formal reading program? do you do one?

[sherry80]

I was wondering if you use a formal reading program? I heard the philosophy about only teaching phonics and then start a spelling, grammar and writing program and just read, read, read a lot of good books.

 

I am using CLE for reading and language arts but just wondering about that philosophy.

 

Sherry

[MeAndTheBoys]

We do. My son LOVES to read and reads a lot on his own--but I wanted to continue in phonics and reading comp. So we do Pathway readers and workbooks; we'll do CLE Grade 3 when we finish Pathway.

 

We just did Sonlight readers and oral discussion questions last year, but I felt like something was missing. My son loves the Pathway readers and doesn't mind doing the workbooks at all, and he is learning SO much from the lessons.

 

If I had a child who did not enjoy reading, I would probably consider encouraging them to just read over doing a formal "reading program" and try to build in my own activities to check comprehension, but since N. loves to read, it certainly is easier on me to do it this way--

 

I was in public school my whole educational career and remember LOVING doing the reading books and workbooks. I don't know why they are sometimes looked down upon in homeschooling circles unless it is thought to kill a love of reading "real" books--there does have to be a balance, I guess.

 

Betsy

[Annie Laurie]

No. I never have. I don't want to turn reading into a school subject, I want it to be a life long habit that they truly enjoy.

 

We do have silent reading time, because I have one child who is busy, busy and would never sit down to read on his own. But I try to make it fun, with a variety of books in a book basket to choose from, and a fun snack to share while we read. And I assign SL readers at a separate time, but do not ask the comprehension questions or give them any assignments related to it. I view those more as part of our history studies.

 

I see many other opportunities in our day for working on phonics (spelling) or reading comprehension (various forms of narration), without using a reading program to do it.

[Annie Laurie]

I don't know why they are sometimes looked down upon in homeschooling circles unless it is thought to kill a love of reading "real" books--there does have to be a balance, I guess.

 

Betsy

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but in my case, I don't see those kinds of readers as being living books and they just feel artificial to me, since they were written for the purpose of practicing specific reading skills and filling in a workbook or worksheet afterwards.

 

If one of my kids wanted to use a reading program and enjoyed it though, I'd have no problem with them using it. But I have enough trouble fitting in other things we want to do as it is.

 

I was the kind of kid who liked worksheets and reading and answering questions too.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

My ds has a reading program as part of his language arts course. It uses classic fairly tales and fables as well as novels for reading and provides good discussion questions to discuss with dear son:) I find it to be a good program and I do think there is some value in some sort of reading discussion and comprehension programs, but I prefer actual novels, short stories, fables, etc. So far, it has not been over-kill in the K12 program and I am quite pleased.

[Homeschooling6]

Yes, we use Christian Light. I like a formal reading program because they learn about personification, inferring, similes etc. Having a formal reading programs keeps me on track with these otherwise I would forget to teach them.

 

My dc don't mind and love the stories. They still read a lot of living books.

 

My two middle dc will use The Phonics Road to Spelling & Reading for their reading lessons.

[Ellie]

No. Once my dc were reading independently, I just let them read as much as they wanted to (although I continued reading aloud to them from good children's books).

[prim*rose]

Kind of. I use Sonlight's list of readers to get the books that dd reads, but I don't use their comprehension questions. I have her read these aloud to me as part of "school" and so that I can follow her reading progress.

 

I let her pick the books she reads for free time, which lately seem to be all Star Wars :)

[mom31257]

Yes, because I do not think I would be able to teach literary analysis and concepts without some kind of curriculum. I've used reading curriculum every year since I started homeschooling. My dd is an avid reader of real books, so it has not caused her to hate reading. I do not always keep a list of books she's read but I know that in 5th grade she read at least 80 books in addition to her school work.

 

Dd is using CLE 7th reading, and I'm switching my 1st grade ds to CLE I Wonder reading after Christmas, plus the 1st grade LA and 2nd grade math.

[pageta]

I have ds read aloud as it gives me opportunity to help him with words he doesn't know. I also want him to become proficient at reading aloud and not read monotone or something like that. I don't ask questions for comprehension or do vocabulary or anything as we do narration with literature, history and other subjects. Right now we are just using readers from the library.

[MIch elle]

I highly recommend it for grades 1-3 without the lightunits and grades 4-7 with the lightunits.

 

Yes, reading whole books is important but CLE reading grades 4-7 is only 16 weeks of reading/workbooks and it's a LOT more than just reading.

[mama25angels]

MIch elle do you think the 1st grade reader would be ok for a child still not reading fluently? Thanks

[MeAndTheBoys]

MIch elle do you think the 1st grade reader would be ok for a child still not reading fluently? Thanks

 

Not Michelle--but we are using CLE Learning to Read, last year's version before they updated--

 

And the old primer is very affordable--

http://www.clp.org/product/i_can_read_primer_2181

 

I highly suggest that for a start. My son really looks forward to reading the stories in here. The updated version is MUCH more expensive (may be better, I don't know--but this one is good).

 

Betsy

[Stacy in NJ]

for 8th grade.

 

Most reading programs don't use real books.

 

He'll use LL8 which uses real books.

[MIch elle]

MIch elle do you think the 1st grade reader would be ok for a child still not reading fluently? Thanks

 

The I Wonder reader was too advanced for both my boys so they used it in 2nd grade. We tried the Happy Hearts lightunits and I felt it was too much for my boys. They used I Wonder in grade 2 after they learned to read with 100 EZ Lessons (used over a whole year w/ Bob Books) and Phonics Pathways. The boys then read Happy Hearts and the other CLE readers along with many other books.

 

I LOVE the CLE readers. If you dc can't read I Wonder then read the story to him/her and then have them read it to you, page by page.

 

HTH :D

[In the Rain]

My 8yo dd reads fluently and frequently. I keep her supplied with a variety of genres and discuss her books frequently.

 

I have Drawn Into the Heart of Reading, and use that for several books a year. I also refer to my FIAR manuals for topics to look for in our reading: personification, onomatopoeia, simile, etc. I figure that sometime in upper elementary or middle school, I should switch to a more structured plan.

 

I do worry about a structured program turning reading into a chore.

[Whereneverever]

I really like the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading- especially since each lesson feels stand alone that you can skip if you already know the sounds.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I have Drawn Into the Heart of Reading, and use that for several books a year. I also refer to my FIAR manuals for topics to look for in our reading: personification, onomatopoeia, simile, etc. I figure that sometime in upper elementary or middle school, I should switch to a more structured plan..

 

What she said, only I refer to guides other than FIAR. I use Figuratively Speaking, DITHOR, and online guides for specific books. Next year I hope to integrate Teaching the Classics. These guide our discussion but I won't use a formal literature program until the kids are in high school, if I ever do.

[Annie Laurie]

What she said, only I refer to guides other than FIAR. I use Figuratively Speaking, DITHOR, and online guides for specific books. Next year I hope to integrate Teaching the Classics. These guide our discussion but I won't use a formal literature program until the kids are in high school, if I ever do.

 

That's what I was going to comment on. Several people have said they use a reading program for lit analysis and teaching literary terms. Is that necessary before high school? Imo, it's not, for my kids. I'm going to be using Teaching the Classics also, but I plan for any discussion of literary terms to be during the course of our reading, through discussion. So I'll point it out as I see it, but don't feel we need a formal program. I may use picture books to point out some literary terms.

[Mary in GA]

I have never used a reading program, and for years I second guessed the decision. Dc have always scored really well on standardized testing though, so I've become more at peace.

 

Mary

[In the Rain]

I use Figuratively Speaking, DITHOR, and online guides for specific books.

 

Figuratively Speaking is on my Amazon wishlist. I heard about it here- maybe from you. :001_smile:

[Parrothead]

I don't use one. I'm planing on using LL in 7th grade.

[Lovedtodeath]

I can't speak for anyone else, but in my case, I don't see those kinds of readers as being living books and they just feel artificial to me, since they were written for the purpose of practicing specific reading skills and filling in a workbook or worksheet afterwards.

I have seen many that are not that way, but contain whole, normal books inside.

 

I use Sonlight for reading because DD will be very sporadic at times and not finish any books that she starts. I like to have a schedule for reading so that she finishes some books, even though she is done with her scheduled reading in less than 10 minutes. I also wanted something that would specifically ramp her up to longer and more difficult books because she can read at around 5th grade level, but she only does so when reading with us, or reading a high interest picture book.

[Annie Laurie]

I have seen many that are not that way, but contain whole, normal books inside.

 

 

I'm not sure we're thinking of the same thing, but which ones?

[Lovedtodeath]

I'm not sure we're thinking of the same thing, but which ones?

Reading books from our local school. (Castaways that my mom picked up at Goodwill.) Houghton Mifflin was one of them. I can't remember the other at the moment. It is upstairs in the library and I have a broken foot.

 

(Not to you attachedto4) I also find it extremely ironic that people will criticize reading books that use selections and then praise WWE for the same thing.

[Annie Laurie]

Reading books from our local school. (Castaways that my mom picked up at Goodwill.) Houghton Mifflin was one of them. I can't remember the other at the moment. It is upstairs in the library and I have a broken foot.

 

My curiosity is piqued. What kind of stories do they contain? Are they stories that were written as stories by themselves and then compiled into one collection for school use? They're not abridged at all?

 

One that I thought of is Elson readers. I have two of them and they are a collection of stories that weren't written exclusively for a school reader. My dd hated the Elson reader though. We prefer when the reading is for fun or is related to something we're learning- like SL readers in Core 3 and above, being tied to the history study. She didn't like reading something that was just for reading practice and the related workbook was a downer for her.

[Dawn E]

My oldest was an early reader, and we started the "read, read, read" concept once I felt she was ready. I bought Sonlight readers (whole books) and let her go through them. This year I added CLE Reading 2 after being very impressed with our CLE LA. After researching the reading material, I just felt, as Mich elle mentioned in her post, that CLE reading provides an excellent foundation. My daughter still has a lot of independent reading time, but this has been a valuable addition. I like the fact that CLE 4+ will be half a year to allow for our own whole book studies.

[mrs.m]

My curiosity is piqued. What kind of stories do they contain? Are they stories that were written as stories by themselves and then compiled into one collection for school use? They're not abridged at all?

 

My DD's 4th grade book by Scott Foresman (we're using online public schooling until the end of today!!) contains a number of picture books bound together such as "The Horned Toad Prince", "Grandfather's Journey" (an award winner), and an Encylopedia Brown story, plus many others. It has an abridged version of "Because of Winn-Dixie" but the teacher assigned the entire book.

[Annie Laurie]

My DD's 4th grade book by Scott Foresman (we're using online public schooling until the end of today!!) contains a number of picture books bound together such as "The Horned Toad Prince", "Grandfather's Journey" (an award winner), and an Encylopedia Brown story, plus many others. It has an abridged version of "Because of Winn-Dixie" but the teacher assigned the entire book.

 

That's great! I'm glad that whole books are included more often now, so that more children benefit from reading the entire story. I think we had mostly excerpts in our school readers or stories written just for a textbook, but that was awhile ago.

 

So, CLE reading users, what kinds of stories does CLE use? I bought the entire 9th grade CLE curriculum a few years ago and then returned it. But it hadn't been updated to the Sunrise edition yet. I think the LA was though, and I seem to remember the reading text being stories written for the textbook but maybe there was some literature in there that I forgot about.

[MIch elle]

T maybe there was some literature in there that I forgot about.

 

Robert Frost, O Henry, Odgen Nash, John Greeleaf Whittier, John Newton, Patricia St. John, John Burroughs....? These are some of the authors in CLE reading.

 

 

Read my blog to find a story linked that's in CLE reading: http://www.aperitelibros.blogspot.com/

[Annie Laurie]

Robert Frost, O Henry, Odgen Nash, John Greeleaf Whittier, John Newton, Patricia St. John, John Burroughs....? These are some of the authors in CLE reading.

 

 

Read my blog to find a story linked that's in CLE reading: http://www.aperitelibros.blogspot.com/

 

Are entire stories included from these authors, or is it excerpts?

 

This sounds good for high school, but I'm wondering how beneficial it is in elementary? Did you use it in the younger grades as well? What skills did you find helpful from the younger CLE reading levels?

 

Maybe I should put those questions in another thread, as I'd love to hear from those who are using CLE reading with their younger kids- Betsy, and others.

 

ETA: I see from your blog entry that you did use the younger levels, did you use the readers alone?

[MIch elle]

Are entire stories included from these authors, or is it excerpts?

 

This sounds good for high school, but I'm wondering how beneficial it is in elementary? Did you use it in the younger grades as well? What skills did you find helpful from the younger CLE reading levels?

 

Maybe I should put those questions in another thread, as I'd love to hear from those who are using CLE reading with their younger kids- Betsy, and others.

 

ETA: I see from your blog entry that you did use the younger levels, did you use the readers alone?

 

CLE rarely uses shorten versions of the stories throughout the readers 1-8. Most of the short stories that are in CLE reading where written as short stories and NOT specifically for CLE.

 

We used CLE reading 1-3 readers only with both boys. Older ds used the whole program of CLE reading 7 (reader & lightunits) and completed it and CLE reading 8. I'm glad he did! It prepared him well for high school where he was expected to know much of what was in CLE reading and MORE - bildungsroman along with many other literary terms!!

 

Younger ds used CLE reading 4,5 and is finishing 6 this year along with some of 7.

 

I don't think literary analysis needs to wait until high school. So much of it can and should be learned prior to high school so it's not ALL new when so much of the info comes fast & furious in high school but that depends on what kind of education your dc is getting.

 

Look at the CLE reading scope & sequence chart to see what they learn in grades 6-8. Look carefully at the samples too.

 

If CLE reading is not your cuppa tea, I suggest using The Grammar of Poetry which introduces literary analysis with poetry.

[HollyDay]

I used BJU 2-4th grade with my oldest then switched to DITHOR. With my youngest, I used BJU 1-3 then switched to DITHOR.

[MeAndTheBoys]

I actually haven't used enough CLE Reading to answer that--my 5 year old is using their "Learning to Read"--and at that level, I think most people use "readers" since the children can't read many "real books". So that's not going to give you a good answer--the skills T. is learning is phonics, lol. I used the 1st grade reader, "I Wonder", with my older son mainly for the comp questions--- I have bought CLE 3rd Grade to use next year.

 

We are now using Pathway readers, 3rd and 1st grade, for both boys (alongside CLE Learning to Read with the younger). *I* mostly use it for comp questions. I think it depends on the parents' comfort level about reading--I am a math person. I love to read, but being able to explain what happened or infer things, etc, etc--does not come naturally to me. Having a ready-made program takes care of the groundwork on that for me--then we can narrate, discuss, etc. things that we read in addition to that.

 

I will probably continue to use a reading program, as long as we have time for it, to cover the basics of comprehension, analysis, etc. in an "open and go" way for me, and also to introduce my children to selections that I many not have thought to include. Poetry--something I wasn't taught and wouldn't think to include, for one.

 

At this point, my 7 year old reads about 1/2 of a chapter book each day--he's into Beverly Cleary and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys right now. My 5 year old picks a bunch of Easy Reader books at the library each week and reads for 30 minutes or so during a quiet time. Doing a "reading curriculum" hasn't stopped them from loving to read for fun at all; I think it has encouraged them to read more. BUT if I ever saw a program as a hinderance, we'd consider stopping or cutting back, for sure.

 

Some of us need more hand holding in the subject of reading/Language Arts--- It really is working well for us right now---

 

Betsy

 

 

This sounds good for high school, but I'm wondering how beneficial it is in elementary? Did you use it in the younger grades as well? What skills did you find helpful from the younger CLE reading levels?

 

Maybe I should put those questions in another thread, as I'd love to hear from those who are using CLE reading with their younger kids- Betsy, and others.

[Annie Laurie]

Thanks for the detailed responses, Michelle and Betsy.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

Thanks for the detailed responses, Michelle and Betsy.

Yeah, thanks! You took care of it for me!:tongue_smilie: