Hi parents.
I need help with the next stage of teaching my dd to read.
Im have been trying to teach her sentences with LR and writing sentences on paper. I have continually noticed that DD skips over the words she does not know (these are mainly sight words) and will sometimes read a word she has not seen before but most of the time will not even try to read it.
For example ‘The tree has green leaves.’ my dd will scan the sentence and read tree green leaves or leaves green tree (read backwards) Ii always point to the words from left to right and point to each individual word. I am getting concerned that after LR, YBCR, flashcards and numeorous games and books that she is not getting it. She can read hundreds and hundreds of single words and couplets and some 3 word phrases but will not read sight words as if they are almost slowing her down.
I believe sight words to be a very important part of reading and I wondering how I solve this issue and wonder if any one else has the same issue in teaching their child sentences.
Also with understanding phonics and their rules she seems to be able to break down some words but not all. I have tried to use Dad dude’s flesh cards but she just flatly refuses to even look at them. She has completed LR and YBCR and I thought by now she would be able to read any new word I introduced to her. She did read No smoking the other day after never seeing the word before and puggy house but so far that is it? If I introduce formal phonic training will this slow down her ability to read quickly or will I ‘stuff up’ what I have already done by getting her addicted to letters.
Any advice would be much appreciated
DD is 21months old and talking in couplets and 3 -4 word phrases.
I work part time and i am also studying.
I hope the above info will help.
Kimba15
I think what your child is doing is normal and is in actual fact very helpful to later speed reading because we do not need to read all the “the’s” and “a’s” and “and’s” to understand a sentence - she is picking out the most important words that mean something to her. Remember also that she may not be using these words in her speech yet since she is not talking in long sentences. This will improve with time.
As for the sight word issue - does she know phonics? I would suspect that a 21 month old is sight reading the nouns and verbs too, so you do not have to worry that she cannot do sight words - at the moment she is reading the words she recognises and enjoys. Try shortening the sentences and see if she will read “the cat” rather than just “cat” - she may not, don’t worry just point to “the” and read it for her.
My daughter is 2 years and 8 months and is in the terrible twos. When I put a sentence on the wall that said: Laurana (her name) gives Helen (her cousin’s name) some sweets, she read to me “Laurana gives Helen no sweets at all” - doesn’t mean she can’t read those words, it just means she is a naughty monster who is using her brain to either make us annoyed or laugh - I’d rather laugh.
Again it is the testing issue - stop testing her and let her read what she wants to and just make sure that you read the sentence correctly to her pointing to all the words she has missed as well.
I have started a phonics programme with my daughter and she is not keen on it - it is boring for her. WHat I have done is read all the instructions and then just apply them when she sees other words that are suitable - so I am sounding out basic words for her now when I come across them and not testing or asking her Once she shows me that she can read basic vconsonant-vowel-consonant words, I will do the same with harder rules and just explain it to her without all the testing and reciting that is involved with many of these programmes.
Good luck you are doing a great job.
Hey Kimba,
How are you? I just posted this regarding the sight words that may be useful for you. I like Mrs. Perkins site because it has all of the Doman steps (words; couplets and phrases; sentences, books) for the Dolch sight words:
http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-to-read/dolch-words/msg52871/?topicseen#new
I am creating category lists and will upload them as I complete them. In the meantime, I am trying to decide which word list to use when creating my Doman Step 01 Words schedule & LR daily playlist, and am leaning towards the comprehensive word list by frequency and add the nouns also. And then creating the additional Doman Steps schedule and LR daily playlist is easy after that.
And if you want to begin before I am able to complete the data entry into LR for the categories and playlists, there are printable flashcards and powerpoint presentations (with audio) by grade here for your convenience:
http://www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm
Keep up the great work! and I will keep you “posted”. lol
- Ayesha
Tanikit - which phonics program are you using? I have eyeQ phonics that I plan to use after modifying the Dolch lists into the Doman Steps 01 - 05, via LR categories and playlists/schedule. Have you used it?
https://www.eyeqadvantage.com/personal/index.cfm?page_id=535
Ayesha
Hi Kimba,
I am so glad you wrote about your situation because I am currently in the same boat with my 22 month old! Like your daughter, she can read lots and lots of single words, couplets, and sentences that we write down or flash. But when she is left alone to read one of her books, she will either skip words (most commonly articles and prepositions, like a, an, the…) or she will read backwards or words at random. However, when I notice her doing this, I would usually go over to her and point out the sentence word by word and she will slow down and read out each word properly. This means that she knows how to read each word, right? Maybe for some reason, just does not want to read aloud each one? My concern is actually opposite of yours. I’m worried that maybe she is reading really fast and reading each word aloud slows her down? Maybe by making her slow down and read each word while I am pointing at it would hinder her speed reading ability later? I do think that being able to speed-read would be much more beneficial to her in the long run.
I wonder if there are other parents who are experiencing or have experienced the same thing and what their thoughts are on this?
Hey Aangeles,
Are you familiar with eyeQ which is a speed reading program?
https://www.eyeqadvantage.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/EyeQinc
And here is information about “overcoming sub-vocalization” (slow reading due to silently reading/pronouncing each word):
https://www.eyeqadvantage.com/index.cfm?page_id=651&CFID=247516&CFTOKEN=62697632
I plan to use this program with my children once they are old enough. The company recommends using eyeQ for 8 year olds +, due to the software/program settings that begin with a 3rd grade reading level. And a parent also needs to make sure that the exercises do not strain their eyes, because it can tire the eye muscles.
Ayesha, I am using the Sonlight LA-K curriculum with her which seems to be very similar to the eye-Q phonics kit. I am also using The Ordinary Parents guide to Teaching Reading, but as I said both these programmes have needed me to adapt them hugely as my daughter already knows all the letters and may know how to blend though she will not prove that to me.
My daughter is in the terrible twos. Yesterday I told her we would write a shopping list and she could put on it whatever she wanted she must just tell me what the word she chose started with - she has never done this correctly for me before and used to just guess, but yesterday she was perfect - “sweets” starts with “s”, “bread” starts with “b”, juice starts with “j” “more sweets” (she’s a monster) - “more” starts with “m” It seems that somedays she will oblige when it suits her and other days not so that it is hard to know exactly what she does know. I guess this a toddler thing.
My sister left her child (now age 4) with books she should have been able to read for a rest period and told her all she could do was lie on the bed and sleep or read - her reading improved enormously and she sorted most of the problems out by herself - she is reading at about a grade 2 level right now. Sometimes we just have to trust them and stop testing so much - even kids left to learn at school should be reading reasonably by age 7 - if your child is doing funny things at age 2 it will not upset their reading later - in fact they will be better readers. Don’t worry too much - just try to work around it and when you read to them do it correctly.
I am in the same situation with my now 19-month old daughter. She reads phonetically - sentences that are several words long but skips a couple or more words. I do not worry about it because in their age, they do as they please. I imagine myself in her shoes, if I am a toddler, would I take time to pay attention and read out loud every single word? I don’t think so. That “perfectionism” or higher-order thinking is not yet fully developed until teen-age years. I would only read the words that I fancy and move on the next sentence or the next page. Don’t worry about it Kimba15 and Aangeles, considering their tender age, it’s really not an issue.