*Updated Again* 2nd Grader Help: Understanding Instructions

[Nightbreed]

Afternoon BG,

I mainly lurk here as you can tell but I was hoping to find some help or assistance here.

My daughter is in 2nd grade and is behind on her reading which I believe adds to her troubles with understanding instructions in school. I have spoken to her teacher already and she is willing to help her out after school if needed but I am asking if anyone has advice on what else I can do with her at home besides reading with her each night after her homework is done.

It appears she just does not understand the instructions on what she is supposed to do for the assignment, if they are read to her she can breeze through her homework and assignments but if the paper is put in front of her she glances over it and then the blank stare starts.

For example last week we started using an App/Website that the teacher recommended the kids use to load their spelling words into each work and you play various games with them, the instructions for each game are read and then it starts, she has zero issues and does very well spelling the words and playing the various games.Move those same words and similar assignments to paper and it is like night and day.

Any advice on what may help her is truly appreciated. She loves school and I hate to see her getting down on herself, my worst fear is for her to begin "hating" school.

[Psion]

hmmm, she is able to read the words, but is unable to comprehend what its asking? have you tried getting her to read the instructions out loud, so she can hear the instructions? perhaps it would help her make the connection between written words and language.

Maybe she's just overthinking the assignment, otherwise. I know i have that issue with tests sometimes, i read the instructions on how to answer a set of questions then get it wrong because i get too hung up over the exact phasing of it, instead of just taking the instructions at face value.

[BaneTheBrawler]

I'd suggest reading rainbow, but it kinda sounds like her issue is ONLY with printed instructions. idk.

[Psion]

Doesn't sound too strange to me, if i hear japanese being spoken i can pick out the occasional word pretty well and even get some of the gist of whats being said... but written down? haha, it's hopeless. she's only in second grade, she's barely learned how to understand english, now she's having to make the next leap to reading comprehension, and connecting the written word to spoken language. it takes time, so i wouldn't sweat it too much. reading books for fun certainly couldn't hurt though, and can help with her vocabulary if nothing else, as well as expose her to a lot of culture and mythos if she likes fantasy/sci fi.

[Nightbreed]

hmmm, she is able to read the words, but is unable to comprehend what its asking? have you tried getting her to read the instructions out loud, so she can hear the instructions? perhaps it would help her make the connection between written words and language.

Maybe she's just overthinking the assignment, otherwise. I know i have that issue with tests sometimes, i read the instructions on how to answer a set of questions then get it wrong because i get too hung up over the exact phasing of it, instead of just taking the instructions at face value.

The comprehension is the part she struggles with more, but her reading as per her teacher (her 1st grade teacher is now her 2nd grade teacher) is a bit behind which I already began addressing over the summer by letting her pick out books we would read together each night.

For example if her math homework asks her to add the numbers then circle the tens place, she would circle the ones place but then when I would go over it with her I would say "which number is in the tens place" and she would choose the right one.

Thanks for the reply.

[Waraji]

I was going to suggest you make her read it aloud. But Psion already had it covered. - Doubling the suggestion then, can't hurt to try.

Actually to further add to that, request for her to explain to You what she understood, and talk about it.. I think this dynamic could help her establish a process of internal review over the long term. That and it spurs critical thinking, which is what we're in school to do more than anything else.

Don't forget to post results, however long from now it will be please. For science.

[Nightbreed]

Doesn't sound too strange to me, if i hear japanese being spoken i can pick out the occasional word pretty well and even get some of the gist of whats being said... but written down? haha, it's hopeless. she's only in second grade, she's barely learned how to understand english, now she's having to make the next leap to reading comprehension, and connecting the written word to spoken language. it takes time, so i wouldn't sweat it too much. reading books for fun certainly couldn't hurt though, and can help with her vocabulary if nothing else, as well as expose her to a lot of culture and mythos if she likes fantasy/sci fi.

Agreed, I am not going to get crazy about it, I am more worried about how much she gets down on herself when she gets the answer wrong even though I reinforce with her that everyone makes mistakes and all we can do is try our best and practice more, I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can as her parent to help her.

[Nightbreed]

I'd suggest reading rainbow, but it kinda sounds like her issue is ONLY with printed instructions. idk.

I was going to suggest you make her read it aloud. But Psion already had it covered. - Doubling the suggestion then, can't hurt to try.

Actually to further add to that, request for her to explain to You what she understood, and talk about it.. I think this dynamic could help her establish a process of internal review over the long term. That and it spurs critical thinking, which is what we're in school to do more than anything else.

Thank you both for the replies, I will certainly try this out, even the Reading Rainbow

[Salodin]

My gf is a 2nd grade teacher and complains about the new kids coming in having this problem (when it should have been dealt with in first grade I suppose). Reading aloud and then explaining what they read helps, as does more and more practice.

My question is have you had her tested? If she keeps up in other areas of school then it's probably not a mental impairment, but maybe her vision is poor? Dyslexic? You see where I'm going with this. These are actually not the problem usually, but other then saying "maybe she's just starting out as a slow learner", you might want to just cover your bases and make sure it's not anything other than her not comprehending what she reads.

[Psion]

If it's poor vision, it would be farsightedness, since i was horribly nearsighted as a kid and didn't get diagnosed until 4th grade, but i had no reading issues because i could see up close just fine. farsightedness would mean she'd have trouble reading projects and homework up close, but could see whats put up on a blackboard just fine. couldn't hurt to check if she has that issue, but it doesn't seem like it.

[Nightbreed]

My gf is a 2nd grade teacher and complains about the new kids coming in having this problem (when it should have been dealt with in first grade I suppose). Reading aloud and then explaining what they read helps, as does more and more practice.

My question is have you had her tested? If she keeps up in other areas of school then it's probably not a mental impairment, but maybe her vision is poor? Dyslexic? You see where I'm going with this. These are actually not the problem usually, but other then saying "maybe she's just starting out as a slow learner", you might want to just cover your bases and make sure it's not anything other than her not comprehending what she reads.

She wears glasses, started about midway through Kindergarten. She was tested for Dyslexia as well, through most of Kindergarten she wrote some letters and numbers backwards, the first few weeks of first grade it completely stopped.

[Salodin]

My gfs the teacher, so I can't speak with any certainty, but I'd redo those tests just in case somethings changed. If I'm not mistaken, most schools have resources for things like this; all you have to do is bring it up with her teacher and she'll help you out.

[Brill Weave]

I am so proud of all of you for not suggesting a water bottle.

[Airenn]

My gfs the teacher, so I can't speak with any certainty, but I'd redo those tests just in case somethings changed. If I'm not mistaken, most schools have resources for things like this; all you have to do is bring it up with her teacher and she'll help you out.

This, and maybe another eye eval if it's been more than a year since the last one. And check the glasses, too to see if they are all scratched up. Do you read to her or she read to you? Have her read to you more and see how she performs. Stuttery? Slow? Normal sounding? Ask if her head or eyes hurt, etc.

Good luck, though.

[BaneTheBrawler]

I am so proud of all of you for not suggesting a water bottle.

BG is composed almost entirely of parents/aunts/uncles these days. And this isn't exactly the "fuck books" demographic.

2nd grade is what like 6-7? I remember reading The Hobbit around then, but I was too young and got bored and didn't pick it up again until like 1-2 years later, when I fell in love with it (and reading for fun in general).

Anyway, it occurs to me that you could get her some fun books, like Captain Underpants or Goosebumps or Animorphs. All those books you got from Book Order in elementary school would be about the right age, I think.

[Nightbreed]

I am so proud of all of you for not suggesting a water bottle.

Many on BG seem to have a soft spot for kids these days

This, and maybe another eye eval if it's been more than a year since the last one. And check the glasses, too to see if they are all scratched up. Do you read to her or she read to you? Have her read to you more and see how she performs. Stuttery? Slow? Normal sounding? Ask if her head or eyes hurt, etc.

Good luck, though.

Yea it was a year sometime over the summer, we went last week for a new exam and new pair of glasses, her prescription did not change though. She sounds and pronounces the words she recognizes and can sound out very clear, when she gets stuck on a word she tends to make something up and continue on which of course messes up the entire sentence. When I have her read to me I started to use a pencil to point out each word, she is doing much better now that I started with that, tonight she had no issues reading any of the homework when I pointed out each word....I am starting to think she wanders the page without it but can't say for certain yet.

BG is composed almost entirely of parents/aunts/uncles these days. And this isn't exactly the "fuck books" demographic.

2nd grade is what like 6-7? I remember reading The Hobbit around then, but I was too young and got bored and didn't pick it up again until like 1-2 years later, when I fell in love with it (and reading for fun in general).

Anyway, it occurs to me that you could get her some fun books, like Captain Underpants or Goosebumps or Animorphs. All those books you got from Book Order in elementary school would be about the right age, I think.

She really likes Magic Tree House right now, no matter how bad she struggles each and every night she wants to read more so that is always a plus.

Again, thank you for all your help with this, I truly appreciate it.

[Brill Weave]

She really likes Magic Tree House right now, no matter how bad she struggles each and every night she wants to read more so that is always a plus.

Again, thank you for all your help with this, I truly appreciate it.

That alone tells me she'll be fine.

[Ksandra]

My hunch is dyslexia as well. Never hurts to get her retested.


Outside of that, I would spend sometime on Amazon/google. There are books that are designed for practice with directions.

Here's one:

https://www.carsondellosa.com/produc...4baaf09d49e3c5

I have used spectrum's books for a lot of test prepping. They are a good company. (Yes this one is for younger kids, but it should still apply.)

I used to have one for 3rd or 4th graders..I will try to find it for you.

[Psion]

Speaking of great books, i was obsessed with The Golden Compass/The Subtle Knife/The Amber Spyglass as a kid, although i was in third grade i think when i read those. they were pretty easy to read other than a few terms i had to look up, such as dæmon, but that lead to learning interesting facts, such as how christianity "demonized" the word to mean evil spirits when dæmons are spirits in general, good or bad. or that the word derived from the greek deimon. book had a lot of plot twists and interesting concepts, such as multiple universes before string theory was a big thing.

You'd probably find it a fun book to read as well. :D

[Pringles]

When I was in 1st grade, I struggled with reading things on the page because I had thought it was a boring thing to do and wasn't exciting as opposed to hearing it out loud read to me. What my teacher did was she took me to the school library one day during recess and pulled out the school's copy of Calvin and Hobbes and read a few of em to me while I looked at the pictures and told me afterwards if I wanted to learn more about his adventures I would have to read it on my own. That had got me excited because I was able to tie the scenes in with the words on the paper and got me hooked into reading more complex things.