DD12 unable to read - where to find KIDS audio books?

[FlyingDumbo]

half.com

 

[friend2Figment]

Have you had her screened to check for LD? I would not just kick back and hope she gets it. You are her greatest chance of succeeding.

I have 2 daughters who are dyslexic and our title 1 reading sp told me she could not teach my 1st grader to read until I taught her the ABCs. The only kid that was lower in her class had a language barrier. I had her screened for dyslexia and she was found to be on the sever end. We got her an IEP after I fought hard, in the meeting they told me she had a very high IQ and was extreamly . Fast forward 3 years and after going to a tutor to learn the Barton Reading Program she was removed for the IEP and is one of the top students in the class.

Do not give up keep fighting and keep searching for help.

Our tutors tell us audio books are really good as it helps increase vocabulary.

Check the library or a literacy program near you.

 

[Debbie]

An e-reader won't cut it. My mom kept pushing that idea, but my DD12 is only able to read at a Grade 2 level. And unless someone sits with her and makes her read, she won't try. But she wants so badly to read her chapter books (ie, My Secret Unicorn, Junie B. Jones, Bones) - you know, that level.

I keep trying to get her to practice reading, because I do believe that once she gets past the hurdle of learning to sound out words, her reading level will advance and she'll be so much happier.

In the meantime, I read her chapter books. And lately, it hasn't been that often... I need to kick it up and read more to her.

However it dawned on me - audio books! Are these out there for KIDS?? She listens to music all the time on my iTouch. Can I download children's audio books for her? Can anyone point me to links, information?

Please & thank you!!!

Dani, I'm going to second (third, fourth or fifth) the idea of the library. You should be able to find books on CD/tapes there. Also, in the summer, the public libraries across Ontario run a Summer Fun programme for all ages. At our local one, the kids read and earn tickets for draws. I know that the city library near my school has prizes, too. I really encourage ALL kids to spend time at the library through the summer. Here's the general link with stories, games, reviews, book lists etc: http://www.td-club-td.ca/index-e.html You'll find a link through your local library as well.

Also, be sure to be reading TO her as well. As someone said, the listening comprehension is higher than the reading fluency. Hearing you read, seeing you read, will keep her interest. My girls were early readers, but into the junior division, I still read bedtime stories. It gave us a quiet, restful, time to connect, and we discussed books like "The Secret Garden", "Harry Potter" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" 1-on-1 time with our kids.

Oh, and I agree with the poster that said leave the Junie B books lying around. You never know. I've watched motivated kids in grade one work their way through something they want to read.

 

[Theta]

Read, read, read to her and make sure it's at an appropriate age level - not at her reading level. When children have reading difficult,ies they tend to have a lower vocabulary level because they aren't reading books that are as advanced as their peers. However, when you read those type books to them they gain those vocabulary skills.

I agree with this 100%. I can't tell you how many times I have read Magic School Bus, Junie B Jones, Curious George, etc, etc. pretty much every series out there.

READ, READ, READ and let them follow along, take turns, etc. This is the biggest contribution you can make to their education.

 

[MrsPete]

As an English teacher, I don't think the audio books are going to do any good. Listening is one skill; reading is a different skill. The only way to become a better reader is TO READ.

The problem, of course, is that at 12 it's hard to find something that's interesting to her AND is within her reading level. I suggest you try The Series of Unfortunate Events, Captain Underpants, and The Warriors series. A little more advanced: The Hunger Games. Series books are especially good for reluctant readers because they don't have to pick up on new characters and a new plotline as they begin each new book.

Summer is a great time to emphasize reading, but YOU have to push her. Kids in this situation don't usually choose to read on their own -- they don't like to feel behind their peers.

 

[Kitzka]

DD struggled with reading for years. She started reading manga and graphic novels about 2 years ago. On her own she started picking up 'harder' novels. She still struggles some but often listens to the audio and reads along as she listens. It has drastically improved how she reads and her enjoyment.

Now I have to get her to stop reading! But I would get them from the library. If yours desnt have the ones you want try interlibrary loan. Not all books come in audio format.

DDs (13) current fav is the fallen series by Lauren Kate.

Lara

 

[woodkins]

As others have said our library has tons of children's audio books. I can tell you they FOR SURE have Junie B. Audio books as my daughter listened to them all summer two years ago. I have also purchased many audio books on ebay for very cheap.

 

[ceecee]

Library. Tons available.

Our library has tons of audiobooks for kids and they're free!

 

[zurgswife]

I would make sure that she actually has a reading disablity before you try to do something other then read books. That said if there is a learning disability that effects reading the audio books are the best. My 18 yr old son with severe dyslexia and coding issue would never have survived in school with out audio books.

Pushing a person with reading disablity to keep trying is useless it just makes them want to learn nothing. If she has been officially diagnosised I say definatley audio books.

 

[MomToOne]

I keep trying to get her to practice reading, because I do believe that once she gets past the hurdle of learning to sound out words, her reading level will advance and she'll be so much happier.

If you haven't already, please have her evaluated for a learning disability.

My daughter had difficulties reading, and despite all the well-intentioned teachers who said she was just "behind" and "needed more practice", that wasn't what she needed. She needed specialized therapy to help her past the core problems that manifested themselves as difficulty reading. Thankfully we found the help we needed.

 

[stm61]

If you can't find enough audio books google High Noon Publishers. They have paperback books that look like regular chapter books, but are written from a 1st grade reading level on up. They're designed for older kids with lower reading abilities. They have a lot of different series available. Some I can think of right now are the Tom & Ricky series and the Meg Parker series. They also have chapter books that aren't part of a series, so kids don't always have to read about the same characters. I teach a self-contained class with low ability kids. They loved having a book that looked like the books the regular ed kids were reading.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

If she "wants so badly" to read her chapter books, then why not just leave the books laying around for her to give a go instead of giving her an alternative where she doesn't need to try to read.

And also, you said she was reading at a 2nd grade level, the Junie B Jones books are at that level so she should be able to make progress with those if she's interested in them. They seem a little young for a 12 year old but if her interest is there it's a good way to raise her skill level.

YES! If there are books she wants to read, please, please, please let her read them! If this is what she's able to read on her own, let her do it. Kids need to read materials that are comfortable for them for independent reading. If you are going to help her, then pick something just beyond her---don't try to make her read at the grade she "should" be reading at, as it sounds like that would be at frustration level for her. There are different levels of reading---independent, instructional, and frustration. If she has an independent reading level of 2nd grade, let her read books on her own at that level. If she has an instructional level of 3rd grade, this would be a good place to read with her. If 4th grade is a frustration level, using materials at this level will just make her feel less competent and discourage her even more.
If you live near a university, find out if they have a reading licensing program and see if a student would assess her and help you find appropriate materials.

 

[kayrosek]

My DS10 has extensive learning disabilities but loves books. We use the library too but sometimes have problems as he really only likes the CD's if he can follow along and sometimes we have a hard time finding the two together.

 

[pklein09]

I'm with some other pp's.....does she have a disability that hinders her reading? DS13 has processing issues that we finally diagnosed at the end of 3rd grade (at my insistence, not the teacher's). In 6th grade at his private school, the Dean of Academics suggested we contact Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, now called Learning Ally. We could do this because he had been officially diagnosed with a learning disability. We had to submit his educational evaluations to Learning Ally to be approved to get the recordings. He can get his textbooks in addition to just about any reading novels required for school. We use the MP3 option, and he listens while following along in the book. He's an aural learner. What a difference!!! He could read the words, but the meaning got lost. When he finished his first book this way (Cheaper By The Dozen), he was upset. When I asked why, he said because the dad died. He had never been emotionally invested in a book before - they were just words on a page.

I think your first step is to figure out why she's having difficulty reading and go from there. Best of luck!

 

[eeyorethegreat]

I agree with the others who said that if your daughter has not been evaluated for a Learning Disability/Difference, you really need to have that done ASAP. At age 12, unless she just isn't getting exposure to reading, which I would think that she would be in a school setting at least, she should be over "the hump" by now. I am guessing that she is finishing 5th or 6th grade and to be at a 2nd grade reading level is very significant. The others are right though reading to her age appropriate books and encouraging her to read level appropriate books is a good idea.

 

[danjoealexis3006]

My DS 12 has dyslexia. I would look to the library, bookshare, and recording for the blind and dyslexic (she should be getting audio books from the school for her science, history, and lit). Have her listen to books that are way beyond her reading level and read books that are at her level. I would also look at Barton Spelling and Reading for her. If you have not had her evaluated yet, do so today. The school should have already done this. If you homeschool they will help you with this. To be honest my ds still struggles with sounding out words but because he is reading more and I have been working with him with phonics it has gotten wayyy better. I have found that you can not give them books that they guess at the words (I'm sure you have seen you dd insert a word that doesn't make sense in the sentance?). I know what a pain it can be to get a preteen do this!!!! Goodluck! Oh, you may want to post this on the Family Board too (especially the homeschool thread). You may want to check out "The heart of Reading" yahoo group. Those ladies know everything about reading dysablities!

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Plus try an ereader!

DD10 is a very reluctant reader but she loved reading on my Nook because i had set the type to large and it was easier for her to read on the Nook than to read a printed book. The newest Nook has variable type size, line spacing and font. Barnes & Noble has the Junie B. Jones books for the Nook for 4.99 each. Libraries ofen have ebooks also.

I had gotten a free Rick Riordan novel and she loved it and became a enthusiastic reader., enough that she got her own Nook for reading and has read most of his novels.

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't know what your dd's real issue is with reading....but one thing that I've found helpful with my kids in reading is taking them to the library,and letting them check out picture books by the hundreds,whatever looked interesting,whatever the subject or 'level'
both my kids went through phases where they didn't enjoy chapter books,(tho they had no trouble with the reading)
picture books can be beautiful,artistic,educational, and they are not intimidating for young ones to pick up and browse through on their own.
Like I said,not knowing the issues with your dd,that would be a simplistic idea to help her. I never prodded my kids to 'read at grade level' in our house, we just read.everything from comics to classics, there are so many wonderful titles (and pictures) to catch the eye.....
also, don't stop reading chapters aloud to her, I haven't stopped for my older kids and DH yet....

 

[ellie'smom]

Try comic books. Visually appealing, age appropriate, quick, condensed story lines, and hip.

 

[DaniB]

Wow, I'm sorry I took a couple of days to get back to this thread. I swear it took me 1/2 an hour to read and I have only replied to posters on page 1 so far. The past couple of days I've been focused on trying to snag all new ADRs now that I made up a new internary that includes the kids. Once school's over, busy with kids & family.

We go to the library on Sats, so I will be checking with the librarian as to what we can get. Actually, after reading all these replies, I'm going to phone the library this afternoon and speak to someone.

I realize I should have provided more background information. She does have a LOT of books. Various chapter books and younger ages books (ie, suitable for age 5-7). My whole family are avid readers. I have so many books (and comics) stored from childhood that I hoped my kids would share my love of. In her early years, teachers have told me I need to read with her and get her to read, not realizing (or perhaps believing?) that I already was daily. For a few years the focus has been on getting her to read at least 20 minutes a day.

She does wants to read, but gets frustrated so quickly & easily and loses determination. Last year, after my mom told her how I would read late at night with a flashlight as a kid, she would do the same for an hour or so. I turned a "blind-eye" and let her stay up until she fell asleep since reading's so important. But after a few months, that turned into trying to play with toys in bed instead.

I signed both kids up for Kumon last October and it worked wonders for my son. He was very behind at the beginning of the school year, and now he has caught up to grade level. It's slower going for my daughter, but the repetation has made her realize why she needs to sound out the letters. However after 20-30 minutes of worksheets, she's in no mood to try to read later. I keep thinking of stopping it for the summer to give her a break, but repitation is important with her.

And also, you said she was reading at a 2nd grade level, the Junie B Jones books are at that level so she should be able to make progress with those if she's interested in them. They seem a little young for a 12 year old but if her interest is there it's a good way to raise her skill level.

If JBJ books are a Grade 2 level, then the school must be over-estimating her reading ability. We have almost the entire series here and she cannot read a whole page easily. She can read Robert Munch books.

Just curious -is she getting learning assistance at school for reading? Has she been tested for a learning disability? If not, you should have her tested, then she can get the proper support she needs for success in reading.

She definatly has a learning disability and it's been years of fighting the school for support. And we'll be paying for testing this time around as the school has done it twice with contradictory results and no real help... That's a whole other chapter.

You might also look into one of the digital readers such as the Kindle or Pocketbook which has text to speech capabilities so she would be following reading the words as she hears the speech.

I believe our local library uses a subscription to Bookshare - you might Google that and see what it is all about.

It never occured to me that a digital reader might have text-to-speech capability. Thanks for letting me know. That and Bookshare is something I've marked down to also look into.

Reading specialist here, the only way to be a better reader is to read. I would suggest reading together and switching pages, 20 minutes per day and she should be up 2 levels by the end of summer unless there is a disability.

Unfortunately there is a disability involved. I read with my DS7 as well and he has no issues. It amazes me to see just how easily children really can pick up reading, writing and spelling when I watch him. I started to wonder how any kid learns to read. At this point she's so frustrated and discouraged, she won't even read 20-30 mins a day with me, even when I offer her $1 each time towards saving for her iPod Touch.

If your daughter has a diagnosed learning disability, you might also try CNIB (the national library for the blind- they loan audiobooks for free).

Also adding to my list!

Another type of book that really encourages her to read is graphic novels. Really they're just comics with a more grown up name but she loves them. She loves the Babymouse books but if your DD is on target maturity-wise then she'd more likely prefer some more teen oriented graphic novels. Just make sure YOU check out each series before you let her read them because some are much more mature than others and the manga graphic novels do contain a lot of demon-lore which some people do not want for their kids. We get these from our library as well. The way I look at is that as long as the content is acceptable then whatever gets them reading is a good thing. Reading comics and graphic novels is reading and I like that my DD feels like she's reading something age-appropriate instead of little kidish which encourages her even more to read.

She did bring home "Totally Spies" and "Bones" graphic novels from the school library awhile ago but wanted me to read them as usual. Now I found the vocab too difficult there for her to read, but it's a good idea. There must be something more suitable. I wonder if she would like Archie comics. I have boxes full waiting for my kids to be able to read. I'll pull some out and see if she becomes interested enough to keep trying them with me.