My 6 year old is in kindergarten and he is having trouble with sounding out words....?

Question

When we do his homework he gets very nervous and frustrated. Here is an example of the type of trouble he is having. The word he is trying to read is...pig....he will sound out..P..I...G then tell me that the word is GIGGLE. Usually what ever the last sound is that he hears..he will make up a word that begins with that sound and say that it is the word. I am getting frustrated because I don't know how to help him with this. He does very well in math, counting and things with numbers but anything with letters is difficult for him. He still does not know his ABC's completely. Is he behind for his age and grade?

Answer 1

If he doesn't know his ABC's well, then I would focus more on letter recognition and learning the letter sounds. He needs to build the foundation before he can put the rest of the house together. :-)

Get the Leap Frog "Talking Words Factory" DVD for him and then talk to him about "whamming" the sounds together to make words. Encourage him to sound out the letters and do it faster and faster until they blend into a word. The PBS show "Between the Lions" is also very good for beginning readers to watch.

Talk to his teacher and see how she thinks he is doing. Find out if there are any games or strategies she can suggest to help you. Find out if she thinks he could use some remediation work with a reading recovery specialist while at school. KG kids tend to start the year all in very different places, so it's hard to say if he's behind at this stage compared ot his peers. He should definately be reading some by the end of the year though.

If either of you gets too frustrated, then that's probably a good time to take a break. In KG, his homework really shouldn't take more than 10 minutes per night.

Answer 2

It sounds like he's getting the idea because he can hear the final sound and say a word that begins with it. He's having trouble blending sounds but he's young. Have you brought your concerns to his teacher? You could request an evaluation.

If you can avoid showing frustration it would also make him feel less frustrated. Take lots of breaks and do words he knows and signs he sees when you're out together not just at home at a desk. Any help that you can get for him now will help him enjoy successful reading later.

Answer 3

We home school. My oldest, who is 6, had a heck of a time with reading. I was so very frustrated and worried. He is brilliant at math. He is already doing basic geometry. But for awhile we were worried about his reading. However, we had started him a year early so I figured it was okay and we just took it slow. He had a very similar problem to what you have described. We used the Sing, Spell, Read & Write curriculum. I just stuck with it. There were times we had to back track or really slow down the pace. But suddenly he started reading and that was it. He just took off with it and he now reads everything. He is now well ahead of where he needs to be.

Talk with his teacher. See if there is a program she can suggest to supplement whatever she is using at school. Work with him at home. The big thing is to read to him on a regular basis. And also get easy readers to have him read to you. When he is sounding out a word, help him. Break it down for him. Sometimes it will seem like you're doing it for him but it is helping him. At 6 he should at the very least know his ABC's. You might have to start at the basics and work from there. But I'm betting that even though he is behind now, once he gets going he'll catch up. You just have to keep on top of it and work with him and it sounds like that is what you're trying to do.

Good luck to you!

Answer 4

He might be dyslexic or have a slight learning disability. Or he might just be a little behind in school. However seeing that he is just in kindergarten, I wouldn't worry too much because I have a six year old and he likes to do things like that. He is prolly just nervous because he is afraid of disappointing you or getting the answer wrong. I would say ease up a bit and see if he doesn't improve by the time he is in the first grade.

Answer 5

Certainly his teacher is aware of this. Please consult with him/her and figure out what should be done next. He may be having vision problems or maybe he has a reading disability of some kind where he hasn't learned to decode words. Six-year-olds are usually very early readers, so he might not have hit the reading-readiness mark yet. His nervousness and frustration make me think he's been scolded, that he knows something is wrong, so he gives any answer hoping he hit it right.

Answer 6

If this is just one area with which he struggles, it is most certainly worth seeking advice from professionals. Don't leave it for he is young enough that some extra input may set him on the right path and 'problems' such as dyslexia are easily diagnosed about his age. In the meantime, don't panic about the actual reading. Lots of book sharing - looking at and discussing the illustrations are less threatening and give practice in predicting 'what may happen next' - a valuable literacy skill.

Answer 7

yes he is behind , but you can get a game you plug into your TV called leap frog that he can sit in front of and sound out the letters with the game then says it ans he spells it. If he is still having trouble take him to the dcotor and get test on his eyes and hearing! ABC"S song is fun for you and him to sing together which will help him with his abc's

Answer 8

my son was the same way and we decided to keep him back in kindergarden another year. its better to hold back early than late and you dont want your son to fall to far behind. Maybe get him a tutor

Answer 9

my son has the same problem,but his teacher keeps telling me it's because it's something new and he will learn. my son is 5 though and in kindergarten.

Answer 10

It could be a hearing problem, has he ever had his hearing evaluated?