All About Getting Help for Students Weak in English

[lim_ks]

I have 3 kids and the eldest is P2. I have come to realised that the long term benefit to do English well is to get your child to love books! My sister’s children were sent to learning centre from age of 4 or 5. They can read very well for their age then but now in secondary school now, their English standard is not too bad but stagnant(or not good enough)! Reason being that they have not fall in love with books! My sister regrets her actions. She said that if she can start all over again, she will inculcate thier love for reading.

[cherrygal]

I don’t think your sis needs to regret lah. It’s difficult to inculcate the love of reading in kids nowadays… there are too many electronic distractions and toys… yes, we can read to them now, make them read when they are young etc but once they reach a certain age, they will know it’s really not as entertaining as electronic media becoz most pple are audio-visual creatures.


I met many teenagers who don’t even read or watch TV. They are all glued to the net. It is rare indeed to have older kids devouring books like we used to.

Anyone who actually has teenagers who love to read despite the various distractions? Pls share how you maintained the love?

[bbc]

This is the Usborne book that hokkiengirl was referring to:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Phonic-Stories-Frog-on-Log-Other-Tales-Phil-Roxbee-Cox/9780794518875

Very gd book for reinforcing phonics.

You could buy a brand-new copy from one of the sellers at motherhood forum at $23.19 only.

[hokkiengirl]

Here's a selection of books which kindergarten or lower primary kids may enjoy:


1) The shorter Roald Dahl's children's stories (The Twits, The Fantastic Mr Fox, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me)
2) Crook Catcher series by Karen Wallace
3) Minnie and Moo series by Denys Cazet
4) actually, most books by Denys Cazet
5) anything by Arnold Lobel (Frog and Toad series, etc)
6) The Mr Men series
7) Tales of Oliver Pig series
most books by Margaret Wise Brown
9) The Frances series by Russell Loban

Hope that helps as a start. The books have nice pictures and big print and the words are generally simple. Choose more complex books to read to your boy. This will get him used to sophisticated language. And practise active reading; ie. ask him questions about the story (how he feels about it, what he thinks will happen next, how he thinks the character feels, etc). Er, don't make it like a formal compre; just have a loving and relaxed time with your child.

Press on and don't give up! There's still time!

[bbc]

The following are recommended for beginner readers:

The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Big-Blue-Beginner-Books-Eastman/9780375855528
The Big Green Book of Beginner Books
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Big-Green-Beginner-Books-Dr-Seuss/9780375858079
The Big Red Book of Beginner Books
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Big-Red-Beginner-Books-Eastman/9780375865312

They are available for borrowing at the public libraries.

[buds]

iLoveChubby:

Hey buds...

Heyya iLoveChubby! :peekaboo:

iLoveChubby:

It's me again...your \"stalker\"... :rotflmao:

Wow! My very own stalker! :please:

Take heart that you're not alone. :evil:
There are many more! :rotflmao:

iLoveChubby:

Dont :siam: first , want to chk w u sth...really lah.... ....: Does purely reading storybooks suffice on their memory of sight words or do we really have to get \"sight word readers\"?

I'm not siam-ing laa.. :hugs:

The frequency of the reading plays a part and so does the child's best ways of absorption or retention. You see.. different children have different learning styles. Meaning different children learn BEST in many different ways. When we can bank in on how they enjoy learning best, that is when the learning will come from the heart and not because it is forced upon them. With this, the progress or acceleration of their learning pace will and can be faster.

I got to pick up reading from both phonemic awareness and sight reading... and my mumsie was not English educated. I shared it here in this http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/how-i-started-reading

iLoveChubby:

Do you have gd recommendations on any specific titles on sight word readers? I thk there are some under Scholastic?

Yes. Scholastic has plenty to choose from plus some are easily available at Popular bookstores these days. I personally used Peter and Jane cos that was what Mumsie used for us. It is a wee dry after a while especially for children who enjoy more colourful or more cartoonish graphics and more interesting story line that they can relate to.

Thematic readers are also fine. Good phonics readers will contain sight words inclusion to ensure children grasp both phonics and sight words as learning in tandem makes more sense in the reading and also the fluency. Without sight words, proper sentences are impossible to be constructed. I have shared some thematic readers at this http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3082&hilit=thematic+readers

I love these at this http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=28603#p28603, plus it is free for when you want it done with your kiddies. Enjoy!

I have more of course, but haven't had the time to update... as usual. :politebleah: Just remember, they don't hafta be expensive to be effective. :celebrate: Some best things in life are free.

[buds]

hokkiengirl:

One resource to consider would be the Usborne series of books for beginning readers. There's 'Shark in the Park', 'Toad on the Road', 'Ted in a Red Bed'... well, you get the idea. Can try ordering them from Book Depository. This will hopefully help him get used to the vowel sounds.

These are Phonics Readers. Usborne books are also great for children who are just starting out on chapter book reading. I have half a shelf of their collection.

hokkiengirl:

Choice of books is also very important. If he likes planes, borrow books on planes. If he's into animals, there is a lot of good children's lit about that.

I agree with this.

Sometimes though, parents can't tell right away their children's inclination to book themes.. it's ok.. try out a few (borrow from library) before investing on really good ones that they can re-read. If children can re-read favourite story books from young, we can encourage long-term reading till they grow older. Like my DD1.. while she reads variety of books.. she likes re-reading Roald Dahl's collection like Matilda and Magic Fingers.. Like it gives her a feel good effect for relaxed reading.

Both of them read to chubs when i run errands in the house. Chubs just loves it! :please: He's only 1 now.. but he can relate to the stories read to him with hand gestures and some animal sounds and some simple one syllable words. He can go get the book if you ask him to. Like when he was about 10mths old when we asked, \"What book would you like us to read tonight?\" He went to his book collection, took the Hungry Caterpillar book by Eric Carle and handed it over to us. \"You want the caterpillar story again?\" He nodded. \"Where's the caterpillar, baby?\" He went to the book corner and passed us the little caterpillar toy that came with the book.

[buds]

dokomo:

Buds, ur post really got me worried, not to mention money down the drain. (which is small compared to his 2precious years wasted) One to one is good, but go where to find unless have recommendations, now whole family scurrying around finding school, pressing panic button. Do u hv recommendation for 1 to 1? Do u still teach 1 to 1? If 1 to 1 is not possible, small group setting (6 or will it help? I was even thinking of coaching him myself with the keywords commonly found (ladybird keywords) to help him kick-start his independent reading. (sigh, i dun know phonics so cant teach him on tt)

You should be. 2 years is really too long for a child to pick up reading. Cost is another thing of course. Worst was he wasn't exactly able to read independently after the two years.. in a supposedly established centre and programme. If he started late, it's one thing. But since you mentioned two years i reckon he must've started in Nursery. The teachers are not forthright enough to feedback much much earlier to avoid time wastage, killing interest for learning how to read, and really just letting the poor boy drag on with lessons. Either they were not forthright enough or what i fear is that they didn't realize until it was too late! :yikes:

One to one is good for his case because he is older.. can absorb more and also faster.. and doesn't have to conform to a group's pace, especially bearing in mind that it is not that he doesn't have basic foundation already. He needs a tailored curriculum that can zoom into his problem areas.. which could be blending.. could be sound combination confusion.. etc.. but at the same time also cannot rule out the \"not having the ear for phonics\" as well, since we cannot affirm where the stumbling block lies in. He's going to be in P1 already and should now be in the midst of reading more fluently and learning more about grammar.. parts of speech.. etc..

Yes, you can immediately embark on sight word reading practice with your nephew. His parents have to also be more involved in daily reading with him with some of his favorite books. For favorite books that he likes to re-read, parents can encourage him to finish off some sentences or pause to see if he can continue from where it was left off. Pretend to like have a glass of water cos thirsty after reading.. or cough because choke on something.. etc.. don't really have to tell him that they are testing whether he can remember the words or not.

For not-too-confident readers if you're doing read aloud.. encourage word for word pointing so you know they are not just memorizing but instead capturing the words by sight and adding those words in their memory bank. Which means if they see the same words again in another different book, they would be able to remember how to say the word and what it means.

If you're not too confident with reinforcing the phonics rules or blending you may want to get the Preschool My World activity books that comes with VCD on blending and sound combinations from Popular bookstore... about $24.90 before 10% discount for members. Word machine is also a good DVD to invest in and and if you wanna try out first this blending skill, you can surf and listen to how they do it at this http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm?f

I'm not able to conduct any programmes at this point in time but may resume later part of the year. Fellow frenz who do conduct are either full house now and cannot squeeze any or have ceased lessons due to caregiving of children, so cannot spare the time. You can however inquire with the centres you are keen in, if they can accommodate one to one (at a higher fee of course) lessons for your nephew. If he can join in a small group, no bigger than 5 at a pace/level where they have assessed to be his stumbling block, i suppose it is also ok. However, insist on feedback after every lesson and ask teacher to show you how it was done in class so that it can be reinforced at home to further accelerate his reading progress.

Reward your nephew for his small achievements to motivate him to practice reading. At his age, am sure he can feel a wee down when he observes that his other peers can read confidently. So to add oil without too much pressure.. mebbe can reward him with books he likes/prefers when he can finish a set of sight word books. Go for plays. Go for free story-telling sessions at the library. Or just chill with you for some outdoor fun.

Don't think there are that many aunts who care abt their nephews or nieces like you do... so jiayou! :celebrate:

Hope these info helps.

[metz]

[quote]This is the Usborne book that hokkiengirl was referring to:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Phonic-Stories-Frog-on-Log-Other-Tales-Phil-Roxbee-Cox/9780794518875

Very gd book for reinforcing phonics.

You could buy a brand-new copy from one of the sellers at motherhood forum at $23.19 only.[/quote]It is cheaper to get the paperback one http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Frog-on-Log-Phil-Roxbee-Cox/9780746077290?selectCurrency=SGD or check the book out at the library.

I just came across this free online reading program http://www.freelyeducate.com/2012/03/free-online-reading-program-.html . Hope it can be of some help to those with kids having problems on reading.

[buds]

This is a very good website. :celebrate:


Detailed to a T.
Tks for sharing this, chamonix!
Hope you have been well.. :hugs: