What did you use to teach VSL to read?

[1shortmomto4]

or grammar? or writing?

 

Need that whole-to-parts learning curve with the "picture it in my head" kind of flare.....

 

Singapore math style but for LA.........

[FO4UR]

Dancing Bears Reading and Apples & Pears Spelling

 

http://www.prometheantrust.org/usshop.htm

 

 

For grammar, we've only just begun...but oral lessons are best for my 8yo. He gets grammar at a logic stage level in many ways, but to hand him a grammar workbook would be a big flop. I'm self-educating my own grammar so I can "teach off the cuff" with him until he's older. I've shown him a few sentence diagrams and he thinks it looks like fun...we'll see.:tongue_smilie: I bought the Sentence Family. I plan on color coding for as long as he needs it...keeping it light on output/rich on input iykwim. He's only 8yo though...our focus is on reading/spelling right now b/c that's where his needs lie.

 

For writing, I study WWE textbook and CM's writings. We do copywork, narration, and dictation. Most of our dictation comes from Apples & Pears Spelling (2 birds/1 stone). I pull copywork from books he loves and his memory work. Narration is mostly oral, and it's a natural part of our reading at his point. (My kids love to talk.) A couple times per week I write down one of his narrations. I *love* WWE, but my VSL just doesn't fit the neat and tidy progression...so I tweak it for him with the end goals in sight.

 

 

Click the "Nann in Mass" link in my siggie.;)

[almondbutterandjelly]

I used Abeka Phonics 1 and 2 with ALL the whistles and bells and optional flashcards to teach my vsl how to read. I stuck really closely to the scripted lessons in the lesson plan. I know that initially, back in kinder before I started homeschooling, my dd had to memorize a list of sight words, so I paired each word with a picture and just drilled her on them. That made something click for her, so that we were able to do Abeka Phonics the following year and have much success.

 

You might also look into Dianne Craft Right Brain Phonics. Right brain learners tend to be VSLs.

[LittleIzumi]

AAS and HWOT here. Plus tons of reading together.

[sbgrace]

I used I See Sam books which we loved and put us on our way to reading after failing up to that point. Then I used a free multi-sensory orton gillingham type method (which is the basis for AAS though I didn't use that). Both are pure phonics actually. It worked well for him. He had a strong tendency toward sight reading and word memorization so he, imo, benefited from a very explicit phonics foundation.

 

I purchased Sentence Family for some grammar and he adores it! I think it would be good for many visual-spatial kids who are also right brain learners though of course my son is the only of those types I actually know as a learner. It fits him so well that I'm going to add Life of Fred to our math to see if it helps in that area. We used HWOT for printing and I'm using Phonics Road for spelling and writing instruction. I can't say yet how PR fits him because it strikes me as left brained and step by step in many ways. I was nervous actually. But so far so good at half way through level one. He likes the songs, loves to make up stories to go with each word, and the patterns seem to connect for him. He's such an intuitive, whole picture learner with such a strong bent in direction that with any curriculum he learns that way if it's at all possible.

Edited July 14, 2011 by sbgrace

[Moniksca]

I didn't teach my ds to read since he was in PS but the teacher used Jolly phonics and he learned pretty quickly. For writing we use WWE but I did let him follow along with me while I read. The dictation really helped with his spelling. We're going to be using MCT next year, which I hope will click with him. I was using Megawords with ds last year but should have seen that a workbook approach wasn't the best, so next year we're going to start AAS.

[1shortmomto4]

This has given me some things to look at further. We are going to use AAS although I have a feeling he's going to go fast at first since he would listen in on older brother's lessons and spell the word from the other room (defeating the purpose of the lesson for older brother, of course). I've had to deal with so many learning challenges with my other kids that teaching the youngest seems to be a breeze since he just seems to absorb everything around him but I'm so afraid I'll miss something that he really needs.......

[Aurelia]

I have seen the most progress in reading with a combo of WRTR, AAS and Jolly Phonics. JP uses motions for each sound which have helped recall, but Ariel really needed to write the phonograms and words to truly learn them. For grammar, I really like Jolly Grammar at this age. It's a continuation of JP but with a focus on spelling and covers nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, alphabetical order and beginning dictionary skills. If my child were older, I'd use The Sentence Family. I'm still trying to find the ideal writing curriculum, but for right now, Winning with Writing seems to be working. I also plan to use some of the literature units from Moving Beyond the Page because I think they will stretch and engage her.

[Colleen in NS]

Click the "Nann in Mass" link in my siggie.;)

 

I love it! Nan in your siggie! I love her posts.