Looking for a FUN phonics program!

[Greta]

I was discussing this in another thread, so here is the background:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=196204#poststop

 

But in a nutshell: 8yo 2nd grade dd is grudging reader who needs help with phonics skills. We stopped using Phonics Pathways because she hated it so intensely. I think it's a great program, but it is a bit dry. She needs something more fun to keep her attention. We've also tried SWR and that was not a good match either. I don't know what else to try, but I know it needs to be something more fun in order to avoid the crying that was frequent before. Also, I don't need or want to start over from scratch, but her skills are a bit behind for her grade level (think Frog and Toad books, that's what she's comfortable with) and we need to sharpen them. Ideas?

 

Thanks!

[LadyAberlin]

Maybe Learning Language arts through Literature. Their red level is 2nd grade and they finish up their phonics instruction in it.

[Closeacademy]

I made SWR fun. I went through and decided to just spend time on the phonograms and their sounds this past year. We did A to Z doing 1 per day and the rest at a 2 per week pace.

 

How did I make them fun?

 

I went through the word lists and found words for all the sounds of each phonogram and made them into silly sentences. I then drew fun pictures to go with the trigger words.

 

During the lesson, I would show her the picture, say the sentence and then have her do the sentence as copywork. The next day I would have a chart for the phonogram with places for the different sounds and we would plug in the words from the sentence and any others we could think of. I then taped both to the wall for a week.

 

After they were done on the wall, I would put the charts in a notebook for her and the pictures in another notebook for phonogram review.

 

It has worked very well and my dd has made a lot of progress this year (2nd grade). She has done well enought that in August I plan to start working through the lists again at 1 per week, adding in search a words, fill in the blanks, charts and worksheets I made up from the enrichment ideas in the WISE guide.

 

This is just an idea to take what you have on hand and bend it to fit your needs rather than spend more money. Hopefully, you will find something that she has fun with. We started doing SWR this way in Dec. and will finish up next month. She is now enjoying reading books (easy readers although she is capable of more).:001_smile:

[Hazelt"nut"]

I use Sing Spell Read Write..You could get the first grade kit but would have to skip some at the beginning which is letter sound review. The program has songs and games like bingo and card games. We like it here and my dd has done very well with it.

[materursa]

A really fun phonics program that works is Frontline Phonics. It has a cd of letter songs, 2 sets of flashcards, a couple of simple workbooks (there's no writing except for lines at the top of 1 sheet per letter for writing the letter), a "coaching manual", a how-to video for parents, little letter pieces with pictures on them (bad description, sorry!) and 53 readers. It's a bit pricey ($250 w/free shipping), but it's fun, the kids like it and it works.

 

The first letters that are taught are M, A, S, & T, then a blending lesson, then H & G, then you introduce the first reader. The readers are in full color and are a little bigger then Bob Books (and my kids found them much more interesting.) They like the letter songs and ask to listen to them frequently.

 

The workbooks are meant to be written in, but page protectors and wipe-off markers can preserve them if you have younger children.

 

This was the very first "school thing" I bought and that was before I knew about all the different programs out there. My daughter was very young at the time and wanted desperately to read, but I needed a lot of hand holding then. This program worked very well for us.

 

http://www.frontlinephonics.com/

 

You can get 6 free lessons here: http://www.frontlinephonics.com/free_lessons.asp

However, I have not done this and I'm not sure exactly what lessons these are.

[Sue G in PA]

We are going to start using AAS for my ds9 who struggles w/ spelling AND a bit w/ reading b/c of his lack of a good phonics foundation. AAS uses those letter/phoneme tiles to teach spelling and I'm guessing once the "rules" are learned, it would be quite useful to reading as well. As for fun? I'm not sure it will be "fun" for my ds, but it will be different, KWIM?

 

I would also recommend having her read to you frequently so you can get an idea of where she struggles...if you don't do this already! I stopped having ds9 read to me b/c he dreaded it, but have found that it is a necessary evil so that I can determine wherein lies his problem.

[Greta]

Thank you for the suggestions so far (and feel free to keep them coming!) I'll look into these options. Also, is anyone familiar with Rocket Phonics or Explode the Code?

 

Christy, I'm impressed with the way you adapted SWR!!! But I'm not sure I'm creative or motivated enough to do it. I'm spoiled and lazy, I have to admit it. I want to just open the book and go! We have such a fantastic open the book and go program with math that teaches brilliantly and that my daughter has loved from day one. Why can't I find something like this for phonics???? Okay, I'm done whining.

[Greta]

Sue, I can't find AAS on the abbreviation sticky -- could you please tell me what that stands for? Thanks!

[mom26]

Thank you for the suggestions so far (and feel free to keep them coming!) I'll look into these options. Also, is anyone familiar with Rocket Phonics or Explode the Code?

 

Hi,

All of my kiddos have done well with Explode the Code...the sentences and pictures are often silly but they are learining and it definitely reinforces whatever phonics program you are using...i would use this to supplement.

 

i did attempt to use Rocket Phonics and while it looks fun, I found it cumbersome and had trouble using some of the blends the way they presented them...it was difficult for me to teach so I sold it after only a few weeks. Others might have a more positive review so take this for what it's worth.

Some of the other suggestions above sound great!

Hope you find what works!!

Blessings,Kathi

[scrapbabe]

We have used Explode the Code and enjoyed them. We also did Happy Phonics at lovetolearn.com. My favorite for my son who was "behind" -(I hate using that word because I don't believe people are behind. Who should determine how well a child should read at a certain age? - it's so different for every child) - Anyway, my favorite has been headsprout online program. It's a little pricey, but it's been the best option for my 8 year old son.

 

Smiles,

Shalynn

[Sue G in PA]

AAS = All About Spelling. It is similar to SWR but not as time/teacher intensive from what I hear. AND it is not as pricey. Explode the Code is a good program to use as well. Some kids like it, some don't My 6 yo was bored to tears w/it but my ds8 doesn't mind it too much...although he did just express an interest in canning it! Honestly, I'm considering having my ds9 use ETC to brush up on his phonics a bit. He's a smart kid, but just didn't have the "grounding" in phonics that his siblings had. Good luck. You can also do a search of the boards for "AAS" and see all the reviews...it's been discussed a lot recently.

[Mrs Mungo]

I use Sing Spell Read Write..You could get the first grade kit but would have to skip some at the beginning which is letter sound review. The program has songs and games like bingo and card games. We like it here and my dd has done very well with it.

 

I agree. I think Sing, Spell, Read and Write is by far the best program for kids who need something entertaining.

[iquilt]

My rising 2nd grader is using OPG in combination with Explode the Code - she does OPG more as our spelling program and she loves Code. My rising K'er is starting with Phonics Pathways, she likes the bookworm, and she's using Get Ready for the Code.

[King Alfred Academy]

We have used Explode the Code and enjoyed them. We also did Happy Phonics at lovetolearn.com.

 

I was going to suggest Happy Phonics. This program uses games as reinforcement and is used with the ETC books. I am using it to teach my 4.5 ds how to read, but I am also going to use it with my ds7 as reinforcement of the rules. I would encourage you to check it out because it is a lot of fun.

[Greta]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. I'm still looking over all our options and deciding what to do. When I talked to my hubby and my mom about this, they both felt like rehashing the phonics is not the best use of our time. They said just keep having her read aloud and keep reading aloud to her, and that's probably all she needs at this point. So now I'm debating if the phonics thing is even worth it or not. It's so hard to say. I know how important phonics is for both decoding and spelling. And yet I was a very good reader who always did terribly on phonics worksheets -- I still remember the horrors of my first grade phonics worksheets on the letter u! But I knew perfectly well how to read words with u in them.

 

I go back and forth on this issue. I know phonics is important, but I also know that with a language as complex as English (with so many different root languages with different rules) it only works to a point, and that just jumping and reading real living books is at some point is what's required. I just don't know if we're at that point.

 

Well, I'm just mulling all this over. But I really truly appreciate all the suggestions!