Hi Mummas just looking for some suggestions.
I have a 12 year old boy who is falling behind at school. His teacher is concerned about his reading ability. His lack of reading comprehension is flowing onto other subjects (ie word problems in maths).
His teacher has suggested spending some one on one time reading with him. Any suggestions on books to try? Either fiction or non-fiction, I just want him to enjoy reading
12 year old boy and reading
12 year old boy and reading
Posted in:
Education
15 Replies
12yo, I’d try Harry Potter, tomorrow when the war begun, andy Griffiths books (such as just stupid, just kidding etc) any of the Rohl Dahl books.
If he has interests, pursue the interests. Like complicated origami books that explain (and show photos) of how to fold planes, buildings, animals.
Or car books that talk about engines, rev speed and body shapes.
This is totally not what the teacher wants nor would suggest, however my brother in law is very dyslexic and just did not want to read. Instead, they turned the subtitles on the TV and he improved out of sight. Even now that he is an adult he still uses them and he finds it really helps him.
OMG! This is such a clever idea! My son is dyslexic and it didn't matter what books I put in front of him, he just couldn't get into them. but I really think this would help! Because they can hear the words and see them! Thanks
This is good when learning another language too, watch movies in the language that you're learning and set the subtitles to english or vice versa
Hopefully it helps your son! I know it certainly helps my BIL, particularly because you're drawn to the words whether you want to be or not haha. I know when he's over and they're on I read them too despite understanding full well what is going on haha.
Yes I agree, they are great for learning another language - especially when there's words similar to your native tongue.
Funny you say that, I've picked up a bit of Spanish from a few shows I watch. Mostly swear words though 😂😂
Look into books for reluctant boy readers. They are specially written for older boys who don't like reading for whatever reason, they are not too babyish and they don't get overwhelmed. Even if the reading ability is there for the bigger novels you need to pick books based on his comprehension level, or else he will end up hating it.
We started reading things he was interested in - instruction manuals on the models he was making, pokemon cards, recipes we were cooking, googled all sorts and read out the answers to me. Made sense to read then.
Could try comics and graphic novels too!
You could try recipes and get him some things to make that come with instructions to really encourage his comprehension skills, such as model cars or crafts for example.
Go to the library and borrow readers or something where his level is at! Good luck!
What is his reading level? I'm not sure how far behind he is but my daughter is in year 3 and reading at a level 24 so he may be above her but she reads books like the 91 Storey Treehouse books which a lot of boys are into as well.
He's in year 6 and pretty sure his reading level is about 25. Possibly lower :(
Beyond just reading we also had discussions on what was read (watched, taught, believed etc). I could do it with anything, once it was a topic on Sunrise about the cost of raising children so we took their total and worked out if was accurate for us. Comprehension is just understanding yeah? It's a skill that needs to be learned and then fed regularly.
Why do you think that might have happened?
What could have happened?
What would you prefer in the same circumstances?
If you had to rewrite it would you change it to make it easier to understand? How would you word that?
Then you pick up where the lack of comprehension is so know where to target specifically. My son when he started school could read from Stephen King novels - I shit you not, he'd read it out loud and both his pronunciation and vocabulary were good, his teacher couldn't believe it but he didn't understand a word of it (probably a good thing).
And old-skool I know but seriously choose your own adventure books! He has to understand to make decisions! Talk it through, what's happening, what do you think might happen if we go this way, what do you hope will happen?
For the math side of things, I too suck with math - go figure, my employment is based on numbers (or 5 digit codes and 6 digit order numbers and the specific product needs for each based on what that code is and who it's for to be precise) and I find visualisation fabulous. Even for basic times tables, if it won't come to my head I'll write it down (not read it, write it), use visual tools (blocks, tokens, paperclips etc) or use the old tricks like 2x is double, 3 x is triple and 9x trick with one number going up and one going down (yes I use this every day that I need to work out 9x something). Good luck.
I forgot about the choose your own adventure books. Thank you so much!
Can the School assess him, or can you take him to either a speech pathologist who specialises in literacy or an educational psychologist?
Best to get onto it now. My sons are older and it only gets harder, they lose confidence and the gap widens...
Look into The Ten Minute Tutor for online dyslexia tutoring or there’s a teachers manual called Toe by Toe. Once his specific learning needs have been identified, then Ask the school’s learning support teacher to work with him at school regularly