help for student with low reading level

What programs have been used?

I really don’t know. All I have is his IEP which mom brought when she registered him for school and it makes no mention of any type of program. His goals and objectives are very generalized. I have tried calling his former school in hopes of getting in touch with his teacher but no luck. I do have access to the Herman Method. Would this be useful for him? The program that I am using with my other students is SRA. They read at a much higher level and their difficulties are centered in reading comprehension rather than decoding.

You need to go back to the beginning and actually teach reading. You can’t remediate something that was never learned in the first place. Shay has good programs and experience in this area — first read her old posts (many, and generally excellent — use the search button above) to avoid wasting time re-typing the same things, then email her if you need clarification (click on the link on this board) and she is always very kind about giving help. I have also posted some lesson plans for how to start at the very very beginning, and you may find some of my old posts useful. You can email me and I’ll help all I can.

I have no expert advice to offer, but want to say how impressed I am as a parent at your concern for this child. Bless your heart and best of luck to you in helping him. He’s lucky to have you!

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I have looked through the previous posts as suggested and will take everything in account. I am so glad to have everyone’s help. As the saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child”.

Laurie

And when you know more, come on back :)

Way to go! We need more teachers like you! Since your student recently transferred and the IEP was written by another teacher, how current is it?
You will probably need to reassess him as to whether he knows his letters, basic sounds, blends, sight words, etc. From there you figure out where it is you need to go with a clearer picture of his abilities/skills and a program that may work for him. Find out from your school what types of assessments they use, they may be different than ones that were used at his previous school.

Wow - what a wonderful challenge! I am anticipating you may have problems finding materials that are not “babyish” for this young man. I have had success with the old “experience stories” method. Have this guy use the word processor to type up his own stories about his life, his interests - and add pictures and graphics. The vocabulary will be simple at first, but as he learns more sight words and uses the spell check - they will quickly become more sophisticated. Make up a mini word wall behind the computer so he can refer to it and find sight words and interesting vocabulary he has already studied. Print the stories and keep them in a binder. Have him read them and reread them often to build fluency. Use of a word processor will probably be an important life skill for this young man. Good luck!

The one positive aspect of our school is that all students are issued a laptop. Including students with severe or moderate intellectual disabilities. I know that he will gain much from the use of the word processor and I have already many things in place for him using this machinery. I have just received his file and he does have difficulties with phonemic awareness and he was not taught reading using a program designed for his specific needs. Instead of having him learn to read, the school decided to incorporate assistive technology as he is a strong auditory learner. Thank you for your response and for all the responses I have received from my post. I have spoken with my sped director and she has agreed to buy whatever program I should choose. I am in the process of analyzing his 6 in. file to give me an idea as to where he is at and where he has come from and where he needs to go.

Laurie

As a standard practice I do administer the Brigance to all my students as a pre-test of skills. Also,the IEP is current as the annual review was held in May. His psyche is quite extensive, 60 pages in all, and he was administered the usual round of tests. The psyche has given me a wealth of information that I will need to give the correct services. I just want to make sure that I am meeting all his needs and I feel that SRA (the program that I currently use) will be ineffective for his deficits. Thank you for your response and have a great day!

Laurie

Have you read a book called “The Gift of Dyslexia” by Ron Davis? it’s inexpensive and may help with the dyslexia.

No I haven’t but I am looking it up right now! Thanks

Laurie

I would use Phono-Graphix. The reason for this is that it starts at the lowest level of the basic code, segmenting and blending. If you need help, email me directly. Shay

Dear Laurie,
I am also a special educator. I teach 7th and 8th grade in a private school for LD students. I think I have a solution to your problem. I am also the author of a spelling series that I designed for dyslexic and LD students. We have been using it for several years now and have great success.

Looking Glass Spelling is a unique, multisensory method of spelling instruction for students grades 2-8 who are reading 2 or more years below grade level. A single, reasonably priced binder of materials provides sufficient work for an entire school year with the kind of reinforcement and practice that LD students need. Looking Glass Spelling teaches strategies (not lists of words) that also improve reading and vocabulary because it is based on Glass Analysis, a recognized instructional technique for teaching decoding, and it uses age-appropriate vocabulary. To learn more about Looking Glass Spelling, see a sample chapter, or to order, just go to our website at www.gwhizresources.com.