Reading help

[harnita24]

Hi all,

 

I have been attempting to teach my daughters (8 and 7) to read for the past 2 years and it has been a very slow and painful process. They are progressing but they are not yet reading independently and they still sound out a lot.

 

One of my issues has been with phonics. I did not learn to read with phonics and teaching phonics has always been intimidating to me. I have used Reading Reflex, Ordinary Parent's Guide, and Stairway to reading but I haven't loved any of them. My girls seem to forget a lot of the phonics I have taught them when it comes down to reading a book. So I feel like their phonics instruction needs some attention.

 

But I need some help finding a phonics program that makes sense to me and to them. I want something that explains the whys behind phonics more or at least gives helpful strategies to remembering all the different rules. My husband says that maybe I am looking for something that doesn't exist, maybe phonics is just confusing... (Like why does ea sometimes say "ee" and sometimes "e" and when you see a word with ea how do you know which one it is??)

 

SO if any of you have any suggestions I am all ears. I also wonder if any one else has had the problem of fluent reading taking sooo long to happen. How do you help your child go from sounding out to really reading??

 

Thanks so much

 

-- H

mom to 3 girls, 8, 7 and 1

[momsuz123]

For me, with my middle dd, it is AAS all the way! She has hated reading! She is 6.5 y/o and just now learning phonics for the first time (was having tons of ear issues in kindergarten so she missed the phonics session - now on her third set of tubes, she can hear better - plus, I take my time with her, not rush her, and we have great results.) Hang in there. She is still not a fluent reader. But I would say she is near her range of where she "should" be. AAS has helped so much. I use it also for my 7 y/o dd who is an amazing reader and natural speller just to nail down the rules for the few words she misses.

[threeofakind]

I agree with AAS, it explains that and more. I finally ordered it and even though it is spelling- it will help with what you are looking for. I am going to start using it with my 3rd and 1st grader, and starting at level 1 as to not miss anything. But I'm sure you will get a lot great suggestions here too!

[MerryAtHope]

My husband says that maybe I am looking for something that doesn't exist, maybe phonics is just confusing... (Like why does ea sometimes say "ee" and sometimes "e" and when you see a word with ea how do you know which one it is??)

 

You're both partially right. Our language does follow dependable patterns, and sometimes there are rules that govern those patterns (like when C says /s/ before e, i, or y, or that English words don't end in "i," so we use ay at the end of a word instead of ai, and so on).

 

However, there are not rules for everything. There are multiple ways to spell sounds, and phonograms like EA can say multiple sounds, and there's not always a "rule" to tell us what the pronunciation will be. If you know the possibilities, you can test out the sounds and learn how to read "bead," "head," and "steak." We use several strategies, besides rules, to achieve fluency in reading. AAS, as others have mentioned, do have all of these organized, teaches the rules when there are rules, teaches how to use visual and auditory skills, and so on. And it did help my kids reading improve a lot. There's also a new All About Reading, which might be something to check into, depending on how far your children have progressed (they may be past the level coming out or might benefit from it still).

 

Merry :-)

[Amy Jo]

You might want to check out the Phonics Lessons by Elizabeth (member of the board). There are spelling lessons as well, which move at a faster pace. They are free & online. You could do any of them, and your children could probably do the Phonics Lessons, especially if you break the longer ones up.

[coffeefreak]

I just posted on this thread, and there are some answers there that might help you.

 

 

I think the best thing for emerging readers (that's what it sounds like your girls are), is to challenge them to read and improve. Practice makes perfect, so take them to the library and have them pick out books to practice from. Make big charts and create a goal with a prize at the end. I think emerging readers, no matter what age they are, get stuck because they get bored. Especially at the age your girls are, the challenge is keeping them engaged. Their comprehension level will be above a lot of the easy readers out there, but if you start there with fun goals, they'll soon be reading simple chapter books.

 

I know my answer is a little different from what you asked, but this is what I really think works. Phonics and reading programs have their place in the beginning, but once you get the basic concept of how to sound out words, practice makes perfect. :001_smile:

 

Oh, and one more thing, don't be too picky in the beginning about what they're reading. I'm not saying let them read comic books, but things like Junie B Jones and Mr Underpants are perfectly fine when you're mainly concerned with building fluency. I was totally against, "fluff books" with my oldest and quickly realized I was missing the point. Both of my girls quickly outgrew those types of books, and they ultimately helped them learn to read.

 

HTH!

Blessings!

Dorinda

[ElizabethB]

It's actually not that confusing! When phonics and the rules were well taught, young 16 year old girls taught almost all their students to read and spell without much trouble.

 

You can watch my lessons with your children and/or work through the rules and explanations linked at the bottom of my how to tutor page, it includes phonics, spelling, and syllable division rules. Numbers 4, 5, and 6 are the documents with explanations about phonics and rules and how to teach them.

[Alison in KY]

I think you should look at All About Spelling, starting with the level 1 book. Also, take a look at Saxon phonics.

 

No matter if it's all phonics or sight reading, you will still have to use some sight reading for all those rule breakers. Phonics is just a way to get them started quicker.

 

Alison