Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Learning to read: older kids

My DS-almost-7 learns differently from my other two kids. I wrote about him a little while back and many of you suggested that he's a visual-spatial learner.

To summarize, I thought he was having trouble learning to read. He was struggling with grade-level books and words that seemed simple.

Don't ask me why, but I decided to have him try a +1 grade-level chapter book written about a subject he loves (thought it was +2 at first but I was wrong). Surprise: he didn't have a lot of trouble reading it. By the time he reached the end of the book, he was struggling less. Now I've got him on a +2 grade-level chapter book and the same thing is happening. Harder at first, getting easier to read. He's incorporating new vocabulary words from the book into everyday speech.

He still struggles with simple words like "felt" yet he consistently aces many harder ones like "nudged," even the first time the word appears. Fascinating. He's also much, much more enthusiastic about reading now and can't wait to get the next book in this series.

I remember reading messages from people who say that some gifted kids don't start reading until relatively late but then ramp up quickly. If your child fits that category, I'd like to hear about how the child's reading developed. I'm trying to understand my son's learning style and am wondering if he fits into this category.

Val

If I remember correctly son started reading at the end of Kindy, very rudamentary stuff. He was on to 'Magic Tree House' mid 1st grade, and 'Harry Potter' that summer.

He did have 'behavioral optometrist' type problems - not really problems, just slow-normal development and above average demands.

I've heard that short words are harder for kids with these visiual immaturities and difficulties and I'll bet contenxt helps too. Boring books have very little context.

DS12 was just 'regretting' that when I tried to teach him to read, I didn't take an 'ear-based' approach. He thinks that while he was in the car seat, I should have said: 'What do you get when you add 'B to A' and clapped if he said 'Ba' etc. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'm trying a new approach right now. I don't ask him to sound out words as often. I'm trying to see if he takes a mental picture of a word and remembers it that way.

Val

Val-
My DS is nearly 6 and started reading about a year and a half ago, but very slowly. He was "ready" to read since he was 2- knew all his letter sounds, blends etc but wouldn't put them together. He has always been a phonetic reader and had very few sight words until a few months ago. It drove me nuts because it would take forever to read one sentence.

He is much like your DS still. He whips through a Frannie K Stein or Pokemon chapter book but struggles with a level 1 easy reader. Small words like 3-4 letters still throw him for a loop sometimes, even if he's seen then 200x. He reverses letters- on becomes no, or switches letters- that becomes what. Yet on his WOW words wall- he has things like scientist, championship, nominate, herbivore etc. (We have a wall of big words he's figured out the first time he saw them- it helped us motivate him to move to a new level)

I've just let it go and decided that he just reads fast and things get jumbled. His comprehension is not being hindered by it at all. I've heard from friends that this actually gets better when they begin reading silently. DS still reads everything aloud.

Ooh, CAMom-- Ds6 *loves* Franny K. Stein, and they used to be frequent bedtime read-togethers (until the recent Calvin and Hobbes obsession. Frannie books are *hilarious*!

(Sorry, no help on the topic, but I wanted to put a plug in for Frannie. )

Yes, yes. My DS makes these kinds of mistakes ("on" becomes "no" or "ou." His latest is "the" becomes "they").

Val

Ds8 was one of the 'later' readers, compared with other kids on this board, maybe around 6. I think he was 'getting' things earlier, because as I look at earlier drawings of his, he would do a series of drawings and label the feet or other body parts on each character/sheet, with the same words - made up/ spelled phonetically (for instance feet were "crawlees" or something like that, but almost identical on each sheet).. this is something I did not notice until about 3 weeks ago, going through a drawer.
After reading a few early readers, he enjoyed captain underpants, frannie k (yay!), calvin (yay!!) and other comics-like books (lots of pictures). He consciously decided to read Harry Potter recently, and did just fine with it, really enjoyed it once he got past the 1/2 way mark. I think it is a 5.5 grade level, so that is pretty good for an 8 year old, and last year he tested at a 6th grade level for reading.

So, slow/subtle start, pretty good leaps and bounds since then.

My dd was a slow starter at reading. She started out first grade reading below grade level. She had some eye tracking issues, and we did vision therapy (along with OT and listening therapy for SPD). The therapy was done during first grade. By the end of the school year, she was at grade level and by the following fall she was reading above grade level. I don't know how far above at the moment.

CAMom -

This is very reassuring. My DS is 4y10m. He has just recently moved beyond "knowing the components for years but not putting them together". He has not gotten to sentences yet*, but he is definitely reading individual words. (finally! and sometimes without context cues!) It is so exciting for him and me and DH when he reads a word for the first time. That previous phase was very frustrating (for me).

As you guys describe your 6 and 7 year olds I can see my ds is headed that way.


EW

*by sentences, I mean regular length sentences not 3 or 4 word "easy reader" sentences

Sorry I'm noticing this late. My son was a very late reader by standards on this board. He had letters and sounds very early and would pick out signs, etc. But had absolutely no interest in reading on his own before kindergarten. We read a lot of longer books with him. We weren't even thinking about phonics or teaching him to read at all.

He started kindergarten not wanting to even try and read and left kindergarten reading at about a 5th grade level. It felt like overnight he went from "I don't know how to read" to silently reading books around the level of Geronimo Stilton (3rd grade?). He always hated early readers. He is reading the Harry Potter series right now in 2nd grade (finishing book 6). He certainly had the reading ability to read them earlier, but never the desire to hold and carry these huge hard covers around and follow such a circuitous story. He used to gravitate to books with non-stop action. Didn't matter what the reading level was. He'll read non-fiction at a much higher level than fiction, because more grown up fiction is generally boring to him.