Celia Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I've been letting my little guy play with the iPad sometimes to keep him amused while I work with the bigger kids doing school. I was surprised when he learned how to identify numbers and count to 10 after he just turned 2, but apparently that wasn't all that unusual. But now, he's 2.5, and he's learned all the letters, upper and lower case, as well as the sounds they make. And yesterday I noticed that he was getting the answers right on the multiple choice questions of which word says __. I don't agree with a sight word approach to reading, and I'm wondering if this is going to do him harm in the long run if I let it continue. He really enjoys playing these educational apps, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't delete the particular ones that I have and get ones that don't have whole words. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I would definitely avoid sight words and stick with phonics type stuff. My ds loved the PBS show Between the Lions which can be found online and on DVDs possibly at your library. He also enjoyed Starfall.com and Rock N Learn Phonics. These are great as supplements and should not replace a phonics program when your child is old enough:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 My oldest did that with starfall.com. We did have to catch up on phonics later, but it wasn't a big deal. He's now reading at about an 8th grade level I assume (he read and comprehended a 7.3 grade level book this summer) in 2nd grade, so he's clearly understanding the phonics involved. AAS helped us get over the "4th grade slump" multi-syllable words. I wouldn't encourage sight reading, but I wouldn't freak out either. ;) I think you're less likely to have problems with a child teaching himself to read via sight than with a child being taught in a school setting to read by sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 My son is/was a sightreader in spite of my best efforts, but is learning spelling phonetically. He continues to get better and better at learning the rules of reading and writing, so I haven't found it be the monumental task that I feared it would be. i.e. that I would have to undo all the "damage" from his sightreading... there really wasn't any damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 There are several phonics apps for the iPad, and a Bob books app, and a starfall.com app, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I wouldn't discourage the sight reading but I would go ahead and start teaching phonics & get some phonics apps too. There are several gentle approaches you can use. I used explode the code as soon as dd knew her letters which was way before I initially planned to teach her. We only did 5 or 10 minutes a day when we started but it gave her a solid phonics foundation for when she started reading on a higher level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 There are several phonics apps for the iPad, and a Bob books app, and a starfall.com app, too! I've been letting my little guy play with the iPad sometimes to keep him amused while I work with the bigger kids doing school. I was surprised when he learned how to identify numbers and count to 10 after he just turned 2, but apparently that wasn't all that unusual. But now, he's 2.5, and he's learned all the letters, upper and lower case, as well as the sounds they make. And yesterday I noticed that he was getting the answers right on the multiple choice questions of which word says __. I don't agree with a sight word approach to reading, and I'm wondering if this is going to do him harm in the long run if I let it continue. He really enjoys playing these educational apps, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't delete the particular ones that I have and get ones that don't have whole words. Thoughts? What are these programs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 To me, it sounds like #1 your child is very bright, and #2 might be a natural Whole Language learner. Don't freak out! Some kids are just naturally smart enough to learn how to read that way. That doesn't mean he won't learn phonics later on when you teach him. I've always thought that kids who have a natural inclination to learn in a Whole Language style go on to be exceptionally good spellers. There is something about the way they are able to picture the words in their heads... P.S. I have some ideas for what to do next with two year olds who are ready to read on my blog in case you are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I agree with acurtis. It wouldn't bother me that he's picking up a few sight words -- most kids do -- but if he knows his letters and he's picking up sight words on his own, I would go ahead and start some super simple phonics with him and see how it goes. He may fly through. He may not be ready. Either way is fine. I suspect he'll read earlier and more easily than most kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I've always thought that kids who have a natural inclination to learn in a Whole Language style go on to be exceptionally good spellers. That wasn't really the case for my son, and his first grade teacher said at the beginning of the year that a lot of early readers don't have a good basis in phonics (which helps in spelling). Sure enough, he became a great speller once he learned phonics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 That wasn't really the case for my son, and his first grade teacher said at the beginning of the year that a lot of early readers don't have a good basis in phonics (which helps in spelling). Sure enough, he became a great speller once he learned phonics. Hmmm... I myself was a very early phonetic reader, and have always been a horrible speller. My sister was a Whole Language reader, and is a wonderful speller (and constantly points that out to me.) :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Hmmm... I myself was a very early phonetic reader, and have always been a horrible speller. My sister was a Whole Language reader, and is a wonderful speller (and constantly points that out to me.) :tongue_smilie: :lol: While I started out reading via whole language probably (I assume... My mom said I started by reciting books we'd read, and then I started picking stuff up on my own), I think phonetically when I read. So I guess I internalized the phonics? I am an excellent speller. I use a mixture of phonics and "think to spell" to remember spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I am a whole language/sight reader and a HORRIBLE speller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 The thing is with my little monster, although he's picking up the rote learning very easily, I really doubt he's ready for phonics. The kid can barely talk, and I'd like to see him potty trained and talking before he's reading! First things first! Although, I did put him in front of Starfall today, and he played around with it for quite a while. The iPad program that's currently his favorite is TeachMe: Kindergarten . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 The thing is with my little monster, although he's picking up the rote learning very easily, I really doubt he's ready for phonics. The kid can barely talk... Actually, if it's an articulation issue, some simple phonics work face-to-face with you may be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Both of my kids did that. I never did a phonics program with her, because her reading level was so far above all of the phonics programs that I could find. But I soon began to recognize that she might be able to read one word but not another word at the same level if she had never seen it before, even if it were spelled phonetically. So I knew that she was memorizing all those words and could eventually reach a plateau if I didn't find a way to teach her phonics. So last year, I started using SWR. This makes a lot of sense for us, because it allows me to use spelling to fill in those gaps. I love that I can buy one set of materials, and I get everything I need for all levels of instructions. This has allowed me to begin teaching phonics to ds3, who also has known all of his letters since before he was 2yo. He does know a few sight words, but now I know to focus on other skills, such as being able to break words apart into individual sounds and put them together again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I would delete any apps with sight words. My favorite phonics app is ABC pocket phonics. All the good spellers I know learned with phonics, and all the poor spellers I know learned with whole word methods--this actually includes around 100 people, I like to ask about how people learned to read and how well they spell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I was taught exclusively with phonics and was told many times that I was a horrible speller. Although now that I've had time to think on that, I don't think I'm as bad as my teachers told me I was. I also think that despite the phonics, I probably incorporated a lot of whole-word memorization. I had chronic, unremitting ear infections as a child and my hearing in one ear is not as good as the other. So a good deal of phonics might well have been lost on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I had to look this up on another thread, but a couple of weeks back I came across the books that my mom taught me to read with when I was three and four. They were the I See Sam books. When I was looking up the other thread to double check the name, I saw that ElizabethB also learned to read with the Sam books. Is that right? (Insert Twilight Zone music here.) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 ABC Pocket Phonics is good, though the order in which they introduce phonograms is a little odd at times. ;) There are some great free apps from Preschool University. We also have a ton of others, but between Pocketphonics and those you've got a great start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Also, Lakeshore learning has a cool beginning sounds app that has no letters, but uses pictures. It's cool for phonemic awareness. It was free a few days ago when I downloaded it, but I know it was for a limited time only. Ah, I just checked, there are three apps, and they're free through Dec. 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I had to look this up on another thread, but a couple of weeks back I came across the books that my mom taught me to read with when I was three and four. They were the I See Sam books. When I was looking up the other thread to double check the name, I saw that ElizabethB also learned to read with the Sam books. Is that right? (Insert Twilight Zone music here.) :) Yes, that's right! I just read an interesting study about them that I will post about on the general board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Yes, that's right! I just read an interesting study about them that I will post about on the general board. Oooh! Could you double post it on this thread too in case I don't see it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Oooh! Could you double post it on this thread too in case I don't see it? Here is the thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317386 I See Sam is a good beginning program, but needs to be followed up with a good phonics system like the old Open Court or current Phonics Pathways that includes all the sound spelling correspendences and phonetic spelling rules. I did not become a good speller until I started collecting old public school phonics programs and learned all the phonetic spelling rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Here is the thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317386 I See Sam is a good beginning program, but needs to be followed up with a good phonics system like the old Open Court or current Phonics Pathways that includes all the sound spelling correspendences and phonetic spelling rules. I did not become a good speller until I started collecting old public school phonics programs and learned all the phonetic spelling rules. I use to teach with Open Court, but didn't have such a great experience. I think it would have worked a lot better in my district if we had been given more flexibility. I could have really used access to the first grade materials in my third grade classroom for example. I am STILL not a good speller, but am getting better after teaching my six year old with AAS. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) I use to teach with Open Court, but didn't have such a great experience. I think it would have worked a lot better in my district if we had been given more flexibility. I could have really used access to the first grade materials in my third grade classroom for example. I am STILL not a good speller, but am getting better after teaching my six year old with AAS. :) The new open court is not that good...this is the old Open Court from the 70's; it had long vowels first, lovely fables, well laid out, program sequence designed by an engineer who had help writing the stories from people who were good writers... It also had a lot less sight words. Edited October 15, 2011 by ElizabethB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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