Any tutors out there?

Question

she can't read...well she can but it's very difficult for her to, also because she's so focused on saying the words and reading she is not getting what any of it means. i think she tries to memorize words so i tried teaching her to soud the words out but she sounds out the letters prefectly fine, but when it comes to combining them, that's a whole other story. PLEASE HELP!! How can I help her?

Answer 1

Check into the book Reading Reflex. A child needs to have a strong ability to decode the words before being able to understand what s/he's reading.

If I'm understanding you, she needs more practice in blending sounds together? You can just play games on the side to encourage the blending of sounds together. Example: "I'm thinking of a word with the sounds /k/ /a/ /t/ [say the sounds, not the letter names]. Can you guess what the word is?" The above book has different activities and things to help.

Answer 2

Ann,

First of all, how old are we talking here? I'm going to assume she's around, 5 or 6? Maybe even 7 or 8? This is normal for this age range. Pushing her is not going to help her learn faster or better. And the *last* thing you want is to turn her off of reading.

What I would suggest is to back off a bit on trying to get her to perform for you. If she needs help reading the words, help her, but don't try to "teach" her. Just read it to her. Make comments about what she's reading and point out the interesting things about how letters work. But if she doesn't get it, just let it go. And keep reading stories to her.

You see, the first step to learning to read is to memorize the words. That's OK. Every kid learns in their own way. What might start as memorization, will turn into her being comfortable with words, because she recognizes them (even if she doesn't understand how they are put together just yet). Then, eventually, she'll start to notice a pattern.

The reading programs are OK. But don't push it. Try it, and if it frustrates her, back off. Let her decide how hard she wants to work at it. In the meantime, select a LOT of books that she likes to read over and over and over. Not just books "at her level". Not just books where she should be able to read every word. Keep books around that she most definately can't get yet. And let her ask you what words say. Let her explore reading.

When a child/person is expected to be able do something 'correctly" and perfectly, it can have a debilitating effect. If she is thinking more about how well she's doing, and not thinking about trying to gain information from the text, reading will come slowly.

If her focus is all about getting the information. If she's looking at books to try to extract the meaning of the words and what the book is about, she won't even realize that she's learning to read.

So:

1) Don't rush her. And don't have expectations of what she "should" be able to do. Make sure it's clear to her that no matter how much she can and can't read, it's OK. You'll help her.

2) Keep books around that she can just look at whenever, with no pressure to perform.

3) Don't make her read every single word. If just she can't get something, say, "That's fine hon. We'll come back it another time. Let's go to a word that you do know. I'll read the ones that you don't know yet."

4) Play reading games. When she has a story memorized, and you are reading her a story, change the words. She'll notice immediately and tell you, "That's not how it goes!?" And you can say, "Really? Where does it say that?" Then she'll have to show you where the word is on the page.

5) Don't try to make dull reading activities fun. Only use activities that are fun in and of themselves. When she's significantly older, once she is *already* a proficient reader, then you can introduce her to the concept of painful reading assignments.

Good luck!

Answer 3

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Answer 4

What materials are you using with her? I have heard numerous endorsements for the book 100 EZ lessons for teaching reading. IT might be worth a try! Here's a link:

http://www.startreading.com/

Answer 5

alright its short and simple try to get her a scollarship to sylvan learning center! I am a teacher as well and i've had the same problem i'm telling you sylvan works wonders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at least look into it!

Answer 6

help her