Struggling reader

[MicheleinMN]

My youngest child, ds age 8.5, is still struggling to learn to read, so I am in search of a phonics/reading program.

 

Would you recommend McRuffy or Sing, Spell, Read, & Write?

 

I don't mind if people recommend something else, but I think I have it down to between these two programs.

 

Thanks!

[SkateLeft]

My 8.5yo ds has struggled too. He's using McRuffy's 2nd grade program this year, and he's just now taking off. It doesn't have the bells and whistles of SSRW, but I've been very happy with it, and I'm planning on continuing with the next level when he's done with this one.

 

The lesson manual is easy to use, the lessons are pretty short and he's *loved* the stories. I wish I'd discovered it sooner.

[5forMe]

What about http://www.starfall.com ? Some of it may seem too easy, but great for confidence building and practice. And, it's free.

[skissugar]

I too have an 8yr old 2nd grade struggling reader. Here is what we have done..

 

1. Started All About Spelling.. not so much for the spelling (that is a bonus) but for learning the sounds in a way that she didnt feel overwhelmed. we are moving at her pace and I have seen massive improvements in her ability to read since starting this program.

 

2. DD picks a book everynight we started with bob books and have moved up to dr. seuss and she recently did a story about a bear or something (along the lines of frog and toad) anyway daddy read a page.. and she read a page.. they limit how many pages they read according to how long the book is. btw this is not a choice on her part.. it is a must every night but she likes it so its never an issue.

 

The combo of the above has brought her reading level up. Also i just didnt push it.. it will click when they are ready. I found the more I pushed the more she shut down and felt like a failure. Slow and steady wins the race.

[JenAL]

I'm using McRuffy with my ds (1st). We are just now in lesson 45 of the 1st grade book b/c we had to start with the K b/c my ds couldn't blend at all yet. He's made great improvements with McRuffy. The readers are great. The TM is easy to use. The workbooks are spiral bound which make it easier for the child to lay flat & use.

 

We aren't going to continue with McRuffy for 2nd grade, though. I will be splitting the LA subjects up to better suit my ds's needs (however, I still may get the readers for him as he loves them!). McRuffy includes phonics/reading, spelling, grammar, & handwriting. It really is a great program. There is not too much work to be done each day which is great for a wiggly boy.

 

ETA: we've also started the bedtime reading routine. He always liked to be read to at bedtime, but we've started having him pick books that he could read himself with his Daddy's help. They do as the pp mentioned (Daddy read a page, ds read a page). This has helped as well.

[siloam]

My youngest child, ds age 8.5, is still struggling to learn to read, so I am in search of a phonics/reading program.

 

Would you recommend McRuffy or Sing, Spell, Read, & Write?

 

I don't mind if people recommend something else, but I think I have it down to between these two programs.

 

Thanks!

 

What sort of problems are they having?

 

Can they spell words?

Can they remember the sounds letters make?

Do they confuse the sounds letters make, or are not able to recall them?

Do they have additional problems with letters that make more than one sound?

Do the add sounds to words that aren't there?

Do they transpose sounds?

 

Heather

 

[hsmom]

We are using McRuffy and plan on using it until it no longer works or we run out of grades to do it with. My son is doing awesome with this program. His reading has really taken off with this program. I highly recommend it to many. So, my vote of course is for McRuffy!

[MicheleinMN]

What sort of problems are they having?

 

Can they spell words?

Can they remember the sounds letters make?

Do they confuse the sounds letters make, or are not able to recall them?

Do they have additional problems with letters that make more than one sound?

Do the add sounds to words that aren't there?

Do they transpose sounds?

 

Heather

 

 

He can spell short vowels words and some silent e words.

 

He has a horrible time remembering the short vowel sounds when trying to sound out a word. (He prefers to guess and usually uses the vowels long sound/name.)

definitely adds sounds and/or ignores the letters and guesses.

 

Often transposes sounds and has a horrible time with b, d, and p. (dyslexia hard at work there.)

 

I'm thinking that I may just have to bite the bullet and go with Barton Reading and Spelling program for him.

[hsmom2six]

My 8yo ds is struggling, too. I was at the Midwest Homeschool Conference in Cincinnati last weekend and looked at Rocket Phonics. I talked with the author for quite some time and was impressed with it. It uses a lot of games to get the child to use full body movement while learning. I then called my dd at home and had her look up reviews on RP at Homeschoolreviews.com and all the reviews were very good. Then I prayed about it. After looking at several other programs I felt led back to RP. I went back to the RP booth and bought it. We start Monday! I'm going to use it with my 8yo, 5.5 yo, and 3yo at the same time. They have demonstration videos on Youtube if you want to see it.

 

I know I haven't used it yet so I can't tell you how well it works, but I'm very optimistic and love that I can use it with my three youngest at the same time. Check it out: Rocketphonics.com

[In2why]

He can spell short vowels words and some silent e words.

 

He has a horrible time remembering the short vowel sounds when trying to sound out a word. (He prefers to guess and usually uses the vowels long sound/name.)

definitely adds sounds and/or ignores the letters and guesses.

 

Often transposes sounds and has a horrible time with b, d, and p. (dyslexia hard at work there.)

 

I'm thinking that I may just have to bite the bullet and go with Barton Reading and Spelling program for him.

 

 

I have not used either of your choices, but based on your son's abilities I would pick up Bob's Books and Explode the Code. I think it is important to get a good grasp on the short vowel sounds before trying to move on to phonics rules. Bob's books will give him lots of practice and allow him to feel confident that he can do it. I also echo the Starfall suggestion. There is a lot in there for a beginning reader and since it mimics a computer game it has the bells and whistles to keep him interested.

[Ellie]

Although I haven't used either of those, based on what I've seen, my choice between those two would be SSRW, especially if I had a little person who liked singing. :-) SSRW has a long, solid reputation.

 

My *first* choice, though, would be Spalding. It's everything you'd need for English-related skills: reading, spelling, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, simple writing. If you buy the teacher guide, it can also be a more comprehensive writing as well as grammar.

[Amy Jo]

My oldest sounds like your son, we are using a UK program called Toe by Toe. It uses non-sense words (so guessing is impossible), small steps and a lot of practice. Its also open and go.

[Tina]

Sorry, haven't tried those. My oldest says doing Reading Reflex was the best thing we ever did for him.

[ElizabethB]

Before you spend the money on Barton, I would try my online phonics lessons and the program on my how to tutor page, use the instructions in my guide to blend phonics to add in syllables and rules to Blend Phonics, everything you need to use is linked at the end.

 

For my remedial students, I also like working in all uppercase from a whiteboard for a few months, uppercase letters are more distinct and you cannot guess from word shape, it also helps to learn B and D well and then you can transfer to B/b, then D/d.

[ElizabethB]

I will link later, typing from my phone, but there is a book for $25 that teaches you how to teach using OG methods, you can make your own program from that book or buy their workbooks, also much cheaper than Barton. It is called Recipe for Reading by Traub and Bloom. If you search for the title or author, you should be able to find a post with a link.

[ElizabethB]

I will link later, typing from my phone, but there is a book for $25 that teaches you how to teach using OG methods, you can make your own program from that book or buy their workbooks, also much cheaper than Barton. It is called Recipe for Reading by Traub and Bloom. If you search for the title or author, you should be able to find a post with a link.

[LizzyBee]

I'm thinking that I may just have to bite the bullet and go with Barton Reading and Spelling program for him.

 

I am using Barton with my 8 yo dyslexic. If you want an OG program that's open and go, Barton is IT. My dd is making great progress with Barton.

Edited April 17, 2010 by LizzyBee

[siloam]

He can spell short vowels words and some silent e words.

 

He has a horrible time remembering the short vowel sounds when trying to sound out a word. (He prefers to guess and usually uses the vowels long sound/name.)

definitely adds sounds and/or ignores the letters and guesses.

 

Often transposes sounds and has a horrible time with b, d, and p. (dyslexia hard at work there.)

 

I'm thinking that I may just have to bite the bullet and go with Barton Reading and Spelling program for him.

 

Michele,

 

Given dyslexia is at play, you are going to get the best results for the time you put in with an o/g program. Anything else you may just spin your wheels with no results. Even with an o/g program it often takes time.

 

There are several program that I have heard good reviews of:

 

Barton Reading (obviously the easiest to use because of the teaching videos, and good support)

Wilson Reading (overview videos and not great support because they are school focused and assume you have gone to a seminar)

Preventing Academic Failure (the readers are supposed to be great, and customer services seems to be good)

Horizons Reading (not the computer version)

Recipe for Reading (seems to be the cheapest, and the one person I know using it is seeing good results)

S.P.I.R.E.

Sonday System Reading (excellent customer support)

 

I would personally start with the Barton Student screening, because if your ds can't pass that then he probably needs to do LiPS before starting any of the above programs. I have done LiPS with two of my kids, so if he can't pass, feel free to ask questions.

 

Also if he can't see word in his mind, then you might want to add the Seeing Stars work to what ever o/g program you do, or use it as a stand alone reading program. I prefer programs with more of a schedule and more hands on work. For example LiPS technically has a full phonemic awareness, reading and spelling sections in the manual. At first I didn't miss having a schedule when doing the letter portion of LiPS, I found it very easy to use, but once I got into the phonemic awareness part I struggled. I think it is because I didn't get why? What is my goal? What is the focus? What to worry about? What is not a big deal? A friend loaned me her Barton level 1, which covers the same material, and it was like going from being in a desert to a tropical paradise. Barton told me why, and what to worry about, what not to, how to trouble shoot problems...it just filled in all those little gaps that became a problem when I moved on from the main focus on LiPS.

 

Heather

 

[ncmom2dawters]

We tried several O/G phonics/reading programs. My struggling reader finally started reading with Pathway Readers. It is more of a sight word approach. I don't use the phonic lessons with Pathway but instead teach phonics during spelling lessons. Diane Craft's materials and suggestions about teaching the right brained learner have been quite helpful, too.

[MicheleinMN]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions.

[homemomandnild]

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