**When you are teaching reading in middle school you can be bringing up to speed children who have problems**

Students who can’t read in middle school are at the bottom of the class, and they are having trouble in all subjects. If the students can’t read then they will get left behind.

Sometimes if a child is having trouble reading in middle school it could be a hearing problem or a seeing problem.

I do a simple hearing test like read after me and I will say a poem to see

if the child can repeat what I said. If the child cannot pronounce the words as I say them then there might be a hearing problem. To check eyes I put a number of small dots on the board and ask the child how many. I make sure I can see the dots from where the child is sitting. If they can’t see the dots I keep moving them closer to the board until they can. If they can hear and see properly then it is time to bring out the phonics. I use Montessori sandpaper letters as I think this is the fastest way to get the phonic sounds into the child’s head.

A lot of children who are struggling with reading in middle school are the K learners from the VAK model.

That means they learn by doing and feeling. With sandpaper letters they are tracing the letters so they are doing, and with the sandpaper they are feeling so it fits in perfectly with their learning mode. There is a lot more to it than that, but that gets them started and they can usually see their progress so that keeps them motivated. It is not as simple as all this but it gets them going on the road to reading success.

For more information about phonics courses I recommend including a Montessori course see our Teach Reading page.