Getting a 3Rd Grader to Love Reading

I tutored kids in reading and grammar (among other subjects), and found that five factors tend to converge in kids who are poor readers:

(1) being disabled to some degree (such as poor vision, dyslexia, ADD, …);
(2) feeling stupid;
(3) feeling forced;
(4) not having reading material that is interesting or relevant;
(5) not having reading modeled by parents as something fun and gratifying.

All of these factors are important to examine. For example, feeling stupid almost guarantees failure. A little girl who doesn't know that poor vision is contributing to poor reading can quickly feel inadequate, and won't even want to try. Closely tied to this is a sense of being compelled to do something she has developed a distaste for. That becomes a vicious cycle: as she increasingly falls short of her teachers' expectations, the pressure mounts for her to succeed, and so she feels increasingly forced. The new glasses could make a positive difference, but it may take awhile to see any improvement if reading has become a struggle of wills between your daughter and her school.

You've already seen that your daughter will read material that interests her, even if it's well above her reading level. Admire the effort she makes to read those books. Comment on what a great vocabulary she's building. You might be able to nurture her reading by taking a relaxed interest in the subjects she's explored - not so much for her comprehension, but the interest she has in the subject ("Would you like to paint like Mary Cassatt? I wonder what got her so interested in painting?" or, "Hmm, what do you think about those cubists?"). That will leave your daughter space to talk about what she has read. She may be grateful to be recognized in this way.

Finally, reading experts claim that kids will eventually read happily if the adults in their lives love to read. As contradictory as it may seem, reading TO children increases their desire to read for themselves. So, even if you feel you must put in some "exercise" time making her read, find time as often as possible to read her books that she really enjoys, just for the fun of it.

If you can squeeze it into your overloaded schedule, you might also make a monthly outing to the library, and maybe a little treat afterward. Find out whether your local library offers summer storytelling or reading programs that might encourage your daughter.

Good luck, S.. I feel sad that your awesome child has had such negative early experiences as a reader. There's no way to know whether she'll get better opportunities in a public school – because the teachers there are also required to pound kids into the same-sized boxes. So it seems to me there would be lots of tradeoffs. But a fresh start might be helpful. Your daughter is old enough to participate in such a decision to some degree. Why don't you lay out for her as many pros and cons as you can anticipate, and see what she thinks of the idea? If she has good friends at school, she may decide she wants to hang tight and keep plugging away at the reading. Sometimes the devil you know is easier to deal with than too many unknowns.

Hello S.,

there have been studies done about the reasons why many boys (in these particular studies) don't do well in reading and the reason was found to be that teachers use reading materials that don't appeal to the children - I think this may well be the case for your daughter.
Unfortunately teachers can't cater to every child's taste in their class and there will always be some materials that you daughter won't like.
I do agree with the teacher that reading skills are largely dependent on sufficient practice and you do have to do this with her at home.
It does not have to be long, at this age 15 to 20 minutes every day should be more than enough and you could even start shorter (say 5 minutes) and work your way up.
I like the concept of storytime before you go to bed, just instead of you reading the story, let her read out loud.
Also let her pick the book, it should be the same level of reading as in school, but does not have to be the same book or subject.
One of my nieces hated the fictional stories they had in elementary school but LOVED science books for kids. IMO Reading is reading and you want to instill a love for books, so let her read something she loves and her skills will improve on other materials as well.

Just one last thing... if there is more going on with that particular teacher consider whether this school is the right choice for her. I have suffered through elementary and middle school under teachers that had a problem with my mother's lifestyle - my grades only picked up after changing schools due to a move and more understanding teachers that came with that. I have sworn myself that for my daughter (that won't be ready for school for years) I will intervene early should a situation like that come up and rather move her to a different school than have her hate going to school for years.

S., first I had two instant thoughts. One is that each child is different, and that one beauty of being a mother is to recognize that and love the differences. If we start despairing over them, we lose out on some of the wonder of being moms. You're thrilled at the artisty she shows. If she is never a great typist, will you care? Of course not! Reading is wonderful, and she may or may not ever be great at it, but don't let the fear of her not reading well harm the wonder of her talent!

The other thought is that everything happens for a reason; I absolutely believe that if something happens in our lives, we grow by having worked through it. And you are going to be an educator? How wonderful! Your daughter needs educating, and you have this totally AWESOME chance to figure out how to reach her, in ways that others haven't!

When my stepson was ten, I recognized that his school had assumed him to be unteachable, and therefore just put up with his presence. I didn't believe it. This sweet boy had severe problems, but today he is the only one of my four children who writes me letters that are wonderfully written, almost no misspellings and no grammatical errors, and give me wonderful musings. And this was never because of public schools.

Every day, I spent the time to put together small packets that I geared to being something I had observed he didn't understand. Changing y to i and adding es. Doubling the last consonant on a one-syllable word, when adding suffixes like er or ed.

I worked on spelling with him, and learned that he should NOT be trying to learn spelling by printing. There is a "flow" to using cursive. "Pl" fits together, "er" and "or" and "ive" flow together almost like they do when I type (some words type themselves because the whole syllable feels like one movement). It was a joy to work with him, and I never allowed myself to make him spend more than 20 minutes a day at it, unless he insisted he "couldn't do it". Then we'd find a way through the muck, or I'd tell him that he certainly COULD do it, and WOULD do it, but that I'd let him have a ten minute break first.

In fourth grade, when I started this, he was in the "resource room". When he would return to his regular classroom, they'd be doing spelling. Pat was told that he only had to study five of the 20 words, and he took it VERY seriously. He would sometimes study for two hours! And I was getting really worried, particularly when I discovered that he (1) never got more than one word correct and (2) didn't even know how to pronounce those words.

I learned to sit with him and put the words into proper order. All that had "tain" went together (certain, captain, mountain). The first thing we'd do, is to make sure he could pronounce each one. And we'd notice how close each one was. Not so different from each other. And then I'd try something, like having him try to spell them right away, without studying them. It was amazing how many he could spell as soon as he could read them! So then we only had to work on a few that bothered him!

Okay ... now for the entire rest of that year (January through June) he got 100% on EVERY spelling test ... on all 20 to 25 words! And his reading, of course, improved. We never spent more than 20 to 25 minutes studying in an evening, because I felt that was ENOUGH time for him to work on it, at his age.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that you need to do things as I did. But I'm saying that it was amazing what I learned about teaching, what I learned about my new stepson, and what the public school system didn't know and still doesn't, about teaching. So no .. don't send your daughter to public school because her reading isn't up to snuff. Take up the gauntlet! Choose to find out what works for her! It will enrich you both, and you'll be a better teacher for it!

Who knows ... maybe you'll even be someone who finds innovative teaching methods for children who have difficulty reading!

Oh, and Patrick's daddy? His spelling was SO ATROCIOUS when we married! And whenever Patrick (OR his daddy) would ask about spelling something, I would NEVER just tell them. I'd tell them WHY (Let's see; what's the rule? I before E except after C or ...) My husband's spelling is now so good that he almost never asks me how to spell something! I wouldn't make them tell me the rule. I'd just mention the rule and then spell it. The constant reminder of why finally sank in. It used to be that I'd read things hubby wrote and have to ask what ten or twelve words were supposed to be!

I did the same thing with words that had been derived from other words. I'd tell them what the root word was, and act like I was therefore pondering how this one would therefore be spelled. Or sometimes this came from their not knowing how to pronounce a word, and I'd "ponder" my way through it.

Every child is different. Yours may not learn from my way of teaching Pat. But I have complete faith in you. If you are trying to be an educator, and your daughter needs help with her education, that is SYNCHRONICITY! And you have this wonderful chance to learn something while you help her to learn!

OH OH! And after reading some of the responses, I saw Deb's and recalled that when my granddaughter was young, I'd get books that she would be not quite ready to read herself, and I'd read one paragraph and she'd read the next (or one page). It was a terrific thing to do together! Your time is totally limited, because you have so much piled into each day. So I encourage you to find things that make you both smile, while you help her to read! (and again, here and there explain "why" a word sounds the way it does, but don't do it constantly so it gets in the way of enjoying a book)

Hi, I am a reading specialist and I think there are several factors that you need to think about with your daughters education.

1. It really seems like you have your daughter in the wrong school for her needs. Now is a VERY CRITICAL time for reading development. Two years without progress is very significant. She needs to be evaluated to see what is going on with her and it really sounds like your charter school has no funding or resources for that. It is nice that you want your daughter in an interesting school for arts and sciences but it seems like it is really not meeting her needs. I would recommend putting her in a public school immediately. They have not only the funding but also the responsibility to help your daughter. Two years with no progress is something that I have never encountered with the students I work with (note: I am not a special ed teacher, though reading specialists help identify children suffer from learning disabilities) You are doing your daughter a grave disservice leaving her in the charter school.

2. THIS IS IMPORTANT.....You might have Very Unrealistic expectations of what you want from a classroom teacher. You say your teacher has your child for 8 hours a day.....I don't think you have an accurate picture of all of a school day. I am going to show you an example of a school schedule so you can see actual minutes a teacher has with a class. and this is a sample schedule without some of the regular interruptions like fire drills assemblies etc.... The average student comes to school and say they get there at 7:30 then school starts at 7:50 but most of the students don't get into the classroom and settled down until 8:00 the teacher then has say from 8-9:30 teaching then the kids go to p.e. or some other special class for 45 minutes (5 minutes transit there and 5 minutes back) It is now 10:25 the teacher has them from 10:25-11:10 then it's time to go to lunch kids are in lunch then lunch recess from 11:15-11:55, then the teacher has them from 12:00 - 1:00 then it is time for library, then it is 1:30 and time for a quick recess, then it is 1:45 by the time everyone is back in their seats. So the teacher has from 1:45-2:15 to be with kids again, then the kids get ready to go home...and the bell rings...that mean that the actual time the teacher has spent with 28 kids is....less than 4 hours (225 minutes to be exact...) and if you divide that by 28 students that is 8minutes per child per day individual attention that a teacher has for your child...now lucky for you the teacher doesn't divide her attention that way she teaches whole group and small group and some individually but you can see that a teacher does not have the 8 hour time for one on one attention that you are somehow imagining she does. You surely have more than 8 minutes a day to give your daughter.

3. You say that you spend about 10 minutes a day in various reading activities such as reading a cake mix. This is a nice extra and it is great for oral language development too, but your daughter needs to be spending at a minimum 20 minutes a night in reading books. It is extra beneficial if you are there to discuss books with her and aid in her reading comprehension but if you can't give her 20 minutes b/c you are too busy she still needs to be doing it by herself. If she doesn't practice reading then she won't magically get better at reading.

3. Although you may be very busy as a single mom your daughter has several hours after school...what is she doing with that time? Watching t.v.? If so you might want to think about making the rule that for every 30 minutes t.v. she needs to read for 30 minutes. It was the only thing that my parents could do when my brother was in school to keep him reading as he had no interest but loved to be a couch potato. Can you enroll your daughter in after school tutoring?

I think the that the first thing and most important thing you can do is transfer your daughter to public school and have her reading assessed. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR it is too important. If your daughter qualifies as learning disabled she will not only get reading in the classroom but she will also recieve extra reading help in small groups or individually from a special ed teacher or reading specialist. It sounds like she really needs this double dose of reading during the day. Even if she does not qualify as learning disabled she will most likely be receiving extra reading help from a reading resource teacher during the day. Our reading resource teachers help most kids who are a year below grade level or more, giving them a double dose of reading during the day in small or individual groups.

Good luck.
By the Way I know where you are coming from regarding time....I am a single mother as well.

My son is very artistic, but had a really hard time learning to read. Dyslexia usually becomes very prevalent in the third grade because this is when books start having less photos and illustrations to describe what is happening on that page. Third grade is also when the words get longer. My son has every single symptom on this website.

Kids with dyslexia are very artistic. It also explains why she can read art books.

http://www.dys-add.com/symptoms.html

Once I figured out what the problem was, it was so much easier to find the right solution. We got my son tutoring and that helped a lot. Also, have her try comic books like Garfield, Captain Underpants so that she gets interested in reading.

Good luck. :)

Just a quick note about Charter Schools. As a public school, they have acess to special ed teachers. Insist on an evaluation or schedule a private meeting with the teacher to talk about your concerns- not on the sidewalk after school. It sounds like she doesn't think your daughter really needs intervention with a specialist. She may just be a little delayed. If you have done some research on learning disabilities and are certain your daughter needs help, insist on an evaluation (politely. of course!)My son attends a Charter school and I asked for an evaluation. The teacher was very willing and We met with a psychologist and learning specialist and together determined that no formal evaluation was needed at this time. He is in the lowest reading group at school and does struggle, but doesn't need intervention.
Hang in there with the Charter School. No school is perfect. I know that they don't spend as much time on reading as do traditional schools, which is exactly why I choose to keep my son there. He absolutely loves science and exploratory learning and I didn't want to squash his love of learning by putting him in a traditional school where he would hate most of the day.
Your daughter has many different talents and abilities, emphasize what she is good at and the rest will come. Not everybody is a natural reader. If the school won't help and you still think she needs tutoring, Sylvan Learning centers do great work.
Hang in there, they do all eventually grow up and find their nitch in life.
B.

Hi S.,
I am dealing with slightly different but similar issues with my son. The school would like him to be assessed for ADD, when I see no evidence of it - took him to the doctor, who also saw no evidence. But the teacher seems to want to label him as a problem child, instead of embracing his different learning style or adapting her style to meet more childrens' needs. It is a very difficult situation to be in - do I pull him out? Public school or homeschool? where do I go? We're just starting the process of figuring out how to get him to concentrate better.

I do know that you do not need to switch schools in order to have your child assessed and helped by the public school district. Because you pay taxes to this, you are also a beneficiary, even if your child is in private school such as my son.

Now, my son does know how to read. He loves everything about it. He just does it slowly. I refuse to listen to his teacher say that he is "behind". Yes, he may be behind all the other children IF you are grading on a curve - and she is. From what I have seen, he is developing nicely and ahead of the public school children. Use your instincts to look at your daughter's development - you are her mom, you will know! I have told my son's teacher multiple times that he is NOT behind, he is simply going at a slower pace. I will not rush him, but firmly guide him or gently speed things up when we read together.

I feel I have a good handle on what is normal development and what is not because of my stepdaughter's issues with reading. She's now in 6th grade and still reading at a 2nd grade level. We have done everything possible - tutoring, reading with her, reading to her, buying books, magazine subscriptions, library time, books on tape, etc, etc. If we thought it would work, we did it. Some of this was to no avail. BUT after many years with no improvement, she took a big step forward this past year. It's still difficult to hear her asking what something says...signs when we are out or directions on a box of food. She can read, she just doesn't want to - i.e. she is lazy.

Regardless, she is required to read at least 30 minutes every day by the school (for homework) and we extend that to one hour. She finds quiet spot on the couch, makes sure she is comfy with a blankie, pillow, etc. and generally can read whatever she likes. She sets a timer for an hour. For a time there she was reading only baby sort of books (like kindergartener level or younger) and we then told her that was no longer appropriate as she needed to stretch her skills. We set up a list of books she has and would like to read and she has been keeping up with that on a scheduled basis very nicely. She has found several types of books she likes - the Laura Ingalls series, the Dear America series...turns out she likes history. Before that, she enjoyed the Mary Pope Osborne "Magic Treehouse" series. There are books on fairies or magical creatures she also enjoys...the Spiderwick Chronicles (much to my surprise; I thought this was too hard for her - but her teacher started it in class several years ago and she STILL remembered it and asked for the books) and Harry Potter series are good. This time in your daughter's life should be filled with imagination and reading is a wonderful way to find them and get her thinking on them! If your kid doesn't like history or fairies, try Nancy Drew or art books or WHATEVER she mentions in passing. Take her to a used bookstore and see what she is drawn to. That will give you a big clue!

We found books on tape or CD work well if you are busy and can't spend the time reading to or with her. We specifically looked for those with a book attached and then she can read AND follow along. My stepdaughter made it through several more difficult books this way and enjoyed it a lot. I also have her sit at our kitchen counter and read out loud to me while I am making dinner. That usually is a painful experience for both of us, though.

We bought a few books called "you read to me, I'll read to you" or something like that (search for them on Amazon or Barnes and Noble website). These have poems with different colored stanzas. You read the red stanza, she reads the next blue stanza, and so on. My stepdaughter loved these too! It made it a fun experience for her to sound out new words, and it was snuggle time for her too.

Buy her a magazine subscription. This gives her some excitement associated with reading - she gets to wait for her magazine to come in the mail which is a big deal for kids. We tried American Girls magazine, which didn't really grab my stepdaughter's interest. I bought National Geographic though - and she can't put it down! I guess I underestimated her again. She was showing me a picture the other day and asking what I thought it was - I said, "Why don't you read to me the caption?" and there she was off, learning and reading again.

Plan a trip to the library every few weeks (on your day off). If she learns to associate this with fun and an afternoon out, she will start to love books. You can extend it to including an ice cream cone afterwards, or bicycling there if it's close, and she will love it all the more.

One more idea, I set up an account with www.paperbackswap.com. This way I can request books my kids and stepkids are wanting - for almost free! They are really into asking me "can you order this?" and love getting that book in the mail, too.

We also make a big deal out of the book fairs at her school. We usually will buy her some, as well as some for her classroom that are marked as from her. She gets a lot of pride out of gifting the books.

And for Christmas, we always give each child at least one book. I got mad that they only had toys one year and no educational stuff, and we re-vamped our gifts.

I would be careful to see that she is reading at her level. Because my stepdaughter was bringing home books way above what she could handle. What was happening was that she was socially savvy enough to realize she couldn't read at the same level as her classmates and felt it made her look stupid. She would check out books from the library to PRETEND to read at the same level as them and carry these books around. All the while, she could not read the books and was just stumped as to what the books said inside. We had to ask her teacher to keep us apprised as to what to look for in books, they are sometimes marked with a grade level - and we searched for that.

We also limit "screen time" in our house to two half-hour sessions a day - so that she can only have so much TV or computer game time (movies are longer, and a special event). This includes watching other kids play, so she can't sit there watching while they do then say "it's my turn"...she has to be out of the room until it's her turn. I read a study where it's just too much for their brains to handle with all the fast motion you see on a TV screen - the camera constantly changes angle, position, etc. to keep it exciting for the viewer. This is called "flicker". But this interferes with reading development. To see what I am talking about, watch a kids' program on any channel, then watch a Mr. Rogers program. Mr. Rogers does not have multiple cameras and it seems very slow-paced. That is the lack of flicker you are noticing.

The more you can practice with her, the better. I know it is painfully slow - and she may just not end up being a great reader or ever having an innate love of it (I figure my stepdaughter has other gifts that will supercede her reading). But she CAN improve and WILL if you keep at it. My stepson had similar issues several years back, and now I can't pry a book out of his hands.

Best of luck to you. As someone who has been and may still be there, I can completely appreciate your challenges! Stick with it!
~ K.

Hi S.,

I ran into a problem with my son in 1st grade. The teacher said he was not progressing. Problem was, he read just fine. He did not care for the teacher or her ways so he would not read to her or when he did, it was not very good because he was so uncomfortable with it. The next year, the new teacher said he was one of the top readers in the class. Go figure. He likes this teacher. I read with him each night for about 15 minutes or so. We take a book he likes and start at the beginning. He reads his side of the book and I read mine so that we are taking turns. We set the # of pages before we start and then stop when we get there. We pick up where we left off the next night. If she is reading well with you then it could very well be the teacher or being put in the spotlight in a more public setting that she does not like. Good luck to you!

Wow, S.-- you are an AMAZING Mom--- don't you dare for one moment let a young teacher '''' convince'''' you that there is ANYthing even remotely lacking in what you are doing for your treasure. You are exactly correct in saying '''there's only 3 hours daily during the week that I can do anything''' --- Some schools/teachers like to pretend that dinner and bathtime and snuggle time are not as important as the drills and teaching that they don't do in class but want you to do at home --. The ONLY thing I would add to your routine is - have you thought of having your daughter e-mail a '''journal''' - she could carry on a conversation with you- with other extended family members- and this would be a cool way to encourage reading -. I do that with my 9 year old grandson- and he loves it.

Blessings,
J.
( retired teacher - mom, grandmom - and boy would I love to clone you for some of the students I've had over years )

S.,

You have your answer in your posting. She CAN read, she reads your art books all the time. On a weekend take her to the library, find a librarian and go looking for as many art related, age appropriate books as you can. Maybe even the librarian will have some suggestions to improve your daughter's reading.

Adults spell love L-O-V-E. Kids spell love T-I-M-E. Encourage ans support her through all things, she just needs you to love her and encourage her.

Best of luck,
Melissa

Gifted artistic children can get lost in the shuffle! I haven't read all of the responses to your plea so this may have been suggested. Dyslexia? ADD?

I hated to read when I was I kid. The books were boring and the subjects boring to me. I was bright.

Her interests need to be addressed through the reading material.

I homeschooled my alternate learning style daughter. She virtually taught herself to read as I simply purchased books that we of interest to her. She wanted to know more about certain subjects so she was motivated to push on.

Nature has its own plans with some children. They simply do not fit the educational mold. She has a gift; maybe a genius.

This is going to be a tough one for you as you may need to be a trail blazer for her at some sacrifice to yourself and your own goals.

Life and its demands and practicalities will step in and you will be swimming against the current. Plan to be frustrated, mislead and misunderstood. People can only help you as life, education and cultural bias allows them. The rest will be up to you and your instincts, courage and determination.

You can do it! So hang in there.

You have received some great advice from Peg. I have taught "reading" at the middle school level several years of my career, and I can say that there are specific issues her teacher SHOULD be telling you she has (decoding, comprehension, fluency, ability to understand and correctly interpret fiction and non-fiction texts, etc.).
There are several layers to a child's reading abilities. When I do a "developmental reading assessment" the first thing we check is the child's social attitude/self-motivation when it comes to reading. Are they reading on their own outside of school? If so, what? This can help key in on some suggestions to make to kids about the importance of finding "just right" books. Perhaps this is what her teacher was referring to, but in an inappropriate manner by somehow making you feel "responsible" and not empowered to help.

The other thing you can do is DEMAND she be evaluated for any kind of Reading issues. There are studies that show that if a student cannot read at grade level in 4th grade, it is much more challenging to develop the skills lacking after the age of 10 or so. I will attest to that as I see the kids hit early adolescence 12/13 and those who struggle with reading have, for the most part, "given up" and reading recovery classes are much more intensive and less effective at that point.

Another factor that might be here is that she might not really enjoy her school and doesn't know how to tell you. Or she might be frustrated that it comes easily for her sister but not for her. Either way, you need to show her that you have a *positive* attitude toward helping her figure out this part of her schooling that is obviously stressing both of you out. If she thinks you hate her school and teacher, that might just be the ticket out of having to work at it anymore in her mind.

You need to contact the teacher's principal (aka: supervisor) lay out the concerns (like you have here), demand she have a screening (such as the Developmental Reading Assessment: DRA) or a Special Ed evaluation to see if she has any reading issues that could be categorized as a learning disability, perhaps mention that you are thinking of pulling her out, buy her her own books, help her by reading TO her (like Peg mentioned) and also show her that you enjoy to read.

Also check out http://www.readwritethink.org/ for some age-appropriate lessons she can do with you.

It must be so hard for you to be a full time student and to work full time! Pats on the back to you for taking the time to work on behalf of your daughter. Even if she doesn't become a straight A reading student, she does need the skill/ability and you seem to realize that.

Please feel free to contact me privately if you want any specific reading information. My experiences have been with older kids, but general reading information should apply to all kids.
Best wishes for you and your little artist to find a resolution that benefits her!
M.

i just skimmed the other posts so i hope i'm not repeating anyone, but what worked for me when i was young was having someone tell me to picture the story in my head. i know that sounds simple but i never thought of it. when i was young reading was pretty much memorizing the book which took too long and was boring. this also worked with my daughter (now in third grade too and very artistic) I said "when you read you get to make some of the things up in your mind. when they say the character was wearing a pink dress, it can be any dress you want. or when they say her room you can picture a room in your mind that is all your own". this really kicked in her creative side and made the stories more interesting and easy to get into. my daughter hated reading in 2nd grade and now reads every night.

i hope this made sense:)
-B

My child reacted similarly to reading - he read just fine until he hit third grade and then he whined and put up every barrier possible to reading, though he loves stories and will listen forever. Turns out, his eyes were not 'teaming' as well as a host of other eye issues, even though he has 20/20 vision. If you have someone in your area who offers vision therapy, it may well be worth your and your daughter's time to at least be tested for such issues, even though I can see that time is a very precious thing in your lives.

In the Eugene/Springfield area, Life Time Eye Care is the leading authority. After undergoing eye therapy for 9 months, my son can read anything anywhere, anytime for as long as his attention span can allow. Eye therapy can also change the prescription of one's glasses, as that seems to be an issue as well for your daughter.

I wish you all the best. Feel free to ask me additional questions if you have them.

Sarah

Wow, you certainly have plenty on your plate, but you are going after the goals that will give you and you children the life you want. I want to say, "You go girl!" I have a 4th grader boy who just this year, finally rounds books that capture his interest and he's read 3 500 page books so far! We take him out for a celebration when he's done with one. Through the years of getting him to read, I had taken him to get his very own library card when he was in 2nd grade and we'd hang out at the library sometimes. I think having the library as a part of out life has helped us -just being around books and a place that valued books, reading and knowledge. He would read a books here and there but had a hard time finding books that interested him. I would also get him to read to me, short stories. Even if they didn't interest him, it was about reading to me and my appreciating his telling the story I enjoyed hearing. He was happy to be able to see me enjoy a story being read to me. I would always say thankt you for reading to me. Also, another big thing I would do is buy reading comprehion work books for him to work in. I think the bottom line is, reading a book is a personal thing because it reflects taste. No one wants to read a book unless it captivated them. It takes exposure of many different books, and time for someone to develop and find their taste in books. With time and exposure, she will find what kinds of books she likes and once a series grabs her, she'll find it hard to put down!

I also have a 3rd grader that struggles in reading. He was put into special ed in second grade - he has been making singinficant progress but as you well know the bar goes up quickly as well so he still is not up to speed. One thing I have found that helps is we bought him an I pod and he listens to audio books. We have many Magic Tree House books - he can listen to them a few times and then when he tries to read the book he is familiar with the vocabulary, story line etc. When he feels he can read a book (at his grade level) he gets more confidence and reading becomes more fun for him. We still have our share of struggles with reading but it has made it much better. My older daughter who is an exceptional reader enjoys listening to the audio books as well. Costco used to carry the Magic Tree house books on CD but I haven't seen them there in some time. I have been getting my books from audiblekids.com we get a new book about once a month. He listens everynight before bed. Good Luck!

Hello S....My response (as a mother of 5...and a single mother for nearly all of my mothering years..) is: Trust your intuition. You are your child's best advocate. Gather information, talk to other parents, other schools, people who work in your school district. Formulate what you want for your child, and go for it. Don't give up. You will be sucessful.

It sounds like you may need to consider switching schools, although regardless of the school there is always the chance that you won't get along with one teacher as well as you did with another. Perhaps in another school your daughter also wouldn't be compared with her older sister as much. Aside from that, getting your kids to read seems to be a matter of finding books that they like/enjoy. My son is an avid reader, when he is reading books that interest him. If he has a book that he is just reading because he has to, then he reads for his required amount of time - 30 minutes - and then onto the next thing. Another thing that I have always done is I read the same book that he does, so we can talk about it. From the second grade on I don't read the book aloud with him in general, but I will still read the same book with him. Even the busiest person can make time for a GOOD book. Some ideas for you are the Jack and Annie series, Nancy Drew (maybe), some more advanced books that we have loved include Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and the Harry Potter series. I really think the key is to find something that she really enjoys reading and wants to read more of. Let her read your art books, find some plays that she could read and maybe act out with some friends, have her look up information on Monet or Renoir and read about their lives and artistic influence. Good luck

I am a 2nd grade teacher in the Centennial School District and have lots of ideas to help. My first question would be what does she love to read about...or not just read about what does she love in general, and then get her some text that relates to that. On average studies have show that a 3rd grader should be doing approx. 30 minutes of homework a night. I would recommend 20 minutes of reading and then 10 minutes of other homework. The 20 minutes of reading can be split into 2-10 minute sessions. 10 min. of her reading independently to herself and then 10 minutes of reading with you ,either to you, or you reading outloud to her. This is just a start. Feel free to email if you'd like more suggesstions, I have lots swimming in my head. ____@____.com

Hi S.,

This is what worked for both of my kids. Find a series of books they she really likes, the Harry Potter Books, The Redwall Books, The Goosebump Books, and the Chronicles of Narnia were my kids favorites. And just read them to her every night at bed time, just a chapter. I made it a special time for the two of us, we snuggled up in bed and it was not only great for their reading skills, but fantastic bonding time as well. When you find a series they really like, she wont be able to wait until it is reading time. The series books were great because we already liked the characters and it wasn't a shot in the dark whether my kids were going to like the next book or not. Good luck and have fun with it. Best wishes

I suggest finding her a new school. I know that's a hard choice to make, but it sounds like the school is lacking in communication with you and lacking in benefits for your child. If so many kids are reading poorly, why is your child being singled out?

I would allow your child to read on her own, finding art books at the library intended for her to read. I would also check out books that have great illustrations, so that she can enjoy the art as she reads, and so that she has good art as inspiration for her own inclinations. Why not let her use watercolors the week she is reading books illustrated using watercolors? Then she can get used to the medium at the same time she sees the many ways such a medium can be used. It's fine if she doesn't spend all her reading time on chapter books or "age-appropriate" reading. She'll read on her own if she has stuff worth reading. And you don't have to be there listening to her each night, either. She can read to you while you cook dinner, or read quietly while you do something else. More than anything, she needs to find things she wants to read.

And she needs to be at a school where she feels valued and cherished, not where she feels as if she is not measuring up.

You may be right in taking her out of the charter school. Their funding is limited and I know that the public schools have amazing help in reading.

I think if she is reading your books from college, the 3rd grade level books they have in school may just be too boring for her and she refuses to be bored? Is there any way to get older books for her to read while in school or something.

As you say she is artistic, have you thought about graphic novels or even comic books? It may sound counter-intuitive, but I have a gifted third grade girl who is loathe to read chapter books-they take too much time. She has been reading graphic novels that are on her maturity level and comic books with great interest. The themes are often older, the vocabulary can be more advanced as it is all in context.

Good luck!

Perhaps you could try reading to her before bedtime. She is old enough to sit and listen to a chapter or two. (there is some really wonderful children's literature)This would take the pressure off of her to perform and give her an opportunity to discover the "world" inside of each book. It would be a pleasant quiet time for the two of you together. Sometimes kids need to discover how wonderful books are before they cultivate a love for reading.

You say she already knows how to read. Perhaps YOUR stress and concern are creating HER resistance. (This is not about you being "wrong", just about human nature.) Be available to work with her but relax a little. Trust that she'll get it.

And in the meantime, let her focus on the art and creativity that she loves.

You say your daughter likes to read your art books, well, take her to the library to pick out books she will enjoy reading. Find her some art books at her level or a hair above.

You can assess her reading yourself. Make some copies of a few pages and have her read aloud to you. Circle the mis-pronounced words, mark where she skipped words, etc. The more mistakes there are, the book is too high of a reading level. She should have some mistakes while reading and may need help with some words, but if she is missing too many, her comprehension will go down. Also, have her tell you about what she read. Ask her to predict what will happen next or how a character feels, etc. These questions help kids engage in what they are reading and learn to "interact" with the stories they read.

This could be a nightly routine at bedtime. My kids love books at bed time. She is old enough to read to you sometimes and sometimes she just needs to hear you read to her. This models good reading habits for her. But don't forget to pause and ask her questions or tell her what you think might happen.

Often for kids that are reluctant to read, it isn't a matter of ability, but interest. Definitely, look for material that your daughter has interest in and talk to her about why she doesn't want/like (whichever-but let her tell you if it want or like) to read. If it is an issue of the reading material at school being boring. Talk with her about having to read all kinds of material, some that will be boring and that she can choose her reading material for bedtime or after school, etc.

Good luck and I don't think it is an issue of needing special ed. Her eyesight might have contributed some and she may just need a nudge to move on now that that has been corrected.

D.

I have a 3rd grader as well who is not in love with reading yet can read any Wii game or advertising that tickles his fancy. I have a couple of ideas. 1: Does your daughter like comics? Does she have a passion for a certain subject? If so, get books that way to reel her in. It helps. In her own time she'll possible get to where you need her to be but remember to some kids it is all about the subject matter - a passion . . . 2: I also recommend Dr. Nancy Torgenson in Lynnwood. She is a pediatric optometrist who can check for eye tracking problems. There may need to be vision therapy on the home or therapist front. 3: Depending on your school district there are programs. For my older child we hired a school advocate to navigate us through the 504 plan / IEP system. But first investigate your school system to see HOW they are willing to help. In most schools they need to be 2 grade levels below to get assistance in a subject. Best of luck to you. A. L.