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Child Item

Grinds for 7 year old??

NiaCla12

Hi there, my son has learning difficulties, he is in 1st class but is at junior infants level in terms of reading and writing skills. Thankfully he is getting the necessary support in school ( and has been assessed by an educational psych) but I am just wondering if there is anything in the way of grinds etc that he could do also?

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byhookorbycrook

NiaCla12 wrote: »

Hi there, my son has learning difficulties, he is in 1st class but is at junior infants level in terms of reading and writing skills. Thankfully he is getting the necessary support in school ( and has been assessed by an educational psych) but I am just wondering if there is anything in the way of grinds etc that he could do also?

Grinds for what ? I’m in special Ed. and hugely opposed to grinds at that age .

NiaCla12

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Grinds for what ? I’m in special Ed. and hugely opposed to grinds at that age .

Hi thanks for replying. Grinds for reading and writing. Maybe grinds is the wrong word. I'm just wondering if there is any afterschool help that he could get to help him, one on one.

byhookorbycrook

A 7 year old may well struggle to do extra tutoring after school, in the traditional sense. Do you do shared reading following these steps?

You choose a book the correct level for your child, you look at the cover, discuss the title and illustrations? (Ask the class teacher to give you a starting level)
You both read the text together
He taps your knee or some other agreed signal when he wants to read on alone
If he meets a word he doesn't know, give it to him- don't make him struggle to "sound it out" etc.
Then you read on together again, unless he signals he wants to go on alone.
Doing even 5 minutes per day of that (and not as "homework) will benefit him greatly, it's special time with you and it's reading that he doesn't struggle with.

Does the school use Jolly Phonics?

NiaCla12

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

A 7 year old may well struggle to do extra tutoring after school, in the traditional sense. Do you do shared reading following these steps?

You choose a book the correct level for your child, you look at the cover, discuss the title and illustrations? (Ask the class teacher to give you a starting level)
You both read the text together
He taps your knee or some other agreed signal when he wants to read on alone
If he meets a word he doesn't know, give it to him- don't make him struggle to "sound it out" etc.
Then you read on together again, unless he signals he wants to go on alone.
Doing even 5 minutes per day of that (and not as "homework) will benefit him greatly, it's special time with you and it's reading that he doesn't struggle

NiaCla12

Hi yes we do reading in the evenings at bedtime; I do make him sound out a word if he is stuck. I really like your idea. He knows his school books off by heart, but this is more from memory than actually "reading"; he would struggle to identify the same words from the school books in other books. But he has huge capacity to learn, thank god, and so perhaps I should just let him continue at his own pace. He is in a great school, but unfortunately for him, the boys are separated from the school at the end of 1st class and start a new school in the town and the girls get to stay on and so he may not get the same level of support in the new school from September which is a worry! But anyway, I digress! I really like your idea; would you be able to recommend any websites, maybe ones in particular that you have come across? Thanks again for your relpy

byhookorbycrook

If the school uses Jolly Phonics, there's a good app for it. Does he know the 42 sounds?How is he on Dolch/Sight words?

I'm using Reading Eggs on a free trial at the moment, I'll pm you the details and you get 4 free weeks to see how it goes. It's subscription based but you can do the free trial and see what you think.

NiaCla12

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

If the school uses Jolly Phonics, there's a good app for it. Does he know the 42 sounds?How is he on Dolch/Sight words?

I'm using Reading Eggs on a free trial at the moment, I'll pm you the details and you get 4 free weeks to see how it goes. It's subscription based but you can do the free trial and see what you think.

Thank you so much! Yes he knows all jolly phonics sounds and 2-3 letter words. But when he looks at a page in a book, its like he isnt connecting the jolly phonics that he knows to what he sees. But then again the books we do at home are normal story books and now that I am properly thinking about it, they probably overwhelm him, two many sentences per page etc. I need to get more appropriate books!
Please do send me on the Reading Eggs, I will want to try and help him, I asm getting very panicked about September so will do anything to help him in the meantime!
I really appreciate your responses

byhookorbycrook

NiaCla12 wrote: »

Thank you so much! Yes he knows all jolly phonics sounds and 2-3 letter words. But when he looks at a page in a book, its like he isnt connecting the jolly phonics that he knows to what he sees. But then again the books we do at home are normal story books and now that I am properly thinking about it, they probably overwhelm him, two many sentences per page etc. I need to get more appropriate books!
Please do send me on the Reading Eggs, I will want to try and help him, I asm getting very panicked about September so will do anything to help him in the meantime!
I really appreciate your responses

If he knows all of those , things are good !! Try to get graded books like the PM readers or the good old Oxford Reading Trees for the shared readings. You can read the more challenging stuff to him sk that he still gets to enjoy them and the more difficult vocabulary etc .

silverharp

With junior we started with phonics type books, then it was Dr Seuss and then it was books like Astrosaurs which has alot of humour , at some stage junior just wanted to read them himself and wasn't bothered if he couldn't understand every word. If your son wasn't into fiction than try non fiction if there is something he is really into.

Sausage dog

Rather than buying a load of books which your son will hopefully go through quite quickly, I would go to the local library. They usually have sets of graded books like the Oxford Reading Tree or similar. The same frequently occurring words (the Dolch List) are in all the books so their is repeated practise of these but your son will be less likely to memorize the story. Visiting the library is also a good habit to encourage reading & interest in books. Reading little & often is the key....every day. How is your son orally? Can he list off rhyming words when given one word? Stories based on rhyme will also help.

Sausage dog

Look at the assessment & the recommendations of the educational psychologist, some are more relevant for the school but there should be some suitable for parents. Work on these now, the earlier the intervention the better, particularly if next year your son moves to a different school.

byhookorbycrook

Some ed.psychols do generic "copy and paste" type recommendations, so just to be aware of that.

LadyT2018

Try Reading Eggs, Spell Bot, Hairy Letters, phonics. My daughter is 8 years old and attends a private tutor every Thurs for 1 hour. She was recommended by The Dyslexic Asoc of Ireland. They have a panel of teachers who specialize in helping Children with learning difficulties. They also have workshops, there could be one in your local area. Try contacting the Dyslexic Association of Ireland. They have been a Godsend to us over the past 18 months. It's not uncommon for Children with learning difficulties to access support outside of school, you can also try TTRS (Touch Type Read and Spell) your local Library holds classes, they do in Tallaght Library. Good Luck

Ainegrainne

Avoid grinds for now anyway. Try games online to make it 'fun' (e.g. topmarks, schoolhub.ie)