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Post by mary2 on Oct 10, 2007 21:34:12 GMT -5
Does he do better on his reading tests if you read to him? I found with my son that if we took turns reading or if I read to him at bedtime, he did better. You would still need to have him practice his reading if you read to him, but any little bit of help you can give him at this point will encourage him. Something else you can do is read together, then you can ask him questions about what you just went over. You could discuss what you just read so it doesn't seem to him that he is being quizzed but he will learn to think about what he is reading or has just read. Maybe you could send a note in to his teacher asking her to let you know how she feels he is doing when she sends his weekly report to you. Sometimes it looks like our kid isn't doing that well but when compared to the other kids in the class, they actually are doing as well as the others. This would give you something to compare his progress with rather than just seeing how many he got wrong or right. I read with him; the problem is that the reading was in English, therefore the test was in English also. He doesn't really understand well but I have found that by giving him some key words that he knows their meanings and then translating a little, he does much better. In fact, that 11 he got was great for what he is really able to do in English. The psych pointed out today that he is going accordingly even when he failed the science test. He got 8/20 in that one. She told me there were kids who got 1 or 5/20. It does not mean the grade is good, but she assured me he is going just like most of the kids in his class. English is tough for most of them, so... I really felt bad about myself when she called me, I felt like the little girl who was being given a preach by her mom, LOL. So that gave me energy to start out in a different way with him. I just hope it works better, I assume it will. I learned today that my ds is not behind in regard to many of the other kids. |
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Post by charliegirl on Oct 10, 2007 21:47:41 GMT -5
Thats a positive thing anyway.  Do you ever speak English at home? Maybe you could make a point to have a simple conversation in English with him at home every day. It would reinforce what he is learning and actually practicing helps many people. |
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Post by katiekat on Oct 10, 2007 22:08:00 GMT -5
My son is in 1st grade and can't read a word of English...and it is the only language we speak.
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Post by mary2 on Oct 11, 2007 13:41:04 GMT -5
I have tried to speak to him in English, but I haven't been very consistent with it. I will try to create a daily routine for at least a few minutes at the beginning., maybe this will help him better.
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Post by charliegirl on Oct 11, 2007 13:58:05 GMT -5
I was thinking about this and I wonder if putting a label on items around the house would help. If you put a tag spelling out table, for example, on the table he would see the word spelled out plus be able to connect it with the table. It seems to me the more words he can easily identify, it would free up his thinking process for grammar, etc. If he didn't have to translate table, he would be more free to think about what is being referred to concerning the table. I hope you can understand what I am trying to say. My brain isn't co-operating with me today.   |
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Post by mary2 on Oct 11, 2007 19:57:39 GMT -5
I was thinking about this and I wonder if putting a label on items around the house would help. If you put a tag spelling out table, for example, on the table he would see the word spelled out plus be able to connect it with the table. It seems to me the more words he can easily identify, it would free up his thinking process for grammar, etc. If he didn't have to translate table, he would be more free to think about what is being referred to concerning the table. I hope you can understand what I am trying to say. My brain isn't co-operating with me today. I understand CG. I heard about this when my son was learning to read in Spanish; I mean, what you said about the labels. I think it is a good idea. However, I am going to try the little conversation in English everyday and maybe think about the labels; but to tell you the truth, they use pictures after each spelling word when they copy the list from the board; so at home I always take time to draw those pictures on a blank paper and then write the word as neat as I can for him to understand. He does learn those words but I really think the problem is that he has a short term memory. I must say today that he brought his spelling test and got 20/20. He was very excited and we hugged and celebrated this success; however, I still feel bad about myself and I don't want him to start getting anxious to achieve those 20/20 just to please me; I really need to start getting easier with him, and he just needs to start realizing that he must be more responsible so he can feel better himself. BUT, at the end of the day, he is still a very young kid, he is just seven. |
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Post by katiekat on Oct 11, 2007 21:07:54 GMT -5
Mary. From what you say I believe schools in your country are WAY more advanced than they are in the U.S. If you do get to move here I think your son would be ahead of many children his age.
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Post by mary2 on Oct 12, 2007 6:22:44 GMT -5
Mary. From what you say I believe schools in your country are WAY more advanced than they are in the U.S. If you do get to move here I think your son would be ahead of many children his age. Here 1st grade corresponds to 2nd in the US. This is why it all seems more advanced; but it is just a thing of grades. If I happen to move, my son will always need to be placed at a higher grade, but not really because here schools are more advanced. It is just because the levels are named differently. But I agree that the biligual system makes schools to be somewhat more demanding than in other places. |
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I was about to conquer the world but then I got distracted by something shiny.
