Helping Struggling Readers, Part I
From the Alveary Team:
Are you working with a child who is struggling to read? This week in part one we are sharing some of the big ideas and next week in part two we will share some targeted strategies.
1. First and foremost, the child’s relationship with you, with books, and with knowledge is the priority. Their relationship is the measuring stick by which you may judge whether something is or is not working. If a child is progressing more slowly than you would like, but they enjoy reading with you and come to their lessons eager to learn, then they may not need any intervention at all. Similarly, if they are managing lessons ‘at grade level,’ but avoid books as much as possible and you have to drag them through each lesson, it’s worth noticing what might be getting in the way for them.
2. If you think your student may be struggling, get in touch with your inner scientist. Your most important task is to observe with curiosity. Their actions and their words are giving you important information as you both discover who they are. Some reading challenges can be overcome with time and effort, but learning differences are life-long and typically affect much more than the ability to read.
3. Dyslexia is one common learning difference, but a child may struggle with reading for a variety of reasons. There is a very real risk of ruling out dyslexia and then assuming the student just isn’t trying hard enough when in fact other causes are present. Even if you don’t think your student is dyslexic, continue to be observant and curious and be reassured that your student is doing the best they can.
4. Don’t focus only on weaknesses. None of us would want to work each day at only those things we struggle with and this wouldn’t teach us how to steward both our gifts and our challenges. Students who struggle need plenty of time to develop their strengths in other areas and experience success each day.
5. Get the help you need, such as considering an official diagnosis and using resources not available to Charlotte Mason. We have much more knowledge of how students learn to read and many more tools and resources available to us than Mason did. Over the years, we’ve seen recommendations to “just give it a few more years” or “just follow Mason’s methods closer” in response to those concerned about their struggling readers. Unfortunately, this advice often leads to frustration for both students and teachers and lost years of progress. Our Blue Orchard Bee community is a wonderful place to learn more about this and to connect with other educators.
Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section of this week’s Fabulous Friday post, and be sure to look out for part 2 next week!
Notes
1. Office Hours: Here is a link from Wednesday’s Office Hours on Foreign Language with Kim Keel.
2. Late Summer CORE: Did you miss registration for the 8-week intensives on Mason’s methods starting in June? Jump into one of our late-summer cohorts instead! Class times for Cohort 1 are especially designed to accommodate early birds and/or those outside North America.
3. Alveary+ Pre-order: Sign up early and get a free monograph! Everything you love about Alveary’s rich lesson plans will be loaded into the Syllabird scheduling tool and available on June 1. Renew your membership or head to your 2024-25 dashboard for the link to upgrade your membership!
4. Pre-Conference Sessions: Pre-conference events at The Joy of Making are on the website. Register now and be part of these enriching experiences!
5. CMI Virtual Tickets: Virtual Tickets are now available for purchase! For $49.99, you'll get access to all five keynote sessions, a selection of breakout sessions, a virtual swag bag, a special giveaway for virtual attendees, and more. Purchase your virtual ticket here.
6. Conference Reads: The Joy of Making is just around the corner, and to get us all pondering what it means to pursue the joy of making (and more!), we've started collecting some recommended reads related to the conference. Check out the full list here!
5. Alveary Science Kits: Science kits are now available to order. Head to Homeschool Science Tools and get your science supplies for the year delivered to your door!
6. Lesson Plan Launch Party: Our next Office Hours event will be on May 31 at 3:30 EST as we celebrate the launch of our 2024-25 Lesson Plans on June 1! We have a lot planned for this event, so you don’t want to miss it! You can RSVP here.
