Opinions Please!!

[ProudGrandma]

A friend of mine asked me if I would get opinions on these 2 phonics curriculums for her or if you would have another thought for her. Money IS an issue, but if the curriculum is good, she would consider it. She has a 5 year old and a 7 year old. She is not a teacher type...so the easier to teach the better. She is also interested in games and other fun activites either related to the curriculum or not. She was not impressed with ETC.

 

All about Spelling

 

Progressive phonics

 

Thanks.

 

Kathy

[ProudGrandma]

I forgot to ask about Sing, Spell, Read and Write too...opinions on that? Thanks.

[Mrs Mungo]

I forgot to ask about Sing, Spell, Read and Write too...opinions on that? Thanks.

 

SSRW worked really well with my younger kids. I think it kind of has a lot of fluff but my younger ones needed the entertainment factor to hold their interest.

[LadyAberlin]

We love McRuffy. It has coloring, cutting pasting and games. It is colorful.

[hmschooling]

Reading Made Easy is tops in my book! Easy to teach, scripted but flexible, quick lessons, and game ideas...with more to come-- last I heard she was designing some games that would be posted on her site to print for free at home. There are activities in the lessons as well as workbooks that you can get in PDF on her site or in print from Greenleaf Press. She is also coming out with a new second level to continue phonics past the first book. We LOVE it.

[ProudGrandma]

thanks for your ideas. Anybody else want to chime in, I would appreciate it. My friend is new to homeschooling and is very nervous about teaching reading to her youngest. thanks again.

[teamturner]

You didn't ask about it but I loved Phonics Pathways to teach how to read. Plus, there were some games in there that made it fun, especially in the beginning when little ones aren't used to sitting down and learning. And I did not ask my dc to do any writing w/PP at all. We just did it all orally. It took 10-15 minutes per day sitting together on the couch. Pretty painless and I had never taught any child anything up until that point.

 

I've used AAS to teach spelling and we do like it.

[ProudGrandma]

thanks for the additional idea...now to help her pick...UGH!!!

 

Kathy

[mchel210]

My dd used Sing, Spell, Read and Write and finished reading very strong.

 

My younger one used Abeka LA books for K, and 1st....and she reads just as well. A beka is a ton cheaper...but I guess it depends on what she likes best. I think if you find the TE (even older ones) they help you figure out how to teach it and extra things to do.

ClickN'KIDS

She may want to go to homeschoolbuyers coop online and sign up for click n kids phonics.

 

ClickN'KIDS

[LadyAberlin]

I just wanted to add that McRuffy TM is totally scripted, so it is really easy to use.

[nukeswife]

We love McRuffy. It has coloring, cutting pasting and games. It is colorful.

 

:iagree:

McRuffy has been just the thing for my reluctant reader. She has so much fun with this program, it seems she doesn't realize it's really school.

[modest-mama]

We love Sound Beginnings. It is not flashy, but it is easy to use. And after you complete it you can move right into All ABout Spelling for extra practice and to retain those important spelling rules.

[ElizabethB]

Fun game:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

 

Why and how not to teach sight words:

 

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

 

My basic instructions for teaching someone to read, ideas for games with magnetic letters at the end. With 2 children, you can have 2 buckets full of letters and run and scoop up letters, run back and set them on a magnetic white board, run back and get letters...see who can make the most words. The older child can get a smaller scoop or less letters to even it up.

 

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

 

PP or OPG for value, SSRW is good but expensive (but also a little more fun.)

 

AAS is good but is spelling, not reading, it wouldn't hurt to add it in after a bit.

[whitestavern]

I used, and enjoyed, Progressive Phonics for my DS. Added bonus: it's free.

[PeterPan]

Just as an observation, she could get something like WRTR from the library (or buy at only $17) and teach both her kids for years. That's pretty affordable, lol. AAS, while very good, would be expensive. If she just likes the phonogram approach, then WTRT would get her there for a lot less money. If her dc NEEDS the extra helps and methodology of AAS, then it's worth the money, kwim? That 7 yo however would probably do well with a combo spelling/phonics program, since spelling is what he's ready for anything in that age. Anything in that WRTR/SWR/AAS family would do that quite nicely. I just suggested WRTR since it happens to be available at most libraries. Which actually brings up the best point, that she could probably find 3 or 4 phonics programs at her library and try them out for free. They may have Phonics Pathways, OPGTR, WRTR, and more.

[Ellie]

A quick review of "Progressive Phonics:" It looks to me as if it's really sight reading. I wouldn't use it.

 

All About Spelling is technically not for teaching dc to read; it's spelling...hence the name. :-) However (and AAS users can correct me here), I'm guessing that it *can* teach a child to read, as Spalding, SWR, and Phonics Road teach children to read by teaching them to spell. It doesn't teach penmanship at all, and I don't think it covers punctuation or capitalization as the others do, either (again, AAS users can correct me).

 

For a new hser, Phonics Pathways, Alpha Phonics, or Victory Drill Book are effective and pretty easy to use. Then again, there are new hsers who are not teachers who have successfully taught their dc with Spalding, SWR, or Phonics Road, and those are much more comprehensive than Phonics Pathways et al.

[ElizabethB]

A quick review of "Progressive Phonics:" It looks to me as if it's really sight reading. I wouldn't use it.

 

All About Spelling is technically not for teaching dc to read; it's spelling...hence the name. :-) However (and AAS users can correct me here), I'm guessing that it *can* teach a child to read, as Spalding, SWR, and Phonics Road teach children to read by teaching them to spell. It doesn't teach penmanship at all, and I don't think it covers punctuation or capitalization as the others do, either (again, AAS users can correct me).

 

For a new hser, Phonics Pathways, Alpha Phonics, or Victory Drill Book are effective and pretty easy to use. Then again, there are new hsers who are not teachers who have successfully taught their dc with Spalding, SWR, or Phonics Road, and those are much more comprehensive than Phonics Pathways et al.

:iagree:

 

And, that's an awesome use of et al. I have never seen anyone use that in actual conversation (or virtual conversation.) I'm impressed!

[Ellie]

:iagree:

 

And, that's an awesome use of et al. I have never seen anyone use that in actual conversation (or virtual conversation.) I'm impressed!

TYVM.:D You can thank my seventh grade reading teacher, Miss Lawson. We learned many vocabulary words in her class, including et al, e.g., per se, tête-à-tête, and many other really fun words. :-)

[KLK43]

Kathy,

I'm new to the forum for this past week, so I do not know what ETC stands for but for cost effectiveness Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons has worked for me for 3 kids with different personalities. You can check it out usually at a library. My daughter started at 4, my son at 7, and my other daughter at 6. Then we used Building Spelling Skills to make sure they didn't miss anything.

:)Kristen

[whitestavern]

A quick review of "Progressive Phonics:" It looks to me as if it's really sight reading. I wouldn't use it.

 

 

I disagree. I believe it is very phonics based. Now we started somewhere in the middle, so I don't know how they teach the earlier sounds, but what we used was phonics based. My son certainly learned how to sound out words effectively and is a very good reader now.

 

Since it's free to download there's no harm in checking it out and judging for yourself.

[Ellie]

I disagree. I believe it is very phonics based. Now we started somewhere in the middle, so I don't know how they teach the earlier sounds, but what we used was phonics based. My son certainly learned how to sound out words effectively and is a very good reader now.

 

Since it's free to download there's no harm in checking it out and judging for yourself.

Well, I could be wrong. And I'm sure there are dc who learn to read with it.

 

These are the comments that cause me doubt that it's a very strong phonics method:

 

Read the book WITH your child. You read the “regular†text, and he/she reads the big, red words, sort of like reading the different parts in a play.

 

Help your child sound out the words as needed.

 

Read the book several times. This helps develop the eye muscles and left-to-right reading patterns that are necessary for reading. This also provides repetition, which is very important in achieving fluency.

 

Fluency is achieved when a child sees a word and can recognize it instantly. A child may need to see a word thirty or forty times before it becomes "instant." Some children may need to see a word well over a hundred times before it becomes "instant."

 

If a child can automatically read these 220 all-important words, then he/she can automatically read 50--80% of all sentences = he/she has a better chance of reading a sentence quickly enough to comprehend it. This leads to a happier, less frustrated reader.

This is sight reading. There may be some phonics thrown in for good measure, but it doesn't *start* with phonics.

 

Children who are visual and very bright will learn to read no matter what you do, but most dc are not visual and they need phonics.

[Lovedtodeath]

A quick review of "Progressive Phonics:" It looks to me as if it's really sight reading. I wouldn't use it.

We had fun using the poems as readers, but I wouldn't use this as a phonics program. Of those mentioned, I vote for either McRuffy or Alphaphonics.

 

I taught DD to read with the Accelerated Achievement demo disk.($3) You make your own notecards and games, along with scrabble tiles and lauri letters. It worked as well or better than MFW K and OPGTR, which I bought later and regretted.;)

[mdmurray]

We loved!!! Sing Spell Read and Write. I will say that we didn't learn spelling that way, but it was excellent for teaching reading. All this after many other phonics programs had both of us in tears.

[whitestavern]

Well, I could be wrong. And I'm sure there are dc who learn to read with it.

 

These are the comments that cause me doubt that it's a very strong phonics method:

 

 

This is sight reading. There may be some phonics thrown in for good measure, but it doesn't *start* with phonics.

 

Children who are visual and very bright will learn to read no matter what you do, but most dc are not visual and they need phonics.

 

Wow! Okay, so I admittedly didn't read the instructions nor follow them (!) so it certainly reads that way and I can see how you made those assumptions. Maybe it was the way I used it that made it work for us.

[lulubelle]

I have begun to use Progressive phonics with my 5 year old and it has really clicked with him. It's hard to pin point a phonics program for any one kid. My first son learned his numbers and letters easily and went right into using Phonics Pathways and Phonics Plaid with no problem. But, my second son is not picking up his letters as well. So, Progressive Phonics has been great with the beginning Alphabet recognition books they have. It states on their web site that Progressive phonics tries to blend both techniques, phonics base with site words put into it. I think it really depends on the child. Ask your friend to see what level each child is at. Do they know their letters and sounds? If they do then jump into Phonics Pathways or something like that. But, if they don't they need something different for letter recognition.

[Miss Marple]

I think the 2 cheapest (and very effective) programs are Phonics Pathways (or is it Pathway Phonics???) and ABeka Handbook for Reading. The drawback of PP is that the book is big and clunky for little hands. ABeka Handbook for Reading is just the right size, available very cheap at used homeschool bookstores (or on sale/swap forums) and one doesn't even need to have the rest of the ABeka reading program. Just that little book and some easy readers. Easy readers are available at WalMart, the Dollar Store, etc. and are labeled for the level one needs. While other programs may have a lot of bells and whistles, one can teach reading without them (unless you are dealing with a LD child).

[Lovedtodeath]

http://www.mcruffy.com/SupPhonics.htm#DynamicPhonics

 

The program was designed for those wanting an inexpensive alternative to a full curriculum that teaches the basics of phonics. For those wanting more, check out the grade level curriculums beginning on page 3.

Materials from the grade level curriculums can supplement The Dynamic Phonics Learning Book for those wanting some of the extras.