Help with reading
jenjon1964
Hi,
My twin boys just turned 9. They love reading and are always reading books, they save up their money just to buy new books. So they have a great deal of love for books, but when I ask them to read out loud, they stumble a lot, and they kind of stutter, very choppy reading. Is this normal? How can I help them improve their fluency in reading? Thank you to anyone that can give me advice.
Thank you so much,
Barbie
My twin boys just turned 9. They love reading and are always reading books, they save up their money just to buy new books. So they have a great deal of love for books, but when I ask them to read out loud, they stumble a lot, and they kind of stutter, very choppy reading. Is this normal? How can I help them improve their fluency in reading? Thank you to anyone that can give me advice.
Thank you so much,
Barbie
Robin Bentley
I'm wondering why you're requiring them to read out loud?
Robin B.
Robin B.
On Mar 13, 2009, at 8:42 PM, jenjon1964 wrote:
> Hi,
> My twin boys just turned 9. They love reading and are always reading
> books, they save up their money just to buy new books. So they have
> a great deal of love for books, but when I ask them to read out
> loud, they stumble a lot, and they kind of stutter, very choppy
> reading. Is this normal? How can I help them improve their fluency
> in reading? Thank you to anyone that can give me advice.
> Thank you so much,
> Barbie
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
Brenna Shugarts
Barbie, I to had this issue as s a child & just remember it being a confidence thing. If it is new to them or maybe they are a bit nervous, This is not uncommon. also could be just that it is not the "norm" for them don't worry the more they do it the better there confidence level will rise & they will improve with it. Try having them read to each other. that may help/ Good Luck! Brenna
reputation is what men & women think of us. character is what God & the angels know of us.
reputation is what men & women think of us. character is what God & the angels know of us.
--- On Sat, 3/14/09, Robin Bentley <robin.bentley@...> wrote:
From: Robin Bentley <robin.bentley@...>
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Help with reading
To: [email protected]
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009, 1:35 PM
I'm wondering why you're requiring them to read out loud?
Robin B.
On Mar 13, 2009, at 8:42 PM, jenjon1964 wrote:
> Hi,
> My twin boys just turned 9. They love reading and are always reading
> books, they save up their money just to buy new books. So they have
> a great deal of love for books, but when I ask them to read out
> loud, they stumble a lot, and they kind of stutter, very choppy
> reading. Is this normal? How can I help them improve their fluency
> in reading? Thank you to anyone that can give me advice.
> Thank you so much,
> Barbie
>
>
>
> ------------ --------- --------- ------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Tammy Curry
It is normal for most kids, actually a lot of adults as well. Reading out loud comes with time and practice. My daughter loves to read out loud to her little brother, she is 10 and we have noticed over the last few months that she is doing much better. Otherwise we don't make a big deal out of it. If she and I baking and she seems to stumble I will help with the words that seem to be difficult. Remember what you "hear" in your head and what it sounds like when it comes out of your mouth can be very different.
We don't require it of the kids if they choose to do it, that's great. If not they will when they need to.
Tammy Curry, Director of Chaos
http://tammycurry.blogspot.com/
http://crazy-homeschool-adventures.blogspot.com/
http://myspace.com/mamabeart00
________________________________
From: Robin Bentley <robin.bentley@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 1:35:19 PM
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Help with reading
I'm wondering why you're requiring them to read out loud?
Robin B.
We don't require it of the kids if they choose to do it, that's great. If not they will when they need to.
Tammy Curry, Director of Chaos
http://tammycurry.blogspot.com/
http://crazy-homeschool-adventures.blogspot.com/
http://myspace.com/mamabeart00
________________________________
From: Robin Bentley <robin.bentley@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 1:35:19 PM
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Help with reading
I'm wondering why you're requiring them to read out loud?
Robin B.
On Mar 13, 2009, at 8:42 PM, jenjon1964 wrote:
> Hi,
> My twin boys just turned 9. They love reading and are always reading
> books, they save up their money just to buy new books. So they have
> a great deal of love for books, but when I ask them to read out
> loud, they stumble a lot, and they kind of stutter, very choppy
> reading. Is this normal? How can I help them improve their fluency
> in reading? Thank you to anyone that can give me advice.
> Thank you so much,
> Barbie
>
>
>
> ------------ --------- --------- ------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Tamara Griesel
Totally normal, even among adults (I teach adult education classes). Some people just don't enjoy reading aloud. It's a different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
If the boys themselves care and would like more practice, have you tried reading plays or comic books together? When my son was a little younger, he liked to read Calvin and Hobbes with us, with him reading Calvin, me reading Hobbes, and his Dad reading anybody else. With feeling and silliness of course, and often the same ones over and over.
Tamara
If the boys themselves care and would like more practice, have you tried reading plays or comic books together? When my son was a little younger, he liked to read Calvin and Hobbes with us, with him reading Calvin, me reading Hobbes, and his Dad reading anybody else. With feeling and silliness of course, and often the same ones over and over.
Tamara
--- On Fri, 3/13/09, jenjon1964 <barbaracartagena3@...> wrote:
From: jenjon1964 <barbaracartagena3@...>
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Help with reading
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday, March 13, 2009, 11:42 PM
Hi,
My twin boys just turned 9. They love reading and are always reading books, they save up their money just to buy new books. So they have a great deal of love for books, but when I ask them to read out loud, they stumble a lot, and they kind of stutter, very choppy reading. Is this normal? How can I help them improve their fluency in reading? Thank you to anyone that can give me advice.
Thank you so much,
Barbie
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ren Allen
How can I help them improve their fluency
That's a generalization of course and I'm used to hanging around unschoolers. It doesn't matter when a person learns these things, it matters more that they feel comfortable in their own skin, learning their own way.
If it makes you feel better, my second child didn't even start reading at all until 12 years of age. Within three months he was reading fluently. It's all a developmental thing and happens in it's own time...even in schooled kids.
Ren
radicalunschooling.blogspot.com
> > in reading?Unschooling is hugely about trust. Trust that each human will develop in his/her own way, in their own time. Their fluency in reading will improve all on it's own. Nine is actually very young for fluent reading! School makes people think nine years is so "late" but that's not my experience. Most boys I know get much more comfortable with reading of any kind, around 12-15 years of age.
> >
That's a generalization of course and I'm used to hanging around unschoolers. It doesn't matter when a person learns these things, it matters more that they feel comfortable in their own skin, learning their own way.
If it makes you feel better, my second child didn't even start reading at all until 12 years of age. Within three months he was reading fluently. It's all a developmental thing and happens in it's own time...even in schooled kids.
Ren
radicalunschooling.blogspot.com
Robin Bentley
On Mar 14, 2009, at 11:44 AM, Tamara Griesel wrote:
in fact. My husband, whose comprehension of what he reads is excellent
(not to mention he's written eight books), is very uncomfortable
reading aloud. And as much as he wanted to read to our daughter when
she was younger, he couldn't get the flow or rhythm of it.
I only asked dd to read aloud to me a couple of times before I saw
that it shut her down completely. The performance aspect of it upset
her *a lot*. But she reads just fine (and will read something aloud if
she wants to) and has been doing so since she was 12. But 9 would have
been difficult for her, not to mention embarrassing.
Robin B.
> Totally normal, even among adults (I teach adult educationYes. Reading aloud is also an art, when done well. Like performance,
> classes). Some people just don't enjoy reading aloud. It's a
> different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
>
in fact. My husband, whose comprehension of what he reads is excellent
(not to mention he's written eight books), is very uncomfortable
reading aloud. And as much as he wanted to read to our daughter when
she was younger, he couldn't get the flow or rhythm of it.
I only asked dd to read aloud to me a couple of times before I saw
that it shut her down completely. The performance aspect of it upset
her *a lot*. But she reads just fine (and will read something aloud if
she wants to) and has been doing so since she was 12. But 9 would have
been difficult for her, not to mention embarrassing.
Robin B.
Sylvia Toyama
Okay this is a small point -- and I'm not talking about any one person, it's just one of those mainstream things that bugs me big-time.
****
It's a different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
*****
ALL reading is for information! Even when it's 'pleasure' information. Even if the only info one is seeking is what happens next in the story, it's information!
My mil (a retired kg and 1st grade teacher) regularly asks, "but does he read for information?"
What she really means is "does he read things that society considers valuable, but are really no fun for anyone to read?" because we all know if it's not drudgery or boring, it can't contain true 'information'. <weg>
Okay .... stepping off my soapbox now.
And yes, reading aloud is a completely different skill from reading for comprehension. I've known college graduates who can't read aloud understandably.
If your child is really feeling a desire to be more accomplished at reading aloud, try the funny papers or comic books. I've found that conversational or comedy reading is better for reading aloud than news/info kind of writing.
Sylvia
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
****
It's a different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
*****
ALL reading is for information! Even when it's 'pleasure' information. Even if the only info one is seeking is what happens next in the story, it's information!
My mil (a retired kg and 1st grade teacher) regularly asks, "but does he read for information?"
What she really means is "does he read things that society considers valuable, but are really no fun for anyone to read?" because we all know if it's not drudgery or boring, it can't contain true 'information'. <weg>
Okay .... stepping off my soapbox now.
And yes, reading aloud is a completely different skill from reading for comprehension. I've known college graduates who can't read aloud understandably.
If your child is really feeling a desire to be more accomplished at reading aloud, try the funny papers or comic books. I've found that conversational or comedy reading is better for reading aloud than news/info kind of writing.
Sylvia
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Tamara Griesel
Okay this is a small point -- and I'm not talking about any one person, it's just one of those mainstream things that bugs me big-time.
****
It's a different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
---Just to clarify, I actually was referring to the differing sets of skills one uses for different reading goals. One could even read the exact same piece of text for information or for pleasure. Say, a recipe. If my Cake Doctor book is open on my kitchen counter, I am enjoying myself, but I am reading the book for the information, so I am reading for specific details like exactly how much vanilla or oil to add, so I'm much more careful in my reading. If, however, I am sitting on my couch flipping through the Cake Doctor considering what cakes I might like to try baking someday, but mostly imagining what a Cherry Chocoloate Kahlua Cake might taste like for the sheer hedonistic joy of doing so, I am reading for pleasure. And I'm probably not paying a whole lot of attention to the measurements, but I may be spending more of my attention rolling the luscious descriptions over in my mind. (Cookie porn*, anyone?)
The goal of reading determines the way the eyes and the brain settle on the text.
*Here, any highly descriptive prose eliciting a pleasurable sensory experience, such as that of eating warm chocolate chip cookies.
Tamara
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
****
It's a different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
---Just to clarify, I actually was referring to the differing sets of skills one uses for different reading goals. One could even read the exact same piece of text for information or for pleasure. Say, a recipe. If my Cake Doctor book is open on my kitchen counter, I am enjoying myself, but I am reading the book for the information, so I am reading for specific details like exactly how much vanilla or oil to add, so I'm much more careful in my reading. If, however, I am sitting on my couch flipping through the Cake Doctor considering what cakes I might like to try baking someday, but mostly imagining what a Cherry Chocoloate Kahlua Cake might taste like for the sheer hedonistic joy of doing so, I am reading for pleasure. And I'm probably not paying a whole lot of attention to the measurements, but I may be spending more of my attention rolling the luscious descriptions over in my mind. (Cookie porn*, anyone?)
The goal of reading determines the way the eyes and the brain settle on the text.
*Here, any highly descriptive prose eliciting a pleasurable sensory experience, such as that of eating warm chocolate chip cookies.
Tamara
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Tamara Griesel
Okay this is a small point -- and I'm not talking about any one person, it's just one of those mainstream things that bugs me big-time.
****
It's a different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
---Just to clarify, I actually was referring to the differing sets of skills one uses for different reading goals. One could even read the exact same piece of text for information or for pleasure. Say, a recipe. If my Cake Doctor book is open on my kitchen counter, I am enjoying myself, but I am reading the book for the information, so I am reading for specific details like exactly how much vanilla or oil to add, so I'm much more careful in my reading. If, however, I am sitting on my couch flipping through the Cake Doctor considering what cakes I might like to try baking someday, but mostly imagining what a Cherry Chocoloate Kahlua Cake might taste like for the sheer hedonistic joy of doing so, I am reading for pleasure. And I'm probably not paying a whole lot of attention to the measurements, but I may be spending more of my attention rolling the luscious descriptions over in my mind. (Cookie porn*, anyone?)
The goal of reading determines the way the eyes and the brain settle on the text.
Sorry for getting all language geeky.
Tamara
*Here, any highly descriptive prose or image depicting an activity or object that gives pleasure or delight.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
****
It's a different skill from reading for information or for pleasure.
---Just to clarify, I actually was referring to the differing sets of skills one uses for different reading goals. One could even read the exact same piece of text for information or for pleasure. Say, a recipe. If my Cake Doctor book is open on my kitchen counter, I am enjoying myself, but I am reading the book for the information, so I am reading for specific details like exactly how much vanilla or oil to add, so I'm much more careful in my reading. If, however, I am sitting on my couch flipping through the Cake Doctor considering what cakes I might like to try baking someday, but mostly imagining what a Cherry Chocoloate Kahlua Cake might taste like for the sheer hedonistic joy of doing so, I am reading for pleasure. And I'm probably not paying a whole lot of attention to the measurements, but I may be spending more of my attention rolling the luscious descriptions over in my mind. (Cookie porn*, anyone?)
The goal of reading determines the way the eyes and the brain settle on the text.
Sorry for getting all language geeky.
Tamara
*Here, any highly descriptive prose or image depicting an activity or object that gives pleasure or delight.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ryan
> How can I help them improve their fluency in reading?I agree with what others have said that reading and reading out loud are two totally different activities, not to be confused with or by each other. I think sometimes people tend to believe that the out loud reading proficiency in some way reflects the internal reading proficiency, so we can judge the one by observing the other.
My sense is that when reading to oneself, the brain does a lot of interesting things in order to make the words make sense. Internal reading isn't necessarily linear, so the brain can stop, turn back, revise in mid sentence, correct mistakes as new information comes along, drift off into images, re-read, whatever. But when reading out loud, the reader is confined to a strict linearity, one word at a time and no opportunity to correct along the way.
So when I listen to my 8 yr old son read out loud, what I hear is someone who isn't familiar enough with the structure of the sentence to anticipate what is likely to happen next. He has to read each word flatly, because he cannot anticipate its relative importance in the sentence to know where to place emphasis. Typically, he has to get almost to the end of the sentence before he can comprehend how all of the parts were supposed to fit together. I can often practically hear the "aha" in his voice as the movement of the sentence itself suddenly makes sense. So that's just a skill that requires a lot of time and practice, a lot of experience with words and sentences and texts before it comes naturally. When he's reading something that he's familiar with, something that he's heard read out loud before, he's very fluent at it.
I read out loud a lot and love reading out loud. And one thing I've found is that there's a tremendous difference between prose that can easily be read out loud and prose that can't. And a great many things that read wonderfully in the mind are nearly impossible to read well out loud, simply because of the way the sentences unwind structurally. I'm a writer, too, and have a fascination with orality as a means of learning and knowing, and am actually trying to learn to write history and science books for children that are designed to be read out loud by parents.
Sorry that went on so long! It's a subject that strikes a chord with me.