New hs'er needs phonics help

[LatinLover]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to the board and will be hs'ing my dd who is currently 4.5yo. She knows all of her letters and sounds and is eager to read, but gets *very* frustrated with overly repetitive activities. Soooooo, I need a phonics program that will meet the following criteria:

 

- Not too heavy on spelling, writing, etc.

 

- Very mom-friendly - pretty much open and go with short lessons suitable for a 4 - 5 yo.

 

- As I indicated above, not overly repetitive. Once dd 'gets it', she's ready to move on.

 

- I'm not totally opposed to DVD or computer-based programs, although we tried Headsprout and dd tired of it quickly because of the sameness of the activities.

 

BTW, I'm perfectly fine with it if she's just not ready yet, but she goes to our church Pre-K two mornings/week and her teacher told me 6 mos ago that dd is ready to start reading. Also, dd asked me the other night to teach her to read.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Sara in WA]

Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Fits all your requests and does the job. We love it and are using it for our third blossoming reader.

 

- Sara

[LisaKinVA]

I've used several different programs, and if used as prescribed, are all repetitive. The only solution I've found to that problem is skipping portions myself.

 

The repetition is built into these programs because there are a lot of children who need them.

 

My children cried for 100EZ Lessons, and lost interest in Sing Spell, and Frontline Phonics. Please don't get me wrong -- there is NOTHING wrong with any of these programs, they just didn't work for me and my oldest.

 

The easiest for me to modify was Abeka -- in this case, I wound up with the Handbook for Reading and the readers -- as well as the Letters and Sounds. We didn't do everything. We did what we needed to do, and once ds understood we moved on.

 

I probably would have purchased OPGTR, and tried it with my oldest son, but it wasn't available then. And, once I mastered "my" approach to Abeka, I had no reason to buy anything else (at least not yet ;))

 

The #1 tool that really gave all of my children a HUGE assist in reading were the Leapfrog Videos (which I need to start playing again every morning for my 2yo...) I (and others) swear by those things.

[LatinLover]

Sara, thanks for your response. I thought I remembered reading that while OPGTR is wonderful and very thorough, that it had the child repeating things back to you several times. DD would scream! But perhaps you just ad lib the script to fit your needs? As I said, I'm new to this and more than a little nervous about teaching reading.:scared:

[Sara in WA]

I don't find OGTR repetitive at all. The child reads through the list of words and then reads a short story. You are also to review lessons as needed. Yes, the script is to help you not be your master! You own the book, the book doesn't own you! Go to the Peace Hill Press web site and see the sample lessons. I also bought the combo pack (it's on PHP's web site) and have been glad to have all the tools. We mostly used the CD for the poem and songs. Yes, I could sing them myself, but sometimes it's nice to just turn on the CD.

[JABarney]

When mine were 4 we used Hooked on Phonics. The K-2 Learn to Read program took us just over a year to complete. I did not feel that it was repetitive and the included books gave them a chance to apply what they were learning right away, thus reinforcing the desire to learn more. However, in the end (2nd grade level)felt that it was not complete... that there was more to learn about phonics, so once we finished it we went to Explode The Code Online. We completed all eight books in about 15 months. They are both terrific readers, and actually LOVE to read. I have never seen any other programs, so I have nothing to compare these to. I just feel lucky that I had two that wanted to learn to read and read "early". I credit SWB/TWTM for encouraging me to go for it and teach reading in P/K. I imagine we would have had a very different first grade experience if we were still heavy into phonics! We had so much more time to enjoy all the other things we set out to do.

[lea1]

I am using Rocket Phonics with my two 3.5 year olds (we are going very slow and having lots of fun with letters and letter sounds; one child is blending). It is great because the repetition is through fun games and you can do as much or as little as needed.

[Whereneverever]

When mine were 4 we used Hooked on Phonics. The K-2 Learn to Read program took us just over a year to complete. I did not feel that it was repetitive and the included books gave them a chance to apply what they were learning right away, thus reinforcing the desire to learn more. However, in the end (2nd grade level)felt that it was not complete... that there was more to learn about phonics, so once we finished it we went to Explode The Code Online. We completed all eight books in about 15 months. They are both terrific readers, and actually LOVE to read. I have never seen any other programs, so I have nothing to compare these to. I just feel lucky that I had two that wanted to learn to read and read "early". I credit SWB/TWTM for encouraging me to go for it and teach reading in P/K. I imagine we would have had a very different first grade experience if we were still heavy into phonics! We had so much more time to enjoy all the other things we set out to do.

 

 

We started with HOP and I liked all the books, as well. I think it's a decent program, I just wish it covered ALL of phonics.

[rwjx2khsmj]

I've been using Phonics Pathways and really like it. The book is easy to follow. The pages are kid friendly and quick. We make a game of it and move to the next letter when my daughter says she's ready for a new sound. She's excited because she can already make words and she's telling everyone that she's learning to read.

[usetoschool]

We use Jolly Phonics - fun, non-repetative, requires some photocopying and reading of the next days lesson but not to complicated. Teaches phonics from sound to letter, what the British call synthetic phonics. It has cute, short workbooks and well regulated readers. In 18 years of homeschooling it is the program I like best.

[skaterbabs]

My DD taughter herself to read at that age using www.starfall.com and "Between The Lions" on PBS. I know screentime isn't terribly popular on a classical board, but it really worked for my DD, who learns just about anything set to music. In fact, she likes eating at Chik-Fil-A because the happy meal toy is often a book or audiobook, and they always have the Between the Lions logo on the bags. LOL

Edited May 13, 2009 by skaterbabs

[Lovedtodeath]

Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Fits all your requests and does the job. We love it and are using it for our third blossoming reader.

I would get this and then use it differently each day. One day write the words on the whiteboard. One day, use scrabble tiles. Use the lesson for copywork. Play a game by building sentences and stories with the words, etc.

 

Order the Accelerated Achievement demo disk (hstreasures.com). It is only $3 and has a variety of activities to teach phonics. Unfortunately, you can't print them unless you buy the K-12 disk (I think it is $100). But it works great for ideas as a TM.

[ElizabethB]

I recommend a white board and magnetic letters at that age.

 

PP or OPG from a white board.

 

Children used to be taught to read Latin first from syllables before they learned English or French or whatever their first language was!

 

As Geraldine L. Rodgers says in her article "Why Noah Webster's Way Was the Right Way,"

 

The teaching of beginning reading remained unchanged until the eighteenth century A. D. Children first learned the alphabet, and then learned the syllabary, but they continued to spell each syllable as it was practiced, using the current letter names (which still did little to demonstrate their sounds: ell, oh, gee = log). It was only after they learned the syllabary that they read connected texts, usually Latin prayers after about 300 A. D. They then read those texts syllable by syllable until they became proficient readers.

 

Until the sixteenth century A. D. in English-speaking countries, beginning reading was taught in Latin, and, in much of Europe, beginning reading continued to be taught in Latin until the eighteenth century. Since beginning reader did not yet know Latin, obviously they were reading print purely by its “soundâ€, and not by its “meaning†(such as Pa - ter nos - ter for Our Father.)

 

I wasn't brave enough to try that, but I tried syllables in English with my daughter (and then with my remedial students) with much success.

 

You can read about how I used Webster in the link below and by searching for "Webster's Speller" here,

 

and here are my general recommendations for teaching a young child to read (including a fun free game and ideas for how to use magnetic letters)

 

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

 

I also found that a bit of oral spelling was very helpful for helping the phonics information stick in the brain (or spelling with magnetic letters, or, if they write well, regular written spelling as well.)