All About Getting Help for Students Weak in English

[Imami]

I supposed the journey of learning to read for every kid is different. My child loves to read too, but it didn’t happened until he was about 18 months old. While many folks swear by Peter and Jane series and those structured readers like sunshine books, Joy readers, my child was never interested in them. Initially, I tried to ‘read’ Joy readers to him, pointing to the words on the pages etc. But he was never able to sustain beyond page 3…. I thought he was just not ready. After all, not being able to read at before 3 is no big deal to me, hence I didn’t push him. Honestly, I myself find such readers a bore.


His lack of interest in reading did not discourage me from making books/prints available at home. I would continue to buy and source for quality books which I hope, he would read in time. Then one day, when he was around 18 months old, it happened. I found him sitting quietly, looking intensely at one of the books. He could not be reading, since he didn’t even know his complete alphabet yet. But strangely, that book engaged him for more than 5min.

For the next three years, we read every day. On my non-work day, we read three times a day. when I need to work, we read two times a day. Each time, we could cover from three books to 8 books, depending on our energy level and the thickness of the books. And I hardly point to the words as I read, as I find doing that is disruptive. These days, he reads on his own in the morning while waiting for us to get ready for work. At bed time, I would read the ‘more cheem’ books to him. The book at the bedside now is one of the Horrible History books. I am not sure how much he’s soaking up as I read this Horrible History book (on world war) but he was talking about Winston Churchill to his father the other day. So I guess he did pick up something after all.

I noted a gap in his ability to read and his comprehension skills. He could understand more than his ability to read and it is evident in the questions he has asked and things he has commented on as I read the ‘cheem’ books. Lately, I found him ‘looking intensely’ at Geronimo stilton and the magic tree house books. I had recently borrowed a few Geronimo and magic tree house books for myself to read. This is what I usually do – to read the books myself to have a feel of the writing style, the content before I decide if they are worth buying for my child. Initially, I thought he was probably ‘reading pictures’ since there are some graphics in the books. I left him alone and went cleaning the toilet. When I emerged, hey – he’s still at that book! There could not be so many pictures to examine, right? He couldn’t be still looking at the pictures after 30 minutes?! It could also be that his reading skills had improved without my knowing.

When I probed him, he replied that he could not read (the book). Upon subsequent probing, it turned out that he could understand what he had read in that book. So yes, if the child is learning to read for himself/herself, the progress will definitely be faster. as I look back at my child’s learning to read journey, I think my attitude towards reading (for both myself and my child) was instrumental in his progress. I love to read. While I believe reading helps in language proficiency, i think the joy and knowledge derived from reading widely is even more rewarding. So I was not really into pointing out the words, using phonic skills etc as we read every day. Not that I don’t subscribe to such ideas but I find them disrupt the reading. The only time when we stopped half way while reading, was to discuss about the plot and for him to ask questions.

so :celebrate: to our children's learning journey!

[ammonite]

Hi Imami, not sure how old your child is now but you may want to take note of your child's reaction to more \"mature\" themes. Part of the challenge of looking for books for early advanced readers is matching the contents to their emotional age, which can be different from their intellectual age. If they have problems processing a theme or scenario (e.g. war, death, pandemics etc), it may show up in their dreams, drawings or general anxieties. Sometimes it is inevitable as certain information may pop up on newspapers or mass media, but good to just be aware of the possibility and ready to handle it.

[pecalis]

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?

my dd1 is in sec 2 n she not only loves books, she's addicted to them! just 2 wks ago, b4 eoy exam, she borrowed 6 thick books! her most feared punishment from me since young is NO READING OF STORYBOOKS FOR A WK! she started reading at around 5 and I don't worry abt her eng. However, I was worried about her eyesight as her myopia deteriorate quite fast till I started her on Ortho-K 2 yrs back.

my ds started reading even earlier, ard 4.5yrs old but i did not strongly encourage him to read too much, for fear his eyesight will be worse as he has high astigmatism since 5. now, when free, he rather play computer games and eyesight deteriorate even faster! He is also very weak in Eng. I believe his exposure to computer games did cause him to be lazy to pick up a book to read.

Btw, we don't have Wii, PSP, xbox etc, my kids only get to play free computer games online. And they have not asked that we buy them such stuff for them.

[Imami]

ammonite:

Hi Imami, not sure how old your child is now but you may want to take note of your child's reaction to more \"mature\" themes. Part of the challenge of looking for books for early advanced readers is matching the contents to their emotional age, which can be different from their intellectual age. If they have problems processing a theme or scenario (e.g. war, death, pandemics etc), it may show up in their dreams, drawings or general anxieties. Sometimes it is inevitable as certain information may pop up on newspapers or mass media, but good to just be aware of the possibility and ready to handle it.

Hi Ammonite, thanks for the tips! He’s 4.5 YO. I have my concerns too, on topics like war, death etc. In particular, the parts on how cruel and sadistic human beings can be… I find it extremely difficult to explain how/why there was the Japanese unit 731 and the gassing of the Jews/Holocaust etc. It is disturbing for me as an adult to read about such incidents and even more disturbing for me as a parent to be reading these to a preschooler. Honestly, I am wondering if I am polluting my child’s mind!

My hubby’s take is there is little point keeping such things from him, although we could introduce them when he is older. He said given our kid’s interest level in reading and finding out things, even if we remain passive, he would have picked things up. Hubby cited how son asked about the recent unrest in Egypt . I was like,”HUH????” Hubby said son must had picked up the information while he was doing puzzles in front of the TV when the news was on. So well…

Actually, I don’t know if his emotional age is in sync with his intellectual age (maybe not!). I read something about how children’s thoughts can be reflected in their drawings. So far, it seems ok and yes, I will continue to keep an eye on him in terms of his emotional reaction to such themes. Perhaps I should also read up about children’s emotional health…

[ammonite]

Hi Imami,

Yes, my son too asked about such things when he was that age because he picked it up from BBC News. It was the child psychologist who highlighted it to me that these things can cause general anxieties in young children who can understand intellectually, but cannot process them emotionally. My son was drawing many pictures of armies tunnelling through mountains in advanced machines to save those in trouble. Even adults have difficulties accepting the insanity of war as you pointed out. You are not polluting his mind, but some censorship may be appropriate. I definitely would not go into the details of death and torture.

On WWII, we turned the discussion to the importance of having a good leader, and what makes a good leader. We do not analyse the sadism of war, but highlight that what was done was wrong and this has been acknowledged. We also tell him what has been done to prevent such things from happening again, and the resilience of the war generation. I pointed out that his great grandmother survived WWII.

I could not prevent him from seeing photos of the tsunami and the Sichuan earthquake. Instead we explain the science, the rarity of occurence, and stress that we are in a safe location. We do not highlight the deaths but the rescue stories and survival tips, as well as measures taken to prevent another tragedy. I find that at the end of the day, my two children need to know that they are safe from these.

So always reassure that they are safe, they will be ok.

[SarChar]

My 6 yrs old girl started to read before she was 5 yrs old. She attends Mrs Angie's home-based Phonics/English class (N2-K2) at Sengkang under franchise I Creative Learner. http://www.icreativelearner.com.sg/ They have enrichment schools in Bedok and Clementi now. But previously it is home-based only.


Personally I think I have to credit this teacher 100% for teaching her well. This class usually starts in April when the kid is 4. I was on wait list when she was 2 yrs old.

She has just joined a new K2 school and the form teacher asked her to be 1 of the MC for her graduation concert. I was very surprised because she is so new in the class.

The teacher told me \" because she is the only one who can read the whole passage LOUD and CLEAR \". Heehee

[Funz]

With the way parents are guiding and teaching children and the way schools are accelerating academic skills, it is not surprising to find kids who are able to read and recognise words at an early age. However being able to read and understand the words does not necessarily mean the child can truly process the information that they are getting. Their emotional maturity may not be quite there yet to cope especially with heavy topics like war, famine, abuse, etc.


My 2 fellas were not early readers. They started only in late K1 but picked up very quickly from there. For me, I tend to want to preserve their rose tinted outlook and steer them away from heavy topics. DD is hyper emotional and will be very much affected by news of people hurt or dying, etc. Her anxiety shows up in the form of moodiness and nightmares and she will keep asking questions like will war come to singapore, etc. We had to take special care to explain the Japan quake to her when it happened. Now at 9yrs old, she is better able to process such information. DS who is 2 yrs younger is better able to cope with such information. He is able to detach facts from emotion and rationalise the information he is reading.

So it is very important to match the child’s emotional maturity as well as cognitive development when introducing reading materials. Especially when they are reading independantly.

[theconstellation]

Can anybody give me an example of the kind of books that a 6 year old should be reading?


For example, ORT Stage 7? Or some other book titles for me to have a general gauge of the level of difficulty that my daughter should be attempting now.

Thank you!

[lovinglife]

theconstellation:

Can anybody give me an example of the kind of books that a 6 year old should be reading?


For example, ORT Stage 7? Or some other book titles for me to have a general gauge of the level of difficulty that my daughter should be attempting now.

Thank you!

You might want to try Usborne Young Reading Series. It has Series 1, 2, and 3. Short chapter books with colourful illustration. Some shorter children classic written by Roald Dahl - Enormous Crocodile & The Minpins. Magic Tree House series is highly recommended too.

Btw, what is ORT? :oops:

[Imami]

ORT should be Oxford Reading Tree.