What should I expect with afterschooling kindergarten?

[sharptwins]

I am home schooling my 5 year old twins this year and they are planning to enter Kindergarten at the PS next year. Their birthday is the end of June and I was told it would be better for them to be the oldest rather than the youngest in the class. I am only two months into home schooling and they both know all of their sounds and are already reading short vowel books with the help of OPGTR, Sonlight K with Readers 1, Saxon K- I can only imagine where they will be come next Fall. My son was showing signs of ADD in his preschool which was why I thought a year at home would help. My daughter is excelling at her work and my son is doing much better at home one on one. I am willing to give PS a chance but I don't want them to be bored or fall behind with what we have gained- soooo for those afterschooling what should I expect?

thanks for the help!:bigear:

[Sara R]

What I'd do now--

 

Find out what curricula the school uses for teaching reading and math. "Balanced literacy" means whole language (guess the word based on the picture) with a tiny bit of very basic phonics tacked on. TERC Investigations or Everyday Math are reform math curricula. If they say they are doing a "balanced" approach for math, I'd be wary, because "balanced" can mean whatever they want it to mean.

 

If they do balanced literacy, send your children to school with as much phonics reading knowledge as they can handle. If they are nearly independent readers when they go to school, then the word guessing instruction won't harm them. They will benefit from the class time spent silent reading. Then your only frustration will be the boring leveled library books that get sent home. :)

 

If they teach reform math, you'll just have to plan on afterschooling math all the way along, or doing a program like Kumon. Whatever you teach him now will be beneficial because often the reform math curriculum jumps around a lot. They were asking my daughter to do problems like: "You have 8 fruit. Some are apples and some are oranges. What are all the different combinations?" This was at the beginning of first grade, before they had mastered the addition facts involved. It was good that she was already familiar with the concept of addition before she got a problem like that thrown at her. If you teach the concept before the school teaches it, they understand it the right way, and they can apply the concept in whatever convoluted way the school expects them to apply it.

 

Being a little ahead is good, IMO. If they are at the top of their class, they feel confident, and it helps them to motivated to continue to do well in school.

 

Is it a half day K? Afterschooling half day kindergarten is easy because there is time, especially if your child gets the afternoon class. Also, Kindergarten isn't compulsory most places. Next year, if you feel they would do better in first grade next year, you might still have that option. I would consider that if your children are strong readers at that time (reading "Little Bear" without too much difficulty), and if you think they could handle full days.

 

What do my kids get out of school? They get academic time with friends, the support of other adults that care about education. The science teaching is good. I get a break for a few hours.

Edited November 13, 2009 by Sara R

[ktmo]

:lurk5: I am following this thread. My DD starts kindergarten next year and we will be afterschooling.

[lgm]

What to expect depends on the teacher and the amount of red-shirting in your area. My 2 dc had wildly different Kexperiences. One had a seasoned teacher who did nothing but crayon and cut/paste projects. Nothing was done for students who could read. Everyone was expected to be still and sit at a table. Little free play. The other had someone who was trained in gifted, had a lot of variety in activities, and arranged for a reading group that pulled in all the fluent readers from all sections. She also tested my ds out of K math and gave him other interesting math to do. Plenty of movement was allowed and plenty of free play. #2 accomplished a lot even though she had several challenging children, with many coming in never having been read to. With the red-shirting, if the rest of the cohort is not 4 turning 5, it works well.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

I am home schooling my 5 year old twins this year and they are planning to enter Kindergarten at the PS next year. Their birthday is the end of June and I was told it would be better for them to be the oldest rather than the youngest in the class. I am only two months into home schooling and they both know all of their sounds and are already reading short vowel books with the help of OPGTR, Sonlight K with Readers 1, Saxon K- I can only imagine where they will be come next Fall. My son was showing signs of ADD in his preschool which was why I thought a year at home would help. My daughter is excelling at her work and my son is doing much better at home one on one. I am willing to give PS a chance but I don't want them to be bored or fall behind with what we have gained- soooo for those afterschooling what should I expect?

thanks for the help!:bigear:

 

Since you didn't want them to be the youngest in K, I'm assuming you wouldn't want to test them up to first grade?

 

My DD5 is one of the youngest in her PS half-day K (she turns six in May). She is about at the same level you describe above. When I volunteered in the class, the Kindy teacher told me, "I'm not teaching DD anything. She already knows so much she could teach all the other kids." N i c e

There is no avenue for DD to be challenged in K. All of her papers come home with elaborately drawn and colored pictures on the reverse side. Luckily for me DD likes to draw and color, because she obviously has a lot of time on her hands while the other kids struggle through the work.

 

I don't have to worry about the "sight words" because DD can sound them all out. a sheet comes home at the beginning of the month "these are the words we'll be working on this month. Please help your child to recognize and read them." I show the page to DD. "what are these words?" She reads them. okay - as far as the school is concerned, my work here is done!

 

So, afterschool, she does her headsprout (sporadically). We do phonics readers. we do math (but not any program yet, we play dice and card games). She does what she calls "pencil work" which is just pages out of First Grade workbooks I find wherever I can (some relatives give me them, too). She loves pencil work.

 

DD will be home next year. She'll be old enough to engage in some outside activities (Daisys, Karate) to fill the social gap that half-day K fills now. She loves the social aspect of K. She likes sitting behind a desk, pleasing the teacher, riding the bus, etc. She also knows that the learning happens at home and expects to be homeschooled for "real school" in first grade.

 

most likely your children will not fall behind. The PS is likely so far behind where they are already you will be shocked. They may get bored. for a borderline ADD that may be an issue. Do not expect them to be challenged beyond what you have done.

[Melinda in VT]

I agree, it depends on the teacher. I have twins also, and they have a fall birthday, so they turned 6 shortly after K started.

 

They read the first 3 Harry Potter books in K, so the reading instruction given to the class was not at their instructional level. Fortunately, that was not a large portion of the day, and the teacher tried to encourage their developing reading skills at other times.

 

Take a look at the K classrooms. Our classroom had no desks or assigned tables. There was a table in the writing center and one in the math center. And one in the art area and one in the workshop, I think. (They had real tools!)

 

Since the kids spent most of their time exploring materials in the different sections and little time in large-group instruction, I was less worried about my kids being bored or not progressing.

[Katrina J]

Australian school systems and starting ages are different so I can't comment directly, but I agree with the other posters about it depending on the teacher. I'm also not a big fan of holding kids back if they're the youngest in the year group unless there is a specific developmental or behavioural reason, such as concerns re ADD with your son.

 

My daughter was the oldest in her Kindergarten class and seemed so much older than many of her classmates. The teacher taught to the bottom end of the class and my DD really didn't learn anything much she didn't already know - that is why I started afterschooling. My son, in contrast, is a June baby (06/05) and is the youngest in his Kindergarten class. We are 3/4 the way through the school year and I'm really happy with his teacher and his progress. He's behind some of the older kids with his fine motor skills and you can see this in his handwriting and drawing, but academically and socially he has been fine.

 

A year of homeschooling K and your twins might be fine to move straight into Yr1.

[mich311e]

Honestly, your children may be bored in PS kindergarten if you are working with them on that level.

 

My son is the youngest boy in his class (turned 5 five weeks into school) and I only worked with him on basics and used Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten before K started. After school started we went back and repeated the HoP Kindergarten series as review because I saw no point to move on quite yet.

 

I agree with the other posters to find out what curriculum the school uses. My son's school uses Saxon math which is good but the reading curriculum is not so good. They've mostly learned high frequency words at school. So I am VERY glad I worked with him on phonics before starting school. We started using Phonics Pathways to fill in the gap between HoP K and HoP 1st, since 1st seemed to hard for my son.

 

The teachers do tend to teach tot he bottom of the class but I think in my son's class she's just following the curriculum.

 

I'd really just focus on reading over the next year. If you do a full K curriculum now they will probably be well ahead their peers in PS K next year.

 

Good luck.

[Spy Car]

They were asking my daughter to do problems like: "You have 8 fruit. Some are apples and some are oranges. What are all the different combinations?" This was at the beginning of first grade, before they had mastered the addition facts involved.

 

I'm not following the criticism. What's wrong with learning that "8" can be re-composed in a variety of ways? As:

 

8 + 0

7 + 1

6 + 2

5 + 3

4 + 4

3 + 5

2 + 6

1 + 7

0 + 8

 

It seems to me this method builds a critical mathematical understanding of number relationships. And is why outstanding programs such as Singapore Math spend so much time on things such as "number bonds."

 

It was good that she was already familiar with the concept of addition before she got a problem like that thrown at her. If you teach the concept before the school teaches it, they understand it the right way, and they can apply the concept in whatever convoluted way the school expects them to apply it.

 

I'm again not following the criticism. What do you mean by the "concept of addition"? The above represents the concept of addition. And how is it "convoluted"? This concept seems "fundamental" to me. And far superior to algorithm only memorization of addition "math facts."

 

Bill

[Sara R]

My issue with the assignment in this curriculum is that the students weren't ready for it. Sometimes the problem with this curriculum is not the problems specifically, but the order that things are taught in, and whether or not mastery is expected. In this case, the math homework the previous week was a dominoes game that taught what each number means. The students hadn't been introduced to addition at all in kindergarten. This was at the beginning of first grade. That was too big of a jump, especially for a homework assignment. Ideally, homework should have been taught thoroughly in class, so all students can be successful, not just the students with involved parents who are also talented teachers.

 

I don't have a problem with the concept. I believe Right Start, Singapore, and Rod and Staff all teach similar principles. It's been a while since I taught Right Start and Singapore at this level, so I don't recall how they do it. I'm sure pictures (Singapore) and the abacus (Right Start) were involved, and the steps the students were to follow were relatively clear. In Rod and Staff, they introduce this concept with their duck pictures, and there is enough repetition for the student to master the concept. In the case of the school's assignment, there were no pictures, and I had to read the assignment a few times to understand what they were trying to say. Once I told my daughter, "draw the 8 house" (as she had learned in Rod and Staff), she did fine. But she could only do the assignment because I've been afterschooling math with her.

 

My 4th grader is dealing with similar confusing math curriculum. His homework asked him to find the average (which required long division) before they were taught long division, or even short division with remainders. My son can handle it because we are afterschooling math. The rest of the kids are just lost, and think they are bad at math.

[Spy Car]

My issue with the assignment in this curriculum is that the students weren't ready for it. Sometimes the problem with this curriculum is not the problems specifically, but the order that things are taught in, and whether or not mastery is expected. In this case, the math homework the previous week was a dominoes game that taught what each number means. The students hadn't been introduced to addition at all in kindergarten. This was at the beginning of first grade. That was too big of a jump, especially for a homework assignment. Ideally, homework should have been taught thoroughly in class, so all students can be successful, not just the students with involved parents who are also talented teachers.

 

I don't have a problem with the concept. I believe Right Start, Singapore, and Rod and Staff all teach similar principles. It's been a while since I taught Right Start and Singapore at this level, so I don't recall how they do it. I'm sure pictures (Singapore) and the abacus (Right Start) were involved, and the steps the students were to follow were relatively clear. In Rod and Staff, they introduce this concept with their duck pictures, and there is enough repetition for the student to master the concept. In the case of the school's assignment, there were no pictures, and I had to read the assignment a few times to understand what they were trying to say. Once I told my daughter, "draw the 8 house" (as she had learned in Rod and Staff), she did fine. But she could only do the assignment because I've been afterschooling math with her.

 

My 4th grader is dealing with similar confusing math curriculum. His homework asked him to find the average (which required long division) before they were taught long division, or even short division with remainders. My son can handle it because we are afterschooling math. The rest of the kids are just lost, and think they are bad at math.

 

Let's say we are on the same page in terms of making sure our children have a good grounding in phonics prior to (and during, and after) kindergarten, and that we make sure the math education at home is strong.

 

I was just thrown by the example, as Miquon, Singapore, MEP, Right Start, and Tokyo Shoseki's Mathematics (to name some of the math sources I'm drawing on) all teach a form of regrouping numbers. It is true that each has either concrete means (such a Cuisenaire rods) or pictorial means to aid a student understand the exercise.

 

But I also understand that a bad math program can (rightly) frustrate children. And I share your determination to make sure my child is well prepared at home.

 

Bill

[ElizabethB]

If you're already at CVC words in OPG, they'll probably have covered most of the sight words by the time they start next year, but, just in case, be sure you've covered all the Dolch Sight Words phonetically before they start bringing home lists to learn by sight, here's how to teach them phonetically:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

 

You don't need to start working on them now, it's better to teach them in the order they come up, but this summer or the end of the year I would teach phonetically any that have not yet been learned in OPG.

[Renai]

Let's say we are on the same page in terms of making sure our children have a good grounding in phonics prior to (and during, and after) kindergarten, and that we make sure the math education at home is strong.

 

I was just thrown by the example, as Miquon, Singapore, MEP, Right Start, and Tokyo Shoseki's Mathematics (to name some of the math sources I'm drawing on) all teach a form of regrouping numbers. It is true that each has either concrete means (such a Cuisenaire rods) or pictorial means to aid a student understand the exercise.

 

But I also understand that a bad math program can (rightly) frustrate children. And I share your determination to make sure my child is well prepared at home.

 

Bill

 

I'm currently student teaching in a first grade classroom using Investigations. Since the teacher doesn't like the program, she uses it in her own way :tongue_smilie:. The particular problem the op mentioned (some carrots, some peas) really isn't taught in Investigations. In fact, the teacher hasn't even had them do those pages. She does, however, have them come up with different equations as a morning warm-up, Tuesday through Friday. Tomorrow is the 17th, so the students will make up equations that equal 17, for example. Investigations did not teach this, the teacher did. They are quite adept at it now. So, when I showed that problem to a couple of the quicker workers and compared it to their morning warm-ups, they took to it fairly easily. This teacher also has non-Investigations-related math time to teach things like making 10's and the place value system. I haven't seen how that's done in Investigations yet. I haven't seen it at all, in fact. I'm pulling out my Singapore experience to teach this stuff and make those connections. They're ready for base 10 blocks now, and we can really start teaching then...

 

So, yes, it is important to make sure they are well prepared at home. I've seen some good things in Investigations (it does use manipulatives and pictorials), but it is not good because it does not help the student make connections. (Although we had a blast measuring different lines with baby steps, kid steps, basketball player steps, popsicle sticks, and compared results, and they got the point- need same tool for constant results- when the heck do I get to pull out a ruler?? Oh, and the next session doesn't use a ruler either :confused:... They've been set up for it though.)

 

I use Singapore and MEP (thanks Bill for the rec!) with dd, and those do not come even close to how Inv. presents information. Investigations throws out a lot of activities and strategies and expects the students to get it. There are "discussion" sessions though, and I use those a lot to lead the children to make those connections. Many just. are. not. getting. it. It's just another activity. In fact, I'm showing Singapore to my cooperating teacher because everything she would like in a math program, Singapore has. :D

 

Wow, this post ran long. I must have some an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with Investigations or something.

[Spy Car]

Wow, this post ran long. I must have some an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with Investigations or something.

 

This seems like a common dissatisfaction.

 

I haven't got a real good handle on the new curriculum my son's school started this year, which is Pearson Scott Foresman enVision. Although I go over his math homework (what little there is). It is really far too simple for his current abilities. Even the First Grade materials that we can access online are "easy" for him, and he is a young kindergartner (5 in July) so we'll quietly mush on doing our own thing.

 

I use Singapore and MEP (thanks Bill for the rec!)

 

Outstanding! How is your daughter taking to it?

 

Bill

[Renai]

This seems like a common dissatisfaction.

 

I haven't got a real good handle on the new curriculum my son's school started this year, which is Pearson Scott Foresman enVision. Although I go over his math homework (what little there is). It is really far too simple for his current abilities. Even the First Grade materials that we can access online are "easy" for him, and he is a young kindergartner (5 in July) so we'll quietly mush on doing our own thing.

 

 

 

Outstanding! How is your daughter taking to it?

 

Bill

 

She loves it! She looks at MEP as math puzzles, and says it makes her brain hurt-- in a good way- and she gets it. I obviously was underestimating her abilities, and she clearly told me she wanted a challenge.

 

As far as homework for your son, I've noticed that Investigations has some homework pages, but the teacher doesn't even have that book. She makes up her own, which would still be below your K'ers abilities. If I had my way, I'd differentiate the homework quite a bit more (she does this to some extent with the homework depending on reading group, but not with math). But, I don't have my way. So I can't.

 

Oh, and if your son's math program is set up anything like Investigations, you really won't be able to figure out what's really going on by just looking at the student workbook or homework. All the teaching is in the teacher manual (or in our case, tms for each unit). There's a lot of activity going on that culminates in a workbook assignment. Most of the instructions for workbook activities are even in the TM.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

This seems like a common dissatisfaction.

 

I haven't got a real good handle on the new curriculum my son's school started this year, which is Pearson Scott Foresman enVision. Although I go over his math homework (what little there is). It is really far too simple for his current abilities. Even the First Grade materials that we can access online are "easy" for him, and he is a young kindergartner (5 in July) so we'll quietly mush on doing our own thing.

 

 

 

Outstanding! How is your daughter taking to it?

 

Bill

Indiana uses Scott Foresman curriculum (Math, social studies, the whole nine yards). I am not a fan. I've noticed that it introduces advanced concepts prior to basic concept mastry. Prior to pulling my DS out of 4th grade a few weeks ago, he was "learning algebra." He liked it. Well, that's great, but how about multiplication? It had barely been introduced. Division? Not taught yet (teacher told me it would be taught later in the year). I'm a big fan of mastering the basics before introducing higher concepts that depend on those basics.

 

Anecdotal evidence, I know, but my two good friends who used to be teachers in CA (one for HS Math, the other elementary school) rolled their eyes when I showed them the Scott Forseman book.

 

ETA: after reading Renai's post, I have to add that one of my frustrations was that it was very hard for me to help son with his math because worksheets had very little information. After I asked him to bring the textbook home, I didn't really feel it had full explanations either. It may work for some kids and parents, but I was too used to knowing what was being taught. Other parents in my son's previous class also complained that they didn't know what was being taught and couldn't figure it out from the homework. Makes it difficult to help with homework if the kid wasn't paying attention (or just didn't get it) during classtime instruction.

Edited November 17, 2009 by MeanestMomInMidwest

[Spy Car]

She loves it! She looks at MEP as math puzzles, and says it makes her brain hurt-- in a good way- and she gets it. I obviously was underestimating her abilities, and she clearly told me she wanted a challenge.

 

Perfect! This "my brain hurts in a good way" quality is what I love most about MEP. I happen to believe that neural-network develops (or fails to develop) in the minds of young children, and it's stimulated by thinking, and by joy.

 

As far as homework for your son, I've noticed that Investigations has some homework pages, but the teacher doesn't even have that book. She makes up her own, which would still be below your K'ers abilities. If I had my way, I'd differentiate the homework quite a bit more (she does this to some extent with the homework depending on reading group, but not with math). But, I don't have my way. So I can't.

 

Oh, and if your son's math program is set up anything like Investigations, you really won't be able to figure out what's really going on by just looking at the student workbook or homework. All the teaching is in the teacher manual (or in our case, tms for each unit). There's a lot of activity going on that culminates in a workbook assignment. Most of the instructions for workbook activities are even in the TM.

 

He gets homework, and there is an "online" component. I haven't seen anything "wrong" with "enVision", per se, there just hasn't been enough work for me to get an handle on it. And what there has been has been "easy" for him, but we got rather ahead, as he showed a liking for math (of "my brain hurts" type) early and I've fed his interest. The only upside (for us) of light math homework is it doesn't cut into our time. Not so good for the other kiddos.

 

Still we are very fortunate. His school is a "10" school. And our kindergarten teacher is great. Very experienced, intelligent, and enthusiastic. But it shows one that even at the best schools that leaving math education to the school alone might not be a sound move.

 

I shouldn't appear to be coming down on "enVision", the little I've seen has all been unobjectionable. But I have no handle on it. And I'm a parent who cares about this kind of thing. Oh well.

 

I hope MEP continues to bring lot's of brain-stretching rewards to your daughter, and yourself!

 

All the best.

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

Indiana uses Scott Foresman curriculum (Math, social studies, the whole nine yards). I am not a fan. I've noticed that it introduces advanced concepts prior to basic concept mastry. Prior to pulling my DS out of 4th grade a few weeks ago, he was "learning algebra." He liked it. Well, that's great, but how about multiplication? It had barely been introduced. Division? Not taught yet (teacher told me it would be taught later in the year). I'm a big fan of mastering the basics before introducing higher concepts that depend on those basics.

 

Anecdotal evidence, I know, but my two good friends who used to be teachers in CA (one for HS Math, the other elementary school) rolled their eyes when I showed them the Scott Forseman book.

 

ETA: after reading Renai's post, I have to add that one of my frustrations was that it was very hard for me to help son with his math because worksheets had very little information. After I asked him to bring the textbook home, I didn't really feel it had full explanations either. It may work for some kids and parents, but I was too used to knowing what was being taught. Other parents in my son's previous class also complained that they didn't know what was being taught and couldn't figure it out from the homework. Makes it difficult to help with homework if the kid wasn't paying attention (or just didn't get it) during classtime instruction.

 

The "enVision" program is (I believe) a new release for this year. How similar it is to the earlier Scott Foresman math? I don't know.

 

I suppose I'm on a middle ground in terms of "exposure" to advanced concepts. Some early "exposure" I value very highly when taught in age appropriate means. So to encounter "fractions" in the beginning Miquon book (Orange) was fun. But there were "pie-charts" with shaded sections and the student had to write the fraction. Sometimes the "numerator" (a term not used) was the "shaded" sections, and othertimes it was the "non-shaded" sections. And this provoked thought. Pure "exposure". It assumed mastery of nothing. But it introduced the idea early of what a fraction is.

 

Likewise, having a "9" value Cuisenaire rod and asking what the value is if you "divide" it into 3 equal sized pieces isn't mastering "division" (or anything close) but it does plant a seed of understanding what "division" is. Same with multiplication.

 

Having "exposure" in pre-school, as in my son's case, was quite valuable.

 

On the other hand, a math program would just make a botch out of the sequence, and confuse everyone by introducing concepts out of any logical order. Which I understand is what you are saying. It is also a lot easier to make sure exposure to higher concepts is efficacious when one is working one on one at home.

 

So if there could only be one subject where I want to be in control of how it's presented to my son, with would be math.

 

Bill

[lgm]

I'm currently student teaching in a first grade classroom using Investigations. Since the teacher doesn't like the program, she uses it in her own way :tongue_smilie:.

 

Is the teacher, in your district, supposed to be following a scripted program, or is she responsible for teaching a list of objectives in any manner she sees fit?

 

In my district, it is the latter. Teachers view curriculum as a resource to accomplish the goal of teaching the objectives in class. In math, particularly, no text is followed. Assignments may come from textbook publishers' materials or the teacher may make up his/her own, but the teacher is responsible for teaching.

[Sara R]

My 4th grader's class uses Scott Foresman Addison Wesley too. They get into prealgebra concepts at the beginning of the book, and introduce double digit x single digit multiplication later. My son says they haven't even done simple division with remainders yet.

[Renai]

I'm currently student teaching in a first grade classroom using Investigations. Since the teacher doesn't like the program, she uses it in her own way :tongue_smilie:.

 

Is the teacher, in your district, supposed to be following a scripted program, or is she responsible for teaching a list of objectives in any manner she sees fit?

 

In my district, it is the latter. Teachers view curriculum as a resource to accomplish the goal of teaching the objectives in class. In math, particularly, no text is followed. Assignments may come from textbook publishers' materials or the teacher may make up his/her own, but the teacher is responsible for teaching.

 

This is a good question, I was actually coming on to give a disclaimer of the type of school this is. It seems most of the schools being talked about on this board are pretty good. The short answer is- both. She has to use the approved curriculum, and she also has the state standards she must follow (they don't always mesh).

 

The percentage of free lunch students is so high, it qualifies everyone to receive a free lunch (to give an idea of economic status). Our school is in Restructuring 2 (NCLB), which basically means it's one step from government takeover. Because of this status, they've (this school's administration, not the district) pretty much changed everything. The reading and math programs were switched, and "must" be used. If my teacher wants to have an SST for a student (student success team), she has to show documentation that she is using the approved curriculum. The teacher I'm with is the only one that I know of (so far) that does things a bit differently. She saw gaps in teaching Inv. last year, and this year she rearranged it differently to cover the gaps she saw- but she says the administration knows she does that (they have to turn in lesson plans every week). But, regardless of how different she uses it, it must be used.

 

Perhaps because she has over 20 years of experience and is nationally board certified and has always had good results, the school administration lets her. But I did hear another (upper grade) teacher surprised she doesn't use the program as written and telling her it will throw things off. She did tell me other schools in this district may not be as strict, but this one is what it is.

Edited November 18, 2009 by Renai
added info

[Renai]

If you're already at CVC words in OPG, they'll probably have covered most of the sight words by the time they start next year, but, just in case, be sure you've covered all the Dolch Sight Words phonetically before they start bringing home lists to learn by sight, here's how to teach them phonetically:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

 

You don't need to start working on them now, it's better to teach them in the order they come up, but this summer or the end of the year I would teach phonetically any that have not yet been learned in OPG.

 

Elizabeth, I'm so glad you posted this again, I had lost the page. The teacher I work with and I had a very candid conversation about "balanced literacy" today. I told her how much I disliked it :tongue_smilie:. Although I'm getting my license in Birth through grade 3 (early childhood), I tutor students mostly in grades 3-6 (go figure, but I like that I can see the continuum of learning). I'm seeing the results of incidental phonics. Along with their prescribed goals, I'm teaching every one of these students explicit phonics (using Phonics Pathways).

 

Anyway, my teacher uses a high frequency word list for spelling (1st grade). I told her today, that I knew of a site that has the sight words arranged by phonetic patterns. She was very interested in seeing it. The long and short of it is, she was never taught phonics, so doesn't know how to teach it. I hope she looks up your site and learns from it.

[ElizabethB]

Anyway, my teacher uses a high frequency word list for spelling (1st grade). I told her today, that I knew of a site that has the sight words arranged by phonetic patterns. She was very interested in seeing it. The long and short of it is, she was never taught phonics, so doesn't know how to teach it. I hope she looks up your site and learns from it.

 

Great!

 

There is a good, inexpensive rule based spelling book based on the most frequent words + the most frequently misspelled words, it's called Spelling Plus. It has a companion book with dictation sentences, Spelling Dictation.