HELP....How can I help an 11 year old with reading difficulties? Advice please.

[squilly]

I've recently taken on the role of reading mentor to a couple of lovely young lads at the local school.

I'm not a teacher, just a volunteer who wants to help. I had a training course and have raised this with the tutors, but I wanted to ask mums...people who've dealt with this issue first hand.

Can anyone give me:-

Ideas on how they've tackled literacy issues themselves?
or
Thoughts on what they'd like to see their kids getting help with.
or
Anecdotes of what school has done that's been successful.

If you need more info before you can give me any feedback, I'd be really grateful for any help you can give!

Ta.

I have one bit of help. Boys like joke books. Most of them hate reading but give them a joke book and watch.

my ds2 hated to read he found it difficult and therefore derived no pleasure the best thing i cn say is find something that interests them....with him it was wrestling magazines and take away menus lol he ws younger than 11 tho ....another good thing i find is when watching tv have the subtitles on....often tht connects physiclly in real life the spoken word and the written word.

Thanks for the advice ladies. So far I've taken in football mags, cycling word searches, etc, but I hadn't tried joke books...

If they were mine I think the tv with subtitles on is an excellent idea. I tend to do it anyway, now I'm getting older and my hearing's no good, but I've noticed it makes me connect more with the programmes on occasion.

I know one lad has a problem with words he doesn't know. He panics and falls to pieces when he sees them. I am trying to sort out some way of getting him to break down his words and decipher the sounds but I guess this is where my lack of degree education/teacher training looms into view!

Hey ho...I'll get myself off to Google to see what I can find.

Thanks again for your help.

get them to say the letters phonetically, then squeeze them together and say them without leaving spaces. This is how I taught my ds to read.

Thanks avenanap. I'm just conscious (maybe overly so) that these are 11 year old boys, not new readers.

I think my logical head knows they've got to go back to phonetically spelling words out, but it's a tricky thing to deliver it sensitively, if you know what I mean...

Maybe I should just lose my sensitivity chip for a day or two!

How severe are their difficulties? There are reading schemes that I have used in school for 11+ year olds with a reading age of

Ah...my boys are both around the 9.1 to 9.6 stage. They're both articulate, bright as buttons and keen to improve. They both realise they have an achilles heel with literacy, though one claims to love it. He kind of loves everything about life...which is great, but getting him to focus on reading is a bit difficult at times! Especially as he's so interesting to talk to/listen to.

I want to wave a magic wand and make everything better, which of course, I can't do, but I'm trying anything I can do to make even a bit of a difference for them. The thought of them switching off at big school is horrid, cos they're both great kids.

I found some stuff on synthetic phonics which I'm having a play with. I'm seeing whether I can make it into a word game for them.

I'm also conducting a reading record with them on Monday to see if I can spot any specific issues.

I think it'll be small words for the one child, and the consequent lack of meaning that arises from this and an inability to chunk by the second...but I stand to be corrected.

What schemes have you used then??? And do you think they'd be too young for my boys?

Have you tried to read with them. Read out loud together I think this gives them confidence.

I have also found that revealing one word at a time helps them focus too.

I hope this is of some help. It's lovely to hear of someone taking the time to help pupils.

They wouldn't be too young for them squilly. I work in secondary! But they do go right back to basics, which can be very hard for an older child to accept, and probably unnecessary for a child with this kind of reading age.

I would second the reading aloud. You can buy books which have an appropriate content for older children but at a lower reading level IYSWIM. I'll see if I can find any...

Have you tried play's? I can't think of any writers off the top of my head but I bet there's loads of plays that they can read so they can find the right one

There are some great books where you have to choose which option to take next - Doctor Who Decide Your Destiny - on offer at www.thebookpeople.co.uk and a series by Steve Jackson (I think). Might motivate them a bit.
Try and give them a purpose for reading and understanding e.g. reading a recipe to do some simple cookery or make a model or do origami.

Most school libraries will have a 'quick read' section. there are often very high pace books that give the kids lots of interest with a limited number of pages.

Reading magazines is ideal, get them bike magazines that have so 'kudos', that sort of thing. Boys are often happier with non fiction than fiction

Guinness Book of Records.
In depth research into whatever fascinates them (ask me anything you like about Keira Knightly or Aztec Human Sacrifice!).
Magazines are good but you've done that.
Reading in a 'different place'- outside, sitting on the floor, on headteacher's swivelly chair.
Things like extreme survival guides work for boys too sometimes, what you need to do to get into the SAS.
Good luck, I have done this, it is immensely rewarding.

Thank you all so much for your responses. It must be that time of the month, cos I'm really touched that you've all chosen to respond...and with such great ideas!

I love the idea of reading aloud together. That gets over the awkwardness of them getting stuck on words. And it's a bit like having the subtitles on with the telly. Inspired!

I'm off onto the bookpeople site now for a bit more inspiration.

Thanks again and any more ideas, keep em rolling in!