How much OPGTR per grade?

[Ritsumei]

Can you give me a ballpark idea of how much of OPGTR you did in K? In 1st? How long did it take you to finish the book entirely?

 

In looking at the tools that the PS systems use to level kids into "1st grade reading level," "2.4," and so on, it seems like those levels are assuming a large number of sight words, and that seems like a very apples-to-oranges comparison for trying to gauge where a kid being taught with strict phonics is at. So, for those who have used and finished this book, or are currently using it, about how long did it take to get through it? At what point might you say that you are now working on 1st grade work or 2nd grade work?

 

I realize that it's not important, but I am incurably curious.:)

 

Also - around what lesson did your child start to be able to read "real" books. I'm seriously considering coming back for digraphs later after we do a few of the long vowel sounds, because having just a few of the long vowel rules would allow such an increase in the number of words he can read, and it's driving *me* crazy that we've been working so hard for so long and still can't read any "real" books. Bob Books hardly seem to count...

[alpidarkomama]

I think it took DD8 eighteen months, from late K to early 2nd. I have lots of books around for the kids to read, but never assigned them anything outside of our OPGTR time. After we finished OPGTR she just took off with reading books. Now she's reading 500-1,000 pages per week, and it's all I can do to pull her into our regular learning time!!! :tongue_smilie:

[baybedaul]

We did the first half of OPGTR in K and we'll be finishing up the second half this year in first grade. After we finished the first two or three sets of Bob books we moved right into Dick and Jane books and he really took off from there. Now he's happy to attempt pretty much anything from the library's selection of readers and enjoys reading many of the picture books. I think we're right around lesson 130 or so. We were pretty sporadic with it last year with probably only 2 lessons a week or so. Now we're doing it every day since his reading has really taken off.

[FairProspects]

Well, for us it is not a straight forward answer. We used OPGTR for 5 months in Pre-K to about Lesson 80, and it was just moving too fast for ds after the CVC section. When we started, he was so wiggly we struggled to complete half a lesson a day. He could not apply and read all those rules at once when we passed short vowels, so we switched for around a year to another phonics program that focuses only on short vowel words for all of K (First Start Reading). Once we completed FSR, we came back to OPGTR, starting at the long vowel section around Lesson 60. We've now been back to OPGTR for around 7 months, and we are at Lesson 180. I expect to finish in January. Ds did not start to read real books until after FSR.

 

So, actual time spent with OPGTR is 1 year, but total development time from start to finish will be 2.25 years.

Edited September 26, 2011 by FairProspects

[RoundAbout]

Currently using OPGTR with my son who is turning 5 in December. Right now on lesson 70, working almost everyday, and moving at a pace of 2-3 lessons a week depending. Some of the lessons (like 70) are pretty jam packed IMHO - reviewing long a and long e, learning long i, sight word "give", and teaching that "live" can be pronounced 2 different ways depending on context.

 

Fortunately between the Word Caper Leapfrog DVD and Starfall he has had no problem with the idea of silent e so we've been able to fly through that.

 

I think your plan for digraphs are fine. I actually think its a huge mistake to teach similar things back-to-back like the book does. Way too easy to get them confused IMHO. My son already had "sh" down from Starfall so we are now reviewing "th" until its down pat. Then I will go back to "ch/tch."

 

We too are wondering when he will be able to read real books. Presumably by the end? It is annoying that so many early readers are so heavily dependent on sight words.

[dcjlkplus3]

We have done mostly half in kindergarten and half in first grade. I had one child who need to go slower and for her we finihsed in 2nd grade.

 

We are at lesson 110 or so with my youngest at the beginning of 1st grade. He can read quite a bit. Beginner readers are hard, because so many of them use sight words that he can't sound out. I find it easiest to let him read most of a book and just help him with the ones he can't read on his own yet.

 

He cruises through a big collection of Dick and Jane books that we got a few years ago at Costco on his own, so it depends on the real books that you have or find.

[Roadrunner]

Take it at a child's pace. We planned on spending 2 years on it with my soon to be five year old and the goal was to just get through CVC words and silent Es the first year. He went through the entire book in 6 months. My friend has been working with it for about 1.5 years with a soon to be 7 year old and probably has another 6 months to go. It depends. I wouldn't plan it out. We never did more than 10 minutes a day and the results boggle my mind.

We also used Bob books and easy readers from the library to make things interesting.

[acurtis75]

I can't answer your specific question because I didn't discover OPGTR until after my daughter was almost finished with ETC and could read but my daughter was getting frustrated and wanting to hurry up and read more "real books" so I found two things that helped. First, we got to a level in ETC that had silly sentences which she was motivated to read because they made her laugh (I don't have the books so I'm not sure what book # it was). You might try adding ETC books as a supplement. They only cost $6 or $7 and you don't need the teacher book. The second thing was I found a few phonetically controlled readers that had new words listed on the left side of the page and a short story on the right. It's been a while and I donated them so I can't remember the publisher but they really encouraged my daughter because she felt like she was reading a "real book". I found them at a local homeschool store. Unfortunately most librarians had no idea what I was talking about when I said I wanted phonetically controlled readers because of the whole system of saying a child reads on x level because they know/memorized x # of words. I never understood that concept. I don't want my daugher to be able to read 100 specific words, I just want her to be able to read!:001_smile:

[Milknhoney]

We finished OPGTR by the end of K, but I didn't start from the beginning because Dd had already learned CVC words in preschool. We just did the lessons, we didn't do readers with it because I thought the practice sections in the lessons were enough, and because it is basically impossible to find any thing suitable anyway. The CVC books he got from the preschool were insanely boring. Gradually, though, he would start pulling out our library books that I had gotten as read-alouds and start working through them on his own. By the time we finished OPG, he was ready to go for Frog & Toad and Mr. Putter & Tabby books. Maybe he could have done it earlier, but I just didn't push it.

[ElizabethB]

You can add in the I See Sam books, that's a fun way to add in a few long vowels.

 

And, of course, there is always the syllables of Webster's Speller!

[Classically Minded]

We started in K and finished halfway through 1st grade, it took us about 15 months to finish. I also had my daughter read books when she was able to according to the corresponding lessons given here:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/readers-guide?___store=default

 

She read 119 MCP readers, all the Abeka readers and all the Bob books. Once she finished OPGTTR she was able to read books on a 4th grade level for her challenging reading and then everything under that level was easy for her and she read those in the evening for "fun" reading.

 

From what I recall, around lesson 60 you have taught all the requirements of K and start 1st grade level material. Then by 120 they start 2nd grade level, etc. The end of the book ends with 4th grade level words.

 

To incorporate spelling, grammar, etc. some recommendations of when to do that are here, its the last question on the bottom:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/frequently-asked-questions?___store=default

[petepie2]

I started my DD when she was 3.5 yrs old in OPGTR (starting with the lessons on CVC words) and she finished about 2 years later. We started adding in Bob Books early on, and then about six months into it, I started her on Sonlight's Grade 1 Readers. She was always ahead in OPGTR compared to the SL books, but sometimes there were words that were introduced in the readers first. (I had the same experience with Bob Books.) Overall it was a really good fit. I like the progression in the Sonlight readers.

 

I'm now doing the same thing with my DS, although right now he's going at a slower pace. I started back in January with him when he was 4.5 yrs old and made it through the "silent e" lessons. At the beginning of this school year, I spent several weeks repeating the lessons on silent e. Now we're finally moving into the next section. He's also doing the Sonlight Grade 1 Readers. My goal is for him to complete OPGTR at least by the end of 1st Grade.

[JohannaM]

I dug around a lot looking for "books" because my daughter was very excited about reading books once she started reading. Other than the Bob books, I found the Modern Curriculum Press Phonics Readers. Also, by chance, in our library I stumbled across Compass Point Phonics Readers. They were nice because they are non-fiction. I also found books by Brian Cleary (The Bug in the Jug Wants a Hug) that were based on a phonics progression, although there is only 1 per "level" (i.e. one with short vowels, one with blends, one with silent-e words etc..). You can see most of these titles at Amazon. None were stellar writing :lol: due to the limited vocabulary they could incorporate, but they satisfied my DD's sense of accomplishment reading a whole book.

 

We found it wasn't until we got to the vowel pairs lessons that she could get through many of the readers in the library because of all the sight words. But once she was there, she could read most any level.

[hollyh]

We are only in lesson 60ish and dd is 4, but the bob books have been wonderful. She is finishing the 2nd set and they are easy reading for her... I only give them to her every once in a while as a "prize". LOL.

[Ritsumei]

Thanks, all! It's nice to know about how long it's taken folks, and I'm definitely going to be having a look at some of those phonetic readers!

[go_go_gadget]

My started at 5.5 and went through it in nine months total, but there were two several months-long breaks in there and it was about five months of actual work. He hated the BOB books but enjoyed the MCP Phonics Practice readers and started those at around the time he started working on long vowel sounds. My daughter started at 4.5 and will probably take about nine months to get through it.

 

Regarding switching the order of the digraphs and long vowels: I don't know that long vowels without digraphs will get your son reading books any faster than digraphs without long vowels, though; they're of basically equal utility. I don't think it would hurt, but I don't think it would speed him up, either.

[Kile529]

My OPGTR is in the mail...I did 100EZ with my 8 year old who is now 9. He lost everything over the summer...and I thought 100EZ would have him reading fluently, but found out on here that it only covers 60% off phonics. How much does OPGTR cover? I haven't pushed too hard bc ds is very sensitive and hates to be inside. This year, dh and I have told ds that it's "suck it up" year. No more easy going. Do we supplement while using OPGTR or where do we go after?! Sorry OP if I'm taking over the thread........

[iona]

My OPGTR is in the mail...I did 100EZ with my 8 year old who is now 9. He lost everything over the summer...and I thought 100EZ would have him reading fluently, but found out on here that it only covers 60% off phonics. How much does OPGTR cover? I haven't pushed too hard bc ds is very sensitive and hates to be inside. This year, dh and I have told ds that it's "suck it up" year. No more easy going. Do we supplement while using OPGTR or where do we go after?! Sorry OP if I'm taking over the thread........

 

I'll try to find the youtube video where SWB addresses phonics remediation with an older child. OPGTR involves no writing so you could easily do it outside. It has nice short lessons also.

 

eta http://www.youtube.com/user/peacehillpress#p/u/7/0fZmTmxVxy0

 

if it doesn't go to the right one...look for Q & A session 1 part 3 (she is outside wearing a red shirt) It deals with going back over phonics with a struggling reader and at the end encourages you to lay a good foundation and not to worry about being behind as long as you are moving forward.

 

As far as I know it covers all of the phonics, and I'm sorry because I think I'm only partially answering your question. I found the videos helpful and encouraging.

Edited September 28, 2011 by iona

[Kile529]

That'd be fantastic! thank you!!

[3peasinapod]

We started when oldest DD was just beginning 2nd grade. We started about 1/3 of the way through, and since we were doing ETC also, we didn't do many lessons a week. She's still working on it now in 3rd grade :tongue_smilie:, but it is not challenging for her at all. She can do nearly every lesson with ease (we're on lesson 215 or something like that - nearly done). Our 3rd grader is working on ETC 7 and 8 this year.

 

I plan on doing just the letter sounds and some CVC work for K next year with our youngest. Then in first, about half of what is left, and finish up in 2nd. I pushed my oldest early, and it was a disaster, so I err on the side of slowly, though.

Edited September 28, 2011 by 3peasinapod

[Kile529]

Iona - thanks for the video link! That really helped!! I've been in panic mode the last 2 years...so I think i can calm down now and just be focused. ;) lol

 

3peas - I've heard of ETC being really good - I'll definitely check into that!

[mindypickens]

We are currently using OGPTR and DD6 is on lesson a hundred and something. I just wanted to put a plug here for what I think are the BEST BEST BEST phonics readers ever! The Nora Gaydos "Now I'm Reading" books matched very well with the progression in OPGTR and were much more modern, fun and engaging than Bob books or Abeka. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Now-Reading-Playful-Pals-Level/dp/1584762039

I also really like that each book is like a CD case with 10 small removable books inside and they all clasp with a magnet closure. My DD loved them and still does. The illustrations are great and were the reward at the end of our OPGTR lessons. Can't reccomend them highly enough to use along side OPGTR.

[Sahamamama]

My oldest reached Lesson 100 by the end of Pre-K, just before turning five years old. By that point, she was reading books such as Frog and Toad, Owl Moon, and Poppleton. She finished the rest of the lessons in Kindergarten. By that point, she was reading books such as Little House in the Big Woods, Ginger Pye, Misty of Chincoteague, and Betsy-Tacy.

 

My twins are going through OPG faster. I'm not sure what to do with them, in fact. They are already almost to Lesson 100, and we're only halfway through our school year. We barely do 2-3 lessons per week (and not every week). We play games and practice reading aloud, just to slow down the OPG lessons. At this point, they are reading books such as Frog and Toad, Owl Moon, Jonathan James, and Henry & Mudge. I don't know what I'll do with them next year for phonics -- probably AAS (spelling) + Guided Reading Practice + Assigned Reading Time (A.I.R.) + whatever is left to do in OPG.

 

I do think that there was value in plodding through OPG, even when my first daughter's reading surpassed the lessons we were working on. There were a few times when she admitted to learning new material, and she never minded it, was never bored with it.

 

Actually, I think I will forever remember the last lesson with her -- how excited she was to read "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." :001_smile: HTH.

[Sahamamama]

Also - around what lesson did your child start to be able to read "real" books. I'm seriously considering coming back for digraphs later after we do a few of the long vowel sounds, because having just a few of the long vowel rules would allow such an increase in the number of words he can read, and it's driving *me* crazy that we've been working so hard for so long and still can't read any "real" books. Bob Books hardly seem to count...

 

:grouphug: I just wanted to add that a prominent memory from those "early" days of reading instruction (from my perspective) is how incredibly tedious it was for me. Okay, I said it.

 

It is rather mind-numbing, though, I think, to listen to beginning readers read. After that initial excitement wears off, all you can do is consistently plod. Hang in there, keep working at it in little daily bits, read aloud daily, listen to audiobooks, snuggle, hug, and it will happen.

 

As for the long vowels, I don't know. Different systems introduce phonemes in different order, and I know I had a few :confused: moments with OPG in the beginning. But after getting three students up and running with it, I trust Jessie Wise's approach and her product. If you master ending blends, beginning blends, and digraphs with short vowels -- really make that solid -- then your student has the benefit of having spent more time working with only short vowel sounds before confronting long vowels, VCE, vowel teams, and all those other weird combinations of letters (eigh, igh, aigh, ow, ou, oi, oy, etc.) that affect how vowels are pronounced. ;)

 

Hang in there. :grouphug:

[Sahamamama]

I don't know why I didn't think of these books sooner. We purchased them at the beginning of this year for our twins, and they are WONDERFUL!

 

http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/categories/Supplemental-Products/Readers/

 

The two we have are The Runt Pig and Cobweb the Cat. I wish we had them all, and I wish we'd had them with our first student. These two readers stick with short vowels, but the stories are interesting and the illustrations are adorable. Our girls have enjoyed reading every story over and over and over again. :D The books are well put together, hardback, and worth every cent (but they were $14.95 when we bought them). HTH.

[Ritsumei]

:grouphug: I just wanted to add that a prominent memory from those "early" days of reading instruction (from my perspective) is how incredibly tedious it was for me. Okay, I said it.

 

It is rather mind-numbing, though, I think, to listen to beginning readers read. After that initial excitement wears off, all you can do is consistently plod. Hang in there, keep working at it in little daily bits, read aloud daily, listen to audiobooks, snuggle, hug, and it will happen.

 

As for the long vowels, I don't know. Different systems introduce phonemes in different order, and I know I had a few :confused: moments with OPG in the beginning. But after getting three students up and running with it, I trust Jessie Wise's approach and her product. If you master ending blends, beginning blends, and digraphs with short vowels -- really make that solid -- then your student has the benefit of having spent more time working with only short vowel sounds before confronting long vowels, VCE, vowel teams, and all those other weird combinations of letters (eigh, igh, aigh, ow, ou, oi, oy, etc.) that affect how vowels are pronounced. ;)

 

Hang in there. :grouphug:

 

This is incredibly encouraging, thank you! I can see that it's working. The stuff that he reads, he reads with increasing confidence all the time. I've been turning the little stories in the book into "real" books - sew a couple blank papers & a piece of cardstock down the middle & tada - it's a book. Then I copy the story on there & draw some stick figures. OPG drives me crazy to look at, so it's reference only at our house. We play games for drill & read the little books. I don't make one for every lesson, but still, there are several in our kit now. The think is, I'd like to have some "real" books and until this thread the only phonetic readers I was aware of were the Bob books. They're alright, but they don't match with OPG very well, and Monkey doesn't love them. But everything else I'd ever seen was those stupid "level" books, which are impossible for the phonetic child. They drive me crazy. And since we're taking it slow - around a lesson a week - it feels like we're doing a LOT of work for very little reward, and it's sooo nice to hear that it's not too far from now that he should start to take off. I think it may be starting to happen already. He really striggled with the -nk blends (the first time he'd met long vowels), but the -ng digraph was no problem, and we'll be doing sh/shr this week too as a result. Ch will be new, but he just wasn't getting "the" as a sight word, so I taught him to read it the way you say "thee" - and then it's phonetic, not sight, and he got it pretty quickly, so he's already got th. The digraph section really isn't that long. I'm just feeling so impatient!! Reading is fun, and we have so many cool books, and he can't. read. any. Ugh. :toetap05:

 

There's clearly progress. This phonics stuff is clearly working, and I like it. At least, I like what it's doing for him. It's just driving me crazy to do it cuz I'm impatient.:tongue_smilie::D It's nice to hear that I'm not the only one that finds it tedious!! After all, it's "only" learning to read a whole language. That should take, what, a week?

[MeganW]

:grouphug: I just wanted to add that a prominent memory from those "early" days of reading instruction (from my perspective) is how incredibly tedious it was for me. Okay, I said it.

 

It is rather mind-numbing, though, I think, to listen to beginning readers read. After that initial excitement wears off, all you can do is consistently plod.

 

It makes me feel SOOO much better to hear someone else admit this!!!

 

I have 4 kids going through it right now. We are doing group lessons. The leader of our local homeschool group was admonishing me today for not doing separate lessons with each kid rather than holding two back to keep the 4 together in one lesson each day. But truly, if I had to double the amount of time I spend teaching reading, I would poke my eyes out with a stick!