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My daughter is 7, in first grade, has cerebral palsy, vision problems, and learning disabilities as well. She is in special ed (resource room) for reading and math at school. She cannot read, other than a few sight words. We try to read some very basic "easy reader" books. It takes her so long to sound out most words, by the end of the sentence, she forgets what she read.
This year, the reading teacher has been teaching my daughter a lot of terminology that is allegedly supposed to help her learn. For example, my daughter talks endlessly about diagraphs, welded sounds, blends, etc. I have never heard of most of these terms and my daughter can show me what they are, but she still isn't reading! I wonder if her mind is being cluttered with a bunch of useless information and preventing her from learning. However, I'm not a teacher and this is just my opinion. When I questioned the teacher, he said it was necessary for her to learn this terminology. I just want to do the right thing for my child and I disagree with how they are teaching her. Does anyone have any thoughts? Thank you.
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Not a teacher. My son has similar reading skills at 7...IMO, if she is recalling and understanding the terminology, great for her! My son also has an excellent memory but has trouble using the "rules" in practice--it's just his strength/weakness. I don't necessarily thinking that "cluttering" her brain would prevent her from gaining new skills; that said, I think some of those terms would be advanced for a child who is just beginning to sound out words.
When I'm teaching my son, I may refer to "st" as a blend and explain it to him...and then talk about how to sound it out. And, it never fails, when we come back later, he will remember the word "blend" and that it's two sounds together...but not necessarily how to sound it out. I don't think there's anything wrong with using the terminology as long as that's not the entire focus of the lesson.
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BTDT, along with ALL the pronunciation symbols. Some kids don't do as well with phonics and actually progress better with a sight word approach. We've kind of done a blend of phonics/sigh words.We have sight word flash cards that I bought at the Dollar Store. You can also easily find downloadable lists on the internet. Do a search for "Dolch Word List". There are sites that have them formatted for flash cards, printed lists, etc. I shopped used book stores and bought traditional reading text books from the 1940's - 1970's and we use those to read from. They have limited vocabulary and build incrementally, and my kids really like the "cool pictures". I also found some Dolch readers that my kids have enjoyed. If you look up "reading games" on the internet, or look in the homeschooling section of your public library (or book store) you can find helpful books, games, and other ideas for building reading skills, both through phonics and sight words. There is a good sight word reading program from Edmark for those who have struggled learning to read using other methods. [url=http://www.enablemart.com/edmark-reading-program-software]Edmark Reading Program (Software) | EnableMart.com[/url]Oh, and to answer your question, if the information is useful it's not a waste to learn it. If, however, you can't plug in the useful information in a meaningful way (ie: use it to help you decode written words) then it isn't all that helpful. Can you use the terms she's learned and help make a jingle or other reminder for how to use that information to sound out words?
Maybe I'm just expecting her to progress faster than she is. I was told that she would never be at the same level as her classmates and I guess I don't want to believe that.
She has been assessed twice by Catholic Charities for the Blind & Visually Impaired and they have finally decided that her visual impairment is affecting her learning. We have an IEP meeting on Friday.
I do believe that since she is an auditory learning and is hearing the teacher talk about the terminology, she is retaining that information. Reading is visual, so it would make sense that it would be very difficult for her. I think I need to focus more on finding learning tools for visually impaired children.
Thank you all for your input.
Sounds like a plan. Staying with her classmates isn't the goal; achieving her greatest potential is, regardless of the time it takes to achieve that. Don't get bogged down by comparing her to age peers, look at her for who SHE is and if she is progressing on her own timeline. It takes a lot of the stress off - for both of you. I expect my kids to do great things, but I don't have a time within which I expect it to happen. I decided that I was setting false limits on them and stressing us all when I did that.So my one kid didn't walk "early", or even "on average". He did learn and he is one of my most athletic. He didn't talk until age 4, and he still has issues with speech and also with processing. BUT he's my most friendly and outgoing kid. Go figure! :D
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I am a teacher and work with many students with IEPs. Yes, it is important to learn blends and digraphs to learn how to read. I also read to my students and have them choral read back to me, one sentence at a time. All of my students make progress, some more than others. Some students have to work 5x harder than their peers to understand the material. Make sure you discuss how your child learns best at the IEP. I use a variety of techniques in my class to get my students reading. Yes, your child has a disability, but she/he can learn. Find out if you can get lessons from the teacher prior to class to work with your child. I haven't incorporated Common Core Standards yet. This is what I have been successfully teaching for years. It works.