I'm sorry this is long; I don't want to drip feed.
My almost 10 yr old is really struggling with her reading and basic vocabulary.
She can read (v. slowly) but when she comes to a word that is unfamiliar, she will just make a guess at what the word is.
When writing she still spells everything phonetically (eg Chirch/Frend), but won't use the phonetic process to sound out unfamiliar words. However, she can learn spellings for a test, get them all right, but they are instantly forgotten by the following week.
According to her end of yr 4 assessment, she has the reading age of a 7 yr old.
I do/have done all the following (with love and encouragement!!):
- She reads to me daily for 10 minutes - with one eye on the book & the other on the clock, she won't go beyond 10!
- She has joined a library and chooses her own books (but she is influenced by what the other kids get out - i.e. Jacqueline Wilson - and ends up feeling overwhelmed because they are all free reading but refuses help with choosing more appropriate books)
- I read to her every night, I leave at an exciting bit (in the hope that she will pick it up afterwards!)
- We have tried comics, magazines, cartoons
I may add that I am a prolific reader myself which makes this especially hard-I was brought up with books, my mother is the same.
I have had lots of talks with her teachers; they don't think that she has dyslexia. Her current teacher agrees with my belief that I am too emotionally involved because she is really starting to rebel against me; so she thinks that a Tutor would be a good idea. Unfortunately, the ones she knows are already booked up and a couple have now retired.
So, I am looking for an English Tutor, preferably in the Chew Valley area but would be willing to drive into Bristol/Bath.
Are there any recommendations out there?
Many Thanks!