Help Getting DS (9) to Read

[kirbydog48]

My DS 10 has issues with reading and has just this past year started to read on his own for enjoyment. He has really enjoyed the "Geronimo Stilton" books. They are fun to read and extremely visual. It could be a developmental issue that may resolve in a year or so....he may just not be ready for this yet. I would cut back on the time, or divide it into chunks so it isn't so overwhelming (like two ten minute sessions and work up to 1/2 hour), and reward bigtime. Have you had him tested? He may need more supports than he's getting in school (ie, work with a Wilson or Orton-Gillingham specialist). I also have taken my DS to the bookstore or library and let him pick out what he wants, like comic books, non-fiction books about space and dinosaurs. Non-fiction seems to hold his interest longer.

 

[Buckalew11]

This thread is so sad to me. I hated reading as a kid too. I only ready Peanuts paperbacks, LOL. The worst part is in 3rd grade and up you are reading to learn more than learning to read. If this continues for him, school will be a struggle.

I was a good reader. I could read anything. My trouble was totally comprehension. I tested decently because I could go back into the paragraph and find the keywords and answer. If I had to tell what I just read about---forget it.

At 40, I got help with this problem and it has changed my life. I love reading now. I hope you can find help for your son. I read words and not phrases. I did not "see the movie in my head." I hope you can find the solution for your son very soon to help him through this--it will affect the rest of his life. Good luck!!!

 

[Jennasis]

HAs your son been tested for dyslexia or anything like that? My mom HATES reading, because her retention and comprehension suck. For the kid to be willing to give up Disney so he doesn't have to read points to a BIGGER problem. When was the last time his eyesight was tested?

Just some theories.

Also, I am not a fan of forcing the kid to read. Now it's a chore. He may develop a resentment of reading in general. I like the poster who suggested off-the-wall reading material. Comic books? Graphic Novel? Wii instruction manual? Nintendo Power magazine? Anything but a book.

Finally, just because you and DH love reading doesn't mean your son has to...or even like it.

 

[eeyoremum]

Why force the issue?

I pushed my oldest to read and finally gave up. He is now 15 and an avid reader. DS10 hates reading. I have never forced it on him. He does not pick up a book but he does read. Words are all around us. Use those opportunities to get him to read signs to you. My DS10 does enjoy graphic novels so he will read those but otherwise I don't set a "reading time" if he picks up a book great if not no big deal.

btw I work in an academic library so am big on literacy and learning. I am just not buying into the school systems theory of push reading at all costs. If you back off they might find a love of reading.

 

[TALB]

Try "Diary of a Whimpy Kid' books. My son who hates to read actually begs to go to the book store when a new one comes out. They have really cute cartoons built into them so they make for a fun and silly read.

 

[hopemax]

Hopemax- I know he is frustrated and well aware that his reading skills aren't very good. He told me he was relieved when his teacher sid that theentire class got to move up a grade level! Also, his fluency and comprehension are poor. He will sound out a word or attempt to. If it is not right, he simply moves on. What? He either doesn't care that it makes no sense or doesn't realize it.

Okay, then I think you need to work on him on how necessary practice is, and that "it WILL get better." You can talk to him about how important practice is in other areas like music, athletics, etc. Ask him how he thinks they got so good, and I'm guessing he actually wants to be a good reader, he just doesn't think he can be. So if you can connect desire with practice that would be good. Michael Phelps might be a good example, since not only did he have to practice in the pool, but he had problems in school because of ADHD. Is there a non-reading example, from his own life, on where he or a sibling struggled with something and practice made it better?

If he is scared that he is going to some day be held back, he needs to know that that is a real possibility some day, and that practice and learning the right tools now will be the way to avoid it. He will be asked in middle school and high school in non-English/reading classes, to research something with the expectation that he reads books to gather the information. He may be able to "fake it" now, but that isn't going to last forever. It's just a guess, but that might be why he just moves on if he doesn't know a word...if he takes too long it will draw attention to him and "everyone will know." And it's not going to just get better on its own. And that means starting with what he is comfortable with even if they are "baby" books because you (or a tutor) needs to find out exactly where his problems areas are. It may not be as bad as he or you might fear. If there is one particular hurdle, he might be able to make lots of progress in other areas in a quick period of time.

One of my kids from that peer tutoring program, was able to get back to grade level after our year, and she was so excited, and when we ran into each other in high school she came up to me and thanked me, and she turned into quite a good student. My best friend also had difficulty reading in elementary school. But once she had mastered the basics, once it wasn't so much of a struggle, THEN came the interest, the reading for fun, and then came an even higher level of mastery.

I would also balance the reading work, which is going to be hard, by upping the amount of activity of something he is good at and enjoys. And lots of hugs

 

[Calrissian13]

Another great collection of non-fiction books is what I call the DK books (publisher is Dorling Kindersley, hence the DK). http://us.dk.com/static/cs/us/11/childrens/intro.html
They have books on pretty much every topic a child could be interested in, and they're not so much stories as they are mini-encyclopedia centred around one subject. They also started releasing mini biographies of historical figures a few years back. The pictures are beautiful, the content is educational but interesting, and they are just a great resource to have on hand whether you're trying to get your child to read or need a reference for a project later on.

Does your son like sports? There is a series here in Canada called the Screech Owls, that follows a junior hockey team on different adventures. They are geared towards boys, ages 8-12, and they are small books so they don't overwhelm. http://www.screechowls.com/

Finally, the -Ology Books are incredible. There's Dragonology, Pirateology, Egyptology, Mythology, Oceanology, Monsterology, and Spyology, and they are quite ingenious. They are again non-ficiton style, but work like a researcher's log book, with items you can pull out of pockets and examine yourself. Which is great for kids who have trouble focusing on reading, because it keeps them active while giving them something to read. http://www.ologyworld.com/

I too am an avid reader and a librarian, so hearing that someone is so opposed to even picking up a book breaks my heart. But I also know that not everyone is the same, and things that I love have no interest to others out there. Here's hoping your son comes around on his own and just needs the right materials to realize reading can be fun if he lets it.

Good luck!

 

[hopemax]

Why force the issue?
Everyone reads words are all around us.

Not always. Imagine us English speakers going to a country with a different language. There may be signs all around us, newspapers, forms to fill out, but we don't know what they say, even if we recognize the letters and some words are similar to ours. How often we see those things isn't going to make us bi-lingual as fast as someone saying, "see that word, it means such and such, it sounds like ___." A mistake people make is assuming "everyone can read." Or if someone made it this far in school, he must be proficient. Not always the case.

 

[ajk912]

Oh, I hear you. My son is generally ok with reading if I let him read a comic book or a Nintendo Power magazine or he loves the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books. Too bad there are only 3 of them (another is coming out soon, I know).

The battle is really bad when he HAS to read a book for school. My son is also 9, btw, and his summer required reading is a book about a girl who got polio. I UNDERSTAND that the book is depressing and what boy wants to read about that. I don't make the rules, but he will be tested on it so he HAS to read it. His argument is that failing one test won't kill him. I have grounded him from video games and tv, till he does his reading, but he really WOULD stay grounded all day. He doesn't care. I hate to destroy his summer over not reading, so it's a mental battle over what to do. He basically ACED his Virginia SOL (state standard testing) so I know he's fine..but I dunno. Parenting is hard.

 

[eeyoremum]

Not always. Imagine us English speakers going to a country with a different language. There may be signs all around us, newspapers, forms to fill out, but we don't know what they say, even if we recognize the letters and some words are similar to ours. How often we see those things isn't going to make us bi-lingual as fast as someone saying, "see that word, it means such and such, it sounds like ___." A mistake people make is assuming "everyone can read." Or if someone made it this far in school, he must be proficient. Not always the case.

Sorry I was not clear. I reread what I wrote and realized I omitted a portion.

What I mean is that words are all around so don't necessarily set "reading time" have him read the signs to you when you are out. Say I am looking for whatever street tell me when you see it.

Things like that are significant steps in reading and it is getting it in without them knowing it. Kind of like putting shredded veggies in muffins.

 

[minkydog]

First rule, was it doesn't matter what you read, just read. Comic books, video game cheat guides, game instruction manuals, sports magazines, whatever. Practice is more important than content. That can come later.

My oldest son didn't start reading until he was 8-1/2. It was difficult for him and he didn't enjoy it at all. Finding things he liked to read and wanted to read was the key. John is a video junkie. I found a series of books about the classic movie monsters, the special effects, the makeup, etc. Suddenly, he couldn't get enough.

I have a 10 year old who only recently got to where he will sometimes read willingly. Drives me nuts--DD12 and I read all the time and I truly can't relate to not wanting to read. Here are a f
ew tings we did which seemed to ahev helped:
1. He listened (still listens) to books on tape. I also always read chapter books aloud to the kids, but I wanted to encourage him to do something reading related independently even if it was listening

2. We allowed him to read thigns that were "too easy" for him on his own. My thought was that way he could relax and enjoy following the story and "Get into" it without struggling with the words.

3. We kept working on finding things he wanted to read.

4. Get creative about WHAT he reads. DS does community theatre. I noticed he always read the full script the first night he had it.

5. For a long time we always put the subtitles on whenever we watched a DVD--jsut to haev the words there and sinking in. We still would except now we have moved to Germany so we put the German subtitles onwhich is helping all of us a bit.

Good luck

Books on tape were great for John. He really liked to have chapter books read to him. His listening level was MUCH higher than his reading level. I read aloud every night and throughout the day(we homeschooled for this exact reason.)

I had forgotten about theater! John started community theater when he was about 9yo. He read and memorized each script almost immediately and became the prompter for his company. That was a boost to his self-esteem!

Have him read books that are appropriate for his reading level, not necessarily his age or grade, if he is reading below that. Let him pick books that are interesting to him. Highlights magazine is also good. It's easy, short stories, jokes, riddles and activities for kids to do. Fun stuff.

eta: maybe instead of using the timer, tell him we're going to read a chapter a day or 10 pages a day.

I couldn't agree more. Stop with the "strict schedule". Bleah. Who wants to do that? Practice reading together. It takes about 2 years for a child to become atruly fluent reader so be patient.
Read riddle books, Mad Libs, science experiments, recipes, Ranger Rick magazine. Some people, like my DH, never get good at reading aloud. Rather than insisting on it, perhaps you might alternate, having him read silently for 10 min and tell you about what he read. Then you read aloud for 5 min. Make reading something to look forward to.

I knew we were on the right track when John, then 10yo, asked me for a volume of Shakespeare (remember, he loved theater.) He has kept that book and still re-reads portions of it. John, now 23, reads voraciously now and I never ask him to read aloud.

And if nothing else works, I suggest bribery.

 

[EthansMom]

My best advice: Let DS pick out his own reading materials. Have him read (most) every day, for a short period of time. Offer a reward for reading.

My DS really likes the Jack Stalwart series (by Elizabeth Singer Hunt).

 

[golfgal]

Pushing a kid to read when they don't want to or CAN'T is a sure fire way to get them to hate reading. I think you first need to find out what is causing his distress. Take him to a good eye doctor to make sure his eyes are working right-first his vision is ok, then his eyes work together, etc. Many, many kids with good eye site have problems with their eyes working together thus causing blurry words, words jumping on a page, not being able to follow a line of writing in a book, etc. This makes reading really, really HARD. Vision Therapy can do wonders for kids like this.

If his eyes are good, he needs to be retested at school to see what the problem is. Not wanting to read and not being ABLE to read are two very different things. You mentioned that he struggles with sounding out words--are they words he should be able to read? If so, something is not processing right and all the rewards in the world aren't going to help that.

Now, take a kid like my oldest who didn't LIKE to read at that age and we just let him read whatever he wanted-mostly Magic Tree House books and his Nintendo Power magazine. We had him tested to make sure he didn't have a problem and tested as a junior in college for reading level (he was 9 at the time). We stopped pushing him. In 7th grade something clicked with him and and he started reading for pleasure all on his own. His 11th grade English teacher actually told us at parent/teacher conferences that he needs to stop reading so much (mainly because he was doing it in class when he shouldn't have been).