Materials, Tips, Software, Advice on Helping an Older Child Learn to Read
Kari
Hi,
My 12 year old really wants to learn how to read, and it is not something that is happening naturally for him.... He's always been unschooled, recently taught himself to build a computer and loves gaming.
But he is asking me for help learning to read. At present, he knows the alphabet, but really, that's about it. He doesn't know any sight words... he and his 10 year old brother have always navigated life, websites, etc with other clues besides words.
Anyway, he wants my help, and I'm at a bit of a loss where to start. Does anyone have any ideas or experience? His preference is software that he can dive in and out of, but he just really wants to learn and is open to whatever. (In the past, he didn't see reading as necessary, but now, he's at a point where he really wants help/guidance/info).
Thanks in advance,
Kari
Sandra Dodd
-=-Materials, Tips, Software, Advice-=-
I don’t think you need software.
-=-My 12 year old really wants to learn how to read, and it is not something that is happening naturally for him.... He's always been unschooled, recently taught himself to build a computer and loves gaming. -=-
Reading can’t come to anyone unnaturally. No matter what song-and-dance someone is doing on the side, the child figures it out in his own way.
There is a clue in what you’ve written above: You said he taught himself to build a computer. Did he need a teacher? How could he teach himself?
He learned how to build a computer.
He figured out how to build a computer.
The difference between that and “he taught himself” is probably the rough point that’s keeping things from working better about reading.
http://sandradodd.com/teaching
Please read that carefully, and thoughtfully. It will help more than any materials or tips having to do with reading.
IF you haven’t ever been reading aloud to the kids or if there’s not a lot of text or reading around them, perhaps that could be elevated a bit. But most families have lots of words flowing. What school calls “reading readiness” is probably present in abundance in your children!
My daughter was eleven when she learned to read in just a few weeks, from halting sounding out words to reading Stephen King without hesitation (silently or aloud). That happened because her vocabulary was large, her knowledge levels were high in other areas. She read “The Body,” a novella on which the movie “Stand By Me” was based, and she ‘bout had that movie memorized, as it had been her favorite since she was three years old or so. Few people would have thought that dozens of repeated viewings of a movie about pre-pubescent boys would be reading prep for a little girl, but we never, ever know how our kids are putting the world all together in their heads until we look back and evidence!
There are many things to read that were linked in a post from me yesterday, about later reading.
Sandra
I don’t think you need software.
-=-My 12 year old really wants to learn how to read, and it is not something that is happening naturally for him.... He's always been unschooled, recently taught himself to build a computer and loves gaming. -=-
Reading can’t come to anyone unnaturally. No matter what song-and-dance someone is doing on the side, the child figures it out in his own way.
There is a clue in what you’ve written above: You said he taught himself to build a computer. Did he need a teacher? How could he teach himself?
He learned how to build a computer.
He figured out how to build a computer.
The difference between that and “he taught himself” is probably the rough point that’s keeping things from working better about reading.
http://sandradodd.com/teaching
Please read that carefully, and thoughtfully. It will help more than any materials or tips having to do with reading.
IF you haven’t ever been reading aloud to the kids or if there’s not a lot of text or reading around them, perhaps that could be elevated a bit. But most families have lots of words flowing. What school calls “reading readiness” is probably present in abundance in your children!
My daughter was eleven when she learned to read in just a few weeks, from halting sounding out words to reading Stephen King without hesitation (silently or aloud). That happened because her vocabulary was large, her knowledge levels were high in other areas. She read “The Body,” a novella on which the movie “Stand By Me” was based, and she ‘bout had that movie memorized, as it had been her favorite since she was three years old or so. Few people would have thought that dozens of repeated viewings of a movie about pre-pubescent boys would be reading prep for a little girl, but we never, ever know how our kids are putting the world all together in their heads until we look back and evidence!
There are many things to read that were linked in a post from me yesterday, about later reading.
Sandra