Advice on Second Grade Son's Reading Development

when I was a reading specialist one of the methods we used was placing a colored overhead overlay page (colored see through paper) on top of the page they were reading. Some kids did good with blues, others oranges or greens. Depended on the kids. For some reason that made the text stop jumping.

Another idea is to make a "window" for him to read through. To do this you cut out a rectangle from a piece of cardboard that is wide enough for one line of text to be displayed. You may need a few sizes depending on the books he has.

You may also want to have his eyes tested by a pediatric opthamologist. They are trained in children's eyes, and give a complex exam that tests for depth perception and such. Dr. Guay in Aurora (I think the Aurora Eye Clinic?) is the expert in the field.

N.

My 8th grade daughter is a avid reader - it's one of her favorite past times. She read 30+ hours over the summer; My son is 5th grade and I did talk him into 12 hours of reading over the summer for the library program. Backtrack both to 2nd grade: My daughter's teacher wanted to put her in a state funded program for reading because she lacked age-appropriate reading skills. My son was challenged too. What my children did have going for them is I read to them all the time. Second grade was so challenging for both of my kids and thankfully, it was the year they both had awesome teachers who helped instill what they needed - and they had the guidance from home as well. I discussed this, at the time with each of their teachers. They each saw my child's deficiencies, acted upon it and I believe they are, both, better student, today, because of their second grade experience. In kindergarten, I picked up on my daughter's challenge in reading but the teacher addressed my concerns, saying, in general, children begin to plateau in 3rd grade. Those who are challenged, become more confident in their abilities; those who are excellent readers will just keep reading. The teacher just encouraged me to have my children read ANYTHING they could read....Dr. Seuss books, cereal boxes...anything to build confidence and instill the love of reading. And, she encouraged me to read and make sure my children saw me read for enjoyment. (I've gotten better!) Amazingly, I saw this improvement with both of my kids - third grade became the milestone for seeing an increase in their reading development.

Talk to the teacher about getting your child tested in reading if this is a concern for you. If he just lacks the skills, keep reading to him and keep it a fun time with you. "Ready, Freddy books" were my son's favorites in 2nd grade. Magic Tree House were good too and with my son, the morning was a more relaxed time to read with him. Good luck.

Hello Robin,
The first thing that comes to mind is maybe his eyes don't converge. My son has this problem and his eyes don't cross, thus making it a challenge to read a lot. This crosses over to even math when there are a lot of items on a page. It overloads their eyes/brain and the can see double or mixed images as you have described. This was found on an OT eval at school. We then were seen by a ped opthamologist and now do eye therapy/exercises. They are interesting and I think will help for our son. So for yourself you can check to see if his eyes converge. But also have him seen by a ped. eye doc. Wheaton Eye Clinic has an office here in Plainfield at the new Edward Facility! We really like them.

Hope this helps!
Take Care.

When I was a kid I had a correctable stigmigtism and a learning disabilty that I would skip words with out even knowing it. With a little help I became an advance reader several levels above my grade and honor student. My daughter had the same problem with skiping words but she had an eye conversion problem. Her one eye would focus at one point different then the other. With eye exercises with special equipment. She and I do not wear glasses. I recommend wheaton eye clinic. They have an office in naperville as well as wheaton. They have pediatric specialists that can find things other doctors do not. Good luck!

maybe you should start with an eye exam to make sure that he can see the letters ok. If all is ok, I would suggest some type of reward program. when my son was younger, the school used to have the pizza hut book it program. He loved being able to go to pizza hut for the mini pizza or at the one in yorkville for the pizza buffet. it was a great treat on a day off of school! also, often the libraries sponsor special reading programs with incentives along the way(small gifts etc) I would do this at home!