<p>I tried posting this earlier, but it disappeared - rats!! Will try again.</p>
<p>S. is headed to college in the fall, and concerned about the volume of reading he is bound to face. He is a hard worker and good student, but a surprisingly slow reader. He does enjoy reading for pleasure (thought not much time for it during the school year). However, it takes him a long time to get through a book or passage, and time has always been an issue for him on tests.</p>
<p>Can anyone suggest any programs, courses, or even books that might be helpful?</p>
<p>There are courses which will teach you to look at larger chunks of printed matter at a time, but for college, I think the clue is to learn to skim, and to read texts like they were outlines. Varies of course depending on just what you need to get out of each text.</p>
<p>If his college has a program to support kids with learning disabilities, you may find that they offer a course at the beginning of the school year. One of my D's has exactly the same problem and took such a course. I remember that one of the things she was taught were to read the first and last paragraph of an article or chapter first and then to read the first sentence of each paragraph in between if she couldn't finish the entire thing. That would kind of fit with what mathmom said about reading a text like it was an outline. My D still struggles to get all her reading done but has been very successful and is now a senior. Good luck.</p>
<p>I disagree with the above poster. Avoid having your child labeled learning disabled if at all possible. Especially considering that he has managed to get through high school and into college, I doubt that he is in any way learning disabled. You don't want those two words to follow him around the rest of his life.</p>
<p>Frankly, your son is just a slow reader. The best way to get faster is to just read more. I know it is easier said than done, schoolwork and ECs get in the way. However, this summer, have him go to the library and check out whatever he is interested in. He doesn't need to read classic novels, reading anything at all will make him faster. Reading more is the best way to get faster, period.</p>
<p>Begin with three, one minute timings per day, reading out loud material that is not particularly difficult. Do this every day. Chart the best rate measured as words read per minute (wpm). Once the oral reading rate is in excess of 200 wpm, increase the difficulty of the reading material. Try reading with both speed and expression. Once college level material is read at that rate, begin 2 minute timings of how many independent details can recalled in 2 minutes. Shoot for between 60 and 80 as a goal. Also, one needs only to do six (combined reading plus details) timings per day. With both the oral reading timings and the details recalled timings the whole process takes less than 15 minutes per day. It works like a charm. Your child will very much improved reading speed and will be able to recall much of what has been read. Silent reading rate will increase dramatically as well.</p>
<p>Alot of schools have support and tutoring programs geared for ALL students- not just for LD. At my kid"s school, I know they offer courses in time management as well as the usual tutoring services. Maybe there is something like speedreading offered. As most kids are relunctant to check these things out, you may want to check the school website to see if any support services are available.</p>
<p>Thank you marny1 - that was the point I was trying to make. Abiste, this particular D is not LD and has not been labeled as such. In our school and community we are fortunate that an LD "label" is not a stigma as most people are fairly knowledgeable about learning differences. I do know that there are still people who don't understand that it is possible to be extremely intelligent and successful in both school and career and also be LD. It must be very frustrating to deal with that and perhaps your opinion stems from such an experience.</p>
<p>In any case, the reading course my D took, which combined speed reading with tactics for reading comprehension, note-taking, etc., was conducted by an outside company but the registration was administered through the learning services department of her top-10 LAC. Many, many very bright, successful, competitive kids chose to take it. Some may have had diagnosed LDs but most simply knew that the work/reading load at their college would be very challenging. </p>
<p>One other suggestion for the OP which I learned from a friend whose D is Dyslexic and uses books on tape at another top college: have your S email his professors for the course reading lists this summer so he can do some of the reading ahead of time. My friend's D got an email from one of her professors telling her how much he admired her for her determination to succeed.</p>
<p>My S is a slow reader also. He also contacted profs in summer or right after finals in December to get the next semester's reading. For courses with novels to read, check to see if any are available as audiobooks. They can load them onto their MP3's to listen to. You can't do all your books this way, but if you can do one or two, it makes more time to read the others. You'll need to plan ahead to do that so you can get them ordered. It's an additional expense, but worth it. You can sell them to someone else when they are done.</p>
<p>Also, slow readers should avoid reading intensive majors. S was International Studies which has lots of Pol. Sci. and History courses....i.e., lots of reading. He recently switched to Economics....more problem solving, not so much reading. I think it will be a better fit for him.</p>
<p>My D is a straight A student but had trouble on standardized tests -- she hardly ever finished the sections with significant reading and I think this had a direct correlation to her early ACT/SAT scores. A year ago, I took a chance and tested her reading speed, wondering whether or not there might be an additional underlying cause, rather than just test strategies and stress. She was slow! So while she also worked on testing strategies, she took an online course with about 10 lessons. She improved by 50-100% according to the program. She says she feels that she now reads quicker and with higher comprehension.</p>
<p>I think it was offered thru U Michigan - Flint, but I just did an online search and couldn't find it. It was about $95 or so.</p>
<p>Her ACT went from 23 to 31 so I figure there had to be some benefit. I don't give all the credit to the reading course, but I'm sure it didn't hurt either.</p>
<p>I'll try to see if I have any info at home on the course and will post it if I come accross it.</p>
<p>Here's a good place to start: an essay by a college professor, How to Read in College. Staying Afloat: Some Scattered Suggestions on Reading in College</p>
<p>Beyond that, keep an eye out for study skills seminars offered by your kid's college. My daughter went to a three day seminar at the end of winter break at her school, organized and taught mostly by junior and senior students, with real world tips and strategies for skimming, managing the workload, etc. She found it to be worthwhile and has applied some of the suggestions: like going to the library after dinner for an uninterrupted block of study time (well, not totally uninterrupted because a group of her friends all go to the library).</p>
<p>Wow-- have just skimmed through the replies and will sit down again later tonight and go through them at length. Will have S. read them and check out the above link next time he wanders in here foraging for food (which seems to be about ever 20 minutes or so). Thanks, everyone.</p>
<p>Somemom,
It's funny that you said that because I was about to send InterestedDad's article to my D but then realized there was no way she would read it. Sigh.</p>
<p>My D is in a huge Ochem class, a huge multivariable calc class and a little 20 person literature & writing seminar with a great teacher- guess which class is her toughest? Yup, trying to read those books! Too many words, too little white space- she is LD, but no accomodations at uni, so she is just doing the best she can :) She did order the books last December and managed to read ONE of them over Christmas break..including travel time on planes & shuttles..she is just the slowest reader!!</p>
<p>somemom-- bowed out earlier for cooking and girl scouts. I'm actually a pretty fast reader, so he can't blame me for this one! :) Thank goodness he didn't inherit my math (in)abilities....</p>
<p>He reads a lot during the summer, and used to read for pleasure year round before school got crazy last year with APs, SATs, sports every season, etc. He can't wait to major in IR, so knows there's a lot of reading in store. Will show him these posts. Am interested in method idad mentioned -- other than bedtime reading to younger daughter, few of us ever read out loud any more!</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's funny that you said that because I was about to send InterestedDad's article to my D but then realized there was no way she would read it. Sigh.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's OK. I skimmed it!</p>
<p>BTW, Burke added a disclaimer to his skimming article recently, also good advice:</p>
<p>
[quote]
2) NONE of this advice applies if you’re taking a class from a professor who is extremely intent on the full completion of the reading in every particular. You always have to assess the individual quirks and peculiarities of every professor, and if you’re prudent, you’ll accomodate those sensibilities. A different kind of calculation enters if you’re taking a class from a professor who is exceptionally exacting about what they expect you to get out of reading. Then you should look at the syllabus and ask, “Is this professor reasonable in the amount they assign in relationship to the exacting demands they place upon students?” I have taught classes where I expect much more precise and careful reading, and in those courses, I try to adjust the amount I require downward. If a demanding professor doesn’t do that with reading materials, then what they’re expecting is that you will proportionately invest more time on that course than on any other you are taking that semester. The issue in that case is not with how to read, but the larger art of time management and the trade-offs that come with it. At that point, what you should ask yourself is, “Do I expect to get some greater benefit out of this class that justifies the greater investment of time? Or is this class for some reason absolutely essential to my plans?” If you decide to take that course, be sure to accomodate the views of the professor on what constitutes “good work”. Saying that Professor Burke says it’s ok to skim isn’t going to help you much when the grades come rolling in.
<p>My sister is a slow reader, and I'm a fast reader. It seems like a lot of people 'read out loud in their heads.' Instinctually, I would guess that this slows you down because you want it to sound right in your head, and you can't just comprehend the words/meaning and move on. I only do this for books like Harry Potter or if I'm reading a textbook slowly to understand it better. I think it's a tough habit to break, though. </p>
<p>I've heard the suggestion to take your finger and move it along the line of the book at a certain pace. You can have your finger "pushing" your eyes or "leading" your eyes. Then try to read at the pace of your finger, and don't stop. A lot of reading slows because the eye travels back over words you've already read. I'm not sure this suggestion is smart for college reading, though. I think it's important in many books or textbooks to read slowly, highlight, annotate, take notes, and make sure you understand it all. </p>
<p>This is also why the suggestion to skim worries me a bit. Unless a book is supplemental in nature, I don't think skimming is good enough to allow you to comprehend the book and remember the reading and specific points well enough to be able to speak and write well and thoroughly on the subject. Textbook reading is often complex and requires a close read. I think fast reading is good for "fun" books and unimportant reading, but unless you're trying to cram before class when you're unprepared, I don't think it's as large an issue in college reading as you'd think. </p>
<p>I read fast in general because I don't read word-by-word. It's hard to explain the way I read, and until pretty recently I didn't realize it wasn't common, but I can read easily by looking at a few lines at once in a sort of "chunk" and soaking it in without going over every word in order individually. This is not the way I read college texts. In college, I have found that it's important to read slowly and completely, in part because it's not possible to annotate and highlight while reading quickly, both of which are required for all college reading.</p>
<p>I am like corranged in that I inhale books without even noticing the words. I didn't realize that my D was having trouble until she had graduated from HS and I feel somewhat guilty about that.</p>
<p>To encourage her son and reassure Ispf72 I'd like her to know that my D is now a senior majoring in Political Science. She has done very well despite the continuing challenge of a heavy reading load. One tactic that has helped is that every semester she taken at least one class that was not entirely reading/writing based. She is a fairly serious artist so to begin with she took art classes. She is also a strong language student and now in her fourth year of Mandarin, including summer school. Chinese isn't remotely easy but neither does it involve a lot of reading. If your son is serious about IR you might encourage to continue with or pursue another foreign language in college. I recently read that an IR major is greatly enhanced by fluency in another language and coursework in economics and I know that my D's internship opportunities in China came through because of her language abilities rather than her expertise in international politics. Best of luck to both of you.</p>
<p>Strongly consider a speed reading type course, a course that teaches how to read faster. I'm a very fast reader but took one during a high school summer vacation eons ago, I still remember that there are specific tricks to reading various sorts of material. Research local programs, you want a real person, not just online help to help him with his specific needs.</p>
<p>About a month or so before my daughter started college this year, we got a notice in the mail about a reading course offered to all first year students. Apparently it is a course geared to building college-level reading and study skills; and they work with the kids reading their actual college texts during the course sessions, so the time spent taking the course doesn't detract from study time, but instead is a place where the students can get extra help tailored to the subject matter that is giving them a problem. There was an extra charge for the course, but it was very reasonable.</p>
<p>I was surprised when we got the notice, because my daughter is at an elite college -- I mean, this is definitely not the type of college where anyone is in need of remedial assistance. My daughter was not interested in taking the course -- and she's always been an efficient reader so we didn't pursue it -- but I think once your son is settled on a college, it might be worth checking to see if something like this is offered.</p>