bethanyjoy Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 How do you know when your phonics/learning to read program isn't working? Do you go by if the child is actually learning to read some, his or her interest level, fluency, motivation, or what? We are using McRuffy Phonics and Reading for Kindergarten. We are on Lesson 77 and I'm wondering if this is a good fit. She is learning to read simple words, but she seems completely uninterested in the workbook and sitting down to do it. I know she is ready to learn to read (she kept asking for me to teach her), but I don't know if it is this method that doesn't fit her or just that we need to press on. Do you all have any thoughts? (I've thought about switching to AAR for next year, but there are some gaps between McRuffy's Kindergarten Phonics and what AAR Level 1 teaches. She will probably be bored through the first part of AAR Level 1, but not quite ready for AAR Level 2. I can't afford to buy both levels next year. According to the scope and sequence of McRuffy and AAR Level 1, my dd would miss about the last third of what AAR Level 1 teaches. Does that make sense?) Thanks, Bethany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 We are on Lesson 77 and I'm wondering if this is a good fit. She is learning to read simple words, but she seems completely uninterested in the workbook and sitting down to do it. Hmmm... Well, learning to read isn't exactly fun. It's hard work. Kids that age don't like hard work. So I am not surprised that she isn't excited about a workbook. :) If it's working and you're nearing the end, I'd probably just keep pressing on. Switching programs can confuse a child and set them back, so I'd want it to really be bad before I'd do that in this case. If she had tears every time you sat her down for the workbook, I'd be more likely to switch, kwim? Also, can you change up the presentation? Is it something you can do at the white board or with letter magnets or something else more interesting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hmmm... Well, learning to read isn't exactly fun. It's hard work. Kids that age don't like hard work. So I am not surprised that she isn't excited about a workbook. :) If it's working and you're nearing the end, I'd probably just keep pressing on. Switching programs can confuse a child and set them back, so I'd want it to really be bad before I'd do that in this case. If she had tears every time you sat her down for the workbook, I'd be more likely to switch, kwim? Also, can you change up the presentation? Is it something you can do at the white board or with letter magnets or something else more interesting? :iagree: If you search back a year, you'll find a post from me very similar to your OP. What it came down to is that Abby was capable of it, but didn't want to do the work. That was the point where I added an incentive. (For her it was, "If you finish this program, I will buy you a Pillow Pet." :D) She reads at a 3ish grade level now. (And yes, there is still a point where her reading to me is "work." And there is a level where she can read for leisure.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethanyjoy Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 If it's working and you're nearing the end, I'd probably just keep pressing on. Thanks for your response! There are about 180 lessons in the book so we are not even half way through yet! I've even thought of taking a break from McRuffy for awhile and using Progressive Phonics (since it's free and I thought she might do better with some "practice" reading together snuggled on the couch! I just don't know... If anyone else has any more thoughts, I am more than willing to hear them! Bethany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 It sounds like she's reading at a typical level for this age and time of year (January of K5). It might be that what you're seeing is normal and that you need to continue through the long, hard slog. The other thing though, and this is totally an aside, is that it's NOT necessary to sound out like that to learn to read. If she utterly hates it and it's ruining your lives, you could go with a different method like SWR/WRTR. I DON'T thinking learning to read has to be hard. Just remember though, as homeschoolers we teach pretty efficiently and sometimes max out the readiness of our kids. Play a little, do some crafts, put the words on flashcards that you've studied, play more games with the phonics (Happy Phonics, phonogram bingo, whatever), and let it come. Slow and steady, most of the time, will get you there. If it doesn't and you see an actual problem, then you start looking for causes (vision, whatever). But yeah, just in general, having worked in K5 for several years, I'd say she's at a pretty normal place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks for your response! There are about 180 lessons in the book so we are not even half way through yet! I've even thought of taking a break from McRuffy for awhile and using Progressive Phonics (since it's free and I thought she might do better with some "practice" reading together snuggled on the couch! I just don't know... And that might be a good idea, to take a break and use something different. As long as the method isn't conflicting. :) I do use some different materials, but the method I'm teaching from is the same. I use Webster's Speller, and sometimes we read straight out of the book, sometimes we write on the white board. This week I put letter tiles on the white board (made my own AAS style tiles, since I sold my AAS set) and read with those. We also use I See Sam readers (check those out if you haven't yet!), which have cute pictures and a fun storyline while still being simple to read. I'm just still teaching the same phonics the whole time, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Well, I wouldn't force workbooks on a 5yo, so if she isn't interested in the workbook, then I'd say drop it altogether, or wait until she's 6. You could do Spalding when she's 6. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 How do you know when your phonics/learning to read program isn't working? Do you go by if the child is actually learning to read some, his or her interest level, fluency, motivation, or what? We are using McRuffy Phonics and Reading for Kindergarten. We are on Lesson 77 and I'm wondering if this is a good fit. She is learning to read simple words, but she seems completely uninterested in the workbook and sitting down to do it. I know she is ready to learn to read (she kept asking for me to teach her), but I don't know if it is this method that doesn't fit her or just that we need to press on. Do you all have any thoughts? (I've thought about switching to AAR for next year, but there are some gaps between McRuffy's Kindergarten Phonics and what AAR Level 1 teaches. She will probably be bored through the first part of AAR Level 1, but not quite ready for AAR Level 2. I can't afford to buy both levels next year. According to the scope and sequence of McRuffy and AAR Level 1, my dd would miss about the last third of what AAR Level 1 teaches. Does that make sense?) Thanks, Bethany How about checking out several different "learn to read" programs, and see if there is anything that jumps out at you and says, "Yes! THIS will work for her" based on what you know about your child. There are so many programs - something is bound to strike you as suitable for her. Writing Road to Reading Ordinary Parents Guide.... 100 EZ (or something like that) a book by Samuel Bloom....(sorry, I am just tossing out partial names and titles) the two you mentioned and so many more How old is your daughter? My only other thought is, she asked you to teach her, but she might be learning at a slower pace than the program you have for her, and you might have to just slow down. Figure out some fun activities to do that will reinforce what she is learning, and maybe alternate book lesson with activity from day to day, or something like that. You can let her know that she will continue this learning process, even though you may shelve it for a couple of days a week or whenever. Just so she knows that you haven't given up on teaching her. My kids were on opposite ends of the spectrum - my son learned "phonograms" (from WRTR) when he was 2 and 3 years old, and then picked up a children's dictionary one day when he was 4.75 and started sounding out words. He was reading Narnia books to himself when he was 5. My daughter took a more common timeline to learning to read, and I had to keep telling myself not to push her. She eventually learned (got comfortable with it by age 7 or 8), and she LOVES to read now. Although I still have to slow her down when she reads aloud, so that she will sound out new words properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Take a break and teach from the whiteboard for a while and play my phonics concentration game. http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html Also, I like to sometimes give my children a choice (my daughter when she was in K, my son last year and this year) "Do you want to read 20 words or spell 4?" (You get the same level of learning from both.) You can do spelling orally, on the white board, or with magnetic letters or scrabble letters. For K and 1st grade, I do most of the work from the white board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 How old is your daughter? If she's young... like 5 or under, I wouldn't worry a bit. I would just take a break and come back to it later. Just because a pre-schooler begs you to teach her how to read and knows her letters, doesn't mean that she'll have the ability to actually do it... but when they're ready, most kids pick up reading quite easily. It's the same as potty training or walking or swimming or any other skill. When they're not ready, it doesn't matter how much effort you put in, it's just not going to be entirely successful. But when they're ready... just watch them go! If she's 7 or 8 or older, that's a different story... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethanyjoy Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Thank you all for your suggestions! My dd is 5. She did a lot better with it yesterday and today. I'm thinking that maybe we are both hitting the middle of the year "blahs". Maybe we're just tired and anything would feel like it isn't working? I think we are going to press on and see how it goes. She seems to enjoy doing the McRuffy Phonics some days and then others not so much! I guess it's just her age and the time of the year! She told me yesterday that she liked doing it and wanted to know if we could do it everyday! She completely blew me away...maybe I've been worrying over nothing??!! Bethany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishMama Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 When my kids have gotten to that point, it always helps to read some real books. I found that the MCP readers for early phonics were very doable. The kid regained interest as well as confidence because he saw that his hard work resulted in something tangible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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