provenance61 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I have been exposing our DD to phonics, not really instructing, and at almost 4 1/2 she is sounding out words. Lately it's not just been initials, but she is actively trying to go for the whole word. This is great, given that she also has a vision impairment. But I was wondering if others here use phonics or what other approach they are taking. And if you could tell me which you prefer and why. I grew up with phonics myself and really think that's the way to go but wonder what I may be missing. What curricula for KG are phonics and which whole language or other? Wondering also if anyone knows what they are teaching in schools these days? Is it a combination? Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I teach my kids to read through word building/spelling and reading games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I teach phonics but with sight words thrown in as well just to get them reading more quickly. I voted combination. As for what I use, I'm in the process of figuring that out. I'm leaning toward a combination of ETC, HOP, and Alphaphonics. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Phonics, but of course we read plenty of books too. It's too early to know if it is working yet :p Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarrieF Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Phonics. Hands down. That way your kids will rarely come upon a word they can't sound/figure out. It was so sad to me ,when I taught middle/high school, to have kids who stumbled over words and looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights when I prompted them to, "Sound it out." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
provenance61 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Just was reading and came across this approach, and it sounds familiar. Maybe this is what the schools are leaning toward now? Don't understand how this differs from Whole Language, maybe someone can help me out here... Amy (the OP) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommy5 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I used to be all for phonics but now I believe in a mixture of whole language and phonics. My son has been struggling with learning to read and even with understanding the basics of phonics is having a problem with fluency and even still sounding out some words. He can say the letter sounds but when it comes to saying the whole word it gets jumbled. I've recently started using IEW - PAL Reading and PAL Writing with both my 7 yr old and almost 5 yr old ... we love it. It is really a mixture of both whole language and phonics. My son used to HATE reading instruction -- we have tried multiple phonics books and nothing was "fun" or helping in a fast enough way for him to enjoy it. This is ... so that is why I voted for combination. It definitely does do phonics but incorporates it more in a whole language way (with poetry, short stories, sight words ...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 We do a combination of phonics and some sight words that are difficult to sound out and are encountered frequently. When I taught K and 1st grade, we did the same. Neither approache, on it's own, is perfect. But they make a potent combination. My 6 yr old and 5 yr old read pretty fluently and can decode all words that have phonics rules they've been exposed to. They both know a large array of high-frequency words, as well. We used primarily HOP...but I did a lot, a LOT of phonemic awareness tasks with them early on. Things like rhyming, segmenting sounds, blending sounds, counting syllables, counting sounds, deleting sounds, substituting sounds, etc etc etc. My personal belief is that they are reading as well as they are because of how much explicit phonemic awareness instruction they had early on. I haven't yet found a curriculum that I like that addresses the need for explicit phonemic awareness instruction. Not to the extent that I feel it needs to be taught...not as early as we taught it. I made up my own lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 mixture. I've read from experts this is the best way to go. Works great for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 sweetpea - K12 Phonicsworks does it. It's an excellent program. It does all the things you listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 sweetpea - K12 Phonicsworks does it. It's an excellent program. It does all the things you listed. That's good to know. Does it teach these things as individual lessons and prior to actually teaching them to read? Because I have the Littles coming up and a lot less time for the lesson planning I did for the Bigs, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genny Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 We use phonics and sight words. I haven't found teaching sight words to be detrimental. DD is 5 and reading really well for her age. I think her knowing a bunch of the basic Dolch sight words really gave her a confidence boost. DS is 3 and was quick to pick up reading with just phonics instruction. I will probably be teaching him sight words as well in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) But I was wondering if others here use phonics or what other approach they are taking. And if you could tell me which you prefer and why. I grew up with phonics myself and really think that's the way to go but wonder what I may be missing. The "whole language" approach has some things to offer (encouragement to read aloud to kids, emphasis on great literature etc...), but it also has some downfalls and can reinforce strategies in younger students that don't work in many situations. I much prefer a good, solid phonics approach. You might like this article on Whole Language vs. Phonics. Merry :-) Edited February 16, 2012 by MerryAtHope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) sweetpea - yes it does. I really love the program and feel it gives my son a solid base. He knew all his letter sounds prior to starting, and could sound out some words. But the methods they use gave him greater fluency and breaks down words into the syllables and parts, beginning, middle, and ending sounds. Much letter addition and subtraction. And very little worksheets. Usually two or three per lesson. Which is great for my son. It's mostly oral work. here's a rundown of the K program: Units 1-8 - phonological awareness. The focus is on hearing sounds, indentifying the position of sounds, and identifying syllables. Units 9-11 the child begins to associate a letter with each known sound and learns to distinguish between a consonant and a vowel. The sight words the, and, is, on, to, in, it, he, and was are introduced. Also, the child begins to use the Phonicsworks Readers. Units12-20 - the child does in depth work on short vowel sounds, sight words says, have, with, where, from, there, that, of, put, two, they, and both are introduced. Units 21-28 the child is introduced to the concept of consonant digraphs and the trigraph tch. sight words you, went, we, what, their, want, said, your, so who, see, and or. Units 29-30 the child begins to develop an understanding of basic sentence structure. Capitalization and punctuation are also introduced, as well as the sight words for, she, and her. Units 32,32 - the child learns about plural endings -s and -es, reviewing vowels and recently learned concepts such as sentence structure and plural endings. The sight words does, why, and one are introduced. Unit 33-34 the child learns about double trouble letters ff,ll,ss,and zz. introduction to compound words. The final sight words were, my, are, Dr. Mr and Mrs. are introduced. Unites 35-36 The child reviews in detail the concepts learned in the 2nd half of the year and applies what he has learned to reading and writing words and sentences. the phonics program continues into grade 1. It goes into consonant blends, more sight words, long vowel sounds, endings such as ing, ong, ang, ank, etc., r controlled vowels, contractions, two syllable words, more word endings, double vowels and other advanced sounds and spelling patterns - oi, oy, ea, au, aw, ou, ow, etc. it slowly builds each week on the child's knowledge. The worksheets and readers go along with what is learned that week. It's not a colorful program, but for my son it really works, the finger stretching to sound out words is one of the best things. Edited February 16, 2012 by momtoamiracle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I use phonics (and almost all the †sight words†can be sounded out, many of them quite easily once open syllables are taught). We started with Webster's Syllabary, learning open and closed syllables. Then we moved to cvc words. Now we're at a point where my son just needs a lot of repetition, which might look like teaching sight words, but he can sound out the words, including: a, the, he, she, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeofakind Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 We do a combination of phonics and some sight words that are difficult to sound out and are encountered frequently. My personal belief is that they are reading as well as they are because of how much explicit phonemic awareness instruction they had early on. I haven't yet found a curriculum that I like that addresses the need for explicit phonemic awareness instruction. Not to the extent that I feel it needs to be taught...not as early as we taught it. I made up my own lessons. :iagree: I have kept looking to find a program that include a lot of phonemic awareness and have not found one, so I too make up my own... I vote for combo, however, 90% is phonics and I intend to teach it all the way through. In the beginning there may be a few words to teach as sight (the, color words- words they come across but have not learned the sound/spelling for yet) so they can read a little more and with my kids it has worked great!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 A multi sensory program that is strong in phonemic awareness. If the child is having difficulty in either the auditory or visual aspects then a program the addresses that. I don't think phonics or whole word will work for all children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Things like rhyming, segmenting sounds, blending sounds, counting syllables, counting sounds, deleting sounds, substituting sounds, etc etc etc. My personal belief is that they are reading as well as they are because of how much explicit phonemic awareness instruction they had early on. I haven't yet found a curriculum that I like that addresses the need for explicit phonemic awareness instruction. Not to the extent that I feel it needs to be taught...not as early as we taught it. I made up my own lessons. I really wish there was something out there like that I could do with ds right now. I am not super creative to come up with my own curriculum but he knows his sounds and I want to work with him on phonemic awareness right now so when we are ready to start reading instruction we won't hit any road blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garddwr Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Whole language, to me, does not mean neglecting phonics, but including the vast richness of language. I you read to your children regularly, you are including whole language in their reading instruction. From what I can learn, most children will benefit from at least some phonics instruction. Some will take off reading after only basic phonics, some will need intensive phonics, and a few will fare best with a look-say approach (I had a brother like this, he is very mathematical/visual spatial oriented, and the sequencing of phonics was not working for him). And of course a few children just seem to figure it out on their own without specific instruction. If phonics is working, keep going. And make sure your are reading together a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Whole language and phonics. Whole language is often confused with sight words. I don't teach many sight words. My kids haven't needed much phonics instruction to learn to read, but they have needed phonics instruction for strong spelling skills. I promote a literature-rich environment and get my kids reading real books as soon as possible. Shortly after they can sound everything out we move to books like Dr. Seuss. They continue to learn to sound out new words they encounter as they read. I move them to progressively harder books, but always choose quality literature. They complete phonics exercises separate from their reading. Whole language was a natural way for my kids to learn to read, but they still needed phonics. Phonics was difficult for them, but reading wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I really wish there was something out there like that I could do with ds right now. I am not super creative to come up with my own curriculum but he knows his sounds and I want to work with him on phonemic awareness right now so when we are ready to start reading instruction we won't hit any road blocks. I just started using Getting Ready to Read from CurrClick. It covers phonemic awareness. If your child likes cutting, coloring, or pasting then it is can be a good fit. The items can also be easily adapted to use in play (i.e. mini-figure on a mission to find another rhyming card). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I really wish there was something out there like that I could do with ds right now. I am not super creative to come up with my own curriculum but he knows his sounds and I want to work with him on phonemic awareness right now so when we are ready to start reading instruction we won't hit any road blocks. That's where we were a year and a half ago. My daughter and son knew all their letter sounds, buit they were nowhere near ready to begin blending the written symbols into words. So for six months I pulled together bits and pieces from various workbooks...teaching them rhyming, identifying the beginning, middle and ending sounds of words, segmenting and blending orally, etc. Then we moved and stopped schooling for almost a full year. But when we picked up HOP this past December, they breezed right through K and are halfway through 1st and they are breezing through AAS1 too. It's surprising that most phonics and reading curriculums haven't caught on to the importance of explicit phonemic awareness instruction. I have books that talk about how important those skills are, but no direct teaching of them. Or the skills are taught later (like teaching the identification of the medial sound in 1st grade). I took a look at K12 as recommended here. It's an online academy, right? I'm mobile right now and can't see their website well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We do a mix but the majority is phonics. Common words are introduced to make it possible to read more books. My son is reading far ahead of our phonics programs so I'm not sure what really did it for him. When he comes to an unfamiliar word he seems to do a mix of trying to sound it out, guessing or skipping it. We are using OPGTR, ETC, AAS and just reading books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Pure phonics didn't work for us. Phonics readers (ex: BOB books) were tongue twisters for my kids. My oldest at home could not get past the 5th BOB book but could read Frog and Toad are Friends with little effort on her first try. We start with repetitive books (ex: Each Peach Pear Plum) and use phonics to decode words the child doesn't know. Programs have been helpful, but my kids have learned by reading aloud with me while I attempt to guide them through sounding out unknown words. I see whole words and phonics as two ends of a spectrum. My kids are closer to the whole words end of the spectrum though I realize that phonics instruction is important too. I try to play to their strength and shore up their weakness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nov05mama Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I think it really depends on your child TBH...but in general, I think a mix of both is 'best'...it worked for my DS anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 For learning to read, of course, phonics. It gives the child the tools to decode unfamiliar words. However, we read a lot of books aloud to dd and I am sure she has picked up many words by sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Whole language, to me, does not mean neglecting phonics, but including the vast richness of language. I you read to your children regularly, you are including whole language in their reading instruction.From what I can learn, most children will benefit from at least some phonics instruction. Some will take off reading after only basic phonics, some will need intensive phonics, and a few will fare best with a look-say approach (I had a brother like this, he is very mathematical/visual spatial oriented, and the sequencing of phonics was not working for him). And of course a few children just seem to figure it out on their own without specific instruction. If phonics is working, keep going. And make sure your are reading together a lot. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 The more years I tutor, the more pro-phonics and anti-sight word I become. When I first started tutoring, the schools used to teach either whole language or a mix of whole language and phonics, now most schools teach both, but they send home an alarming number of sight words in Kindergarten. The children who learn the sight words first and not all the sound/spelling correspondences they need to sound out any word end up guessing a lot. The problem becomes more pronounced in 4th grade when the words get difficult and there are a lot less of the Dolch sight words in their textbooks, up to 4th grade they have re-written most of the textbooks so that 80 - 90% of the words come from the Dolch sight words or the Dolch nouns. You can teach all but 2 of the 220 Dolch sight words phonetically, although 5 could be taught as sight words, 3 of them are a bit tricky. Here is how to teach them phonetically and a bit more about why to teach them phonetically: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html In my 18 years of tutoring, I've given out hundreds of reading grade level tests. In the couple of schools that teach with phonics and very few sight words, there was not a single reading failure among the children I tested, and most were reading at least 2 grade levels above their grade level. I did find 2 failures from 2 of these schools, but later found out that these particular children had transferred in from schools that taught sight words. When I first started homeschooling, almost everyone I know used a good phonics program with few sight words like Phonics Pathways or OPG. At that time, I only found 1 homeschooler with problems, and there was an underlying speech problem. While most homeschoolers still choose good phonics programs, there are now more using things with a lot of sight words and I have been remediating homeschoolers in significant numbers for the first time in my tutoring. (Although still at a much lower failure rate than the public schools, but it is increasing.) It doesn't take that much extra time to teach the sight words phonetically, 70 percent of them are perfectly regular and just a few rules need to be taught to teach all but 2 of the rest phonetically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smootwater Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I love the phonics way. There are lots of free phonics programs. But phonemic awareness is very important that improves word reading and comprehension. Such as: rhyming word activities, syllable segmentation, beginning sound - ending sound activities, sound isolation activities, phonemic segmentation. If you google phonemic awareness you will find tons of activities and ideas. Read lots of Mother Goose verses, rhymes... You are not missing on anything but you can make life easier by doing all these activities playfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Mostly phonics with 20 sight words or do, more with visual spatial kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Whichever method (or both) resonates with your child. I had one who clearly needed phonics and one who hated it and only learned with whole language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.