Teaching Decoding in Middle School (Jr. High)

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

I am substituting a lot for a teacher who teaches 6-8 grade basic decoding in middle school. I graduated in special education, but the majority of our reading information that we were taught was whole language. Does anyone have any suggestions of websites or info.. The problem I have is these kids are in the 6 - 8th grade, but I would guess some of them are reading at a 1 - 4th grade level. I want to find ways to engage them, but find material that is appropriate for their age. Any help would be appreciated!

Tiffany :D

Submitted by victoria on Sat, 04/16/2005 - 4:33 AM

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I do this all the time. You need to get the kids to see that yes, they are finally learning something, and then they are happy to do the basic work when they feel the results.
Send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll send back a packet of my tutoring outlines, including good resources.

Submitted by victoria on Sat, 04/16/2005 - 4:33 AM

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I do this all the time. You need to get the kids to see that yes, they are finally learning something, and then they are happy to do the basic work when they feel the results.
Send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll send back a packet of my tutoring outlines, including good resources.

Submitted by anla on Mon, 04/18/2005 - 2:35 PM

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Hi,

I have been teaching reading decoding using a concrete, multi-sensory method. It is inexpensive and works with any text, any level. Email me if you would like me to send you letters I have exchanged with other teachers.

Anita www.learntoreadnow.com

Submitted by Sue on Mon, 04/18/2005 - 5:01 PM

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Hi, anla, you might want to read the LDOnLine policy on commercial posts. (Victoria’s stuff is free.)

Consistency & lots of practice is what’s important for this — can you find out what the teacher was using? Or is she needing a sub a lot for a reason that means that actually she’s not teaching much :-(

I’ve taught decoding in middle and high school; just where are these guys skillwise, do you know?
In the meantime don’t be afraid to find a good high-interest story (Space Station Seventh Grade is hysterical, though it’s, ahem, extremely seventh grade so you’ll want to read it first and give them the old “if you’re not mature enough to hear this story and keep behaving, I will find something else” speech … nothing disgusting, just … another really popular tho’ not funny one is “On My Honor” —I’ve done a lot of reading aloud at the end of periods and it’s a good incentive for getting work done… I don’t usually (there have been exceptions) have to make a big deal of the incentive part ‘cause they figure out that the time spent on silliness is time could be spent hearing a story.
While it would be the best thing for you to be continuing what the teacher is doing with them, and giving them practice, if that’s not possible, there are some reading activiities on my site in the “Reading and spelling” and “reading comprehension” sections that might help you through some of these days (they can probably smell the end of the year). There’s also a fair amount of info about learning to decode there — the “MSSL” article gives an overview of my program for teaching it.
http://www.resourceroom.net/comprehension/index.asp
http://www.resourceroom.net/readspell/index.asp

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