Reading Program

[trlt]

We are using OPGTR right now and are moving along at a fast pace. Once we are done with learning how to read are there programs that continue to teach reading? I guess I just remember in school we had reading textbooks and we had reading comprehension tests and practice. At what age is it appropriate to introduce that? Is there even a reading curriculum like that? I mean, once she can read with ease it doesn't mean she can comprehend automatically right? I know that a lot of people just use whatever books their child is reading but I really feel more comfortable having a curriculum so I have a guideline. I hope I wasn't too confusing!!

Edited September 27, 2011 by trlt

[Greeny]

Yes, public school use reading textbooks instead of real books. I'm sure you could find some at a thrift store or used from the school when they change over, but they are generally filled with low quality literature and are generally not a great resource.

 

There have been a lot of study guides written for children's literature. Right now, my son is going through one for The Story of Ferdinand with our co-op. You may also want to check out Adam Andrew's Teaching the Classics. He talks about how to teach your children to understand literature so, they are able to really appreciate and talk about it. I would highly recommend his program. This is also being incorporated in our co-op and the program can be adapted for use with Kindergartners all the way through high school.

[Greeny]

Here is the link to Teaching the Classics http://centerforlit.com/Materials/TC.aspx

[Superfly]

When I started HSing my oldest I bought some school anthologies and workbooks. They have wonderful pictures, but when I sat down and tried to plan lessons with them it became clear they were sub-standard. The stories use too many sight words. The workbooks are mostly busy work and very scattered.

 

What we are doing now is using a combination of leveled readers and some old anthologies from the 80s. The reading level progresses with the phonics rules. For comprehension I write narration questions for the week, and I use the text for dictation work as well. sometimes I will stop her and ask her questions throughout the selection if I didn't have time to write out questions. Here is a link to my blog that shows what we use: http://dcuniversehs.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-new-love.html

 

I know many people are able to use regular literature for their children once they are reading, and then they just use a study guide for comprehension. My DD has dyslexia so she isn't able to dive right into regular literature yet. We save those for read alouds.

 

If you do decide to go with schoolbooks, I think Open Court has higher quality selections. You can find many reading anthologies on Ebay.

[Penelope]

I don't really like the leveled reading texts with comprehension strategies and questions. I didn't like them in school, either. In third grade I had my son go through part of a test prep book to get used to the "read the passage-answer the questions" type of thing for a couple of weeks prior to standardized testing.

 

I've had two children go through OPGTR. The second just finished. I find that they have both needed more work with syllables, so I use the lists from Webster's Speller (free online) for practice. For a while we do have to go back and review a sound every now and then; I just have them review the appropriate page from OPG. With my first child I took the suggestion from OPG and had him read through McGuffey third reader for practice, narrating from those or other books, and then having him read whatever he wanted for fun. My second reader really dislikes McGuffey, so we are just working through regular books as well as Webster's. Once they understand enough multisyllable words, they can read just about anything.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Penelope