How can I improve my 12 years old son's reading?

Question

My son is in 6th grade and English is his second language, unfortunately he reads very slowly and recently failed a grade. Pls help. Give me information on how I could improve his reading & writing. I am willing to buy any software that is effective and produces quick progress.
Thank you very much in advance.

Answer 1

Your school should do testing and IEP's (Individual Education Plans). If you're homeschooling, the district can still help with testing. It's possible your son has a reading disability. In that case, check with Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. They can help with recorded textbooks so he can follow along as someone else reads. It's not expensive to have a membership, but the school or a specialist needs to certify that he has a disability first.

Answer 2

First of all if English is his second language then he may be having trouble with how letters sound in English compared to what he's used to. I worked with an ESL student and his main trouble was the different sounds, for instance a "j" in Spanish sounds different than a "j" in English. Find out where he is having trouble then work from there. If he's 12 then he's probably in about the 6th grade. Don't buy him 6th grade level reading books but maybe 4th or 5th (a book he'd enjoy) until he can accomplish those easier then move on. Your local bookstore (I prefer used bookstores) can help you with what grade level certain books are. Make sure you encourage him and when he does accomplish something, no matter how small, make sure he knows that it's a great accomplishment otherwise he may get discouraged and quit trying.
Others have suggested other ways which are great ways but first before you go spending money on different ideas you need to find out "why" he's having difficulty. I hope this helped.

Answer 3

Here is an idea -whenever he watches TV (which should not be very frequently, but I digress) - shut off the sound and put on the closed captioning. If he wants to follow the show, he has to read the captions, and speed read to boot.

Another thought, try getting some books on tape for the car from your library. I'm talking about REAL books like Harry Potter, long ones with wonderful stories and varied vocabulary. Have your child follow along with an actual copy of the book (borrowed from the library too, so very cheap way to improve reading skills).

Last, but certainly not least, read aloud to your child from great books, Newbury winners or ALA notable books. Just hearing the stories will usually encourage the child to want to read. I've been known to start reading a book and then "forget" or "not have time" to keep reading right after a very exciting part. Without fail the children have picked up the book on their own to read what happened next. Sneaky :)

Answer 4

I second the Phonics Pathways idea. Just have him start at the beginning, and read a page or two a day out loud to you. Maybe even have him write some of the words and sentences as he moves through the book. Phonics Pathways is a great resource that really teaches word patterns for help in reading and spelling.
It's also written for all ages.
There's also a newer book by the same author called Reading Pathways that might also be good to check into. I put links to both books below.

Answer 5

I'm not sure about software programs but have heard great things about Phonics Pathways. It's a book you can buy and is designed for all ages.

Daily reading in English is a must--ideally at least 30 minutes of silent reading a day and 10-30 minutes of oral reading.

Writing is trickier for recommendations because it's far more multi-faceted: is it his grammar? spelling? content? structure? The Phonics Pathways book doubles as a spelling book, too, but other than that, you should probably look at seeing what his teacher is willing to do (will she provide one-on-one time at lunch? after school? to help guide writing improvement) or getting a tutor.

Answer 6

There is plenty of software available; I will give you a web site at the bottom; they are free, you only pay shipping and handling.

Home schooling your son may be an option, since children should not be made to feel like they "failed" at something, when they have not yet mastered the skills that they are being evaluated on.

Home schooling will give him the chance to work at his own pace, and improve the skills he needs.
I firmly believe it is more important to learn the skills properly; quick progress?, how about slow, and steady wins the race.
If you would like good results that benefit your son, please keep in mind that each child learns differently; how about adjusting the time frame to him, and not the schools.

http://www.planetcdrom.com/free-homeschool/

Answer 7

This is a very common problem in teens. Almost all children, especially boys experience this. WE teach our children the basics but forget to teach them how to organize, take care of, and turn in homework assignments. Set up a plan with him then tell him you are going to call and check to make sure the work gets in or that you will stop by the teacher and check every day. Just getting the homework in on time will help bring up the grades. Missing assignments bring down the grade a lot. As for the loss of academic years...it will either have to be a tutor or you.

Answer 8

i know when i was growing up in a foreign country the only time i had incentive to read in the local language was when there was a book or magazine that particularly interested me that i couldn't find in english. based on his actual likes and interests (not what you assume they are), subscribe to magazines that he'll actually read each month and look forward to, and take him to the library to find books on the subject. work together with him. perhaps offer points for every book finished (and, importantly, synopsized in writing, however briefly), points that he can cash in for other rewards--toys, clothes, etc.
comics and graphic novels are definitely helpful, as are googled song lyrics. my son is a fluent reader at five because he's a huge johnny cash fan and got into tintin at four.
i'm a college english teacher and can't believe the number of intelligent students i have whose reading is appallingly slow--just because they were never given a reason for doing so, and a way to make it easy and desirable--it was always this terrible onerous chore foisted on them at school, which is a crime. reading is a delightful, delicious world in itself, where you can both be comfortable in your own skin and really explore someone else's existence and thoughts. i don't know what i'd do without it.

Answer 9

Realize that kids brains develop in different ways, at different times. That's one of the problems with generalized public education...it has no way to effectively tailor education around different learning styles and levels. He's in 6th grade, and in their view must read at a certain level. He may not be prepared for that, though.

Not clear from your note if he can read well in your primary language. Wow...that fact that he's reading in a second language at all is great. So, what can you do...

I agree, getting books that he might be interested in is the best way to do it. My son was a very slow reader, and he still struggles (he has dyslexia). Still, he was really interested in guns...now my wife and I are NOT...but we got some gun magazines for him to read...and he did.

Books on tape are ok, but my take on them is to get them as rewards. When my son could get Harry Potter books on tape, he never felt he had to read them, and using flawless logic, he stated clearly that if someone else would read the book word for word, then why would he waste his time doing the reading for himself? At that point, we started saying we'd get the book on tape AFTER he finished the book. That worked well.

We tried hooked on phonics, and it worked ok...you can get that at Costco usually, and they sometimes package it with other reading software. Reader Rabbit software comes to mind, although I don't know if they still have that available.

If you were homeschooling, I'd say relax a little and realize he may just not be ready yet...his brain may be still trasitioning from one spoken language to another. Since you are in a school situation, you'll have to help him out. Read to him, read with him, listen to him read, encourage him...

And, I really agree with the idea of turning on the closed caption on your tv. Especially with movies...that worked really well with my son. We'd even leave the sound on...but he still got it. Oh...another thing is road signs...my son read every sign out loud....it was fun, actually. Driving down the road, and I'd hear this steady stream of..."Curve Ahead", "Yield", "20% off", "Fred Meyer"....it was a good way for him to read in a situation where he felt no pressure to succeed. He was just reading out loud. He even started to read them like he was an announcer man on the radio or TV...it was priceless.

Answer 10

give him a story book and ask him to read it aloud everyday for 1 hour . Intially he will be slow but then will pick up speed as days pass. For improving English give him a good story book . It will help him to speak and write better