Hard is Easy, Easy is Hard

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First Grade Teachers Chatboard

Hard is Easy, Easy is Hard

by Mom

Aug 10, 2013

I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a little girl entering second grade. She was an adequate reader in first grade but always a little behind....left first grade at an H (13- 14)instructional level. She is smart and has great comprehension but has trouble with decoding...still not secure with short vowel sounds and also has some trouble with consonant blends. She had delayed speech because she had undiagnosed fluid in her ears and didn't get tubes in her ears until mid-Kindergarten. Currently she is reading at level J (17-19) instructional level. She has been reading all summer so she doesn't fall behind and is ready for second grade. My question is...I noticed that when she's reading she gets stuck on little words like "bug" but can easily read words like "delicious" and "bewildered". She tells me that the easy books are hard and the hard books are easy. I can't give her an explanation. Can anyone?

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jo/ma Hi... Let me start by saying you did a great job with your daughter this summer. Level J (17-19) is right where she should be starting 2nd grade.

Over the years, I have seen the same exact problems with several first graders who have had delayed speech, ear infections, fluid etc. They all had trouble with short vowels sounds and consonant...See More

Aug 10, 2013

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Mom Thank you jo/ma.

On 8/10/13, jo/ma wrote:

> Hi... Let me start by saying you did a great job with your

> daughter this summer. Level J (17-19) is right where she

> should be starting 2nd grade.

>

>

>

> Over the years, I have seen the same exact probl...See More

Aug 12, 2013

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Jessie Congratulations on helping your daughter achieve so much over the summer! Perhaps using a "whisper phone" will help her really listen for those short vowels when she decodes words. I've used this with several of my students having similar problems. Just google "whisper phones" or "phonics phones" for a description of what this is. You can purchase ...See MoreCongratulations on helping your daughter achieve so much over the summer! Perhaps using a "whisper phone" will help her really listen for those short vowels when she decodes words. I've used this with several of my students having similar problems. Just google "whisper phones" or "phonics phones" for a description of what this is. You can purchase these through any school supply store. My husband, bless his heart, made me a set of these phones for almost no money. I think you may be able to google the directions.

On 8/12/13, Mom wrote: > Thank you jo/ma. > > > > On 8/10/13, jo/ma wrote: > >> Hi... Let me start by saying you did a great job with your > >> daughter this summer. Level J (17-19) is right where she > >> should be starting 2nd grade. > >> > >> > >> > >> Over the years, I have seen the same exact problems with > >> several first graders who have had delayed speech, ear > >> infections, fluid etc. They all had trouble with short vowels > >> sounds and consonant blends. Somewhere along the line they > >> miss some of the sound awareness that kids typically develop > >> in the early years. > >> > >> > >> > >> Because your daughter is very smart with great comprehension, > >> she has learned to read the larger words using several > >> strategies. She may look at the shape of the word and > >> recognizes the first, last and some of the middle sounds. Then > >> she makes an educated guess on what word makes sense in the > >> sentence. She also may have seen the word before and remembers > >> it. > >> > >> > >> > >> Your daughter is likely not eligible for Reading Intervention > >> at school because she's reading on grade level. But you could > >> ask for a meeting with the Reading Specialist (if they have > >> one) to give you some ideas on how to help her further develop > >> that sound awareness that she missed early on. > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> On 8/10/13, Mom wrote: > >> > >>> I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a little girl entering > >> > >>> second grade. She was an adequate reader in first grade > >> > >>> but always a little behind....left first grade at an H (13- > >> > >>> 14)instructional level. She is smart and has great > >> > >>> comprehension but has trouble with decoding...still not > >> > >>> secure with short vowel sounds and also has some trouble > >> > >>> with consonant blends. She had delayed speech because she > >> > >>> had undiagnosed fluid in her ears and didn't get tubes in > >> > >>> her ears until mid-Kindergarten. Currently she is reading > >> > >>> at level J (17-19) instructional level. She has been > >> > >>> reading all summer so she doesn't fall behind and is ready > >> > >>> for second grade. My question is...I noticed that when > >> > >>> she's reading she gets stuck on little words like "bug" but > >> > >>> can easily read words like "delicious" and "bewildered". > >> > >>> She tells me that the easy books are hard and the hard > >> > >>> books are easy. I can't give her an explanation. Can > >> > >>> anyone? > >> >

Aug 12, 2013

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No Suggestions?? I am also a mom. I just read this post and then looked for responses/suggestions. I was surprised to see that it received only 2 responses. Maybe that's the trouble....teachers don't know what to do when their students have trouble reading! Sad, because they should!!

On 8/10/13, Mom wrote:

> I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a...See More

Aug 21, 2013

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Vet Teacher On 8/10/13, Mom wrote: > I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a little girl entering > second grade. She was an adequate reader in first grade > but always a little behind....left first grade at an H (13- > 14)instructional level. She is smart and has great > comprehension but has trouble with decoding...still not > secure with short...See MoreOn 8/10/13, Mom wrote: > I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a little girl entering > second grade. She was an adequate reader in first grade > but always a little behind....left first grade at an H (13- > 14)instructional level. She is smart and has great > comprehension but has trouble with decoding...still not > secure with short vowel sounds and also has some trouble > with consonant blends. She had delayed speech because she > had undiagnosed fluid in her ears and didn't get tubes in > her ears until mid-Kindergarten. Currently she is reading > at level J (17-19) instructional level. She has been > reading all summer so she doesn't fall behind and is ready > for second grade. My question is...I noticed that when > she's reading she gets stuck on little words like "bug" but > can easily read words like "delicious" and "bewildered". > She tells me that the easy books are hard and the hard > books are easy. I can't give her an explanation. Can > anyone?

This is a new one on me and I've been teaching 25+ years and teaching children to read for as many years. I can tell you that children with fluid in the ears and/or hearing issues are sometimes delayed in their reading levels. But that she can read multi-syllabic words and can't decode some simple words is - to say the least - unusual.

If she were a student in my class, I would be relieved and far less concerned because she can in fact read complex words and that suggests the simple words will also come to her. There are people who are not good decoders and all of their life. Nature did not intend us all to read by decoding. If she is 'sighting' complex words like 'bewildered' without decoding - that's impressive.

If she emotionally needs an explanation for her reading style, tell her her brain works so very well and with reading complex words that it might skip the simple words as not being challenging enough. It is entirely true that some kids who otherwise have no reading issues do skip or stumble on the simple words as they read and focus in on the words of greater complexity and richness.

Aug 23, 2013

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