Tips from an Expert

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PARENTS FORUM

Interested in moving past the ABC’s? Find out what other parents are doing in their homes to help their children learn how to read. These questions demonstrate both the successes and struggles parents encounter when they teach reading. Feel free to submit a question or click on a topic below to browse through replies that will help you make every moment a fun, successful learning experience for your child. We welcome your feedback.

Bilingual, ESL
Blending, Digraphs, Advanced Reading Skills, Different Methodologies
Comprehension, Word Guessing, Retention
Concentration, Lack of Interest, Looking at Pictures Instead of Words
Differentiating Look-Alike Letters and Sound-Alike Sounds
Getting too far ahead? Will they be bored?
Gifted
Holding children back a grade or bumping them up to the next grade
Is he/she too young? Is he/she ready to start learning how to read?
Learning Disabilities, Slow Learners, Reading/Writing Backwards, Speech/Hearing Problems
Letter Recognition
Older Readers
Questions About Frontline Phonics Beginning Reading Program
Spelling, Writing
Struggling in School, Struggling Readers, Older Children with Reading Difficulties
Teaching Multiple Children
What Can I Do to Help at Home?

Bilingual, ESL

I wanted to know if you have any Spanish phonics that will help my son to read a little better. I have him in a bilingual class and it hurts me to see him struggle a lot when he reads. Please help me!

I'm sorry, but Frontline is only published in English. However, the principles of learning to read and speak any language are the same. He needs to know and understand what each letter says and then practice, practice, practice on blending those phonetic sounds into simple phonetic words. Don't worry about all the exceptions to the English rules out there—concentrate on the letters and sounds they make, blending those sounds into words and being able to read those words in simple phonetic books. Then as his skill and confidence increases, you can start to explain all of the rule-breaking words that English has. Good luck and enjoy learning with your child.

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Here’s my problem, I have an 8-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy. They both go to French school. No English until grade 4. I don't know any French, but I would like to learn with them. Do you have anything that explains in English, but learn the French? Please let me know if you can help.

Bonjour! Sadly, we don't offer anything that can help you with your French. Our program is only published in English. However, there are many computerized language programs that may be of great assistance to you. I would check with your local library and then also with a good local computer store (preferably a national chain, as they might have access to bigger and better programs). Also, a local university might be of great help. Many universities have wonderful language departments and may have experimental language programs and software that can help you. Best of luck. Au Revoir.

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I'm from Honduras, Central America, and I would like to know if your products could help my daughters to learn to read and speak English. My daughters only speak Spanish, and my English is not too good.

Yes, I think Frontline can help children learn English. I have had a few transfer students who only spoke Spanish move into our area and attend my school. Frontline was very helpful in teaching them the way we say the letters and the sounds they make in English. Blending these letters and sounds into words is a key step to reading success, and Frontline is great at teaching blending. I use this product everyday at my preschool. We work with 244 four and five year old children. We have an extremely high reading success rate. I think it would be a great step in helping your daughter begin to learn English. The program is simple to use and very easy to teach. Good luck and enjoy learning with your child.

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I just ordered online. My son is able to spell the letters on each word, but he cannot pronounce it. How do I help him on that? Also, English is my second language, so you can see, I can't really help him. What should I do?

In order for your son to be able to read, he has to know what each letter in the alphabet says. He might know the name of each letter, but he has to be able to know the sound that each letter makes in order to sound out the word. I would spend lots of time listening to the music. The Frontline Phonics CD is a terrific place to start. The alphabet song at the beginning reviews all the letters and the sounds they make, and then there is a song for each letter. Knowing what each letter says will help him sound out the words, and not just spell them. When he knows that “m” says “mmm,” that “a” says “aaa,” and that “p” says “ppp,” and then blends those sounds into a word—his pronunciation will be correct. (PS—this will also help you to know what the letters say in our language and will help you be able to help him.) Enjoy the process of working with your child.

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I have heard that a child of 3 is supposed to be reading and speaking different languages, is this true? I have never seen a child like that, but their parents are obviously determined. I keep on being pushed to make my child like that. I firmly believe that a child should be a child. If I am wrong, please let me know! Thanks and God Bless. P.S. I have not started teaching my child to read yet!

No, you are not wrong! There is no “conventional wisdom” that says when a child is supposed to be able to read, and as far as languages go—if a child is brought up in a bilingual home, obviously, he will speak two languages, but not as a regular course of pre-school education. (With the exception of Montessori schools that do introduce French during preschool years, but only by way of introduction.)

I'm a firm believer, like you are, that childhood needs to be childhood and children have many years ahead of them to work on their educational and social skills. Every child matures at a different rate; some children mature quicker and are ready for more complicated material sooner than others. Some children mature later, but they end up being just as bright, with their own time scale and in their own way. Allowing for those differences will save you and your child many hours of frustration.

I do believe that there is a natural curiosity that most 4 year olds display about our language. They become curious about the letters in their name, the letters in your name, the letters and words in their favorite book. You may hear things like, "Look mommy, that letter is in my name" as you drive by a billboard, etc. Capitalizing on that natural curiosity when it occurs in your child's life can be a very positive introduction to reading. Exposing your child to great books (from birth on), reading to them, letting them hear the cadences of our language, singing alphabet songs that talk about the letters and sounds (library, a great resource), and letting them handle and "read" their own books at any age is a great way to help them discover our language and how the letters fit together and make words and how words change our lives.

Most children develop this curiosity around 3 ½ to 4 ½, but for some children it could come sooner, for some later. Knowing your child, their personality and disposition, will be the best guide for you as you prepare them for their educational experiences and introduction to reading. It sounds like you're doing a great job! Enjoy the process of working and learning with your child.

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My wife is from Thailand, and has already learned some skills from another series. She speaks English really well, but wants to learn to read. Do you have a program for this situation?

Frontline Phonics is the result of a preschool reading program that was so successful, they thought it was important to share. The program was designed for children ages 3-7 years old, so they don't actually have a set program that is designed for adults or for second language situations. However, I have had some remarkable experiences with children from many different countries at my school who have learned to read English by using Frontline. The concept of teaching a language is the same, whether we are old or young. When you want to learn a language, you start with the foundation of letters, what they are and what they say in that language. You then apply meaning to those sounds, blend them into words, and begin to read—continually adding understanding to each word as you read it. So whether teaching small children to read or adults who speak another language to read in English, the process is similar. The hard part for most adults is to start back at the beginning, but I think there could be some real benefit there for her. Whether you use a helpful program like Frontline or work on your own, the place to begin is with the phonetic sounds of the language, what the letters say and how they blend into words. Good luck.

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I'm bilingual living in Mexico, I want to start teaching my child to speak English, will reading to him in English confuse his ability to speak either language?

That’s a difficult question to answer. I'm not a TESL expert (TESL stands for Teaching English as a Second Language). However, I am a huge proponent of letting children speak two languages and the sooner they are introduced to them, the better their understanding of both will become. I have noticed that some (not all) children who speak two languages are delayed just a bit in their academic/comprehension development, but it is only a temporary delay, and the end result is that these children know two languages instead of just one. Well worth the trade-off in my book. Being bilingual will always be a blessing. Good Luck!

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My daughter is 2 years and 5 months. When I read to her, she likes to look at pictures in the book for a while but within a few minutes, she loses interest. I think it might be because she is not understanding English since we speak a different language at home. Please advise me how I should make her understand English and make her interested in reading.

First of all, she's very young. Two year olds are just beginning their complex language development skills and if she is bilingual, then her development is doubly complex. That's not a bad thing, but it might take her a bit longer to sort it all out because she's translating in two different languages. The end result will be wonderful, but it makes for slower going in the beginning.

The best thing to do is to keep exposing her to both languages, both in the verbal form and the written form. You might be even able to get the same book in both languages--that would be a fun exercise--read the book in one language, and then read the same book in the other language. Again, keep in mind that she's only 2. Her attention span is about 2-4 minutes at the most. It's not uncommon for children of this age to lose interest in a book after just a few pages and want to do something different. That's OK. As she matures and as her language skills with both languages increases, her attention span will follow.

BLENDING, DIGRAPHS, ADVANCED READING SKILLS, DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES

If a child already knows the letters and the sounds that they make, what is the next logical step for them? I have read so many different theories (i.e., word families, dolch words, etc.). I could really use the guidance.

There are many different theories out there and many testimonials as to what works and what doesn't. Let me add mine to the mix, and then you can choose which reading approach you want to start with. I'm a preschool teacher and have taught reading for 9 years. Every year I have 99 percent of my kids reading on or around a first grade level when they leave and start Kindergarten, so I at least know that this approach works. Others can work as well, this is just the best way that I've found.

So for what it's worth: I think blending is the next logical step. By blending I mean, learning a series of letters and sounds, and then blending those into simple phonetic words. I start with the letters m, a, p, s, and t. I can then blend those letters into words like: map, sap, sat, mat, pat, at, Pam, Sam, etc. I then continue to learn new letters and then apply them immediately to my blending game, learning new words as I go. Many teachers teach the alphabet letters and sounds and say, “OK, now read.” But if they don't know how to blend those sounds into words, learning the alphabet is just a fun song to sing. And you don't have to learn all 26 letters of the alphabet in order to start blending and reading. Learn a letter and sound and then learn how to apply it in a word. Learning 26 letters and sounds in a row can be very boring after about the fifth letter or so, but if they know they are learning a letter that they can then use to help them read, it's a lot more fun and productive.

Here are few other ideas that might help. I like to think of as many blending games as I can use a set of cards that have the letters that they know on them. I hold them in my hand and let them pick three cards and lay them out. Then we sound out what they picked. Sometimes they're nonsense words, but they get the idea that I want them to read what they picked. Then I reverse it and I pick three cards. We play this game back and forth several times and they hear and see me read what I picked. Seeing me do it often helps them understand what I'm trying to get them to do.

Another blending trick I use that often helps them hear the difference between sounding out each letter and blending them into words is to read a very familiar book to them (or at least a page of it) sounding out each letter as I go. This has to be a very familiar book that they know and can instantly recognize that this is not how the book should be read. They can hear the difference between sounding out each letter and blending those letters into words.

Repetition is the key here. Playing and inventing lots of blending games will help your child develop confidence in his/her reading skills. Keeping it fun will make them want to “play” again. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child.

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I have heard two different versions of the semi-vowels “w” and “y.” The first version sounds like vowels “u” and “I,” the second version sounds like “were” and “year.” Which is correct, and how do you explain what semi-vowels are?

About your question on semi-vowels: I think your definition of both uses of semi-vowels in the examples you gave are correct as both letters can take on those different sounds based upon they are used in any given word. When I was little (in the 60's) I was taught the vowels—a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. That's not the prevailing way of teaching vowels anymore. They're pretty much presented as simply a, e, i, o, u. There are of course exceptions in our language—but they're usually taught as you go and are word specific, because as you can see, “y” can be so many different sounds based on the word usage, word origin, and word letter placement.

There are two great websites that you might want to visit that discuss many of our language spelling rules. www.dyslexia.org/spelling_rules.shtml and www.kingsharvest.com/spellingrules.html. Hope this helps. Have fun.

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My daughter has always loved for me to read to her. When I want her to do something, I tell her I will read later, and she moves. But she doesn’t like reading—she likes reading pre-school books if she has to read. I don’t know how to help when it comes to rules as when a “y” sounds like an “i” or why “e” is silent. So I just tell her without any reason and I get frustrated—do the reading for both of us and let her read her baby books. What do I do?

You're right in recognizing and being frustrated with the many exceptions that are in our English language. However, there are still many rules that apply and can be taught. There is the “i” before “e” rule, the two-vowel rule (this one easily explains why many e's are silent), the “ar” rule is always “ar” as in car, etc. There are many exceptions we have to learn as we begin to read, but understanding the rules first, and then learning the exceptions will be very helpful and cut down drastically on the frustration.

When a child is taught those rules and how to apply them, they then have the tools/skills to be able to decode the words they're seeing in a book. Perhaps your daughter isn't comfortable with her own reading confidence/ability, and therefore likes to stay with the preschool books that she's familiar with. Teaching her the basic concepts of letter identification, sound, and then the very important blending concepts will improve her reading confidence and abilities. Keep her in phonetic reading books until she grasps these concepts, and then slowly introduce books and words that experiment with the exceptions in our language. We all have to know the rules before we can accept and understand that there are occasional exceptions, not the other way round. Good luck and enjoy the process of working and learning with your daughter.

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I have a question about teaching our daughter to read. She is not interested in blending. When I try, at first she will participate, say three, three letter words and then this wall goes up. She knows her traditional ABC song, we do the flashcards with the Alphabet song and follow the guidelines in our Frontline Phonics program but when I show her the letters w/o the music, she does not know there names. She does know the sounds of the letters we have done for the most part, but lots of times she says she doesn't know letter after letter even though I know she does know. And I know she knows b/c she will sit in my husbands lap and say there is an “m,” etc. Then she says my Mommy taught me all these letters. What is the right thing to do? I have difficulty with my type-A personality in not pushing and working on the process not the product. I don't want to ruin her love of reading.

I loved hearing about how you're working with your daughter on her blending skills. It always makes me smile to hear stories of parents helping their children learn to read. Good Job! I didn't catch your daughter's age, but I'll give you a few ideas that might help.

Showing a lack of interest or having a short attention span with blending is a fairly good indication that they don't quite get the connection between knowing the letters and applying the letters. Every child develops language skills at a different pace. It's important to allow for that difference in growth. That way reading will be fun, and not a chore. Keep working with the letters and sounds and finding fun ways to recognize them in words. Work on blending for just a few minutes a day and when she starts to act confused or loses interest, stop. Congratulate her on the few words she did sound out, and let her know you love how she's working on her “reading.”

When I have children in my class who are struggling with blending, I always try to turn it into a game. I have my letter cards on the table and we see what words we can make, or I'll have them pick three cards out of my hand and see what we can sound out with the cards they picked. Then we reverse it, and I pick three cards and see what word I can sound out. Sometimes they're nonsense words, but they get the idea that I want them to “read” the letters in a blending way. I can usually get them to read several words for me before they tire of the “game.”

Go slowly and let your daughter determine the pace, but work consistently. Maybe every day is too much for her; perhaps every other day is reasonable, but again, for just 5-10 minutes or so. Keep it fun and light and she'll want to “play the game again, Mommy.” It's hard not to want to push (I know, I have the same type-A personality with my own kids), but pushing will make her want to push back and assert her own power here. Show lots of love, lots of encouragement for progress made, and I know you'll be happy in successful in working with your daughter. It sounds like you're already doing a great job.

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My son is 5 years old, and he has problem of reading books with big sentences with letters like there, again, where, etc. He does not know how to join letters like th+ere = there. Would you suggest some kind of books that have simple sentences then big sentences so he will have confidence?

It sounds like you're asking your 5 year old to read some very complicated words. Words like “there, where, again” are not using phonic rules, but more complicated rules like blends, digraphs and sight words. Many of those words are second grade words. They're pretty hard for most 5 year olds to read unless they are reading on an accelerated first grade level or second grade reading level.

I would suggest that you find books that are more age/reading level appropriate to a 5 year old. Your best bet here would be anything that is phonetically based. That way he can learn the phonetic rules to our language. Once that foundation is solid, then you can add concepts like blends, diagraphs and sight words. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child.

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My 8 year old has a problem decoding new words. How can I help him?

Yes, you can help him. First of all you need to make sure that he understands all the letters and sounds and what they say when they are in certain situations. Having a firm understanding of what “d” says every time you see a “d” will make decoding much easier. If he is used to learning with a sight word based reading system, then sounding out new words will be a new challenge for him as he will be used to memorizing them. It take a little of both with our language, decoding skills and memorization, but having good decoding skills is paramount to successful reading of all words that they come in contact with. So making sure that he is fully aware of all the letters and all their sounds, long vowel rules, blends, digraphs, etc. will make decoding much easier for him.

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My daughter turned 5 in August and her preschool is teaching her to read. They start of course with knowing the ABC's and then also sounding out each letter. They start them with books 1 and 2. Before they can read book 1, they have to master the words in this book that are on a practice sheet. The teacher said not to show the book to my daughter until she can look at the practice sheet and spell and say each word. Then open the book and see if she can sound out and read the words in the sentences...is this a correct manner to teach or should we also be reading the book pages to her so she become familiar with the words in the sentences?

Without seeing the program, it's hard for me to say what exact methodology her preschool is using. There are many programs our there and many methodologies about teaching children to read. You seem a bit concerned with the approach, and I think the best thing for you would be to go talk to her teacher and have her explain the whys and wherefores of their particular program. Discuss freely with her your questions and concerns. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to visit with you and explain their process. I always love it when I get parents in to talk to me about their child's progress. I'm very impressed with your email on two fronts: first that you have her in a school that introduces her to reading—great job! And second, for knowing and observing the ins and outs of her program. It sounds like you're very involved with her educational process. That's great. Enjoy the process of working with your child and good luck.

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My child is 4 years old. What do I tell her about silent letters—I mean as far as recognizing them so she doesn’t sound them out when she sees them. Which types of words are the most important for her to learn right now? Should I stay with her learning to blend the sounds instead of having her identify the words because she has a very good memory? Your professional advice would be helpful. Thank you, Loving Father

Dear Loving Father (and I can tell you are by your questions), your question about silent letters is an interesting one. As a 4 year old, she should be focusing on fundamental phonetic word concepts. Introducing silent letter combinations, contractions, digraphs, blends, etc., are reading concepts that are important, but further down the road.

Here at the beginning, stick with simple word concepts that allow her to learn and use attack skills while sounding out words. When she is very confident with phonetic words (words that can be logically sounded out based on what each letter in the word says), then you can introduce the concept of long vowels. Remember that old song: when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking and says his own name, the second one goes to sleep.

When she's confident applying the reading skills she does know, then you can introduce the variations and subtleties of our language that have to be memorized. Let her gain reading confidence here at the beginning by having her work with phonetic words and concepts. Then her terrific memory skills will come into play with the many “rule breaker” words that she will begin to encounter. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child.

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We are moving along pretty good and she already knew a lot of sounds before we started, but I'm not sure how to introduce the “ch” sounds or the “bl” sounds. What do I need to do?

Thanks for writing. “Ch” is what we call a digraph, and “bl” is a blend. These are fairly advanced reading concepts. If your daughter is reading on an advanced first grade or beginning second grade level, then these are great concepts to introduce. If she is a beginning reader, now is not the time. Phonetic reading skills need to be well established and a strong reading foundation needs to be in place. Afterwards, vowels are discussed, long vowels are introduced, and then blends and digraphs. You didn't mention what her reading level is, so I'm not sure how to direct you. But if she's a beginning reader—hold off on the blends and digraphs. They will come a bit later.

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Our daughter seems ready to move forward. She is a Pre-K student at an exclusive all-girls school. They use a whole-language approach to reading. We want her to be more than ready for Kindergarten next year when school gets started. Are there other programs that she needs to get from you guys at that time, or do I need to hire a private teacher to help us? We have been pleased with the results of Frontline Phonics so far, but we wonder if it's the program that will take her further than basic reading. Thanks for your response.

Frontline Phonics has products that take children through a pretty solid first grade reading level. They have books that introduce the concepts that we've talked about, blends and digraphs--they are the yellow and green books. These books go to about a year-end first grade reading level or a beginning second grade reading level. I'm not sure if you have those sets or not. The sets in order are—Blue (short vowels), Orange (short vowels), Red (long vowels), Yellow (blends), and Green (digraphs). Whole language reading approaches focus quite a bit more on sight words and memorization of words. Obviously, English has many words that just have to be memorized, but we have many that we can sound out too. Giving your daughter a great phonetic foundation with the confidence to sound out new words as well as the learning sight words at school should be a great combination. Best of luck to you.

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I have a 4 year old and a 3 year old that I'm using the program with. I'm happy with the sound and the letter recognition, but I'm having problems with the blends for reading.

Sometimes the concept of blending letters together to form a word can be a bit of a tricky concept for some children. Some children grasp the idea right away, and some children can't quite make the transfer from knowing the letters to applying the letters. Here are few ideas that might help.

I like to think of as many blending games as I can using a set of cards that have the letters that they know on them. I hold them in my hand and let them pick three cards and lay them out. Then we sound out what they picked. Sometimes they're nonsense words, but they get the idea that I want them to read what they picked. Then I reverse it and I pick three cards. We play this game back and forth several times and they hear and see me read what I picked. Seeing me do it often helps them understand what I'm trying to get them to do.

Another blending trick I use that often helps them hear the difference between sounding out each letter and blending them into words is to read a very familiar book to them (or at least a page of it) sounding out each letter as I go. This has to be a very familiar book that they know and can instantly recognize that this is not how the book should be read. They can hear the difference between sounding out each letter and blending those letters into words. Repetition is the key here. Keeping it fun will make them want to "play" again. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your children. Good job.

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I have been working three times a week with my 4 year old since September, and my child is also working on the letter sounds in Montessori School. He knows all of his letter sounds, including the ones that have more than one sound, but I just can't get him to blend the sounds to make a word. He continues to sound each letter separately and can't go any faster. Montessori School is not “there yet.” We've gone through the entire lesson and still are not blending. Please help.

Sometimes the concept of blending letters together to form a word can be a bit of a tricky concept for some children. Some children grasp the idea right away, and some children can't quite make the transfer from knowing the letters to applying the letters.

Here are few ideas that might help. I like to think of as many blending games as I can using a set of cards that have the letters that they know on them. I hold them in my hand and let them pick three cards and lay them out. Then we sound out what they picked. Sometimes they're nonsense words, but they get the idea that I want them to read what they picked. Then I reverse it and I pick three cards. We play this game back and forth several times and they hear and see me read what I picked. Seeing me do it often helps them understand what I'm trying to get them to do.

Another blending trick I use that often helps them hear the difference between sounding out each letter and blending them into words is to read a very familiar book to them (or at least a page of it) sounding out each letter as I go. This has to be a very familiar book that they know and can instantly recognize that this is not how the book should be read. They can hear the difference between sounding out each letter and blending those letters into words.

Repetition is the key here. Playing and inventing lots of games blending games will help him here and understand the difference. Keeping it fun will make him want to “play” again. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child. Good job.

COMPREHENSION AND WORD GUESSING, RETENTION

My daughter reads fine, but I was advised that she does not comprehend what she reads. How can I help her on this?

Some children pick up the mechanics of reading quickly and think that's all they need to do. But being able to read is only the first part of the equation. Comprehension is the second part. This might help. When I have a child who has good reading mechanics, but low comprehension, I slow down. I let them read only one page of a story, then I have them talk to me about it. What is happening on this page? Who is doing what? Why do you think they are doing that? What do you think will happen next? By asking these sort of questions, it helps the child understand that the whole reason we read is to be able to understand what is being said. Have her read a page and then you read a page and have her ask you the questions. Let her see that as you read the words, you also were thinking about what was happening in the story. When her attention from this game strays, stop. Continue this sort of comprehensive reading, increasing the length slowly. Another technique is to have her draw or write a few sentences describing the book when she is finished with it.

Maybe the books are too simple in plot? Most children between 8-10 start to really care about what is going on in the story. What are the characters doing and why? I don't know what reading level she's on, but maybe she's not interested in the story and therefore reads mechanically and doesn't care to retain the story. Discover her readling level (her teacher should be able to help you here), then pick age appropriate subjects that she's interested in. If her reading level can't keep up with her interest level yet--have her keep reading books that she can read and playing the question game, and then you read to her books that she's interested in until she can do that on her own.

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I have a 6 year-old girl in first grade. We have problems because she doesn't recognize a few words.

Word recognition is a common problem among first graders, but here are few answers that might help you. First of all, make sure that she thoroughly knows every alphabet letter AND sound. Next, make sure that she knows how to blend these sounds into simple phonetic words. Knowing how to blend is such an important skill and gives her the confidence to attack words that she doesn't know yet--sounding them out as she approaches them.

When she comes across sight words that she has to memorize because they can't be phonetically sounded out--here is a fun game. Have her look for those sight words on a cereal box, a newspaper, a billboard, in your kitchen pantry, in her older brother's math book, etc. Anywhere that there are words, have her look for the ones that she is struggling with (only work on 2-3 words at a time) until she can easily identify them every time. When she identifies one correctly, have her say it, spell it, and say it again. Making flashcards and hanging them on the fridge, bathroom mirror, bedroom door, etc., will keep these sight words in her mind and help her retain what she's discovered and learned.

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My 9 year-old son spells out unknown words when reading and so loses the momentum in reading. He does not get the true meaning of what he reads when he goes back to spell the word.

Guessing at words in a sentence is a common problem. Schools teach so much with sight word learning that it's easy to understand how it happens. Children see and learn the word “heavy.” That gets stored in their memory, and then next time they see a word that starts with “h,” that looks about as long as heavy and has some of the same letters, instead of inspecting the word carefully, they guess at the closest word their memory can find, “heavy,” when the word might be “heart.”

Helping your child develop better word attack skills might help him. I like to play a little game in my class. I have a set of cards with letters on them. We pick a vowel, say "a", put it in the middle and then pick a consonant to start with and a consonant to end with. Then we sound out the word. Then we change the beginning consonant, then we sound out the word. Then we change the ending consonant and sound out the word. Notice that we're not playing this game in the context of a story. We're just working on attacking the words as they are shown on the cards. You can begin with simple words, and increase the complexity as they are able to read more difficulty words.

Then when he is reading a story and misreads a word, have him go back and attack the misread word. The more you play these sort of word games, the better his sounding out/attack skills will become and the more confident he will become in venturing to sound it out instead of guessing with a similar looking word.

You are right in noticing that the more he has to stop and correct words, the comprehension level drops dramatically. If he misreads a word, and can't figure it out the second time, tell him the word and have him move on with the story. It can become so frustrating for a child to have to ponder and attack every word. Work on attacking words during the game, not during the story. Have him sound it out once, and if he can't get it, you tell him the word and move on.

Have him stop every few pages and tell you what's going on with the characters in the story. Ask him questions about what is happening. This will help him retain and comprehend what he's reading. Some beginning readers are working so hard on just figuring out the words that the plot is totally lost on them. A good tool here is to have them only read a few short pages, tell you what's happening in the story, and then stop. Later, read a few more pages, talk about it and stop. Breaking the story down into short bits is a good way to help a beginning reader still feel good about being able to work through the words, and still remember what they have read.

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My son reads and adds words that aren't there. He has trouble sounding them out. He also has trouble recognizing long and short vowel sounds.

Adding "ghost" words while he's reading is fairly common, especially if he's uncertain of the reading text or if he's only been trained in learning sight words. Sight words training would also explain why he has trouble sounding out words. He might not be comfortable attacking a word, so he guesses at what he thinks might be the word, based upon other words that he has had to memorize in the past.

Making sure that he knows his alphabet letters and sounds is the first step. Next, make sure that he can blend these sounds into simple phonetic words---c a t, blended together says “cat,” etc. Many programs and teachers leave out this very important blending step that gives kids the confidence and skills to be able to sound out the words they are reading. In my class, I spend many weeks on blending concepts as we continue to learn new alphabet letters and sounds and then apply them to phonetic words.

Going back over the letters and sounds would help him with his short and long vowel identification as well. He should be very comfortable with the short vowels before he branches out into the long vowel sounds. Hope this gives you some ideas that may help.

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My 6-year-old boy finished reception at the end of 2002 with around 50 sight words that he knew. Now at the beginning of 2003 he can barely remember his first list. Is this normal?

Retention is always a problem. Some children seem to retain everything they learn, others learn, pass off, and then forget. Reviewing continuously is a help. Also teaching some decoding skills instead of just memorizing words is a great plus as he then will be able to sound out/decode words as he comes across them instead of just having to know them instantly. Some words can't be sounded out and have to be memorized, but if a child can attack a word and sound it out, then he has another reading tool to use instead of only memorization.

Decoding skills can be taught. Knowing what each letter says and how it blends together in a word is the start. Make sure he is extremely comfortable with his letters and sounds. Blend these sounds into simple phonetic words like cat, hat, Pam, etc. Make sure he really knows how to blend. Blending is a huge skill, if you can blend sounds together, then you can “unblend” or decode phonetic words. Hope this helps. Enjoy the process of working with your child.

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My son has a habit of guessing what he thinks a word should be as soon as he sees the first letter or two. He gets very frustrated when I tell him he has read the word incorrectly. When I try to help him sound out the word, he continues to try sounding it out as the word he guessed. He gets so frustrated when he can't make the word sound like what he wants it to be, he wants to give up. I've tried covering the pictures on the page so he can't look at the picture and try to guess what the page will say. How can I stop the guessing game?

I see the “guessing” game all the time. It's quite common, especially if he's been working with sight words at all. Sight words are words that don't make much phonetic sense, we just have to know what they are—like “sight.” We all have to memorize some sight words, that's just part of our language. But if the majority of the words he's reading are sight words and not phonetic words—this can be frustrating to a beginning reader. The problem seems to come when a child has memorized a word like "hat," then every time he sees a word that starts with "h" and is followed by an "a," his mind and eye remember the word “hat: and he reads “hat,” even if the word he's reading is “had.” Having a really good phonetic foundation and good blending skills will help him feel confident to attack a new word letter by letter. Then have him slow down, sound out the word and he'll be comfortable with his ability to sound out every letter in the word, not just the beginning letters that he remembers.

About him getting frustrated and mad about sounding out words? Well, that's pretty common when you have to slow them down and correct them. Be patient and teach him patience—saying things like, “If the word is “had” then we have to read “had” not “hat”—otherwise the story won't make sense." With reading practice, he'll get better at recognizing the difference in words and the “guessing” game will start to disappear. Just keep going—it sounds like you're doing great.

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I work everyday with my son on his reading, he seems to have the hardest time with small words, or he will say them and then later not know them, a lot of them are his spelling words that he got 100% on—I don't understand. Also, when he reads, he does not know what he has read. He has glasses now. He is farsighted in both eyes and this seemed to help for a while, but now he seems to be struggling again. He is in the first grade and, as of right now, will not go to the second grade unless I can get him to read and understand. He hates to read. I have tried everything and I have phonics, nothing seems to be helping. I have always read to them every night since they were babies and he enjoys that but does not want to read himself. He hates it and says he can't read, he tries but can't.

It sounds like he's having trouble with retaining what he's learned. He learns it, but then quickly forgets it (i.e., the spelling test that he got 100% on, and then a week later, can't remember the words on the test). Retention can be a learned skill like any other academic skill. Some children seem to be able to retain almost everything, while others struggle with keeping it. But even if they're not great natural retainers of information, there are a few things you can do to help him remember things a bit longer. You are right in noticing that the more he has to stop and correct words, the comprehension level drops dramatically. If he misreads a word, and can't figure it out the second time, tell him the word and have him move on with the story. It can become so frustrating for a child to have to ponder and attack every word. Work on attacking words during the game, not during the story. Have him sound it out once, and if he can't get it, you tell him the word and move on.

While reading a story, have him stop every few pages and tell you what's going on with the characters in the story. Ask him questions about what is happening. This will help him retain and comprehend what he's reading. Some beginning readers are working so hard on just figuring out the words that the plot is totally lost on them. A good tool here is to have them only read a few short pages, tell you what's happening and stop. Later, read a few more pages, talk about it and stop. Breaking the story down into short bits is a good way to help a beginning reader still feel good about being able to work through the words, and still remember what they read.

Another tip that might help is to keep your work time very short—10 minutes or so. Work on a concept, reading, spelling, whatever the homework is, and then stop. Let him go do something else for a while. Then bring him back, review, then tackle something new, but again, keeping each session short. It takes longer to get through the work, but breaking down into manageable sessions might help him not feel overwhelmed with that task. I also use incentives and rewards to help with undesirable tasks. “Johnny, if you read these three pages for me, I'll play (a game of choice) with you.” Setting and reaching small goals will help you accomplish bigger ones in the long run. Good luck, enjoy the process of working with your child.

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My daughter is 9 years old. She was a 1 lb. premature baby delivering at 21 weeks. She is very active. She reads well, the problem is she is having a very hard time with her comprehensive reading level. I have tried everything I know possible, by letting her write what she reads, she starts off good and then strays from the whole scene altogether. Please let me know what to do. Mother in need badly. Thanks.

Some children pick up the mechanics of reading quickly and think that's all they need to do. But being able to read is only the first part of the equation. Comprehension is the second part. This might help. When I have a child who has good reading mechanics, but low comprehension, I slow down. I let them read only one page of a story, then I have them talk to me about it. What is happening on this page? Who is doing what? Why do you think they are doing that? What do you think will happen next? By asking these sorts of questions, it helps the child understand that the whole reason we read is to be able to understand what is being said. Have her read a page and then you read a page and have her ask you the questions. Let her see that as you read the words, you also were thinking about what was happening in the story. When her attention from this game strays, stop. Continue this sort of comprehensive reading, increasing the length slowly. Another technique is to have her draw or write a few sentences describing the book when she is finished with it.

You mentioned that she is 9 years old. Maybe the books are too simple in plot? Most children between 8-10 start to really care about what is going on in the story. What are the characters doing and why? I don't know what reading level she's on, but maybe she's not interested in the story and therefore reads mechanically and doesn't care to retain the story. Discover her reading level (her teacher should be able to help you here), then pick age appropriate subjects that she's interested in. If her reading level can't keep up with her interest level yet—have her keep reading books that she can read and playing the question game, and then you read to her books that she's interested in until she can do that on her own. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child. It sounds like you're doing a great job!

CONCENTRATION, LACK OF INTEREST, LOOKING AT PICTURES INSTEAD OF WORDS

I have a child with a lazy mind. She wants to read, but she is lazy and gives up easily. Do you have any suggestions?

I'm not sure what you mean by a “lazy” mind. You didn't mention her age, perhaps the material covered is a bit too old for her, and she easily loses interest. Losing interest is a very good indication that she doesn't understand what she's supposed to do. A good rule of thumb is to introduce letters and sounds at 3-4, introduce reading concepts around 4-5, and continue building from there. But everyone develops at very different rates, so she might be a little immature on her learning curve and doesn't quite comprehend yet. Another possibility is that she's extremely bright, gets it all, but doesn't have the verbal skills to tell you back what you need to hear. She could also just be a bit lazy and would simply rather not put forth the effort required. In either of the last two cases, games are a great way to motivate and teach.

In my classroom, I play “reading” and “learning” games all day. The children think they are simply playing a game with their teacher, while I am having them repeat the same thing over and over without them getting bored with my verbiage. Repetition is a good way to retention, but the trick is to get them to repeat it without drilling them over it. Games really help here. I play alphabet letter games, games for “b” and “d,” games for rhyming, games for differences. Many of these I simply do because I've taught for many years, but there are some wonderful aids and tools that you can pick up at your local teacher supply store. Be imaginative. Turning “drill and kill” methods into games and fun make all the difference in a child's motivation to continue to learn. Good luck!

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My 2 year old does not want to sit still while I am reading to my 3 year old. Should I make her sit still or is she still listening and learning while she is playing? Should I let my 3 year old hold and turn the pages before I am done with the page I am on? Sometimes she knows what is on the other page, and she wants to read it. Should I go ahead and let her, or should I tell her to finish the first one now, then the other?

Thanks for writing. Your children sound darling. Showing a lack of interest or having a short attention span with blending or reading is a fairly good indication that children don't quite get the connection between knowing the letters and applying the letters. Every child develops language skills at a different pace. It's important to allow for that difference in growth. That way reading will be fun, and not a chore.

Keep working with the letters and sounds and finding fun ways to recognize them in words. Work on blending for just a few minutes a day and when she starts to act confused or lose interest, stop. Congratulate her on her progress and pick it up another day. Only work for a few minutes (5-10) per day. As a rule of thumb, children have about as long an attention span as they are old. Your two year old will absorb many of the ideas and concepts as he/she sits by playing. Two and 3 are quite young to be working on reading concepts, so proceed slowly. If they lose interest, back off and let their interest be your guide. Keep it short and sweet. Using the Frontline music is a very good thing to use at these tender ages. I would recommend that you finish the page she's on before you let her move on. If she only wants to go one page at a time, that's fine. She's very young and has lots of time to figure this all out. Best of luck.

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I have 3½ year-old that I wanted to start on the program. I got the program about 6 months ago, and she wasn't ready to sit with me. I want to start up again but I don't know where to begin with a child of her temperament. She does not want to wait for an explanation and her listening skills need a lot of work. She is good at tuning one out. She just wants to do it, color the pictures and move on. She can, in some cases, associate a letter with an object or person (if she sees an A, she says apple, or S is snake) instead of actually saying the letter. Any ideas on how I can better explain to her the difference between a letter and the object it's associated with?

It sounds to me like your daughter is a very typical 3 year old. You mentioned that she is interested in the music, the letter pieces, and coloring, but is not interested in repeating or drilling on any specific letter. That's pretty normal behavior for a 3 year old. Quite often the interest to make the association between the letter and the sound it makes comes more when they are 4 to 4 ½ years old. Her lack of interest in repeating things to you could be that she's just not ready yet. Don't push her—let her learn at her own pace. I would listen to the music—have it on in the background when she's playing, in the bathtub, in the car, etc. The music is a very good introduction to the whole process. Let her play letter games around the house—always associating a sound with a letter. When she is curious about the letters in her name, how to spell her name, how to spell your name—that's a pretty good sign that she's ready to make the connection between the letter and the sound and how they fit together in a word. Meanwhile, don't get discouraged. Keep it light and simple and fun, and when she's ready, she'll get it. Keep up the good work and enjoy working with your child.

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I am a new mom and my 5 year-old daughter is learning how to read. She is not reading the words—she is reading the pictures. Should I be concerned?

Pictures are always more interesting than words, so let her look at the pictures. Ask her what she thinks the characters are doing? Why are they doing that? What will happen next? (This is also a great exercise for reading retention a little later on.) After she has looked at all the pictures and thought about what everyone in the story is doing—then you can say something like, “Well, you know these words right here tell us exactly what is happening in the story so we don't have to guess.” Putting your hand over the picture or covering it up in some way is a good way to get them focused on the words, but only after their curiosity about the pictures has been satiated. Let them look all they want to, but teach them that looking at pictures isn't reading, and that we need to learn how to do both. Start with the music—play it everywhere, while playing with toys, taking a bath, while driving in the car. Having the letters and sounds become second nature to her will help immensely when she begins the blending process. It sounds like you're doing a great job.

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My son likes to read especially at bedtime, but after school he would prefer to watch TV. I sometimes think he watches too much TV. I would like to do more reading but not to let him feel like I am punishing him. Do you have any suggestions?

Watching TV is an individual choice and each family differs on what they think is too much and what is just right. I do believe in setting parameters about how much TV your child should watch. You need to decide on what those parameters should be for your family and then stick to them—adults too. Watching videos counts as watching TV at my house and we limit how much TV per week. You might want to consider similar parameters for video and computer games.

You mentioned that when he comes home from school, you want him to read and he wants to watch TV, but that later he wants to read at bedtime. Great! I know with my own children and my school-class children, they need some “downtime” right after school. School is like their job. They work at it for 6-7 hours every day and they are usually tired and hungry and need a break when they get home from school. Getting home and sitting down to another 1-2 hours of homework and reading for mom is sometimes more than their little brains can handle. I always allow my children 1-2 hours downtime when they get home from school in which they are allowed to choose (within reason) what they want to do to relax and unwind. Playing with friends, using some of their allotted TV time, listening to music in their room, anything outside in the yard, etc., whatever they find relaxing. We then tackle homework after they have had some time to relax. They then tackle their homework fresh and willing (OK maybe not exactly willing) instead of grumpy, hungry, and tired. It’s just a thought, but it sure cuts down on the after school blues and fighting with mom about school work. Hope that helps.

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My 4 year-old boy gets annoyed when I try to teach him sounds or to identify letters while reading him a story. Does this mean he's not ready?

I think you're observation is correct. Showing a lack of interest or having a short attention span with any part of the reading process is a fairly good indication that children aren't quite ready to work on that part yet. Every child develops language skills at a different pace. It's important to allow for that difference in growth. That way reading will be fun, and not a chore.

Keep reading with your child so that he can first of all be with you, and second, hear the cadences and rhythms of our language. That's so important for pre-readers. When he shows a real interest in the letters in his name, the letters in your name, the letters on the cereal box, etc., then that's a pretty good sign that he's ready to start putting it all together. Keep up the good work, and enjoy the process of working with your child.

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My son is age 7. He is not studying well. If I take his notebook and ask a question, he doesn't answer even though the portion was revised one week back. I think he has no interest in studies. He is sportive and takes more time to study even to memorize three lines. I request you to share your advice.

I have three very athletic boys at my house, and sometimes they're not interested in studying either. However, studying time is important and necessary, so here's a tip that I use at home. It usually helps with boredom and retention. I keep their studying time to about 15-20 min. I'm there with them making sure that they stay on task and do the work. Then we stop. I allow them to go do other activities for a while, read a book, play a game, etc., then I call them back and we'll quickly review what we studied before, and then study for another 15-20 min. Then take another break, and so forth. It takes a bit longer, but it seems to keep them from getting bored and studying in short steps makes it seem less of a huge mountain of homework to do. Hope that helps. Keep up the good work with your child.

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My son has a hard time focusing in class and I don't know why.

There could be many reasons why your son is distracted in class. Maybe he's sitting by a noisy partner, or perhaps he can't see the board and loses interest. You might want to get his eyes checked and make sure that he is fine. His teacher should be able to give you further insight as to his behavior in class and a discussion with him/her should be in order. Good Luck.

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My child seems to have gone backwards. She is insisting that an “M” is a “W,” and she is now saying it sounds like "t-t-t." She is goofing off during our time and seems to be going backwards. We were up to "a" and now I don't know what has happened. I am losing her concentration. HELP!!!

Here are few ideas that might help. Showing a lack of interest or having a short attention span with any part of the reading process is a fairly good indication that children aren't quite ready to work on that part yet. Every child develops language skills at a different pace. It's important to allow for that difference in growth. That way reading will be fun, and not a chore.

Keep working with the letters and sounds and finding fun ways to recognize them in words. Slow down and use the music a lot here. Play it everywhere--picking up toys, in the bathtub, while driving—everywhere. Having the names of the letter and their sounds become second nature will make the blending process and reading process that much easier when she is ready.

Only work for a few minutes (5 or so) per day. As a rule of thumb, children have about as long an attention span as they are old. With young children, you've got to keep it short and sweet and fun. If she loses interest during a "game" time, stop. Congratulate her on her progress and pick it up another day. Give her lots of love and praise her for progress made. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child.

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My 7-year-old son just hates to read. It is an argument every time we sit down to do his homework. He has to go to summer school a second time already in order to pass. He is in tutoring 2 days a week at school and is in a special reading class, but he still hates school and especially to read. Any suggestions on how to get him to sit down quietly to read and somewhat enjoy it?

Learning to read can be difficult for some children, especially if they don't want to sit still, for even a minute. I know, I have a son just like that—would much rather be doing anything will a ball rather than with a book. Nevertheless, reading is fundamental to our culture, so we need to figure out why he hates it so much. He's not too young to start over with the basics.

You mentioned that he has to attend summer school in order to pass. If they are just teaching him more of the same thing that he "didn't get" during the school year, I'm not sure of the benefit there as he probably won't "get it" in the summer school either. So perhaps he needs to be taught with a different method. I'm not sure what methodology your school district is currently using to teach reading, but it would benefit you to find out and discover what isn't working for him, so that you might be able to discover something that would.

Do you homework with the school first, find out what they're teaching and why. There are many different ways to teach reading, and I would bet that your school is only using one. Perhaps he will respond to some other method or methods.

Keep your work sessions very short—10 to 15 min. at a time. That way, even if they're not enjoyable, they're at least bearable for him, and then after he completes "X amount of work", then he can do what he wants to do. I try making it an agreement in my classroom. "You do this for me---and then I'll let you do that, or I'll do that for you." etc.

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My 7 year old thinks reading takes too much effort. He would rather take something apart or put a motor together. He just does not have time for reading. If I try to get him to stop and read with me, he cries, “I don’t want to.” Any help would be encouraging.

Not only am I a teacher, but a mother of 3 boys, and I have a son that sounds just like yours. He would much rather do anything with his hands or a ball, than with a book. Nonetheless, reading is so fundamental to our society, that it's just not optional. I make it that way too. It's not debatable as to whether or not you eat, breathe, brush your teeth, and in my house--reading is not debatable either.

I would recommend that you have a set time during the day (pick his best learning time)—it’s the same everyday, day in, day out. I recommend that you keep it very short (age specific here). If he's 4-6, no longer than 10 min., older 10-20, etc. Keeping it short and sweet will make it bearable for him on days that he just can't stand it. Keep a timer close by. Have him set it with the agreed upon time. You stay right with him, helping him as needed. I always make a deal (not a bribe or reward, but a deal--You do this reading for me, and I'll do "this" (be sure to make it something he cares about) for you. My kids love baseball, so they read for me, I let them play ball--that's the deal. But again, it's very short and not overpowering. Most kids can stand anything for 10-15 min. When time's up, reading is over, even mid-sentence. Stick to the deal.

Over time, and carefully selected reading material, I don't have to remind, hound, beg, etc. It's just expected, they do their reading, and then on to other things that they love. I've even "caught" them reading at different times. It does work. Some children love it more than others, but it can be done even with children that aren't interested. Good luck.

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My child hates to sit down and play games that have to do with letters and sounds. I think I need a class to teach him how to read besides us, the parents. Do you know of anyone in Marin County that has a reading program for the summer?

Thanks for writing. I'm smiling a bit because I hear this all the time. "My child performs so well for you (the teacher) but won't do anything for me at home." Sometimes children respond much better to an outside party. That doesn't mean that you aren't a great parent or that you don't know how to teach your children, they just know there is a difference with a third party, and usually perform better. It's very common. Don't worry.

I'm not familiar with Marin County programs, so I can't recommend a specific program for your child, but a good place to start would be your public schools/districts. Many public schools offer fun and educational summer classes to keep children reading and working throughout the long summer months. Another resource might be a private school in your area. Private schools really need to keep bringing in income throughout the summer months, so often they offer great programs at reduced rates to attract summer clientele. Also your local library might have summer reading camps or bookworm clubs to participate in. Start calling around to educational facilities in your area and you'll probably find a great summer program just right for you and your child.

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What about attention span? My child gets frustrated easily and gives up after minutes. It's a challenge just trying to teach him his colors. He's 3 and he's still struggling with knowing his colors.

As a preschool teacher, one of the first lessons you learn is that most children have about as long of an attention span a they are old. You learn it because what ever you had planned doesn't work because your class has lost interest and wandered off after about 3-4 min. So having your 3 year old (and a boy at that--boys generally mature a bit slower than girls do) lose interest in anything after a few minutes is completely normal.

I vary my activities about every 5 minutes in my classroom. So when you're working with him, keep to about that long. He can learn to sit for 1 minute longer than he might normally, but he can't learn to sit for 15 minutes longer than he can. As a 3 year old, you've got about 3-5 minutes on any given subject.

Here's how a session with your son might go. “Today we're going to talk about blue.” Show him something that is obviously blue. “What else can you see that is blue?” You might be wearing a blue shirt or blue jeans, or he might be. Maybe have 3 or 4 pictures in front of him with something that is blue in them. Show him and see if he can say blue after you. "Now lets go on a blue hunt and find 4 things in our house that is blue"--and off you would go and that's the end of the blue lesson. You might need to repeat blue several times before he connects the color with the word blue, but that's OK. (Keep in mind color blindness. If he still hasn't got his colors down after several color type lessons, a visit to a pediatric optometrist might be in order. I have a few children each year who are color blind, and there are great ways to work around that. Teaching them to read the color on the side of the crayons is an easy way.)

So, not to worry--you've only got a few minutes to work with before he needs to change subjects and ideas. That's all very normal. Keeping is short and fun will make him want to come and play/learn with mommy again. Good luck to you.

DIFFERENTIATING LOOK-ALIKE LETTERS AND SOUND-ALIKE SOUNDS

What is the best way to explain the difference in the sounds of the letters “c” and “k”? My son is very confused with this. The other hurdle we have met is explaining the ending sounds of a letter. For example: he gets a worksheet from school that shows pictures that end with the letter “t.” He is instructed to circle the words that end in “t.” He wants to just circle the words that start with the “t” sound. I am looking forward to your response. Thanks!

At the beginning of the phonics program, there is no difference between the sounds of the letters “c” and “k.” They both say their hard sound as in “cat” and “kite.” Don't try to introduce the soft sound of “c” as in “celery” for a long while yet as that will greatly confuse children. Just teach that “c” says “ccc” as in cat and that “k” also says the “ccc” sound as in kite. At this point in their learning, they both say the same sound.

Recognizing ending sounds verses beginning sounds: perhaps he is unclear as to what the definition of beginning sounds and ending sounds are. Be sure he understands what a beginning sound is. Make sure his point of reference is very clear about which letter he's looking at. Children at this age often mix up their point of reference with a letter. For example: they write their name completely perfectly, but backwards. Or they go to read a word and start from right to left, instead of from left to right. So make sure that he clearly understands what is being asked. Then a practice game is a good way to reinforce beginning and ending sounds. Lay out a few letter flashcards and spell the word “cat.” Have him read that word. Then change the beginning letter to “h.” Have him read “hat.” Then change the beginning letter (and use those words so he understands what your doing) to “m.” Have him read “mat,” etc. Let him choose some letters to place at the beginning of each word. Even silly words are fun to sound out and read. Then change the reference and change the ending sound, etc. Hope these tips help in your progress with your child. Enjoy the process of helping your child learn.

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My son is just finishing 5th grade, and I've noticed that he is still getting lowercase b's and d's mixed up. He recently wrote a paper and every b was a d, including the one in his last name. I'm concerned that he may have dyslexia. Is there a "test" I can give him, or should I just "let him grow out of it" as the school suggests? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Many children mix up b's and d's—in fact, it's so common that teachers hardly mention it to parents up until about 3rd grade. But after that, it might be an indication that there are other things going on, and since you mentioned that he has just finished 5th grade and misspelled is own last name, that would be a yellow flag indicator in my book. If he hasn't "out grown" it by this age, I would be concerned.

I would start with a lengthy interview with his teacher—asking questions like; are there other things that he is consistently doing backwards or getting mixed up on? how does he do with numbers—does he mix up 2 and 5? Was there a time that he could correctly identify b's and d's and now he has somehow regressed? Are there any other indicators in a school setting that should be of concern?

Questions like this will help you establish his comfort level with school, his teacher, his associates, etc. and may lead to some answers for you. I would also be visiting with a pediatrician to have his ears and eyes checked out. Express your concerns with him/her and the things that you learned from his teacher. Your pediatrician might be able to help you identify some resources for further investigation.

Confusing b's & d's is not in and of itself an indication of anything serious, and it could be just that--confusion with those two letters, but because of his age and his confusion with something as familiar as his own last name, it could be--certainly worth checking out. Last month I wrote an article about b's and d's and if his confusion is just between those two letters, this article may be of help to you. Good luck.

Teaching the Difference Between b & d.

I'm often asked what is the best way to teach the difference between the letters b & d. Obviously, upper case B & D aren't much of an identification problem, but lower case b & d can be a bit tricky for beginning readers to identify. It's quite common for children under 8 to have letter and number reversals, so I see it quite bit.

When we learn to read and write in English, we learn that we start on the left side and progress to the right. We learn that our point of reference is left-to-right progression. If we were learning Chinese, our point of reference would be top to bottom, and many other languages have different starting places, or points of reference to begin with. In any language, it's a matter of learning that point of reference and then we know where to begin.

Learning to distinguish between the letters b & d is a matter of teaching which letter has which point of reference. In my class, I teach that "b" has a tummy because it pokes out in front of the long line down (as we read left to right) and that "d" has a back because it's riding behind the long line down--it's simply a matter of getting them to recognize a set point of reference-b goes this way, always, and d goes that way, always. Every year in my class I have a few 4 & 5 year olds who have difficulty with this concept. They can differentiate between them when they are separate, but often struggle when they are seen together--or sometimes just the opposite.

Once I teach the correct point of reference for each letter, then it's a matter of showing examples, exposure, and using repetition to reinforce that letters' point of reference. I play lots of recognition games and show them examples of the two letters together and the two separately. One of my favorite games is sticking b's & d's all over my classroom with post-it notes and then giving my student a sticker or some small reward every time he/she identifies one of the letters correctly.

Helping them associate the "b" with something like ball, and "d" with dinosaur is a good idea. Association is always a good way to help us remember. The "b" carries his ball in front, and the "d" carries his dinosaur on his back--association games like this are very helpful.

Another great b & d game is to get several pictures of b words; bear, bug, ball, etc. and several pictures of d words; dog, duck, dinosaur. Place each picture on the end of a Popsicle stick. Take two paper cups and write a "b" on one and a "d" on the other. The object of the game is to place the correct picture in the correct cup. To make it a "self-check" game, write the correct letter on the back of the picture/Popsicle stick so that after they have taken their best guess, they can double check and see if they got it right.

You can make a poster or card to that says "b sees d" (I like to put little smiley faces with eyes in each of the letters' circles so that b is looking at the d. Again, just a way of reinforcing each letters' point of reference. Learning and remembering which way b and d face can be a bit challenging for beginning readers, but with a little creativity, practice, and patience-students can master the point of reference for each letter and have fun while they're learning.

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I would like to ask regarding a soon-to-be 6 year old who is not doing well with phonics. I believe it is related to her speech. She does not pronounce the letters “r” or “l” clearly, although she seems to “hear” the difference. For instance, she pronounces her name as “Ambuh” rather than “Amber,” but is upset if someone else pronounces it the way she does. She confuses the letter sounds and cannot sound out words after several months of review. What suggestions would you have?

Thanks for writing. If your daughter was 4, then I would say wait a bit, her r's and l's will probably correct themselves, but as she's getting on to 6 now, there might need to be some retraining. I would start with a visit to the pediatrician's office to make sure that all is in order with her teeth, tongue, and especially her ears. If all is well there, then I would make an appointment with a speech therapist. R's and l's are commonly mispronounced by small children, but as she's getting to be school aged, she will need to have these corrected. Many public schools have speech therapists in attendance and that might be a resource for you. Fortunately, r’s and l’s are some of the easiest to correct, so it might be just a few visits as a therapist teachers her how to re-use her tongue while she’s saying those consonants. Good luck!

Thank you for your counsel. Am I correct in thinking that her speech problem may be the root of her difficult in learning to read?

The two aren't necessarily connected—they might be, they might not be. If her speech concerns are related to her hearing, then they are more than likely connected—if her hearing is fine and her tongue just needs to be retrained, they might not have anything to do with each other. I'm not a speech therapist, so I'm just talking from teaching experience here—I've had children with real speech impediments read very well—other children with speech delays that seem to be delayed also in academic areas, so again, they may be related, they may not be. Sorry, that's not a real great answer—yes's and no's are much easier to work with. I'm sure you'll find some answers as you go and visit with these professionals. Good luck!

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Do you have any ideas on how to teach my son to differentiate between the letters “b” and “d”? He frequently mixes the two up!

In my class, I teach that “b” has a tummy because it pokes out in front of the long line down (as we read left to right) and that “d” has a back because it's riding behind the long line down. You've mentioned that you've taught it the other way, and that is fine—it's simply a matter of getting them to recognize some point of reference, whatever that is can be fine. Just something to help them remember which letter is which. Every year in my class I have a few 4 and 5 year olds who have difficulty with this concept. They can differentiate between them when they are separate, but often struggle when they are seen together—or sometimes just the opposite. Repetition is the key here.

Helping them associate the “b” with something like ball, and “d” with dinosaur may help—the “b” carries his ball in front, and the “d” carries his dinosaur on his back—association games like that. They will eventually “get it” as they are exposed more and more to the two letters in words. I have the letters of “b” and “d” in my classroom and we look at them and talk about them all year. They all seem to get it eventually, but with some kids, it may take a bit longer. Don't get discouraged—playing lots of recognition games and lots of exposure to seeing the two together, seeing them separately (stick them all over your house with post-it notes and give your child a candy piece every time he identifies one of them correctly), etc. Games like that should help. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child.

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My child is six and in first grade. She is below reading level. I notice that when she reads for example the word "bid", she reads dib or even bib. I repeatedly tell her to pronounce the first letter first. Is this normal or should I be more concerned with this? There are three parts to your question—

1. It is not uncommon for young children to write and read words backwards, using right to left progression, instead of left to right progression. In most cases, it is simply a matter of teaching and reemphasizing the point of reference--where we start with each word--left to right. Most teachers/professionals expect some type of reversal with written or reading language up through the age of 8. So at this point, it is not necessarily a point of concern--but does merit watching. Make sure that you always gently remind her where we start when we begin a word. There are many left to right progression type games/exercises that you can do to keep reminding her that "this is where we start."

2. Your example was using the letters b and d (bid). Also very confusing for many children for the same reason that she reads it backwards to begin with. Point of reference. I teach in my class that b has a fat tummy (because the curve is on the right side or "front" of the line) and that d has a fat behind (for the same reason) Again, repetition and practice emphasizing the correct point of reference will more than likely ensure that she will eventually remember and get it right. Most children do. If at age 8 she is still very confused about this and constantly mixing b's and d's up, and starting from right to left--then there may be cause for further investigation into learning issues and concerns.

3. You mentioned that she is below reading level. As she's just in the first grade, again there may not be too much need for concern. She just may be starting to figure out this whole code we call language--but now is the time to pay really close attention to this one. Keeping her on grade level is important. If she seems to be struggling with basic reading concepts, now is the time to shore up that reading foundation and make sure that she is getting all the help she needs. A frank and direct discussion with her teacher will be very helpful for you to understand what is being taught in her classroom and what you can do to help her at home. Many teachers/schools just can't offer enough, and you may need to supplement her reading education with programs, workbooks, etc. at home. Staying on top of this is very important. Information will be your best tool in helping your daughter master and learn to love reading.

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My four-year-old son knows his alphabet and the sounds. However he often confuses the letters sounds for c, k, and s. He also mixes up the letters d, b, and p by identity (ex. he will call the letter d either p or b, or vice-versa.) He also has a hard time sounding out his words. He would rather guess at it then try to sound it out. Often times, I will get frustrated with him and fuss at him, which I know is not the answer, but its hard to get him to focus. Is there an approach that I can take that won't get both of us frustrated? We have done [a phonics program] thing; it just doesn't seem to get to him. HELP!

The things you're describing are all typical four-year-old behavior. I see these sort of letter confusions all year in my four year old classes. There's no real magical secret to teaching them the different letter sounds and letter recognition, it's pretty much an issue of repetition. The magic comes in how you can get them to repeat the same concepts over and over again, without becoming bored beyond tears. Making repetition into a game is the best way I know--then as you play the games over and over again, they are repeating the information until it sticks in their brain, while they think they are playing a fun game with mommy or teacher.

Learning the difference between b and d is simply a matter of teaching "point of reference". Using phrases like b has a fat tummy and d has a fat behind are verbal visuals that will remind your child what letter he's looking at. Having him go through your kitchen pantry with sticky notes and identify every b and d that he sees is a fun game. Give him a marker and have him circle as many b's and d's on a cereal box as he can find. Games like this are important for repetition, and gets to write all over a cereal box with a permanent marker. He's happy and learning at the same time.

The same thing applies for the sounds of c, k, and s. Many children think c says sssss because we pronounce the letter c with a soft sssss sound. C and k do say the same thing, so that's OK--distinguishing between those two comes with better spelling. I never introduce the soft c sound at this age (as in celery). It's just too confusing. That's an "English exception" that I save for much later in their educational development.

You mentioned that he doesn't like to sound out words. This is a bit trickier. This is an incredibly important skill that he needs to master. Teaching him blending skills gives him the ability to attack any word that he doesn't know and be able to sound it out and continue reading instead of stopping because he doesn't know the word. Many phonetic programs leave out this very important step. They teach the alphabet letters and sounds and then jump right into reading, often skipping the concept of blending these new sounds into words. Blending is the key to successful reading after your child understands the sounds of the letters. Work extra hard on blending concepts and don't let him get away with just guessing at the words. Slow down and back up if necessary to ensure that he has a grasp of this concept. It will make reading so much easier in the very near future. It's worth your time now.

GETTING TOO FAR AHEAD? WILL THEY BE BORED?

I read an article about how teaching a kid how to read too early deprives them of the opportunity to learn reading together with their peers, even sets a stage for other kids to dislike them because he/she knows something that they don’t. Is this true? Reading came very early for me like it did for my son. Both my grandfathers were elementary school principals and both contributed (along with my parents) in teaching the kids in our family to read before kindergarten. Also, I do notice how in schools here in the US, kids are disliked and branded as “nerds” for doing well in school which is quite opposite from where I grew up. I would appreciate your comments regarding this.

I’m thrilled about your success with your youngster. I’m a firm believer that you don’t penalize your child for being bright. Most 4 year olds are ready to read and excited to start figuring out this code we call language. Why would a caring, concerned adult try and stop or slow down that process? I teach 4 year olds in my preschool every year to read, and they love it, and can do it, and excel throughout the rest of their school days.

Most adults that I’ve come across who don’t like the idea of teaching children to read at any age that they are ready to learn have something else in mind for their child. You are the parent, and you know your child best. Ignore the negative and realize that your child is reading! How remarkable is that! His whole academic world just got easier and school just became a thing he can do very well, instead of something to be worried about and confused about. Bravo for you!

I don’t believe that learning to read with ones peer is an important concept at all, as almost every first grade program in the country is divided up into reading, math, language groups based upon where they are tested at the beginning of the year. Your child will be at the top of his class—again, bravo for you and him!

There are many national statistics that back-up early reading. A recent study showed that a very high percentage of high school honor students started reading before they were formally taught in first grade.

As for being labeled a “nerd”, that label doesn’t necessarily get applied because your child can read. You will find that there will be many other bright, intelligent children in your child’s class that can read or are very close to figuring it out. Being able to read doesn’t automatically equal nerdship. I have 3 rough and tough boys, all athletic, and all are great readers, and have always been. They aren’t labeled nerds because they could read, or because they did well in school. Exposing your child to other areas of interest: sports, sciences, arts, etc., will help him become well rounded, and not be a nerd. Again, I don’t believe that you penalize a child or hold him back because he’s bright. This is a blessing and gift that you have given him in helping him crack this code we call the English language. Keep up the good work. It sounds like you’re doing awesome.

GIFTED

My son is 4 1/2 yrs old and has been reading on his own for about a year now. He is able to read books from a 2-3 grade level pretty much without hesitation and is now placing verbal emphasis correctly in written dialogue. He absolutely breaks words down, sounds them out and continues on. He does like us to read to him and we do, but no more than others from what I gather. Is it possible that he just taught himself to read at such an early age?

Absolutely! It's not super common, but I have seen many children who just seem to figure out the "code" early. Some children are gifted with numbers at an early age, some children are physically gifted and have great hand/eye coordination with regards to sports at an early age, and some children are gifted in the language arts area at an early age. It is a wonderful blessing and such fun.

The challenge comes in finding reading materials that can keep him reading at his advanced level, but that aren't too mature for him. I have a son like this and it was amazing to watch, and really fun to see them develop that fast. But you have to keep them reading, and there are more reading stories for little girls than for advanced little boys. I did discover a wonderful series of simplified classic stories that my child found quite interesting. They are called "Great Illustrated Classics" and they are published by Baronet Books. I think I have about 25 of them or so, including titles like Treasure Island, Oliver Twist, Peter Pan, The Prince and the Pauper, etc. Baronet books has taken these great children's literature classics and simplified them. They are wonderful, great stories with any age appropriate material. I believe that most of them are written on a 4th grade level, so they may be a bit past him yet, but keep them in mind. I picked them up at my local bookstore, but I'm sure that you could order them on line through someone like Barnes & Noble, or maybe even directly through the publisher.

Another challenge comes when teachers who discover he is gifted in one area, thinks he's naturally gifted in another. Sometimes that is the case, sometimes it isn't. Be watchful and make sure that he gets the proper instruction needed for each topic based upon his skill levels. Enjoy his gift and good luck to you.

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Although my child is 6-years-old, he has been assessed by our school district as reading at a sixth grade level. My question is, how do I find reading materials that are not inappropriate and yet still challenge his reading abilities? Would you have any recommended reading suggestions?

That's great. I've had a few children like that and it can create a wonderful, but very real dilemma. You've got to find age appropriate material that will still challenge the advanced reader. A great place to start is with your school's reading curriculum. You can often get 5th & 6th grade reading books from the teachers that have very appropriate school-age stories in them. The stories have to be very generic so as not to offend anyone in the class, but still be at an older reading level. Oftentimes you can find old readers at district office sale or ask an experienced teacher if they still have any copies of older reading curriculum books. They may have some lying about that you could use.

Another great source is obviously your local library and librarian. Describe your dilemma to them and then let them guide you to some wonderful books. It's a little harder with boys—it seems that there is much more written for and about little girls than for boys—but there are some great books out there. If you have a question about it, read it first to see if it's OK for your 6 year old.

A great series of books that I use a lot in cases like these is "Great Illustrated Classics", published by Baronet Books. These are classic stories like Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, Moby Dick, Oliver Twist, etc., but re-written on about a 4th or 5th grade level. The stories are great, classic literature so you know they're all pretty safe, but written so that they're readable to children. Most books contain about 200 pages each. It's still the original story written by the original author, just adapted by someone else to make them children's literature. There are 20-30 books in the series, so they could potentially keep your son reading for sometime. They also include a brief write up about the author and tell why they wrote the story. I picked up the set at a local bookstore, I'm sure you could do the same. Or a bigger chain like Barnes & Noble could probably order you in as many as you would like.

Another great resource is a Children's Literature department at a local university. They often have "booklists" that can give you great titles and authors for further investigation. Good luck with your search. It's a bit more time consuming on your part, but having them read so well is truly a blessing!

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My child is frightfully special. I mean, like, scary special. She has been computer literate since she was 18 months old. She knew all the alphabet and could count to 50 when she was two. She would much rather have a book than a lollipop. She gets on the Internet and goes to all the kids channels on her own, and what amazes me is that she tells me where she is going before she does it. She loves watching learning videos rather than a good cartoon. The thing that worries me is that she is not very social. She never wants to play, she is always serious about everything. Other children never affect what she is into. All she wants to do is learn more and different things, and she does on a daily basis. It worries me cause she’s up late at night, and up early in the mornings—like it’s a job for her at her tender age. Do you have any suggestions? She will be starting school in August and she asks every day if it’s August yet.

Wow—she is special. That's wonderful! She sounds delightful and wonderfully inquisitive. However, there are some "other" things that she'll need to learn in order to acclimatize to a school environment--interacting with kids and adults is one of them. Children learn much through interaction with other children their own age, and even though she may not seem interested, it is a very important part of her development and should be ignored.

Some personalities are more driven than others and she just may deem it her job to figure it all out right now. Your job is to help her shape that drive and determination into a well-rounded personality. You might want to limit her time on the computer and with the TV and work on social interaction skills. A walk in the park, noticing what other people are doing and discussing it. Talking to the teller at the bank, grocery store, noticing all the instances that we come in contact with people everyday and pointing them out to her. Inviting a friend over to play—no TV and no computer games, face-to-face games that are age appropriate. Start slow, keep it short at the first. She may just be humoring you at the beginning, but eventually, hopefully, she'll want a playmate, at least once in a while.

Keep in close contact with her new schoolteacher and make sure that she's developing socially at school and not feeling isolated or left out because she doesn't know how to join in. Social skills need to be learned just like reading or math skills need to be learned. Some people and personalities are better at it than others, just like everything. Helping her adjust now to social situations will be a lifetime skill that she's going to need. Hope that helps a bit. Good luck to you and enjoy the process of learning all kinds of things with your child

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My daughter is 5 and can sound out quite a few words phonetically (cat, pot, net, milk, for example) -- to encourage her, I have brought home phonics books from the library or tried to get to her play a junior phonics game we own. Seems within 5 minutes she is DONE. I am encouraging with praise, but she just seems to be bored -- I'd say she correctly sounds out about 70% of the words. How can I encourage her to read more without making it a chore? I read to her as often as possible, but being home with 4 kids makes it tough for alone time, and we, frankly, can't afford to purchase another reading program/game.

Wow--sounds like she's really close to figuring it all out. That's great. Nothing is wrong with only wanting to work on it for a few minutes. In fact, I encourage parents and children to work on it at very short intervals--5-10 min. a day. Keep in mind that most children have an attention span in minutes of about their age. She's 5 years old, her interest should be somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes, and then she would interested in moving on to something else. So it sounds to me like she's doing great. Her naturally curiosity in sounding out this "code" we call language is helping her discover the entire blending process. That's wonderful! Keep encouraging her to blend letters into words. There are many made up games that you can make yourself that help her associate word families, i.e., placing flashcards on a table as she sounds out the letters and words that make up a word family, mat, sat, cat, rat, bat, etc. Placing these words into groups to form simple stories is the beginning steps of reading. Keeping your books/stories phonetic will help her make the connection between the sounds that all these letters make into words that they can make. There are many wonderful phonetic books available at bookstores, teacher supply stores and the library. There are a few simple sight words that need to be learned in order to make up a complete story, like; a, the, is. A few of these they just have to memorize, but keeping it as phonetic as possible will be a great help to her as she continues to figure out the "code".

HOLDING CHILDREN BACK A GRADE OR BUMPING THEM UP TO THE NEXT GRADE

When my daughter was young, it wasn't a problem because her birthday fell right before the cut-off. Although she was still ahead of her classmates, I told her that she was in school to learn social skills, and she was eventually placed in a program for gifted students, where she was genuinely challenged.

I am worried about my son, however. He just turned 4 at the end of October, so the school system here will make him wait another year (until he's almost 6) before he starts kindergarten. Since his dad is 6'7", he is likely to soon be the tallest in his age group, even if he was not placed in a class where he was also one of the oldest. (He's already over the 95th percentile, and his dad was 6 feet tall in 6th grade). He absorbs learning like his sister did. After his 48-month developmental screening, I looked over the list of skills in the enclosed magazine. He has already mastered all of the "Preschool" skills listed, and will probably have mastered all of the skills listed for the end of "kindergarten" by next fall—a year before they will let him start kindergarten. He is starting to read now, counts reliably to his teens, reads a handful of numerals and letter sounds, tells great stories, points out rhymes and beginning sounds, can identify about a dozen dinosaurs and a handful of countries and planets. On the other hand, if I were to try to get around the guidelines, there are real disadvantages to being the youngest in the class, too, especially in social areas (and because the teacher is not likely to remember that this great big kid is younger).

I don't know if I should try to get him to slow down, just tell him not to worry that he already knows what they're teaching him when he goes to school, or push for him to be allowed to start early. As a former teacher, I know that all of these choices can have unfortunate consequences. What would you advise?

Wow—that's a tough parental choice, isn't it? I'll just say two things about it, and maybe they will help you as you think about this decision. First, you are his parent and know this child best! You have the insight into what he needs and what will best suite him more than any school system or administrator. I truly believe that your instincts and intuition for your child will serve him best because you know him better than anyone right now. Trust your motherly heart, it will help you make this difficult decision.

Second, I'll tell you a bit of my own dealings with this situation. In my area, the cut off for school is September 1st, no exceptions. I have a son who has always been very gifted academically and test