How to help a struggling reader

Learning Style vs. Learning Disabilities

I mentioned in a previous post, how when I was growing up I struggled with learning, particularly in reading and when someone from outside my immediate family would learn of this, their answer was always “That's because you're homeschooled” which was an outright lie that still infuriates me. Why? Because the people who say that know little about homeschooling and jump to conclusions.

Please do not get the idea that I'm mad as I'm typing this. It saddens me that people have been taught to think education can only happen one way, and that one way is through the school system. Why do homeschoolers have to prove to people that it works? It's been happening for ages actually. Shocked that it hasn't been only in the last 50 years? Research Thomas Edison's life. His mother taught him at home. And thanks to him we have the light bulb amongst other things.

First off, homeschooling is not the perfect solution. Neither, however, is the public school system. Both have failed miserably at times for certain people, in certain ways.

But let me introduce you to a book on my shelf. It's called “The Way They Learn” by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. I've been studying the book of late, though I haven't read it from cover to cover yet. It's put out by Focus on the Family, and I would encourage you that if you have a struggling child, who just isn't doing well in school, to get a hold of this book, find out what your child's learning style is, or if it's a disability, and go from there.

And yes, there is a difference between learning style and learning disabilities. A Disability can be in the form of dyslexia where words or letters appear backwards to the reader. Some see no breaks between words or have the line run off the page. This is not a disease, the brain works differently for them, but they are still very intelligent people.

There are many others, to which I know little to nothing about.

But here is something I do know from my own experience. Homeschooling is great for kids with different learning styles, because the school system does not always cater to their needs. In the home however, you can change your curriculum to suit your student. (And there is a growing amount of free resources on the web!)

Learning styles consist of

Reading and Writing

They take notes during lectures or reading

Often draw or doodle

Do well with hands on activities

Avid readers

Able to translate abstract concepts into words and essays

Visual

Like to see how things work.

Often recognize words by sight

Often remember faces but forget names

Often have well developed imaginations

Are easily distracted by movements or action in the room

Find it easy to learn through descriptions

Can be unaware of noise

Might remember pictures better than words

Auditory

Learn well with verbal instructions

Easy for them to learn by listening

Remember names better than faces

Enjoy dialogue, discussion and plays

Often work out a problem by talking it through

Love audio books

Kinesthetic

High energy levels

Think and learn best while moving

Often lose much of what is said

Have problems concentrating when asked to sit still

Do best when they can be involved

They like to do rather than listen or watch.

They may have a love to find out how things work (taking apart, putting together.)

Another way to look at the four learning styles is this way.

Concrete Sequential (CS)

hardworking

conventional

accurate

stable

dependable

consistent

factual

organized

Concrete Random (CR)

quick

intuitive

curious

realistic

creative

innovative

instinctive

adventurous

Abstract Sequential (AS)

analytical

objective

knowledgeable

thorough

structured

logical

deliberate

systematic

Abstract Random (AR)

sensitive

compassionate

perceptive

imaginative

idealistic

sentimental

spontaneous

flexible

I hope the above helps you categorize your own learning style, or that of your child's. And again, I highly recommend that book to help you further.

I do not know much about the different learning styles other than my own. So if your child is a Visual learner, here are some tips that can help you in teaching a struggling reader.

A visual learner may struggle with reading in the following ways.

-poor reading comprehension

-reads very slowly

-has trouble sounding out words

-may substitute for words

Poor reading comprehension is because, by the time they finish reading the paragraph or sentence, they put so much effort into getting each word right, that they lost the content. It's a lot of work to get it to process through the brain and out the mouth. Reading silently might be a better solution.

If they are reading out-loud to you, be sure to do the following.

Have a bookmark or ruler on hand.

Put the ruler under the line they are reading, blocking out the rest of the words below.

This breaks it down for them so it's not as overwhelming and they can concentrate on fewer words.

If they are having trouble sounding out words, try the following.

Using your finger, cover part of the word, breaking it up (in the proper place) so they can form the correct sounds and put the word together.

This may also help them stop substituting words.

Spell charts! Memorizing! Spelling tests! Word Flashcards!

I can't emphasize this one enough! Make a chart of the words they struggle with the most, or are using the most in an essay or story, and make sure they have that on hand to refer to as needed.

They need to memorize the spelling of the words they struggle with! This is where spelling tests and word flashcards can be helpful.

The computer can be very helpful for Visual learners. Spell check is a great way to help them learn where they are making mistakes, and how to correct them by finding the right word, or looking up definitions so they know if they have the right word, and they learn more about the words they are struggling with.

Writing!

Visual learners have good imaginations. They may have tons of stories in their brain they would love to tell, but because of their learning style, may have trouble getting it down on paper. However I would strongly encourage, that if they want to write, do everything possible to help them reach that goal.

My own personal story is unique in the sense that I wanted to write so bad, even though I could hardly read, that I set out to write a story, (which took 4 years to complete) but in the process of doing so, I learned to read!

Comic books!

Now I know there aren't a lot of good comic books out there. The graphic world of comic books can be horrific. But I found some oldies on-line for free. Old western ones can be downloaded off the archive.org site, and my brother, with the same learning style, loved reading these.

The reason visual learners love comic books, is for the pictures. There's more pictures than words. This makes it more fun to read. They don't get bogged down by long chapters and thick books.

Movies and audio books

Those with Visual learning probably love movies for obvious reasons. If they can learn by watching a movie, all the better. And their vivid imagination will love audio books, especially if they don't have to read them.

Read, Read, Read!

For someone who is struggling, they may not want to have much to do with books. In order to keep them interested and wanting to learn, it is important to read LOTS to them. Find the stories they like, and read!

And last of all, find a curriculum that works for visual learners. Look into “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” or the one I think is even better, “Teach your child to read in 20 easy lessons”

These ones are much more visual for them.

I hope this helps some Visual Learner out there! And please remember, encourage, encourage, encourage! They can't get enough praise in the things they do well!

S.L. Kliever