was to use *only* controlled text to have your child read. This means that the child should be able to READ 95% of the text to avoid them getting in the habit of guessing. You can order the chapter books from Barton but they are expensive. Luckily w/ the tutor, I'm able to check them out right now and I can already tell a huge difference esp. in his confidence by giving him material that's at his level. We've done the read, read, read for years and it's been very difficult for a child that struggles to read esp. if it's outside his level and it's always been hard to really control that. These little reader books focus on a specific area at one time and even at age 10, they're not too juvenile for him and the chapters are only about 2 pages right now and that's even big print.
A tutor a few years back mentioned giving a child a book and if they missed more than 5 words on the first page, to get a lower level book. I guess that's similar to the "controlled text" theory.
Sooo...I say all that to say, here's my suggestions from what I've learned in just a few short weeks:
1) make sure the child is reading material AT HER LEVEL and not above to avoid not only the self-confidence drain but also to avoid them getting in the habit of "guessing" at words which is what my son has done
2) have her read the text silently to herself and make a note of any words she can't read or doesn't know the meaning of
3) have her read the text to you out-loud and you make a note of ANY missed words
4) write those words on index cards to practice
5) if child's reading is not fluent or choppy, have them re-read the same text later or another day
Yes, it's slowwww going but I honestly can say I already see improvement.
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Kathryn in TX
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setonmom
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My son struggled to read and was not an independent reader until around age 8. We used Hooked on Phonics with him and it helped. One thing about Hooked On Phonics ( at least the edition I used 12 years ago) is that it actually uses a LOT of sight words. If you don't want to do all the sight words, you can just have your child practice the word lists in the workbooks. ( If they still have workbooks). One thing I liked about Hooked on Phonics is that it broke up things into very small chunks. Instead of learning all the blends at once, you spend one day on the "br" and "bl" words, another day on "gr" and "gl", etc. It moves much more slowly than the Little Angel readers, if you are familiar with those. BTW, my son is now a senior, and scored a perfect 80 on his PSAT reading the first time he took the PSATs.
setonmom
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Feb 18 2011 at 7:43am | IP Logged
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Angel, I'm probably going to sound like I don't know what I'm talking about, but in my experience, 7-8 year old boys do struggle with learning to read. Both of my older sons struggled mightily. Then, when they hit 9-10 it all clicked. My just turned 10 year old was reading the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia last night and woke up this morning to tell me all about the Barbarians. Last year, we were struggling to get through the first Little Angels reader, and I was considering having him tested for dyslexia. I see the same pattern in my now 7yo. I'm not saying you shouldn't be working with your son now, I'm just not sure I'd worry for another year or two. Just keep plugging away at it, making sure to read to him on a regular basis. You might have his vision and hearing checked, just to be sure, but a good phonics program and some sight words might be just what you need. I like the looks of the Charlotte Mason program you linked to, and have been considering it myself for the rest of my younger kids who will be learning to read.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
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Angel
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| Posted: Feb 18 2011 at 1:44pm | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
Angel, I'm probably going to sound like I don't know what I'm talking about, but in my experience, 7-8 year old boys do struggle with learning to read. Both of my older sons struggled mightily. Then, when they hit 9-10 it all clicked.
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Well, my oldest ds (now 14) didn't have reading click for him until 8.5 and my dd started asking for reading lessons at age 3 and didn't really stop struggling until she was 7. In both their cases vision therapy was necessary. So we started early with eye exams for our younger boys (who are all 3 headed to Wal-Mart today to pick up their new glasses, actually.)
My current 7 yo's reading issues are a little different, though. He consistently mixes up p's and d's, m's and w's, forgets not just the sounds of letters but also sometimes their names, has a problem ordering sounds, and sight words are very hard for him... it took him nearly a year to remember "the". He's also left-handed, quite mechanical, and was my only child with tubes in his ears.  It also doesn't look like he needs vision therapy at this point (although he does wear glasses.)
On the other hand, I definitely don't want to rush any diagnoses - as you pointed out!! So I haven't changed our approach yet... I'm just doing lots of research.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Topic: Charlotte Mason reading&reading problems
