Supplemental Readers for "Ordinary Parents Guide"--like the phonics, not the reading

[eljomom]

My 1st grader HATES OPGTR! I find the reading passages to be dreadful myself. Just looking at the page makes me think "ugh", and let's just say, the apple isn't falling far from the tree here. Every days she asks "Can we skip reading today?"

I feel like the phonics instruction and progression is good. I would like to keep on track with that in order of the lessons, but would rather give her a Bob Book or ANY OTHER BOOK that she might like better---even if only visually.

Does anybody have any insight on this? Anyone had the same issue and maybe created a list of sorts of reading selections/readers that would complement the lessons in OPGTR?

Thanks,

Wendy

[Penelope]

MCP readers (4 sets) are good though expensive.

 

Reader sets by Nora Gaydos are good and inexpensive. I have seen them at Barnes and Noble and Borders.

 

Nothing is going to correlate exactly with OPG, so you have to look through the books and decide where they fit. I don't use them that way so I can't help you with that. I use them as review. So I went through all the short vowel sounds with phonics, and then when we moved on to vowel-consonant -silent e words, I used the short vowel readers for practice and confidence building.

[Farrar]

For cheaper options...

 

BOB books

 

I See Sam books

 

Usborne also has phonics based readers that are okay

 

It's true that nothing will correlate exactly with the OPG. She's in first grade... what lesson is she up to? What words is she reading? There are plenty of easy readers that don't have too many "sight" words.

[skueppers]

You may find this list helpful:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/phonics-readers

 

You might also take a look at the I See Sam readers. I don't think they correlate exactly, but they provide a complete curriculum in and of themselves. You could use the OPG to introduce topics.

 

My daughter didn't like the reading in the OPG either, but one thing it offers that was very helpful to her is a lot of concentrated practice in the exact skill being learned in the lesson. We eventually abandoned the OPG around lesson 120, but the boring practice reading in the OPG was genuinely helpful to her.

[Snowfall]

I haven't used OPG, but Progressive Phonics is free online (just register). You can download and print the books or use the online versions. The description of each book tells exactly what it covers, so you can choose the book or books to go with your lesson of the day. They also have printable activity sheets to go with each book, but I can't say if those are any good or not. I can't ever open the zip files. lol I decided today that I will probably have DD read those instead of the Phonics Pathways lessons - at least until we get to longer words. She hates reading the lists of words and sentences in PP, but she likes the silly poems in the Progressive Phonics books. I'll just have her read maybe 10 words from Phonics Pathways, the read more from whatever book most closely correlates with that day's lesson.

[skueppers]

I haven't used OPG, but Progressive Phonics is free online (just register). You can download and print the books or use the online versions. The description of each book tells exactly what it covers, so you can choose the book or books to go with your lesson of the day. They also have printable activity sheets to go with each book, but I can't say if those are any good or not.

 

We used the memory games from the progressive phonics activity sheets quite a bit. They, and the readers, were quite helpful to us at one stage of the learning to read process.

[daffodil]

I don't care for the sentences/stories in OPG, either. I normally just make up my own. We have also used Bob Books, Nora Gaydos readers, and progressivephonics.com for practice.

[Flux]

My daughter does like OPGTR, so I don't know if this will help you or not. But here are a couple ideas that might help in the meantime, before you find something else.

If you have a white/chalk board or just a piece of paper, write out the words, sentences or similar sentences you make up, and draw a silly picture to go with it, or have her illustrate. I don't know how far in you are or your daughters reading level, but I occasionally use a little reverse psychology and tell her that's fine but I am going to read it to her anyway, and she better pay attention because I am going to teach her, and then I proceed to make up the silliest, most wrong sentence I can, insisting that I am reading it the right way. I only do this if I know it is material she already has a pretty good grip on or is a review and she's dragging her heels. She is usually giggling in seconds, and in a know-it-all five year old manner, begins teaching me... This can backfire though. She enjoys this too much and it is hard to turn off the 5 year old "teacher".

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I had that same problem with my son. There were tears everytime I even pulled OPG off the shelf. I switched to Phonics Pathways and he LOVES it. He tells me everyday I like this reading book! If you do not want to get that I would atleast recommend Reading Pathways! We have both and the combination is more than I could have asked for! I am so happy with the progress!

 

I also highly recommend www.starfall.com

 

Bob Books are awesome!

 

Word Works (we have that and do it along with Phonics Pathways and Reading Pathways) is a fun reading "game" that my son LOOOOVES

 

I did very recently see phonics pathways for sale on the boards here if you wanted to try it.

Edited October 10, 2010 by wy_kid_wrangler04

[jer2911mom]

We've found the Merrill readers to be quite good, although they are expensive. There are no pictures, so my daughter cannot guess at the words.

[IsabelC]

I think half the trouble is that kids expect to have fancy, colorful materials. My son wanted to celebrate finishing OPGTR by burning it! (which I disallowed, since it has to do his sisters as well, but that's how much he didn't like it.)

[Penelope]

I think half the trouble is that kids expect to have fancy, colorful materials. My son wanted to celebrate finishing OPGTR by burning it! (which I disallowed, since it has to do his sisters as well, but that's how much he didn't like it.)

 

:lol:

 

My kindergartener is about halfway through and already counting the pages he has left every day. I am thinking, noooo, way too soon to start counting. :tongue_smilie: He is asking to do several lessons per day, now, so he can finish the book. :001_huh:

[MicheleinMN]

http://www.homeschooldiscountproducts.com/servlet/Detail?no=5073

 

http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/American+Language+Series+K+Reader+Set/042639/1286811715

 

My favorite set of readers. I have used them with all my older children. I am still using them with my youngest who is a struggling reader.

[Mert]

I haven't used OPG, but Progressive Phonics is free online (just register). You can download and print the books or use the online versions.

 

Thanks for the tip! Ds will do the reading in OPG, but he already has to be coerced on occasion. I keep the white board and lacing letters handy so we have a few different ways to cover the lessons. He's always up for a match game so I hope some different reading or a game will help us through.