At my wit's end with teaching my 1st grader phonics!

[mama2cntrykids]

I'm NOT joking, it's that bad. I'm using My Father's World 1st grade, and it has the phonics instruction "built in" to the curriculum. First off, he has Asperger's, so that may play into it. Everyday it's whining and crying that it's too hard. Then he just refuses to do any of the phonics work. Since he doesn't want to work and is throwing a fit about it, I usually tell him to sit on the stairs until he's ready to work for me. After anywhere between 10-40 minuets, he's ready to try again. The second try usually proves sucessful, but it's still a struggle.

 

I taught my 3rd grader to read using the same curriculum and by the time he was in 2nd grade, he was reading at a 5/6 grade level. I know that ALL kids learn differently, but the problems I'm having are so new to me. My 3rd grader NEVER gave me problems with the phonics:001_huh:.

 

After reading another thread on this site about visual-spatial learners and doing some research, I think that's what he is. Do I keep plugging along with the same curriculum or try to find something else??

 

He does awesome with Math, btw. I am quite pleased infact with how well he does.

 

:confused::confused: Help?

[JenAL]

I have no advice, I just wanted to say I'm right there with you. My ds6 is doing much better now with reading/phonics instruction but still it's a stuggle. And like your ds, he's very good in math. We're just chugging along the best we can right now. He's using the Kindergarten MycRuffy Phonics. He was upset when he realized it was K & not 1st grade. But I told him it was fine...we have to learn how to read before we can progress. That seemed to motivate him a bit.

[ElizabethB]

Here are some ideas to try:

 

Use MFW or Blend Phonics (free online) from a white board. All of my students like the white board better than books, but for some it makes an even bigger difference. I use all uppercase, there are no B/D problems that way and it's easier for you to write neatly in uppercase.

 

My online phonics lessons are meant for older remedial students, but I've had 5 and 6 year olds watch them successfully with a break in the middle of the longer ones, just pause the movie and have him run around for a bit. They are very boring so I can keep them free--plain and simple uses a lot less bandwidth.

My free game.

 

You could also try Read, Write, and Type. It's a bit expensive, but if you buy it and its follow on together, you get a lot for your money, and you can download the demos to see if it is going to work for you.

 

Good luck! If none of those work, I can think of more things, I have about 20 different phonics books!

Edited October 21, 2009 by ElizabethB

[Rose in BC]

My ds and dd are the same age. I began teaching them phonics at the same age (5). My dd grasped everything quite quickly. . . ds not so much. I was so frustrated. He was so frustrated. It took him an additional year to reach the point where he was able to understand the concepts.

 

If I had to do it over, I would recognize that sometimes you need to take a break and try again in a few weeks. Sometimes it truly is a developmental thing. Or maybe a boy/girl difference? If I would have waited a year with my boy I would have saved both of us a lot of grief.

[HerdingCats]

I know you have probably heard this before, but some kids are just ready at different times. I wouldn't stress too much or worry about switching curriculum at this point. In our situation, my oldest was probably one of those later readers. She had issues in first grade ps (one of the reasons we decided to try hs), and I tried many different things at home with lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth. We slogged through and she made progress slowly, but wasn't really a fluent reader until much later. Once it clicked, though, it really was fine. In fact, last year she scored college-level in her phonemic skills on her yearly test. She is an avid reader now. She read all seven Harry Potter volumes this summer! My other two also progressed at different rates. I always say my middle child taught himself to read (I was so preoccupied with his sister!). My youngest was resistant so I backed off. He is excelling now and reading fluently years above his grade level.

 

My recommendation if you are having consistent whining and tears, would be to drop it completely for a little while. I would let him play on Starfall or some other fun site without direction or supervision. If he has an interest you could capitalize on, check out some of those books at the library. Even if they aren't readers or even "educational." Continue to read to him without pushing him to read himself. IMHO you are not doing nothing by waiting, but you can use this time building interest which is HUGE.

[Sue G in PA]

You just described my ds6. He will be 7 in Jan. We used some of MFW K last year (but didn't get all the way through b/c he just wasn't ready for academics). This year, I have The Reading Lesson, ETC online, AAS (for the tiles), other Phonics readers, etc. I'm hoping to move into MFW 1st by Jan. At this point...he is sooo not ready. His reading is getting better, but he still guesses, doesn't quite get the "sounding it out" concept. He'd rather guess. :glare: We keep plugging away, drilling sounds, playing games, etc. The kids are all different. He'll read one day. For now...I'm just happy I can teach him at home so I don't have to subject him to the "labels" at school. He's not slow. He's just learning at his own pace.

[pbajgrow]

I had to hold my ds7 back last year. After doing the first half of Abeka 1 phonics with ease, he just stopped learning. He cried, I cried! It was all horrible! After talking with a teacher friend, she suggested that I hold him back a year. He's a boy and needed a little extra time to grow into the curriculum. It made a world of difference! He is doing things really well this year! I had a copy of last years worksheets and held them up to this years, and it was like looking at the work of a different kid!

 

When we talked about holding him back, the conclusion we came to is that we wanted him to be able to climb a climbable mountain and not have keep climbing up a muddy, slippery slope. It worked for us to hold him back. It's now his favorite subject! HTH

[mama2cntrykids]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and experiences. It feels soooo good that we're not alone. Of course I *knew* we weren't the only ones, it is just nice to have ppl say "Oh yeah! We've BTDT!!".

 

Elizabeth--Thank you! I will check out the info you gave me. He's really into Star Wars/Legos/Video Games. He has a HUGE imagination and thinks outside the box! I've even considered doing reading by sight words, but I'm not so sure about that. He doesn't even have to read that much daily. It's just a struggle. He's the type of kid that if he doesn't understand something right away, then it's "Too hard!".

 

Thanks again. Anymore input is welcome!!

[Cornerstone Classical]

Hang in there. My dd is going to be 7 in Dec. and she is just now "getting it" she is using MFW 1st and it is so awesome. She is learning so much, and finally understanding:001_smile: After trying to work with OPGTR for over a year with no success, I can not recommend MFW 1st more highly.

[MrsMe]

I'm NOT joking, it's that bad. I'm using My Father's World 1st grade, and it has the phonics instruction "built in" to the curriculum. First off, he has Asperger's, so that may play into it. Everyday it's whining and crying that it's too hard. Then he just refuses to do any of the phonics work. Since he doesn't want to work and is throwing a fit about it, I usually tell him to sit on the stairs until he's ready to work for me. After anywhere between 10-40 minuets, he's ready to try again. The second try usually proves sucessful, but it's still a struggle.

 

I taught my 3rd grader to read using the same curriculum and by the time he was in 2nd grade, he was reading at a 5/6 grade level. I know that ALL kids learn differently, but the problems I'm having are so new to me. My 3rd grader NEVER gave me problems with the phonics:001_huh:.

 

After reading another thread on this site about visual-spatial learners and doing some research, I think that's what he is. Do I keep plugging along with the same curriculum or try to find something else??

 

He does awesome with Math, btw. I am quite pleased infact with how well he does.

 

:confused::confused: Help?

 

I would find something else. Plus it's a readiness issue. My dd was a little late with everything but made up for lost time later on. Plus, personally, we dropped MFW phonics. It moved way too fast. There wasn't enough time spend on certain sounds and such to really cement them in. It worked out for the first few weeks, then everything fell apart. Plus the added bible reader that had many words that we didn't know added to the fast pace. IMO unknown words (vocabulary words) should be given (as MfW does) at the beginning of a story. But not for a kid who's learning to read. This is great for an emerging reader, but to add "laugh" for example to beginning reader is adding fuel to the fire.

 

If you ever look at phonics programs, they last for up to 3 years. I can't imagine doing it in one year. Some kids will be able to, some kids won't. There's many who dumped MFW phonics. Not that it's bad, but it is different and it's a lot to take in the amount of time given. Some programs give one maybe 2 new blends a week. Then use readers that use those blends. MFW gives blends almost daily that are different then use the Bible Reader which to me is complicated for a beginner.

 

I'm not saying it's a bad program, but after looking at other phonics programs out there, MFW 1st is really fast. Find something slower paced, especially if it stresses you to slow MFW1st down to a level he can handle. Just for the record, this put dd into tears as well.

[mama2cntrykids]

I would find something else. Plus it's a readiness issue. My dd was a little late with everything but made up for lost time later on. Plus, personally, we dropped MFW phonics. It moved way too fast. There wasn't enough time spend on certain sounds and such to really cement them in. It worked out for the first few weeks, then everything fell apart. Plus the added bible reader that had many words that we didn't know added to the fast pace. IMO unknown words (vocabulary words) should be given (as MfW does) at the beginning of a story. But not for a kid who's learning to read. This is great for an emerging reader, but to add "laugh" for example to beginning reader is adding fuel to the fire.

 

If you ever look at phonics programs, they last for up to 3 years. I can't imagine doing it in one year. Some kids will be able to, some kids won't. There's many who dumped MFW phonics. Not that it's bad, but it is different and it's a lot to take in the amount of time given. Some programs give one maybe 2 new blends a week. Then use readers that use those blends. MFW gives blends almost daily that are different then use the Bible Reader which to me is complicated for a beginner.

 

I'm not saying it's a bad program, but after looking at other phonics programs out there, MFW 1st is really fast. Find something slower paced, especially if it stresses you to slow MFW1st down to a level he can handle. Just for the record, this put dd into tears as well.

 

So I'm not going crazy???:001_smile:--You just *totally* made so much sense to me with what you just wrote. Thank you!! My oldest ds (now in 3rd), used MFW Phonics in 1st and did VERY well with it. BUT, he is also reading at a very high grade level for his age. So, for him, I think it was more natural ability and MFW phonics was just right. With my 1st grader, it's a different story. I think Math is his natural ability, not reading.

 

I had thought that the introductions for the new blends were too fast, but like I said, my oldest ds took to it so well that I didn't even give it a second thought when I started it with my younger ds.

 

I have a friend who does Sonlight for 1st grade, but that sounds like it starts going really fast about this time too. What else can I look at?? Would just doing ETC books be ok???

 

I have to admit, I am scared about ditching something that's all I've known, kwim?? If I did, I would just sell the whole program because phonics is the only thing we use out of it besides copying the bible verse every week.

 

Ok, if I decide to stop MFW--then where do I turn? Help!!

[MrsMe]

We moved on to LLATL Blue. It's a bit more hands on...some cutting and pasting, some putting letters next to sounds for blending, but had more of a leveled reader to correspond and it doesn't move so fast. It's relatively inexpensive, but was perfect for my dd and wasn't cumbersome as some are like the more expensive programs (spell to write and read). Doesn't mean the latter program isn't good, I hear it's excellent, but it's heavy for the teacher. Reading is really a two-three-year process. First by blending, then emerging reader, then really processing it all. The phonics in MFW is all in one year, what in many curriculums take two + years for.

 

My dd did really well with LLATL (Learning Language Arts Through Literature) Blue. I'm sure others can give you more recommendations. I know there's Reading Made Easy, but haven't used it.

We also bought these:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Im-Reading-Around-Pre-Reader/dp/1584762411/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c

 

Scroll down and there are a bunch and it goes by short vowels, vowel blends, silent letters, etc. and they're funny. Dd used to laugh at them all the time. ETC is really only seatwork, but I'd butt readers up to it. I've never used the 1st of ETC, more the 3-4th levels, but I did it here and there. My dd laughed at some of that work too, but I just couldn't get ETC to flow like I wanted. I needed more of a program. Personal teaching opinion on my part. But you could butt some leveled readers up to the ETC books if you wanted. We loved LLATL Blue though. It's worth a look if he's more hands on. It has a good balance between activities.

 

CLE (clp.org) has a good beginning reading program if you want to use a basal readers. They're mostly character stories, maybe with a verse (we use Reading 2 and they have a verse, but using "2" because it's advanced.) There's also Rod & Staff Reading. both of these programs use basal readers, biblical stories, that's more of a textbookish feel, but the phonics knowledge and reading concepts they teach are really phenomenal.

 

I sold my whole MFW 1st program because Phonics was most of what it entailed. We loved MFW K and Adventures. 1st just didn't work for us.

[lovemykids]

I would say it’s the program too, and the kid. Some children are just not going to grasp phonics easily. I tried everything under the sun with my oldest dd, she finally did learn how to read, but it took a lot of effort on my part. (We used the free reading program at Tanglewood.com, Abeka phonics, Reading Reflex, ETC, Phonics Pathways, and many others.)

Your son is right brained, that’s why the VSL materials are going to be a better fit for him.

LLATL Blue is a wonderful program. I agree with the OP. You can use the whole thing, or just the readers. If you want a different option, you can use the LLATL readers with Phonics Pathways and do the Explode the Code books. This is a great combination, but I’m sure you will find what works for you. Phonics Pathways is easy to just work through at his own pace.

[Devotional Soul]

I bought, read, and sold MFW 1st before using it because I could tell that the phonics would be way too fast without enough review (and also not silly/fun enough) for my ds.

 

We are happy with McRuffy. The readers are silly and funny, and each day's lesson has one workbook page. I think McRuffy K is very advanced for K...way more than MFW K (which we did for pre-k). I got an ETC book to possibly supplement with, and my ds was not interested one bit, and said he likes just McRuffy. It covers phonics for K, 1st, and 2nd. My ds needs it like that...slow and thorough with lots of review but not too much writing, as well as silly and fun, so we're sticking with McRuffy.

[IsabelC]

My aspie son found it extremely difficult at first, but we persevered and he's made a huge amount of progress. What I did was gave up trying to make like it and told him that we would do reading every day; only for a very short session, but not negotiable. I made it part of our morning rhythm, so he knew to expect reading right after breakfast, toothbrush and wash. Then we started doing it religiously. At first, he just didn't 'get it'. He would sound out a word correctly but still be unable to 'hear' what the word was (and have a meltdown). But eventually, something just clicked and he was off. It only took a term to get him from a non reader up to average level.

[mama2cntrykids]

Thank you for everyone's input! I happened to be looking at McRuffey last night, but right now, it (like most things) are way out of budget. I also checked out LLATL. It looks like a nice program, BUT he's really not into cut/paste and puppets and stuff. If I could find something that has actual "games" to play (not video nessasarily video either) THAT might be my ticket to making it work. Also, I think something that practices the phonics rules quite a bit would be good, kwim?

 

Any more ideas are welcome. Now I need to research more!

Edited October 22, 2009 by mama2cntrykids

[mama2cntrykids]

After looking at my Rainbow Resource catalog and doing more thinking. I think I might just stick with MFW and supplement with easy readers and maybe a phonics computer game. Oh also, I'm going to search on-line and see if I can find some suggestions for homemade phonics games.

Thanks everyone!

[LibraryLover]

Every child is different. He may not be developmentally/cognitively ready quite yet. Leave it for a little and come back to it.

[Verity]

I know you have probably heard this before, but some kids are just ready at different times. I wouldn't stress too much or worry about switching curriculum at this point. In our situation, my oldest was probably one of those later readers. She had issues in first grade ps (one of the reasons we decided to try hs), and I tried many different things at home with lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth. We slogged through and she made progress slowly, but wasn't really a fluent reader until much later. Once it clicked, though, it really was fine. In fact, last year she scored college-level in her phonemic skills on her yearly test. She is an avid reader now. She read all seven Harry Potter volumes this summer! My other two also progressed at different rates. I always say my middle child taught himself to read (I was so preoccupied with his sister!). My youngest was resistant so I backed off. He is excelling now and reading fluently years above his grade level.

 

My recommendation if you are having consistent whining and tears, would be to drop it completely for a little while. I would let him play on Starfall or some other fun site without direction or supervision. If he has an interest you could capitalize on, check out some of those books at the library. Even if they aren't readers or even "educational." Continue to read to him without pushing him to read himself. IMHO you are not doing nothing by waiting, but you can use this time building interest which is HUGE.

 

:iagree: As a mom of an Aspie I have to say the, "I can't do this, this is too hard" thing is common around here too, or at least has been - it's starting to finally get better these days. When my son got there (daily, all the time it seemed) it was usually a good idea to take a breath, (literally some deep breaths) and either put it down for later or take a totally different approach.

 

Aspies sometimes process things differently and he may just need a little more time. I applaud you for your current approach, that is what is needed much of the time. At the same time it might be a good idea to take a short break (a few weeks) and look for some books on whatever he is currently "hooked on" - he is likely to be fascinated by these books and will spend hours poring over them. Possibly he will absorb some written language there and be more motivated when you come back to reading instruction.

Edited October 22, 2009 by Verity
wow at the weird inserted words - kids interrupting! lol

[ElizabethB]

Mona McNee's Cat Phonics is free and has a lot of games, it also is pretty incremental. (Games at end.)

 

She's British, so there might be one or two sounds that are not correct in the U.S, I've not used her program so I don't know.

 

Also, my game is very fun, all of my students enjoy it (even my older children and adults!)

 

Also free and easy to use, Word Mastery and Blend Phonics from Don Potter's page. (He has a lot of others, too.)

[mama2cntrykids]

:iagree: As a mom of an Aspie I have to say the, "I can't do this, this is too hard" thing is common around here too, or at least has been - it's starting to finally get better these days. When my son got there (daily, all the time it seemed) it was usually a good idea to take a breath, (literally some deep breaths) and either put it down for later or take a totally different approach.

 

Aspies sometimes process things differently and he may just need a little more time. I applaud you for your current approach, that is what is needed much of the time. At the same time it might be a good idea to take a short break (a few weeks) and look for some books on whatever he is currently "hooked on" - he is likely to be fascinated by these books and will spend hours poring over them. Possibly he will absorb some written language there and be more motivated when you come back to reading instruction.

 

Thank you for your insight and words. I really do appreciate them. This child of mine is without a doubt my challenge! I really think God gave him to me to stretch me and build character in me in ways that nothig else could:001_smile:. I love him to pieces but some days...oh boy!

 

 

Mona McNee's Cat Phonics is free and has a lot of games, it also is pretty incremental. (Games at end.)

 

She's British, so there might be one or two sounds that are not correct in the U.S, I've not used her program so I don't know.

 

Also, my game is very fun, all of my students enjoy it (even my older children and adults!)

 

Also free and easy to use, Word Mastery and Blend Phonics from Don Potter's page. (He has a lot of others, too.)

 

Thank you again Elizabeth for the links. They are helpful. I'm also looking at checking out Games for Reading by Peggy K-something or other from the library. That might be of help also.

 

Thanks again everyone:001_smile:!

[AngieW in Texas]

My Aspie did well with Reading Reflex. RR is very inexpensive, usually just $20 at the bookstore. It's on sale on amazon for just $12.21 for new copies right now. They have used copies starting at $4.54.

 

I used magnetic letter tiles from the teacher store rather than cutting up my book or photocopying the letter tiles in the book and then cutting them out.

[kindermommy]

It's hard to find a program that runs at just the right speed for your very individual child's reading readiness/ability - and add teaching and learning style on top of that and it's truly a challenge!!! So my advice is to take your time - look around, but keep using MFW (maybe just slower with the supplements like you suggested) in the meantime.

 

FWIW, I have run the gammut of Phonics programs - from the $20 100 EZ Lessons and Phonics Pathways books, to the $200 Phonics Road program. All good in their own respect - but just not *right* for us. So do you know what we are using now? The FREE program from Blend Phonics (Elizabeth's link above)!!!

 

For some reason it clicked with me - I think it was presented simply enough for the teacher, but it is thorough for the child. I will say that if you do a "unit" a day, it moves fast. And according to the instructions, it says to do just that - move through it quickly and then repeat it if necessary. But I can see the program being stretched out and still very effective, especially if you are working with a Kindy or a child that is not really ready for 1st grade level material. Also, Elizabeth highly recommends using a white board for instruction and it has been the center of my phonics instruction now - so simple, yet so effective.

 

Other programs I think are "simple" to at least get started with (won't overwhelm you as the teacher) are the Tanglewood Curriculum (although it is not as in-depth as Blend Phonics) and Phonics Pathways (very in-depth) - although with PP, the amount of words/info on a page CAN overwhelm so use it as *your* guide and get out the whiteboard for instruction :) You can make up some simple memory games with words using the sounds you are studying, or even "go fish" or "old maid" type games with those words. It will require a little extra work/prep on your part, but my kids love the games.

 

Good luck and hang in there!!!!!

[lovemykids]

Yes, it just takes time and persistence. In the end, for us, it wasn’t any one program that worked, but rather a blend of many of them. Reading aloud and having many interesting books lying around the house will help as well. If he has a reason to learn to read, it could help a little.

 

:grouphug:

[mama2cntrykids]

You ladies are wonderful and I *really* appreciate all of your kinds words and ideas. I will take a few days to prepare somethings to help him review what he's learned over the last few weeks and in the meantime, I will let him play around with some internet phonics games (like starfall and other's I've found).

 

Ronda and Elizabeth--I will try the white board suggestion. It does seem really simple, but who knows, it might make a world of difference, right ;)? Also, I really do like the look of blend phonics. I think for now though, I will try out just using the previous words he's learned through MFW. Blessings to you all!!

[...................]

Is what worked for my PDD visual spatial SID guy.

 

Phonics for three years is necessary to help with spelling and further decoding. But sight words is what ended the tears with my guy.

 

Just my experience. My dd is totally different. She will only get a few sight words because I can tell that she was able to learn phonics. Now that I am teaching her and I see the difference, I know I dis the right thing in using sight words with him. I taught him the first 130 or so Dolch Words. Mind you he already had 2 years of phonics so he knew already that all new words should be sounded out and not guessed at. That was good.

 

After that 130 words he started with Maguc Tree House, now reads on a 5th grade level in 2nd grade, spells ok, and is learning more phonics with Abeka.

 

We put ten words on a ring. Each time he knew one immediately without prompting, I put a dot on it. Five dots and that word is retired and a new one added. Then now and then I would review the retired words but only once did I find one that had been forgotten.

 

It was fun and easy, and he was happy as pie.

[mama2cntrykids]

We put ten words on a ring. Each time he knew one immediately without prompting, I put a dot on it. Five dots and that word is retired and a new one added. Then now and then I would review the retired words but only once did I find one that had been forgotten.

 

It was fun and easy, and he was happy as pie.

 

That's a great idea! I really like it:001_smile:.

[ElizabethB]

I would be careful with the sight words--I've remediated a lot of students who got taught sight words, here's how they can hurt reading progress, and how to sound out all but 5 of the most commonly taught 220 Dolch sight words:

 

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

 

With someone on the autism spectrum who is so visual, you might eventually need them like Calming Tea found for her son, but I've remediated so many children with such problems from being taught them that I try to warn everyone I meet about them so that they don't have these problems--it's so hard to remediate students who have been taught a lot of sight words, they have a huge guessing habit that is painful and slow to overcome before you can get them sounding out words again and reading well.

[Homemama2]

My ds really struggled in first too. He forgot everything he learned in K (was reading fairly well by the end of K) and went back to what he was reading at age 4!!! What we finally did (since he had a fit about reading too) was we broke reading into 3 sessions a day for 5min each (before lunch, after lunch and 'homework reading' to dad) then slowly built the amount of time up. We also did alot of "repeating" stories to build fluency and confidence. He is now reading well (in 2nd). I'm not familiar with MFW, so not sure how this would work, but I know what you're feeling. I was ready to quit hsing last year bc of our struggles in reading!!

[mama2cntrykids]

I would be careful with the sight words--I've remediated a lot of students who got taught sight words, here's how they can hurt reading progress, and how to sound out all but 5 of the most commonly taught 220 Dolch sight words:

 

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

 

With someone on the autism spectrum who is so visual, you might eventually need them like Calming Tea found for her son, but I've remediated so many children with such problems from being taught them that I try to warn everyone I meet about them so that they don't have these problems--it's so hard to remediate students who have been taught a lot of sight words, they have a huge guessing habit that is painful and slow to overcome before you can get them sounding out words again and reading well.

 

Thanks for your insight Elizabeth. I do appreciate it! Thanks for the link. I checked it out and it makes sense.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Also, I think something that practices the phonics rules quite a bit would be good, kwim?

 

Any more ideas are welcome. Now I need to research more!

Perhaps out of the budget, but The Phonics Road practices rules A LOT! There are songs that go to the rules, so each time a word is added to your list, you sing the rules. The one hesitation for this program (in your situation) is you will learn 4-6 new words a day, and they will not be following the same rules. Again, though you practice so much with the songs.

 

After looking at my Rainbow Resource catalog and doing more thinking. I think I might just stick with MFW and supplement with easy readers and maybe a phonics computer game. Oh also, I'm going to search on-line and see if I can find some suggestions for homemade phonics games.

Thanks everyone!

Wanted to rec. http://www.starfall.com to you. Free online phonics fun, books, etc.

 

Finally, I'd also agree to keep your eyes open for readiness issues. a 3month slow down turned reading from tears to joy and even asking to read for 2 of my boys.

 

Elizabeth--thanks for always reminding the import of phonics instruction. I so appreciate it!

[ElizabethB]

Elizabeth--thanks for always reminding the import of phonics instruction. I so appreciate it!

 

You're welcome!

 

My remedial students keep reminding me of its importance.

 

It's also interesting to compare them to well taught students--I was recently at play auditions where most of the students were from a school taught with phonics, the difference between their reading and what is typical of students taught with "balanced literacy" is huge.

 

I met a 94 year old woman who taught for 11 years in a one-room school, she said all of her students learned to read well, she could hardly believe it when I described what was currently being taught and how many reading problems there are now.

[Ottakee]

Check out http://www.teacherweb.com/CA/PomeloDriveElementary/Mrssakamoto/printap2.stm for some really cute free printable reading books. If you like these or want more information go to http://www.3rsplus.com for the rest of the series as well as directions on how to teach reading with the books, etc.

 

I taught both of my daughters with special needs to read using these books.

 

I have posted a lot about these on the special needs forum if you want more information as well.

[mama2cntrykids]

Check out http://www.teacherweb.com/CA/PomeloDriveElementary/Mrssakamoto/printap2.stm for some really cute free printable reading books. If you like these or want more information go to www.3rsplus.com for the rest of the series as well as directions on how to teach reading with the books, etc.

 

I taught both of my daughters with special needs to read using these books.

 

I have posted a lot about these on the special needs forum if you want more information as well.

 

Thank you! I will take a peek. Just as an update to everyone. For this past week we've been doing homemade games with past phonics rules and he's loving it!! I think it's been a nice break for him (and me:tongue_smilie:). It just takes some time and a little effort to make the games, but well worth it!

 

I've found with doing the games, about 75% of the words he get's right the first try. The other 25% he needs reminding about the rule. Which, I don't think is too bad for a 1st grader not even half way through the year.

 

Oh, he also started playing on Starfall.com and he likes it. I'm thinking on Monday, we may pick up where we left off with MFW. I may just give it another week though because we haven't gotten through the rules up the point we are yet with the games. Did that last sentence make any sense:001_huh:? So, we may just play games for another week to cover the rules upto the point of where we are now, which I think is Day 70 in MFW?

 

Anyways, long term I'm thinking do a week or so of learning new phonics and then doing a week of re-enforcing the rules by playing homemade games. If anyone is interested, we're doing my version of chutes and ladders and go-fish. I may add a memory matching game just to mix it up too. We use Star Wars Lego's Mini figures for the games pieces, lol. He loves it!

 

Thank you again to everyone for there thoughtful ideas!! I'm so pleased to have found something that works for him!

 

Blessings to all!:001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

 

Thank you again to everyone for there thoughtful ideas!! I'm so pleased to have found something that works for him!

 

Blessings to all!:001_smile:

 

That's great!

:party:

[Donna T.]

I'm NOT joking, it's that bad. I'm using My Father's World 1st grade, and it has the phonics instruction "built in" to the curriculum. First off, he has Asperger's, so that may play into it. Everyday it's whining and crying that it's too hard. Then he just refuses to do any of the phonics work. Since he doesn't want to work and is throwing a fit about it, I usually tell him to sit on the stairs until he's ready to work for me. After anywhere between 10-40 minuets, he's ready to try again. The second try usually proves sucessful, but it's still a struggle.

 

I taught my 3rd grader to read using the same curriculum and by the time he was in 2nd grade, he was reading at a 5/6 grade level. I know that ALL kids learn differently, but the problems I'm having are so new to me. My 3rd grader NEVER gave me problems with the phonics:001_huh:.

 

After reading another thread on this site about visual-spatial learners and doing some research, I think that's what he is. Do I keep plugging along with the same curriculum or try to find something else??

 

He does awesome with Math, btw. I am quite pleased infact with how well he does.

 

:confused::confused: Help?

 

MFW First Grade worked well for my oldest son. It was a disaster for my youngest. He started first grade excited and eager to learn. He had already taught himself to read a good bit. By Thanksgiving, it was a nightmare. He had headaches, stomach problems... was very miserable. Alot of crying. When it got to that point, I dropped it.

 

It really took him the rest of First Grade to de-school from his experience.

 

Since then, he's worked through several Explode the Code workbooks and has done very well with those. We've also dabbled around in Phonics Pathways. He also likes it pretty well. Well, I FINALLY found something that he really loves. I borrowed The Reading Lesson from a friend and started him mid-way in the book. He loves it. It comes with a CD and he loves using that on the computer and then coming and doing the pages in the book that go along with it. It doesn't cover advanced phonics but I'm o.k. with that because he will eventually complete all of Explode the Code and use Rod & Staff for Spelling. R&S covers alot of phonics in their spelling curriculum.

 

For now, I'm just glad I found something that he enjoys. He's been asking to do The Reading Lesson first everyday since we started.

 

I'm glad I dropped the MFW when I did. It is a good curriculum but he hated it and it wasn't worth damaging his desire to learn. MFW phonics moves really fast in first grade. It requires more handwriting than some kids are ready for at that age, especially if they are doing other handwriting. It just lacks a "fun" feature. The Reading Lesson has The Giggle Bunny and he loves that. I'd try something different and you could always pick up the MFW in a few months and try again. I never did because he just cried everytime he saw it coming.