So Many "Helper Words" (Sight Words) in Hooked on Phonics!

[eloquacious]

I got a fantastic deal on an unused Hooked on Phonics Levels 1-5 a while back at a kids resale store, so I pounced - but since then I've learned a bit more of how I'd like to teach reading, and I would prefer my son (who just turned three and is rocking the CVC words) would have fewer sight words. That being said, he LOVES the silly HOP books and even the sticker chart. ("May I read another book so I can get a red sticker?")

 

Having read a while back that it's best to over-teach phonics rather than under-teach, we have several resources that we're using:

 

"Baby Frog," aka LeapFrog DVDs and fridge magnets

Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading

(100 EZ Lessons - bought but not using)

Explode the Code books 1 and 1 1/2 - we do these orally because he lacks the fine motor finesse to write, though I just got him some letter stamps yesterday and we'll experiment with that

Starfall, iPhone apps, Progressive Phonics Books, BOB Books.

 

So basically, there are TONS of things he does, and he keeps asking to do more. I am trying to slow him down, if anything, by doing so many different methods, so that we can stay in CVC territory a while longer and cement it. (He starts to get cocky and guesses at words when he thinks he knows what it'll be.)

 

SO. All that being said, how do I best deal with the gadzooks of "helper" words in HOP? Do I teach them as the program teaches them, and just not worry about it? Do I just read them for him, knowing that it would take the satisfaction out of reading the whole book by himself? What have you done, if you've used HOP?

[Farrar]

Maybe just gently teach him the rules that go with them. ETC introduces the rules that cover "e" at the end of a short word (the, me, he, she, we, etc.) and "y" at the end of a short word (my, by, etc.) pretty early - book 3 maybe? Maybe skip ahead and do those lessons if you can?

[boscopup]

I am trying to slow him down, if anything, by doing so many different methods, so that we can stay in CVC territory a while longer and cement it. (He starts to get cocky and guesses at words when he thinks he knows what it'll be.)

 

He may be asking for more because you're holding him back? Why not go ahead and throw in some "new" stuff, but review the CVC words constantly, and throw in some fake words to make sure he's using his phonics?

 

Frankly,I am B-O-R-E-D with CVC words, but he doesn't have automaticity yet (still has to sound them out, but has no problem doing so with any kind of CVC word), so I threw in "ar" yesterday (like "car"), then went back to the CVC-type sentences in OPGTR for the rest of the lesson. It gave us something new and fresh, but we are still doing the CVC stuff.

 

We also do Webster's Speller, so that's helping with the long sounds, so life isn't all CVC words all the time. I see no reason to hold a child back. Just continue to review AS you move forward.

 

Can't help you on your HOP question though. I've never even seen it. We're using Webster's Speller and OPGTR together right now.

[mom2boys030507]

I have taught two boys to read with HOP and am currently teaching my third.

 

At the beginning, I just read the site words for my boys. They have quickly picked them up and start reading them on their own. In the later books I do teach them as scheduled, but when we get to learning how to sound them out we always go back through the site works and practice them by sounding them out and stating the rule - if one is taught.

 

I have also done lots of word walls and flash cards with the CVC words. My boys also got "cocky" and would guess when reading the books. So I took the words out of the books. Sometimes, in the same sentences without the pictures was all it took.

 

I have to say that once my boys were ready to learn to read, the books seemed more like a formality. I would introduce the sound to them and then they read the pages. My boys also loved all the little books because they felt like they were truly reading from the beginning.

[The Governess]

My dd flew through levels 1-5 in 9 months. She was an early reader as well and was done with the program before she turned four. :001_huh: I didn't worry about the sight words. Most of the sight words are words that can be taught phonetically but are introduced early so the kids have a better vocabulary for the readers that are used. The phonograms/blends for most of these words are covered later in the program, and at that point you can re-introduce the words phonetically. It sounds like your son is gifted in the phonics department like my dd is (it's like she was born with a phonics de-coder implanted in her brain :lol:) - for a child like this, I don't think the sight words in the program will do him any harm.

 

My dd also would sometimes try to speed through the words and guess based on the first letter. I used the letter flash cards that came with the program extensively during the first level, to make CVC words and then have her change out one of the letters with another to make a new word, or have her build a CVC word for me with 8 or so letters to choose from. These exercises helped a lot with training her to pay attention to each letter in a word and not just the first letter.

 

Have fun! I am getting ready to start the program all over again with dd4 in a couple weeks. :001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

I would personally use another program, but if he loves it and you don't want to switch, here is how to teach the sight words phonetically:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

[kristinannie]

I was dead set against sight words. My son was being taught only sight words in pre-K and refused to try and sound anything out so I went the other way and went completely against sight words at all. I went to the HS convention and went to several talks about teaching reading and I came to understand the important role that sight words play in learning to read. There are 300 of the most common sight words that all kids should be able to recognize within a second or two. Those are the most common words in the English language and come up so often that they need to be recognized on sight and not be sounded out. However, I ALWAYS sound out the sight words with them before trying to memorize them through games. I was taught in the "whole language" way which was a disaster! That was basically memorizing every word and not being able to sound it out. I say if HOP is working for you, keep going with it, especially if your DC loves it!

[creekster519]

We are doing HOP K with my daughter. I usually tell her the rule behind the sight word such as in "like", the silent e at the end makes the i say it's name. Others can be sounded out, they are just a little more advanced phonics than our level. For example, we learned "with" the other day. So I taught her the sound that th makes and now she can sound out with. We love HOP and she's doing really well. She's so proud of herself when she can read a book on her own.

[melmichigan]

I am currently finishing up HOP with my fourth child. I just teach the sight words phonetically whenever possible, I might mention the rule but don't focus on it. I teach spelling phonetically so it isn't a problem because all the rules are covered and reinforced over time.

[StartingOver]

We had HOP from before. My son loves the books, but I want more phonics. We use OPGTR, and read the HOP books along with our Sonlight readers. I just sound out words that we come across that he hasn't learned yet in OPGTR, and rock on. So it is the best of both worlds. hehe

[eloquacious]

StartingOver, I think that's exactly what we'll wind up doing. I'll just sound out those words, and I'll only focus on him remembering the sight words that OPGTR uses. We have the Sonlight readers, too, I forgot all about those.

[ElizabethB]

It is very easy to teach a few rules to be able to sound them all out.

 

If you read my sight word page, it shows how to sound out all but 2 of the most commonly taught 220 Dolch sight words:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

[eloquacious]

Elizabeth,

 

I was at a loss to figure out how to teach the HOP sight words phonetically, even with your page... do I introduce the rule, or just sound it out phonetically and then pass over it, hoping he won't notice. Then I remembered what you said about LeapFrog - "better a talking frog than me!"

 

I ordered the Talking Word Factory 2/ Code Word Caper DVD from Amazon, and let him watch it. All the things discussed (th/ch/sh, silent e making the previous vowel long, two vowels going walking, etc) is still beyond him. He doesn't even know what vowels are, he just knows all the letter sounds... BUT now when I go back and re-introduce the word "the," which is even in OPGTR, I can mention the "baby frog" movie where the machine smooshed the t and the h together. Perhaps it will help him if the weird new rule doesn't come from me first. ;)

[ElizabethB]

Elizabeth,

 

I was at a loss to figure out how to teach the HOP sight words phonetically, even with your page... do I introduce the rule, or just sound it out phonetically and then pass over it, hoping he won't notice. Then I remembered what you said about LeapFrog - "better a talking frog than me!"

 

I ordered the Talking Word Factory 2/ Code Word Caper DVD from Amazon, and let him watch it. All the things discussed (th/ch/sh, silent e making the previous vowel long, two vowels going walking, etc) is still beyond him. He doesn't even know what vowels are, he just knows all the letter sounds... BUT now when I go back and re-introduce the word "the," which is even in OPGTR, I can mention the "baby frog" movie where the machine smooshed the t and the h together. Perhaps it will help him if the weird new rule doesn't come from me first. ;)

 

The is long e and regular before vowels, it follows the pattern of he, she, me, we. Before consonants, it will schwa to u. (I use the word mush, and explain how when we relax our mouths we say uh, and we say uh when we don't know what to say...)

 

Here is how to explain the patterns of exceptions, from my sight word page:

 

To teach a word that has a sound change from what would be expected, have your student sound the word out after explaining the exception. For example, for said you say, "ai normally makes the long a sound, ay. In this word it makes the short e sound of eh. Then, you sound it out for them: /s/ /e/ /d/" Then, have them try to sound it out. The word has should be approached the same way: "s normally says sss, in this word it makes the z sound, /z/." Then, you sound it out for them: /h/ /a/ /z/ and then the student sounds it out.

 

It is also best to teach a whole bunch of s as z words at once, younger children generally learn best by pattern, not rule.

 

as, is, his, has, etc.

[eloquacious]

Elizabeth, on a side note, I've been checking out your recommended resources, and I've noticed that the Rebecca Smith Pollard books (esp. the primer) combine simple regular words (aka the words that have been taught phonetically) with images in order to create more diversity in the sample sentences. So for example, something like "Had Dan a (picture of a ball)?" What do you think of this method of "spicing up" sample sentences in order to avoid having to introduce sight words?

 

I'd love to work with someone to use a method like this or even the Blend Phonics pages to create sample mini books or readers, to be distributed for free (like the Progressive Phonics books). I have a bit of graphic design knowledge, and it would be fun to create something like that, downloadable in .pdf format for homeschooling parents.

[ElizabethB]

Elizabeth, on a side note, I've been checking out your recommended resources, and I've noticed that the Rebecca Smith Pollard books (esp. the primer) combine simple regular words (aka the words that have been taught phonetically) with images in order to create more diversity in the sample sentences. So for example, something like "Had Dan a (picture of a ball)?" What do you think of this method of "spicing up" sample sentences in order to avoid having to introduce sight words?

 

I'd love to work with someone to use a method like this or even the Blend Phonics pages to create sample mini books or readers, to be distributed for free (like the Progressive Phonics books). I have a bit of graphic design knowledge, and it would be fun to create something like that, downloadable in .pdf format for homeschooling parents.

 

I like the Pollard pictures. I normally don't like pictures, but those seem to decrease guessing rather than increase guessing.

 

Pictures within sentences, I like. Pictures above the text that make the student guess and draw attention away form the words, I don't like.

[eloquacious]

I agree, it's precisely that aspect of the HOP books, in addition to the sight words, that frustrates me with the Hooked on Phonics system. However, having little individually bound books with pictures on the cover (esp. in color) is nice.

 

I think it has taken my reading several phonics books and web sites, including yours, to get to the point where I realize that yes, the Blend Phonics page would have been all I needed. However, my son really loves the incentive charts and stickers, and having his own little books... and I'm sorry, but Mr. Potter's "Readers," even the "lite" edition, are far, far too cluttered for my little 3-year old's eyes. The layout of the Hooked on Phonics book is much easier, even compared to the OPGTR, which I find very hard to work with for him, too. I have created my own little "workbook" with just the student text in large print, separated by white space.

 

I would really like to use the free (Blend Phonics) materials to create a downloadable and printable system that parents can use (just as they do Progressive Phonics) which makes it easier and less intimidating to implement. When I first saw the Blend Phonics documents, I downloaded them and read through them, but found page after page of word lists far too intimidating.

[joysworld]

I just would like to recommend the book 'The ABC's and all their Tricks.' I borrowed it from the library and it is a MUST have:) We did our reading lesson with it this morning. Before our reading section, I looked over to see with letter team we have yet to cover. It so happened that it was oa. I wrote those letters down, and told him the sound it made. The book has a list of words for each letter team, and I would write a word and he would underline the team, and then sound it out. I did several words, and then he read his reading section, and did great. He didn't have to sound out each word that had oa because he already knew the sound.

 

I bought HOP levels k-3 at a really good deal, so I thought I would go ahead and get them. When we came across 'helper' words, the words that could be sounded at, I taught him how, such as the silent e and the long i in like. Other words, I didn't know the phonetic rules behind them, such as the long e in the, or the u sound in the:) or the long i in with and this, etc. So, I just did those as sight words instead of having him sound them out and understand the rules. Sight words have their place. It gives them the ability to read more fluently and not get frustrated and bored with having to sound out e.v.e.r.y. single word, which in turn gives them the confidence and pride that they are reading!!

 

Now that he is older and able to grasp more of the 'rules', and now that I have the ABC trick book, I can confidently explain them to him:)