Teaching reading unique struggle for each family

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer

Kirstie Akana checked on her daughter Tyana and found her hiding under the covers, reading one of Bruce Coville's "Unicorn Chronicles" books with a light.

Kirstie Akana of Keolu reads "Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism" with her daughters, from left,Tyana, 11, Alexandres-Joan, 12, and Kennedi, 9. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

For Akana, seeing her dyslexic daughter blossom from a child who was afraid of being teased if she read aloud to a girl who didn't want to put a book down was a welcome sight.

Akana raised Tyana and her two sisters to be readers, using flash cards, workbooks and reading aloud as encouragement. She took them to traveling preschools to prepare them.

"Our goal was to ... educate our kids so when they tested for private schools they would have a better chance of getting in," she said.

While all three girls got into Kamehameha Schools, their reading experiences have been quite different — Alex, 12, is "a perfect student"; Tyana, 11, is dyslexic; and Kennedi, 9, has less severe reading difficulties.

The family stands as an example of how individual the process can be of learning to read, and how challenging it can be for parents and teachers to find an approach that works for each child.

Fifty-eight percent of third-graders failed to meet the state standard in reading on the Hawaii Statewide Assessment administered in public schools last spring. And studies show that as many as 25 percent of children will need extra help learning to read, such as additional classroom instruction or special classes.

The good news is that few children will find reading too great a challenge to overcome.

With Alex, Akana's early efforts worked like a dream. Having mastered alphabet and letter sounds, Alex could dive right into reading as soon as she started kindergarten.

But with Tyana, Akana noticed problems in kindergarten. Sometimes she could sound out a word or name, but when she saw it again a couple of lines later, it was as if she had never seen it before. "Some days she could read it, and then other days she couldn't read; it was a real big struggle," Akana said.

She kept communicating with Tyana's teacher, and in the summer after first grade, Tyana was tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. That led to tutoring and transfer to ASSETS School, a private school that specializes in teaching gifted and dyslexic students.

Although she still struggles with reading, Tyana said, "Now it's so much easier than it was before."

Nicole Kalena Izak beams with pride as she remembers when reading started to make sense. These days, the 'Aikahi Elementary School fourth-grader enjoys reading chapter books about Harry Potter and the Littles, but reading was not fun for the 10-year-old when she started school.

"I couldn't read very well, and my mom helped me," she said. "It was hard."

The breakthrough, according to her mom, Karen Izak, was a special reading program that introduced Nicole to phonics. "If you can teach them phonetically how to sound out the words, it really helps them out," Izak said.

She also recommends lots of reading aloud. She began reading Nicole board books when she was a baby, then story books as a preschooler. Now the two "team read," taking turns reading paragraphs or pages.

Young children also may be motivated to read by teachers and older siblings, experts say.

Rainbow School Honolulu, a preschool at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building, takes classes on field trips to the library, and teachers read aloud three or four times a day.

Corbin Noda, 4, who attends the daycare, said he enjoys his nightly bedtime story with his mom, but he wants to read on his own, too.

While he still has a way to go for that, he is motivated to learn, thanks to his 8-year-old brother. "He can read books," Corbin said in awe, as he looked through a book called "Mouse TV."

One of the best things a parent can do is keep encouraging their children to read, no matter what the challenges, experts say.

Akana has encouraged Tyana with audio books and by finding books her daughter enjoys. Akana emphasizes that she also was a struggling reader and is now an "A" student in her last semester of the elementary education program at the University of Hawai'i.

Tyana, who has always been good at sports and well-liked among her peers, also sets her sights high. "I want to go to college and play basketball," she said. "That would be cool. I could get a scholarship."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.

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How well is your child reading? A guide for parents Here are some things to look for as your child is learning to read. If your child has not accomplished these, talk to the teacher:

For more information about helping your child learn how to read, visit www.ed.gov/parents/ or www.readingrockets.org