The School board has made it madatory for all 2nd graders to be reading at grade level inorder to move on. My daughter hates to read and she has been in reading classes since kindergarten. How can I get her interested in reading and keep at it so she can move on to the 3rd grade? This is in Clark Couty Indiana incase you were wondering. Is the School board being too harsh or are parents just becoming lazy?
2006-10-24 20:28:03 · 23 answers · asked by lost in love 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Grade-Schooler
She has to read more to get better at it, that's the only way.
Rewards work best and my son is proof what I'm going to tell you works.
Start with stuff BELOW her current reading level and give her 1 point per page with a goal of a certain number of points for a reward. Make it easy for her to win at first. Make the rewards small, but stuff she likes.
She will whip through reading the easy stuff and earn lots of rewards the first week. Then increase the difficulty of the reading material slowly.
Keep the points/reward ratio the same but keep having her read harder things. As she approaches her grade level go crazy buying her lots of books/magazines/comics that she would like to read.
Once she's reading things at her grade/interest level the rewards will be coming from the books.
As for popular books that have been made into movies, I told my son he could only see the Harry Potter movies when he was able to read and understand the books. You might want to give that a try:)
Your goal is to have her increase her fluency gradually and painlessly and the best way to do that is to have her read and read and read. Don't worry about starting with easy stuff. You want her to feel confident.
When I did this with my son (he had been so far behind he was pulled out of class for individual help) he needed to read 50 pages to earn one of those tiny Pokemon figures (bought in lots of 60 on EBay). He started with books with only a few words on each page. By the end of the summer he was on grade level. By Christmas he was at the next grade level. Three years later he is hooked on books.
People may tell you not to "bribe" kids to read, but I have a 180 Pokemon figures and a kid in 5th grade who can do high school level work that will tell you it CAN work.
Best wishes...
2006-10-25 09:48:47 · answer #1 · answered by bookmom 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Comics, barbie books, Disney books, take her to the library at story time. My kids loved to read along with books on tape at this age. The teacher is obviously not very encouraging, have a chat with them to see why they believe your child is falling behind, if they blame your child consider switching teachers. Start a book club with 2 or three of her friends, where they read a book to each other and discuss what it's about (this will also help later with reading comprehension).Finally there is the reward system for every book she reads she gets a star on a chart, after 5 stars she gets a reward like a trip to the park, an extra 1/2 hour TV, McDonald's, whatever will motivate her to find the fun in reading.
PS: Don't expect the school to be on your side they are a business after all, treat them as such. It's not personal they have a quota to meet and will spend the effort where they believe the quota to be most profitable. Education is taking a back seat even in our schools the "No Child left behind Law" panders to the lowest possible denominator and the highest leaving those in the middle to their own resourses. It falls to parents to pick up the slack, "learning centers" can help but are expensive and leave more homework and frustration for the parent (I have tried them all). I found it better to work with my children as the individuals they are and give them the opportunity to participate in their education and learn how to learn.
2006-10-25 03:58:10 · answer #2 · answered by Walking on Sunshine 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if it's that reading is just too "hard", that she missed some concept earlier on, than maybe starting over completely, on your own, would be good? Some people aren't fond of reading, but it is incredibly necessary for every job later on, so don't give up.
My mom taught me to read when I was younger using a book called "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons" - it's not complicated, the book is still in print, as far as I know, it takes only a few minutes a day.. Maybe if a simple home study program like that doesn't work, look into any physical/psychological reasons (vision problems, dyslexia) why she may have trouble reading, and hire a more advanced tutor.
2006-10-24 20:37:58 · answer #3 · answered by kryrinn 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No the schools are not to harsh in wanting our kids to be able to read. And yes many parents are too lazy... You obviously care and are concerned or you wouldn't be seeking help. Good for you! Are you a reader? Are people in your family? Our kids mimic our behaviors. If they see us spending our free time watching T.V. or surfing the web they to will gravitate to those things. Take your daughter to the library, read with her, find subjects and authors that your daughter enjoys. That is the biggest thing- turn reading (in school) from a chore into something exciting and fun. Ask your child to imagine she is the character in the story, have her envision being in the story. The occasional "reward" for finishing a book and having her to be able to tell you about the story can be a great idea to get her motivated. Work with her , lead by example and make the experience entertaining... Just a thought..... Peace......
2006-10-24 21:14:40 · answer #4 · answered by Martini-69 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Try and find some high interest things for her to read. If she enjoys reading, she is more likely to practice and become better at it. Computer games that include reading would also be beneficial. It doesn't necessarily have to be a reading game as long as it involves a decent amount of reading. Good luck. I think those standards are quite high, but probably not unreasonable. If they instituted the reading level thing where I teach, a decent amount of students would be held back. What are they doing with kids in special ed? Wouldn't it be illegal to hold them back for that?
2006-10-25 13:44:53 · answer #5 · answered by caitlinerika 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm assuming you've had her checked for vision (including a developmental vision exam!) and other disorders and the problem is only getting her interested.....
1. what does she like...there is something to read about everything. (my son hates reading books but loves playing video games, I buy him mags. about his favortie games and print off cheatcodes but refuse to read to him)
2. find a game.. most games for her age require reading, set a 'game' night for the whole family and play a game where she'll have to read...like charades, monopoly jr., clue jr, etc.
3. Turn on the closed caption on your TV...it's hard not to get distracted by them.
4......BRIBE HER!!!! Okay, everyone says this is horrible, but I love bribs...I give chuckecheese tokens for every page, or 1/1 ratio for her favorite pass time (1 min reading, 1 min playing video games).
The school board is not harsh, so many kids are graduating high school and can't read. You also aren't lazy but you do need to be concerened, I know you don't want your daughter falling behind and doing so will greatly lower her self esteem.
Good luck and get creative.
2006-10-25 11:47:32 · answer #6 · answered by Amy B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take her to the bookstore or the library and let her pick books that interest her that you can read together. And read with her! (It's also good if you pick out a book or two for yourself at the same time so she sees you reading too.)
No, I don't think the school board is being harsh at all. Too many people in this country can't read and that's a shame.
2006-10-25 06:56:48 · answer #7 · answered by zippythejessi 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well, to answer your last question, let's see - do you read to your child every single day, even a few times a day? Do you go over her homework with her? Do you have her read to you daily? Do you have a variety of books in your home? Do you and your husband read, so you are setting a good example for her? Do you make weekly trips to the public library? These are all important things for parents to do. So are you lazy and leaving everything up to the school? I hope not. Wish you luck.
2006-10-25 00:46:01 · answer #8 · answered by Lydia 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hello from a fellow Hoosier.
Unless she has some kind of disability, requiring her to read at grade level is a totally realistic expectation.
What kind of things is she interested in? Find her books about that. Stories about Barbie, princesses, fairies, Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Magic Tree House books, etc. Get recommendations for books and stragegies from her teacher and from the school librarian. Is she works with a reading specialist, get recommendations from that person too.
Spend time reading TO her and reading WITH her every day. Take turns. Have her read a paragraph and then you read a paragraph.
Point out signs and words in the world around you when you are out and about and help her figure out what they say.
Get her to help you write your grocery list each week. You dictate and she writes the words out.
Let her play at http://www.starfall.com online.
Get her some software that helps with reading: JumpStart, Reader Rabbit, Clifford all have reading stuff. There are surely many more.
2006-10-25 04:23:58 · answer #9 · answered by momma2mingbu 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think it is very important for you daughter to be reading at grade level. I have a 7yr old and 11yr old. My 11 yr old used to love reading but he hates it know. This is something that I have had to deal with. What helped him is that not only does he get to pick out the book of his choice, we sometimes do it together. First, he will read out loud to me and then we will discuss it. It helps him to remember little things that he may not have remembered otherwise. Then after a while, he will read the chapters alone and then come and tell me about them. It seems to give him a purpose for ready the story and then he really tries to concentrate on the book so that he can tell me alot of the details in the chapter. It has really helped him alot. I also have him reading out loud so that he can stay focused on what he is reading b/c it is hard for him to focus sometimes. So not only is he reading the words, he is also hearing the words. This has really helped him alot. It takes a little more of your time to help your child but it is well worth. Good Luck.
2006-10-25 07:16:00 · answer #10 · answered by Dani 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋