Raising third grader can’t identify vowels and consonants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a big push towards phonics. Honestly, after the third grade, it goes out the door.

Op here. Thanks. I was wondering about this because he has never had trouble with reading. He does very well in school and this workbook is for third graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he just not know the difference between vowels and consonants? That's basic memorization. If he's reading well, he should be able to learn which is which fairly easily.

Op here. Yes and the workbook asks stuff like ‘mark the vowel you hear in each word to show whether it has the long or short sound’

‘circle the consonant blends’

‘ on the blank before each word write the sound of the underlined letters

Examples: hauled , spoiled

And ‘ when a root word has a short vowel sound followed by only one consonant, double the final consonant before adding “ed” or “ing”

You need to learn phonics so you can teach him properly.

.

Op here. That’s not going to happen. It’s going to drive me crazy.

You're not too old to learn English phonics rules. Don't listen to anyone who says there are no rules. There are just lots of rules because the language comes from many other languages. English has a lot of loan words from French and Latin but the substrate language is Germanic. Learning the origin of words helps immensely. And the difference between a vowel and consonant is not a matter of memorizing as the other poster said. Your mouth opens differently for a vowel vs consonant. (English is not my native language either but I did study it much more formally than a typical language learner.) Helps to have a positive attitude.

Op here. I don’t have the time or patience to learn in. I’m expecting right now, work FT and in FT grad school. I can get an online tutor for him if it’s really important. I know I am not the right person to help him or either is DH. This workbook is something I picked up myself. The school hasn’t said anything about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he just not know the difference between vowels and consonants? That's basic memorization. If he's reading well, he should be able to learn which is which fairly easily.

Op here. Yes and the workbook asks stuff like ‘mark the vowel you hear in each word to show whether it has the long or short sound’

‘circle the consonant blends’

‘ on the blank before each word write the sound of the underlined letters

Examples: hauled , spoiled

And ‘ when a root word has a short vowel sound followed by only one consonant, double the final consonant before adding “ed” or “ing”

You need to learn phonics so you can teach him properly.

.

Op here. That’s not going to happen. It’s going to drive me crazy.

You're not too old to learn English phonics rules. Don't listen to anyone who says there are no rules. There are just lots of rules because the language comes from many other languages. English has a lot of loan words from French and Latin but the substrate language is Germanic. Learning the origin of words helps immensely. And the difference between a vowel and consonant is not a matter of memorizing as the other poster said. Your mouth opens differently for a vowel vs consonant. (English is not my native language either but I did study it much more formally than a typical language learner.) Helps to have a positive attitude.

Op here. I don’t have the time or patience to learn in. I’m expecting right now, work FT and in FT grad school. I can get an online tutor for him if it’s really important. I know I am not the right person to help him or either is DH. This workbook is something I picked up myself. The school hasn’t said anything about this.

I would get an online evaluation with Brainspring. They can tell you how well he's reading and what letters and sounds he doesn't know. Then they can catch him up as needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son has good grades in English and reads well.

So let him read! Take him to the library and check out lots of books. Encourage reading for fun. Have him read aloud to you sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has good grades in English and reads well.

So let him read! Take him to the library and check out lots of books. Encourage reading for fun. Have him read aloud to you sometimes.

We already do this and he reads well. It wasn’t until I bought this workbook that I started thinking about this stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has good grades in English and reads well.

So let him read! Take him to the library and check out lots of books. Encourage reading for fun. Have him read aloud to you sometimes.

We already do this and he reads well. It wasn’t until I bought this workbook that I started thinking about this stuff.

Honestly, workbooks like this sound super boring for a good reader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he just not know the difference between vowels and consonants? That's basic memorization. If he's reading well, he should be able to learn which is which fairly easily.

Op here. Yes and the workbook asks stuff like ‘mark the vowel you hear in each word to show whether it has the long or short sound’

‘circle the consonant blends’

‘ on the blank before each word write the sound of the underlined letters

Examples: hauled , spoiled

And ‘ when a root word has a short vowel sound followed by only one consonant, double the final consonant before adding “ed” or “ing”

You need to learn phonics so you can teach him properly.

And the difference between "raising" and "rising".

You people are rude. She has dyslexia and English isn’t her first language—she’s doing just fine. She’s smart enough to know that she needs to seek advice on this issue.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have yet to hear that your son actually has any problems reading?

[Anonymous]

Your son hasn’t been exposed to phonics. Get a different workbook. If he’s already reading well, he doesn’t need to know what a blend is. Focus on reading comprehension instead.

[Anonymous]

This work book sounds ridiculous. Your child can read just fine. You are looking for a problem where there isn’t one. My kid has been in Spanish immersion since kindergarten. She would have no idea what it meant to “circle the consonant blends” and she is an excellent reader in both Spanish and English. Why are you trying to force a kid that has no issues in school to do a bunch of extra work???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This work book sounds ridiculous. Your child can read just fine. You are looking for a problem where there isn’t one. My kid has been in Spanish immersion since kindergarten. She would have no idea what it meant to “circle the consonant blends” and she is an excellent reader in both Spanish and English. Why are you trying to force a kid that has no issues in school to do a bunch of extra work???

Probably because OP understands that having limitations with English can make life harder, which she understands as a non-native speaker who has dyslexia. She's also obviously being extra vigilant about the possibility of a learning disorder since she's been through that as well. OP sounds like a good mom.

You are triggered by this thread because you've made special effort to make your kid bilingual and you are bothered by the implication from OP that bring bilingual might not be enough, that missing my out on deep knowledge of the primary language you use might cause problems. You can't help OP because you are bothered by the idea that your child's bilingual education which has obvious upsides may also have downsides.

[Anonymous]

If you have dyslexia your child has a 50% chance of having it. It doesn’t mean he can’t read but he maybe relying on memorization when it comes to reading. Schools can’t test for it and you need a private evaluation. Dyslexia is also a spectrum so his maybe more mild than yours. It is helpful to know so that as reading becomes more difficult you can find ways to help him. Dyslexia is very common (between 10-20% of the population have it) and doesn’t mean you can’t read. It just makes it more difficult. My son has it and he has had reading intervention and he can read pretty well. His is currently showing up in his spelling.

[Anonymous]

There are only 5 vowels (plus sometimes y). Memorize the 5 vowels. There must always be 1 vowel in each word. So cAt and the A is the vowel. In shY - the Y acts like a vowel. But it really doesn't matter that much whether you know your vowels and consonants if you are reading and spelling well.

Definitely do not turn to an App - studies are showing how these don't have the effects you think they will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does he just not know the difference between vowels and consonants? That's basic memorization. If he's reading well, he should be able to learn which is which fairly easily.

This. It’s not explicitly taught anymore. Just a heads up, neither is grammar. My straight A honors middle schooler will still double check with me what an adverb is.

[Anonymous]

If you are concerned I would seek out ASDEC - atAtlantic Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center

They have inexpensive summer courses - third grade too important to ignore.