Should I keep using OPGTTR?

[kristinannie]

I love this book. It lays things out in an orderly fashion and is easy to use. DS5 detests this book. I don't use the script because he got very frustrated with that. He loves his reading lesson. It is his favorite time of the day, but whenever I take this book out, his eyes glaze over and he just won't sit still. I don't know if it is because he is bored to tears or if he just finds it challenging (he is very smart and is happier when things come easily which most things do). I also think that he gets overwhelmed because there is so much writing on the page. That does freak him out in other programs as well.

 

He LOVES reading his readers. That is his favorite thing. He also loves working with tiles to spell words (which is why I purchased AAS and we are starting it this week). He also does MCP Plaid Phonics because he LOVES worksheets (kind of ironic since I am very anti worksheets). We also play the phonics games from Struggling Reader (a huge hit over here).

 

Anyway, I feel like he has enough phonics from other sources, but I just really love OPGTTR. We have been using for about a month. Should I give it more time or should I just let go? I know we have the ability to choose curricula to fit our child and I know that he will get more than enough phonics from other sources, BUT I also don't want to just throw out curricula left and right. I did switch out handwriting (from CHC to ZB and it made a huge difference). I am just so scared I will become a curriculum junkie!!!!!

[LittleIzumi]

Mine hated it. We threw it out. We use ETC, AAS, and we also have Happy Phonics, plus lots of reading.

[dcjlkplus3]

You could try doing the lessons on a white board - that way he isn't overwhelmed by the print on the page, you would be writing out any words that he would need to read. We did this for a bit with my middle dd (she just finished and had slight eye issues at the beginning) and ocassionally I will do it for my ds6.

[FairProspects]

The reason I love it is because it goes so far in-depth with phonics - it takes kids to a 4th grade reading level by the end. I haven't seen very many other programs that cover that much material.

 

That said, I do think it moves quickly and is really better used as a phonics program for a bit older kids. Not very many young children are ready to go so quickly and cover so much ground.

 

I would take off a few months and play reading games or do his readers and then come back to it. We took off a year and just worked on reading short vowel words and building fluency with longer sentences. When we came back to OPGTR, it was easy to move on and we are flying through it now. He may just need some more time before going so in-depth into phonics.

[kristinannie]

The reason I love it is because it goes so far in-depth with phonics - it takes kids to a 4th grade reading level by the end. I haven't seen very many other programs that cover that much material.

 

That said, I do think it moves quickly and is really better used as a phonics program for a bit older kids. Not very many young children are ready to go so quickly and cover so much ground.

 

I would take off a few months and play reading games or do his readers and then come back to it. We took off a year and just worked on reading short vowel words and building fluency with longer sentences. When we came back to OPGTR, it was easy to move on and we are flying through it now. He may just need some more time before going so in-depth into phonics.

 

 

He actually does really well one I force him to sit and read it. He can sound out all the words. He just HATES it so much and it is like pulling teeth to get him to even look at the book.

[boscopup]

I use the white board. My son is only 4, so reading the smallish print is difficult, plus I don't like their capital 'I', since you can't tell it from the lowercase 'l'.

 

It's also perfectly fine to take a break if you need to. There are do many options. Just user what works and makes you both happy!

[EthiopianFood]

White board here too. Get a pack of markers with several colors, and let him pick which one you should write with!

[kristinannie]

I use the white board. My son is only 4, so reading the smallish print is difficult, plus I don't like their capital 'I', since you can't tell it from the lowercase 'l'.

 

It's also perfectly fine to take a break if you need to. There are do many options. Just user what works and makes you both happy!

 

 

I hate that capital I as well. DS gets so annoyed because he always thinks it is an l. I will try writing things out on a whiteboard. Maybe that will help. I really don't want to ditch this because I love it so much! Why can't kids just love what we love? :confused:

[FairProspects]

He actually does really well one I force him to sit and read it. He can sound out all the words. He just HATES it so much and it is like pulling teeth to get him to even look at the book.

 

That's what I mean, my older ds was just like that at 5, and it was because he just wasn't mature enough to pull everything together emotionally, academically, & physically to read (past CVC words & easy readers anyway). Cognitively he had the skills, but him "hating it" was his way of telling me at that age that he just wasn't ready for complete, sit-down, intensive phonics instruction (at the level of OPGTR). But by age 6, it was easy to breeze through a lesson in just a few minutes, no tears, no drama, no problems because he was just older and more mature. Ds still doesn't love OPGTR, but it is quick, effective, and relatively painless now.

 

I don't think you should drop OPGTR or reading instruction entirely by any means. However, keeping up with something he does like - like his readers or games and coming back to OPGTR in a few months, might be a better way to go. Kids hit lots of walls while learning to read, and sometimes you just have to sit there and go at their pace and eventually they jump forward.

 

I know it is sometimes hard as a Mom to tell if the kid just developmentally needs a break, or whether it is the program, but I will tell you that OPGTR is a very solid program, although like I said, not one I feel is always the best choice for young readers. There are other programs that might be a better choice for a young student, but just be aware that many of them will not cover nearly as much phonics as OPGTR, so if you go another direction, you probably will still need to cover the more difficult phonics material somehow to avoid the 4th grade slump (either through phonetic spelling, by workbooks, or by coming back to OPGTR at a later date).

[lmrich]

I third the idea of the white board. We used little lap boards and the big one on the wall. If you need to make the lesson shorter - break it into two lessons. And put a cover on the book so he can not see it.

[raceNzanesmom]

You could try doing the lessons on a white board - that way he isn't overwhelmed by the print on the page, you would be writing out any words that he would need to read. We did this for a bit with my middle dd (she just finished and had slight eye issues at the beginning) and ocassionally I will do it for my ds6.

 

This is exactly what we did.

[ALB]

I use the white board.

 

It's also perfectly fine to take a break if you need to. There are do many options. Just user what works and makes you both happy!

:iagree: We always used the board in the beginning. For awhile, I copied out the little stories into little booklets for dd to read and illustrate. It wasn't too long before she was fine just reading from the book. She would still say that "reading lessons" were not her favorite (unless it was the jokes or a game), but I'm glad we pressed on and completed the program. It is so thorough!

[hollyh]

I think the content is very solid. That being said, it is dry. I think you simply need to spend some time and think of some ways to "spice it up". I was actually wanting to create a thread on this to get more ideas (for my own dd) but haven't done so yet.

 

A couple ideas.

-break up the lessons

-use white paper to cover up all sentences but the one dc is reading.

-write on whiteboard, use different colors too

-make sentence strips and give dc them one at a time

-make sentence strips and put them in easter eggs and search for them

-make sentence strips (1-2 sentences/paragraphs/whatever dc can handle) with little stickers/stamps/prizes once dc reads them

-write sentences in chalk outside

-make sentences on colored notebook cards and give one at a time

-have sentence relays - read a sentence, run to the wall and back, read a sentence, hop like a bunny, etc.

-put sentences in envelops and let them "open" the letter and read it to you

-make sentence strips and when dc reads it, he gets to crumble it up and make a basket in the trash with the crumbled paper

 

Create some more ideas (or others help here) and cycle through 10 of them. I think it will help your child be able to still LEARN without feeling like he is reading a boring textbook. Also, as he gets more fluent, you can move from one sentence to multiple sentences for each activity.

 

Good luck!

[EthiopianFood]

Yes, oh my gosh, don't do the whole lesson if it seems too long! I do most of the practice words, and then do a reader later in the day as a separate lesson.

[kristinannie]

Yes, oh my gosh, don't do the whole lesson if it seems too long! I do most of the practice words, and then do a reader later in the day as a separate lesson.

 

 

I definitely don't do the whole lesson. We are lucky if we get 3-5 minutes on it before he completely loses his mind.

[kristinannie]

I think the content is very solid. That being said, it is dry. I think you simply need to spend some time and think of some ways to "spice it up". I was actually wanting to create a thread on this to get more ideas (for my own dd) but haven't done so yet.

 

A couple ideas.

-break up the lessons

-use white paper to cover up all sentences but the one dc is reading.

-write on whiteboard, use different colors too

-make sentence strips and give dc them one at a time

-make sentence strips and put them in easter eggs and search for them

-make sentence strips (1-2 sentences/paragraphs/whatever dc can handle) with little stickers/stamps/prizes once dc reads them

-write sentences in chalk outside

-make sentences on colored notebook cards and give one at a time

-have sentence relays - read a sentence, run to the wall and back, read a sentence, hop like a bunny, etc.

-put sentences in envelops and let them "open" the letter and read it to you

-make sentence strips and when dc reads it, he gets to crumble it up and make a basket in the trash with the crumbled paper

 

Create some more ideas (or others help here) and cycle through 10 of them. I think it will help your child be able to still LEARN without feeling like he is reading a boring textbook. Also, as he gets more fluent, you can move from one sentence to multiple sentences for each activity.

 

Good luck!

 

 

These are some great ideas!

[Punchie]

We use a whiteboard as well - a combo of colored markers and magnetic letter tiles.

 

I also printed out the sentences onto index cards in the largest font size that would allow the sentence to remain on one line.

 

For the lessons, we might do one in one day, but then take a week for the next one. If she gets frustrated, I put OPTGR away for a day or so and focus on making words/sentences on the whiteboard, and reading BOB books.

[EthiopianFood]

I definitely don't do the whole lesson. We are lucky if we get 3-5 minutes on it before he completely loses his mind.

 

Does he seem okay during the lesson itself? Is he progressing? Some kids pick it up really quickly too.

[Classically Minded]

We started OPGTTR when my daughter was 6 and she also dreaded it almost all the time, but it wasn't something I was going to let her quit, that wasn't an option. This past February we finished it and it just took about 1 1/2 years and it worked! She was reading 4th grade level books very well after we finished and she keeps getting better and faster! She reads about 2 hours a day most days now, I believe its because we stuck with OPGTTR! :D

[eloquacious]

I find the text itself nearly impossible to teach from. I've set about basically creating a "student text" myself, with just the words to be read in a large, legible font. Then I saved that as a .pdf and I transferred it to my Kindle, which makes it even more fun for my son, who loves technology. ;)

[kristinannie]

Does he seem okay during the lesson itself? Is he progressing? Some kids pick it up really quickly too.

 

 

Yes, he is progressing really quickly which is the main reason I don't want to ditch the program. It is such a fine line between something that works and something that your child just hates to do. If he was older than 5, I would just keep plugging away. I just don't want him to hate school in K. I think I am going to try the whiteboard approach and keep trying to work with it. It is a great program!

[kpnick in nc]

I find the text itself nearly impossible to teach from. I've set about basically creating a "student text" myself, with just the words to be read in a large, legible font. Then I saved that as a .pdf and I transferred it to my Kindle, which makes it even more fun for my son, who loves technology. ;)

 

I'm working on this as well - a printed Word version. DS6 just completed K, and we're about half-way through OPGTR. We both love not having to share the book. We get through the lesson, and if it is a long story, we've been known to take it into the car - if he has trouble he spells it out and I coach him.

DS6 'hates' OPGTR as well, but he is making progress. I added ETC recently, and he loves it. He is trying to convince me to use only that for reading - I'm still thinking...

[EthiopianFood]

Yes, he is progressing really quickly which is the main reason I don't want to ditch the program. It is such a fine line between something that works and something that your child just hates to do. If he was older than 5, I would just keep plugging away. I just don't want him to hate school in K. I think I am going to try the whiteboard approach and keep trying to work with it. It is a great program!

 

You obviously have to do what is right for your child. For me, in this situation, I would just make him do it. Kids can't see how much they will appreciate good reading skills until they have done the work to reach that point. Try to make it fun, but if it still doesn't like it that much, oh well, especially if your lessons are so short to begin with. YMMV

[nikkid]

I find the text itself nearly impossible to teach from. I've set about basically creating a "student text" myself, with just the words to be read in a large, legible font. Then I saved that as a .pdf and I transferred it to my Kindle, which makes it even more fun for my son, who loves technology. ;)

 

I have had this problem too with OPGTR (being too much on a page and confusing/distracting for the student to know what to read or when to stop). With the new First Language Lessons program format and Writing with Ease, you would think OPGTR would be updated too to get rid of the capital I/lowercase l confusion and making it easier for the student to see just their text. My dd8 sees the text for the instructor when I sit next to her so she can see and read her part and automatically is focused on what I didn't say that was in the book or causing problems because she thinks I don't really know what I'm doing and just reading along with what the book says...she detests having to do everything exactly by the book and wants flexibility, but then calls me on it when I don't follow it exactly...she's just finding ways to push my buttons!:eek:

 

Would love it if you and the other poster doing a word file on this would be willing to share!

[Heidi]

Would love it if you and the other poster doing a word file on this would be willing to share!

:iagree:

[NicA]

My dd5 also hated this book. I couldn't even get it out without her having a meltdown. We took a little break, and then I started writing out the lessons on our whiteboard. I couldn't believe how much better she did after this little change. There is just something about that book, I guess! We now get through most lessons in about 10 or 15 minutes, and I will break up some of the longer ones into two days. I am glad we went back to it, because she is reading better and faster every week. I doubt I will ever be able to stop writing the lessons out myself, but that's ok. :001_smile:

[janainaz]

I really don't think a 5 year old should decide curriculum. The lessons are so short that he should be able to get through it.

[kristinannie]

Thanks for all of your replies. Here is our solution: bribery. He does his OPGTTR before he can read his readers. We do it for about 5-10 minutes. However much he finishes, he gets a corresponding amount of chocolate chips. That way, he doesn't stall as much since he can earn more chocolate chips if he does more. It has worked really well for us! He still rolls his eyes when the book comes out, but he is learning a lot. The story in the last lesson was actually cute and a little funny so that helped A LOT. I do agree with PP that they should update the book to make the I's look right and to have fewer and larger words on the page. I would actually rebuy it if they did that.

 

I will not become a curriculum junkie,

I will not become a curriculum junkie,

I will not become a curriculum junkie.......

[lionfamily1999]

I can't decide for you, but maybe my experience can help you decide.

 

Luke (my youngest) and I have been using OPGTtR for two years now. At first he really enjoyed it. We sang the alphabet rhymes and all was well. Then then reading started. Luke would sit down with Bob Books and read happily, but whenever the dreaded OPGT book came out he would clam up.

 

I quit. We worked in ETC, we worked with Starfall, we read Bob Books. I noticed that he was losing his blending ability. Starfall does not teach sounds like OPGT does and he had started sounding out letters in a way that's contrary to blending. B became "buh" making all b words go from "b-o-b" to "buh-o-buh" and even he was losing the meaning.

 

I ran back to OPGT. I started using larger index cards to hide the words he didn't have to read. The stories became funnier. Luke started to like OPGT again.

 

Now, I'm glad I went back. I wish I would have stayed, although I do think that a break was in order, I wish I had not made it so long. I also dislike Starfall. I still tell people about it, because so many people like it, but I try to warn them that the way it teaches sounds makes blending harder.

 

So, the break was needed, but I am VERY GLAD we're back to OPGT.