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A few ?s regarding Reading Reflex


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I'm planning on using this with my ds6 who hasn't learned to read yet and for remediation with my ds10 who is struggling with reading. I'm a little confused about how to introduce the sound pictures to my ds6. The first lesson with sound pictures in it says to 'invite her to find the corresponding sound picture' Well how is he going to know which sound picture to use if it hasn't been introduced yet? Do I just show him the three sound pictures before we start the lesson and tell him what sound the represent?

 

I'm also curious how well the program works for spelling? Well I end up needing to do a separate spelling program or is RR enough?

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I'm planning on using this with my ds6 who hasn't learned to read yet and for remediation with my ds10 who is struggling with reading. I'm a little confused about how to introduce the sound pictures to my ds6. The first lesson with sound pictures in it says to 'invite her to find the corresponding sound picture' Well how is he going to know which sound picture to use if it hasn't been introduced yet? Do I just show him the three sound pictures before we start the lesson and tell him what sound the represent?

 

I'm also curious how well the program works for spelling? Well I end up needing to do a separate spelling program or is RR enough?

 

I haven't looked at it in ages, but I seem to remember the first three chapters being very explanatory. My kids all knew their basic letter sound when they started, though... they all knew their letters (by name, an RR no-no) by age 2 sometime, and for a while before I started RR they'd ask how to spell something and I'd tell them to sound it out, and as they did I'd tell them what letters went with that sound. This is the same way I continued with spelling after RR, except that I'd use the "sound picture" terminology - f-igh-t for example, the 'f' is spelled with the sound picture 'f', the I in the middle uses the sound pciture 'igh' and the 't' sound is spelled with 't'. Or for something like 'bean', if they guessed the wrong letters for the 'ee' sound, I'd say, no, we use a different sound picture for 'ee' in this word, what others can you think of? Or just tell them "in this word, 'ee' is spelled with the 'ea' sound picture".

 

I actually think RR and spelling go hand-in-hand. :) Basically you're teaching them to spell with the little cut-out letters in order to read.

 

After we finished the Basic Code in RR, I started using Sequential Spelling, which was very easy to apply the RR terms to, and it reinforced the phonetics at the same time.

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I taught my first two to read with Reading Reflex. They knew the basic sounds with letters before starting. I don't really think it teaches spelling.

 

My third is dyslexic and is using Barton Reading and Spelling. I've gone back and taught my older kids some of the spelling rules we are learing through Barton, because it really does teach spelling alongside reading.

 

I'm not sure where my little one will fall, but I've been told he is likely to have more severe reading problems based on his speech and language difficulties.

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I've got my old RR out. I can't find exact lesson you mean. My edition is almost certainly older than yours. It is from 1998.

 

I always started RR with the "three sound word building' lessons. In my book, that is on page 68. But, I never used it in a remedial fashion. It was always with a younger child (4 year old) and that was after playing all those phonemic awarenes games "what is the first sound you hear in the word..." for a year. My kids knew their basic 'sound pictures' before we began. I never taught them the letter names.

 

I never used RR to teach spelling. I taught my two to read before I really worried about writing. I am sorry I am not much help with that part.

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It was always with a younger child (4 year old) and that was after playing all those phonemic awarenes games "what is the first sound you hear in the word..." for a year. My kids knew their basic 'sound pictures' before we began. I never taught them the letter names.

 

 

Oh, yeah! There's a "readiness test" that you're supposed to do before the actual lessons. They should be able to identify all their sounds orally and blend before you start. They suggest games to do this.

 

I taught my two to read before I really worried about writing. I am sorry I am not much help with that part.

 

I don't think we did RR past 1st grade, and didn't start spelling (with SS) till 2nd. But I think sounding things out and seeing the concept of different sound pictures being used for more than one sound and vice versa helped them with spelling. I copied the charts of all the sound pictures out of the book and hung them on the wall for reference. Then I used RR terms when using the spelling program, even though we'd finished the book.

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It was always with a younger child (4 year old) and that was after playing all those phonemic awarenes games "what is the first sound you hear in the word..." for a year. My kids knew their basic 'sound pictures' before we began. I never taught them the letter names.

 

 

What kind of sound games did you play. RR really didnt mention much about how to do this outside of the lessons.

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Well.. I did lots of 'what is the first sound yI ou hear in the word "cat" Etc. My sons were only about two when I started so it took a while to get that nailed. You are aiming for a 'pure' sound. The first sound in 'top' is "t" NOT "tuh". You want to keep it VERY clean. No extra 'uh' at the end of sounds.

 

Then you move onto what is the last sound you hear in the word..."

 

Then you play games like "what do you have if you take the 'p' off of 'pig'" etc.

 

Then you move to the end sounds "what do you have if you take the 'g' off of 'pig'.

 

These sorts of things are in my reading reflex. There is "The Blending Game" on pp 66, "Finding sounds around us" on pp 67

 

It wasn't that big a deal.

 

Mostly I just sat down with the white board and the letters 'c' 'a' 't' in no particular order along the top. I had the picture of the cat at the bottom. Then I pushed the 'c' down to the bottom while saying 'c' then I slid the 'a' down next to it while saying "aaaaaa' then came 't'. Then I pointed to each one and said 'c' 'a' 't' 'cat'. Then I moved the letters back up to the top in a 'jumbled' order and said 'you try it'. That was pretty much it. I don't think my sons knew many letters on sight when we started. They did know sounds.

 

If they asked what letter was I always answered with "that is a picture of the sound ---" The idea that letters are pictures of sounds really, really helps when teaching advanced code. Many of my friends with kids in ps get told that, for example, one 'blends' the letters 's' and 'h' to say 'sh'. Well, that is really confusing for some kids. 'Sh' doesn't really sound like a blend of 's' and 'h'...and what about all those different ways to make the different vowel sounds? THey aren't 'blends', right? But, my kids were very accepting of the idea that there are different pictures of sounds. I just tell them 'that is one picture of the sound --' It worked very efficiently.

 

I will say that RR is written to the parent of a child who needs remedial reading help. For the parent of the child who has never read, you can feel a bit lost at sea. However, it is a good program. You just sort of have to pull up your socks and jump in. I am sure I stumbled a few times, but it all worked out in the end.

 

I also found that for advanced code, RR doesn't provide a lot of direction or practice, at least for the young child or brand new reader. With my elder son, that was no problem. He just took to the instruction like a duck to water. With my younger son, we started supplementing with ETC. However, I always go back to RR to teach a new sound.

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What kind of sound games did you play. RR really didnt mention much about how to do this outside of the lessons.

 

The two oral sound games I'm thinking of are "The Blending Game" and "Finding Sounds Around Us", which in my edition are in Chapter 3 Teaching the Basic Code on pp. 66 and 67 respectively, just before the description of Three Sound Word Building on p. 68 (which is the first activity where you use the letter tiles and white board). The games are described in detail, and they suggest doing these casually while out and about (perhaps in the car). They say your child should be able to do these games successfully before moving on to the regular lessons.

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Thanks so much ladies. I think I'm just making it harder than is really is!

 

There is something about RR that lends itself to that. I think it's all the writing and the placement tests at the begining. I remember when my friend gave me the book. I just found it overwhelming. Then I sort of jumped in and I realized it was much simpler than I was making out.

 

It sort of is that simple.

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It sort of is that simple.

 

:iagree: Teaching my kids to read with RR is one of the simplest things I've ever done homeschooling. I think it's an absolutely fabulous program and am always surprised it isn't mentioned more often here. And you can't beat the cost - a $16 book and a whiteboard.

 

The one place I really didn't listen to the book is that I never sat across from my kids. We did it side-by-side at a table that in no way conformed to the proper dimensions recommended. ;)

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I think part of my problem is that it does seem to be to simple to be true! There must be something that I'm missing. I feel like I'm going to be messing my dc up if I don't find that missing piece.

 

Thanks for all the advice and support. I'm just going to jump in with both feet this week and see what happens! Wish me luck. :001_smile:

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