Parents Eve - Livid at School - Son's Literacy Well Below Average

johnswife

has he had tests for dyslexia?

stressedoutmum

No he hasn't been tested for dyslexia. I don't know much about dyslexia but I would have thought that would affect his reading but his reading is fine???

daska

Not necessarily, DS1 is dyslexic but can read well and has well above average 'receptive language' skills for his age. What you've described does ring a lot of bells though as DS1 was assessed as dyspraxic at 6; now 13 his writing is still very poor with letters exchanged, misplaced and reversed and the dyslexia is more obvious. He loathes writing and will do anything to avoid it. Silly really because he's highly intelligent and has a good knowledge in most subjects.

tw1nklestar

faced with a blank sheet of paper or a work book can be a daunting task for a child. I remember going on a literacy course with a 'literacy expert' a fantastic man. I work with children who struggle to put pen to paper and the best aid I have found in the humble post-it. When reading his non fiction books get him to write a fact on the post-it and continue to do this every night of the week (even if it is only a word or two). At the end of the week ask him to pick a post-it from the week and form a sentence around the key word/s. When he has written the sentence put it in a scrap book alongside an illustration (drawn, cut-out or downloaded) over a few weeks he will have the making of his own book of facts that interest him. If you and he feel that this is helping move on. I would suggest finding pictures of interest and stick 3 post-its on it, the first a fact about the picture, the second a feeling that could be attributed to the picture and the final one free choice. If the picture was a car for instance, post-it 1 might say 'red porche', post it 2 might say 'happy' the third might say fast - the sentence might say 'I would be very happy to drive a fast red porche.' Sorry if this is not as clear as it should be as I have just got in from a night out with the girls lol - but i hope it helps xxx small steps and lots of praise will get there in the end

pandora205

I'd second the use of word processor for written work, if you are focusing on content and/or punctuation. It can make a huge difference, and you could devise activities, such as you typing in a story he dictates, and he puts in the punctuation.

Really, there are three separate skills here which need different help:

handwriting: check basic formation and spacing, if problematic try multi-sensory activities (writing in different media - large felts, chalk, etc.) once these are okay, lots of practice is needed. Sometimes children struggle with print but write much more fluently when introduced to a cursive script.

For pupils with severe handwriting difficulties of this age and above, schools can consider alternative forms of recording for some activities. This could be the use of a notebook, dictaphone or recording in diagrams, etc. All of these forms need lots of practice to make the most of them. They are not natural skills to most of us.

punctuation: the exercise above (word processing) would be useful, as would you typing his dictated speech without punctuation, then reading it back as it is. This gives the opportunity to demonstrate the purpose of commas, speech marks, exclamations etc.

writing content: there are several levels of this, from the use of vocabulary to overall structure and appropriate style. For vocab, you could try lots of discussion on a topic before writing, then introduce free verse poetry rather than long text. For structure, try making headings then expanding (introduce characters, setting, problem, resolution, etc.) For style, point this out when you meet text, e.g. the difference between a recipe and teletext holiday details.

M_A_R_I_E

Hi.

What levels did your son achieve in his year 2 sats? What about optional tests at the end of Y3 and Y4? Has the school not been giving you yearly levels with the end of school reports? The school should be updating you regularly about your child progress - this should not have come as a shock to you when your son is in Y5.

Becles

My son (now 11) has struggled with literacy. He's been encouraged to read and I've joined him in the library and encouraged him to try books he wasn't sure about. Some he likes, some he doesn't. I don't mind if it's fiction or non-fiction, as long as he's reading a book suitable for his age.

We've been doing super sentences for a while. The school suggested doing this. For example, "the man walked down the street" isn't a super sentence as it doesn't really tell you anything. To make it a super sentence, he would need to write something like "The tired old man leaned on his stick as he walked slowly down the street because his leg was hurting." To help him understand we've been looking at descriptive text in books and looking at how the sentance can build up a picture in your head. You can clearly the old man in the second sentence, but in the first sentence, the man could be old, young, brisk walking, slow walking, and so on.

He has to do two sentences every night based on a random topic - usually something he's seen on TV or read about, or about a family outing, news event - anything really!

Once they are done, we check the handwriting, spelling, punctuation, construction etc., and work out ways he could improve it. It helps to say "this bit is good, but what about that bit?" rather than just pointing out the mistakes.

If he's made no effort or it's really messy, he has to do them again until they are acceptable. He's not allowed to play or anything till they are done, so it's in his best interests to make a good effort first time!

It doesn't take long to do each evening, and he has really made a lot of progress over this year at school. He's just done his SATS and I'm hoping he's done really well in them. He's been promised a treat if he gets good results as he has worked hard this year.

crystaltipps

Just wanted to sympathise...My eldest is now in year nine and it has taken 3 years to get the school to address her messy style of writing and appalling spelling. She now gets one hour twice a week in the dyslexia class, even though she is bright, forward, and above average in most subjects.
To be honest, the school didn't seem to worry too much about it - as long as they could read and understand what she was saying, they gave her the appropriate mark. Her humanities book used to make me laugh, it was so messy and mis-spelt, but apparantly they are not penalised badly for bad spelling any more!
Also, to add to the reading thing...my youngest isn't a big reader, but she also loves her Guinness book of records, however...her number one book for the last year has been the Ripleys 'Believe it or not!' book. It is all the weird and wonderful stuff the Guinness leave out....grab a cheap copy now they are selling off the old Christmas stock in places like Home Bargains...or get it from the library. I would be surprised if he didn't relish some of the weird and wonderful stuff it has in it!

bestpud

Wow, there is some fab tips on this thread!

My dd is having the same problems unfortunately.

Her school is going to start her on a hand writing programme which goes back to the start basically. They are also working on gross motor movements with the whole class.

She can read ok and has no trouble forming ideas in her head - she contributes great in discussions but it all goes pear shaped when it comes to writing.

She loves maths but struggles terribly with mental arithmatic too.

As for helping at home, I find dd likes to write me letters/notes.

We tend to take it in turns to leave a note at night and also stick post it notes up for each other. I draw a picture too so she gets practice with that at the same time.

They're only small and chatty but it all helps!

*onlyme*

I know you said his hearing is fine, but does he understand what he hears? I am asking this because our DD (aged 9) had very similar problems like your son and we always knew something wasn't quite right.

We had her eyes tested and hearing (privately) and the chap said she can hear fine but he had a concern her brain doesn't understands what she hears. We were then referred for further tests and she has been diagnosed with a form of APD (auditory processing disorder)