Kindle Fire has HELPED my struggling reader!

[indimom]

I just love to read everyone's sucess stories here! My 4th grader has a LD & has always struggled with reading. At this point, everything at his reading level is way too babyish which creates a viscious cycle--he doesn't want to ready those books & everything that interests him is way above his skill level. As a result he is completely turned off to reading.

I just got a Kindle Fire so I will be actively searching for some books that I can download to kickstart his love of reading now that I hear how well it is working for the rest of your kiddos! I think he will love having the pop up feature as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for a lower level reader to get his interest in reading started?

Good luck to all of you & continued sucess for your kids!

I'm not sure if this is recommended for a child with a LD, (maybe it would undermine other methods you are using??) but this is another technology which worked for my daughter.

She was a S-L-O-W reader. It just took her forever to work through a book. Comprehension was fine, but by intermediate school she just couldn't keep up with the reading required and it turned the entire effort into WORK instead of pleasure. She was getting very discouraged.

I ended up borrowing books on tape from the library (the Harry Potter series) and allowed her to follow along in the books. I DID make sure she really was following along. And when she took her book to school to read during her spare time she was reading those portions on her own.

It was amazing, she finally showed an increased interest in reading and her speed picked up dramatically. She finished the entire series and an avid reader was born. She moved on to Percy Jackson, Twilight, Hunger Games and other series.

She primarily reads to herself now (at 14), but still occasionally borrows a book on tape from the library to enjoy while she's doing other things or to listen to in bed at night.

 

[Disney Addicted]

Could someone tell me (if you know) -- is the Kindle (fire or otherwise) available for Canadians to purchase? (EDITED TO ADD - never mind.. I just phoned Amazon.ca and was told no... the only Kindle we are allowed to have is the Kindle Touch)

If not, do other e-readers have this feature (word description/dictionary) or is this currently unique to the Kindle?

My reluctant reader likes to read on. My iPad.
I just checked, and I can't get my Kindle app to show definitions. The iBook app does. Scholastic has a great reader app called Storia. We have only used the free books so far, but if the word in question is in the dictionary, it will speak the word as well. Some of the books have interactive games built in to them.

That answers one question. I wondered if the Kindle app would show definitions since I have an iPad. I'm going to find a customer service e-mail form and ask if this is something they would consider updating the app with.

And thanks for the information on Storia. I looked it up and it sounds good! When I tried to download it though, it's not available for us Canadians... I just finished e-mailing both the US and CAN Scholastic websites over this.

 

[Korea Ears]

To show definitions there needs to be a dictionary downloaded and then it will have the option for pop-up definitions from the dictionary you have downloaded.

 

[aleask]

I have toyed with getting Fire for DD9, but wonder since library is free would I be buying stuff that I don't need to?

I really like the idea of the dictionary function that is mentioned on here.

Has anyone here spent much time with the Amazon Prime check out book thing? Is there books that a 9 yr old would like?

I know I find a ton of books for kindle app on iPad, but I don't have to worry about age specif material either.

Thank you for your responses about this.

 

[dawnandnala]

I have toyed with getting Fire for DD9, but wonder since library is free would I be buying stuff that I don't need to?

I really like the idea of the dictionary function that is mentioned on here.

Has anyone here spent much time with the Amazon Prime check out book thing? Is there books that a 9 yr old would like?

I know I find a ton of books for kindle app on iPad, but I don't have to worry about age specif material either.

Thank you for your responses about this.

Check out your local library - most libraries have e-books to check out through overdrive or other systems. I got my fire for christmas and haven't paid for a book yet.
For a 9 year old (based on my 10 year old nephew's tastes) I have read all the Hunger Games books which are big right now especially with the movie coming out soon. Also all the Harry Potter books should be available around the end of April - JK specifically has made them available in ebook format for public schools and libraries.
You can also check overdrive.com to find your nearest library that has ebooks available for you.
Every library has different limits on how many books you can have checked out at once and for how long. For example library allows up to 12 books at once and each book is checked out for a maximum of 21 days.
Oh and don't let wait lists discourage you - I was very pleasantly suprised on how fast requested books will become available! I was somewhere around 21st on the list for The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo and I had a notice it was ready to check out in less than a week!