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Resources for reading 1st and 2nd grade?


Soyrizo
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My DD is a little behind in reading, she just turned 7. She can read simple books like Cat in the Hat. We've been doing Explode the Code online and reading together every day. I'd like to help her with fluency.

 

Are there books, resources, curriculum I could look into? I would prefer something secular but it's not a priority.

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Teaching spelling worked well for my dd (we use AAS). One day reading just clicked and she went from being able to slowly sound out one word at a time to almost fluently reading level 1 readers. A few weeks later she could fluently read level 2 readers, using phonics/spelling knowledge that I had not taught her. It just took a while for things to click.

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I have two boys and both have thoroughly enjoyed STARFALL.COM for reading and practicing reading. There are books to read and some fun graphics to create excitement.

Like someone else who posted, I have let the boys pretty much pick their own books as long as they read. We used Phonics in the Museum as our curriculum and they both loved the books. I personally think that if the child finds the content of the book of interest, s/he will read or attempt to read; hence we invested in a lot of Level 1, 2, 3 DK books about things they liked and found interesting. They then learned that reading was the key to a whole new world, not a chore that had to be done.

Good Luck

Christina - Lukas 7, Noah 6 - home schooled on the road for the last 8 months

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I've heard the Victory Drill Book helps a lot with fluency - it has timed drills. I have that marked on my "wish list" should Ariel need more practice than what we have been doing. She has really improved her fluency by reading super-easy readers, like the Biscuit stories and BOB Books, before coming back to books like The Cat in the Hat, which had been frustrating for her 3-4 months before. The easy books give the child more confidence, and the more she practices reading, the better she will be.

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We like the Elson Readers. They are old fashioned readers, and are mostly secular. Free and Treadwell readers are also very nice.

 

For some children, fluency clicks a little later than others.

 

As an aside, and just to make sure -- have you had her eyes checked?

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Honestly, the best way to help her improve her fluency is to read outloud to her. That will help her understand how the text is supposed to sound. Remember, the letters we read are just symbols for the sounds we hear, so hearing and seeing them together will help improve fluency.

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Have you looked at the I See Sam readers? The first three sets are basic code. The 4th set adds in magic e and -ed and -ing endings. They go all the way up to 3rd grade level (8th set).

 

I used them with my dd when she was 7yo and couldn't read any other books because they all introduced code that she didn't get yet.

 

http://3rsplus.com/

 

Headsprout is another program to consider. It helped my dyslexic dd tremendously. Before Headsprout, my dd had to laboriously sound out every word she encountered, even her own name. Even if you wrote the same word on a sheet of paper 10 times, she had to sound it out each and every time because she couldn't recognize that it was the same until after she heard herself say it. I think Homeschool Buyer's Co-op is doing a group buy on it. My dd's reading speed doubled by the time she got to the 20th lesson even though she hadn't learned any new code.

Edited by AngieW in Texas
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Webster's Speller! Don Potter has a version with just the words to decode, not stories or sentences, for use in the Public Schools.

 

Most of my remedial students who seem to be struggling with fluency actually just need a but more phonics practice to really solidify the knowledge in the brain. Once it's over-learned, then they start to be able to read well.

 

Webster's Speller reviews the phonics while also teaching them to decode 2 to 6 syllable words based on the syllables they learn to decode as the first step.

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I just found these great readers at Rainbow Resource; they're available free from Google books, although you may need to search for them a bit.

 

http://rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1247493476-758839

 

The Elson Readers, by the same guy who wrote the Dick & Jane books. They use REAL literature even in the primer and first grade books. We're still deciding if we wanty to order Rainbow's hard copies of them or just print out copies from Google. Unfortunately, the teacher guides aren't available from Google. :p

 

Elson also did a series of three "junior high school" readers; the first and third are available from Google, but the second seems to not be at this time.

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In my experience, read, read, read, read, and read some more. If her phonics is up to snuff there is no curriculum needed IMO. Have her read out loud to you daily, read to her daily, let her listen to books on tape/disk frequently, and assign a particular time slot of the day to quiet reading family wide. Let her swim in the written word, basically. Give plenty of books that are on level or a smidgeon below it to increase confidence, and a few challenging ones on topics that really intrigue her.

 

The read aloud to mom time was the biggest fluency builder for my kids. That's where I could catch common mistakes and misunderstandings. If one couldn't get unstuck after a few reminders we'd go back to Phonics Pathways and work through that section.

 

The family wide reading time was a big help too. In our house that's after lunch when the little ones go down for their naps. Everyone, including the parents, parks somewhere with a book. Newbie readers do a "reading lesson" with mom first, then sit down with a pile of picture books to browse. Everyone else grabs the book they're reading and heads to their favorite reading spot.

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I thought that was a guide to teach basic reading skills? She knows how to read, i.e. the basic phonics and how to decode words. I am just concerned with her fluency and comprehension.

 

the Blend Phonics lessons plus the reader. I think it is helping my daughter pick up speed. Also, it is a good way to review phonics.

 

HTH,

Mindy

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