Community Question is a category inspired by you. Here and there readers write in with questions that are better served by the varied, experiential knowledge of those who read and contribute in the comments. Please respond to this post in the comments, but if you have a question for the community email it to Heather.
The following question is from Bonnie G
“My son just turned 8-years-old. He has struggled with reading and spelling since Kindergarten. Initially, he was taught through a phonics program that honestly was complicated and confusing for him.
Because of this he does not seem to get the concept of “sounding it out” despite knowing all his letter sounds like the back of his hand. When it comes to actually reading a word, he sort of freezes up and does more guessing than actually sounding it out.
He is a whiz at math and science, in fact at least a full year ahead in those subjects except that he cannot read the directions on his own.
In Kindergarten the teacher also said his comprehension skills were at a second grade level when it comes to listening, understanding the concepts, meaning and the underlying themes of stories so we know he is very bright and that he continues to excel in these areas. So much so that we have to watch what comes on TV and what we speak about in front of him.
At this point in the school year, I can say he is reading, but it is at a very beginning level (maybe later Kinder/early first grade). Any ideas we can use to help him? We started Reading Eggs in November, and that has helped him a lot. We do work five days a week on reading and writing. We read a lot of books too. ”