wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Ok- ds has made HUGE strides this year in Phonics. That being said- he is still working at about a K level (I thought he was higher but some recent testing burst that bubble real fast) He still forgets letter sounds at times. He still struggles with certain sounds that he has never fully mastered. So here is my question: Would you keep plugging away with what we have been using or make some changes? We are doing Phonics Pathways & Explode the Code. We put Reading Pathways aside for now, as well as his readers (I am going to try again tomorrow though with those) Right now he is in Explode the Code 1. He is about 1/2 way through. We have been doing this since July?? I think- I don't remember exactly. He doesn't complain about it at all. That is not the problem. I just wonder if maybe something would work better, know what I mean? Phonics Pathways he doesn't like but I found a way to motivate him to work through it. If he reads through a page he gets a prize from the prize box. It is not a bribe as some IRL friend have commented, I just needed something to motivate him, kwim? He is only on page 59. We have been working on that since last November (Nov of 2010) We took a few small breaks in his K year and over the summer. I haven't done AAS in a while. That got put on the back burner. We just started back with that again to see if that will help. He has hit a wall and he is just not breaking through it. So, WWYD? Would you keep plugging away? Try something else? If so, what would you try? I bought most of next years curriculum already so we don't have a ton of extra money at the moment. We will, its just I need to save up again to replenish our budget. When I say he has made huge strides he went from barely being able to sound out 2 letter blends to sounding out 3 letter words and very few blends. The word 'the' will forever drive him nuts. The 3 letter words he does sound out- sometimes he takes the time and sometimes he will look at 1 letter and say a word (ex: today he read sat as bus, sometimes he will come up with an off the wall word as a total guess) If you think we should try something new, what would that something be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My hands down, all time favorite is the I See Sam books. http://www.3rsplus.com or http://www.iseesam.com You can find the first 2 sets online to print out free as well as they are all in the public domain. They REALLY work on the blending and have cute stories. The cursor/notched card they mention really helps with the blending left to right/tracking, etc. My mentally impaired daughter took FOREVER to learn to read--even with these books, BUT she is now reading at a 4th grade level which is pretty functional for most things. We worked for WEEKS on the word I.......if that tells you how much she struggled. For spelling, I LOVE Apples and Pears but he would need to be about set 3 or 4 to slowly start that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My mentally impaired daughter took FOREVER to learn to read--even with these books, BUT she is now reading at a 4th grade level which is pretty functional for most things. We worked for WEEKS on the word I.......if that tells you how much she struggled. It took Geezle a LONG time to learn basic code (using LLATL Blue and Calvert) and then it took another LONG time to be able to track text well enough to read somewhat fluently. But, he did eventually get there and we both lived to tell the tale. I'd agree that once you've gotten to about a 4th grade level, you can read well enough to handle daily life. Geezle can read signs, menus, websites and labels well enough to navigate the world without asking for my help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 He sounds a bit like my 7 year old. We were using PP too and after a year and a half he could sound out some CVC words but the next day it would be like starting all over again. I you feel like he is progressing then I would stick with it, but if you don't think he is progressing then definitely switch. I did drop PP and we just started Barton's last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 He sounds a bit like my 7 year old. We were using PP too and after a year and a half he could sound out some CVC words but the next day it would be like starting all over again. I you feel like he is progressing then I would stick with it, but if you don't think he is progressing then definitely switch. I did drop PP and we just started Barton's last week. Will you let me know how Barton's is working after you get into it for a while? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 If you are ok with screen time, I'd recommend the Leap Frog phonics DVD and Starfall.com. They were GREAT for my visual learners. If you happen to have Netflix, you can view some of the Leap Frog videos there. Also try using Alphabet puzzles or magnets and having your child play a game where they point to a letter and you make the sound. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Drop PP and go with something O-G, AAS or one of the others. Anything other than an O-G program is not likely to work at this point. Also use the I See Sam readers. They have tons of practice and help kids feel confident with reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Drop PP and go with something O-G, AAS or one of the others. Anything other than an O-G program is not likely to work at this point. Also use the I See Sam readers. They have tons of practice and help kids feel confident with reading. What are the O-G based phonics programs? I know there are a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We didn't have a lot of success with I See Sam because the font was too small. She just couldn't track it, although if I wrote the words out in larger print she did fine. However, we discovered visual processing problems. That said, I would try I See Sam. You Can print off the first set for free. http://www.iseesam.com/zencart/ Has he finished vision therapy? Other programs you might look into: Bear Necessities http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/'>http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/ ABeCeDarian http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/ All About Spelling would be good. It has a lot of Orton features to it. You could try adding All About Reading as well. We actually had pretty good success with Headsprout, not so much for the decoding but for the fluency. It was easier to get all the million repetitions in when the game was requiring it than when I was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Well, Recipe for Reading is the other O-G resource we use besides AAS. Barton and Wilson are others. I can't think of them off the top of my head but I know there are more if you search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Couldn't find it in the abbreviations, what is O-G? :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Orton-Gillingham :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We used Abecedarian B too and it did help consolidate Geezle's word attack skills. Another good program for later is Rewards Intermediate. I looked into Barton at one point, but they have an explicit IQ recommendation that Geezle didn't meet. It might still have worked, but I wasn't willing to spend the money and then have no support because he didn't meet one of the prerequisites. I hope you find something that works and stay sane in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Will you let me know how Barton's is working after you get into it for a while? I will let you know. I use it with my 12 yo and it has worked wonders for him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 We didn't have a lot of success with I See Sam because the font was too small. She just couldn't track it, although if I wrote the words out in larger print she did fine. However, we discovered visual processing problems. That said, I would try I See Sam. You Can print off the first set for free. http://www.iseesam.com/zencart/ Has he finished vision therapy? Other programs you might look into: Bear Necessities http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/'>http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/ ABeCeDarian http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/ All About Spelling would be good. It has a lot of Orton features to it. You could try adding All About Reading as well. We actually had pretty good success with Headsprout, not so much for the decoding but for the fluency. It was easier to get all the million repetitions in when the game was requiring it than when I was. No we have a long way to go with VT. He started in Oct and the recommendation at that time was 42-46 sessions. We only go once a month because its over a 3 hour drive 1 way so we do alot of homework. I am trying to find time to add in more time for homework in hopes that will help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 You may be past this point, but I found the book Reading Rescue 1-2-3 very helpful in explaining to me what some of the issues might be with my DS' reading delays. One thing I did to help with DS' eye tracking skills was to use word searches. A word search forces you to go along lines of letters and look at each one, slowing working up to scanning for sets of letters. DS absolutely hated doing them, but he did start to improve his scanning abilitites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 One thing I did to help with DS' eye tracking skills was to use word searches. A word search forces you to go along lines of letters and look at each one, slowing working up to scanning for sets of letters. DS absolutely hated doing them, but he did start to improve his scanning abilitites. This is actually one of the things he is currently doing for homework from VT, just right now he is reading the letters L to R instead of doing the actual word search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 My DS11 was in public school (special education) until i pulled him out at the end of Oct. to homeschool him. He learned the sounds letters make at the end of 4th grade, when I started after schooling him. His school didn't teach him much. When we started homeschooling I started out having him doing a mix Phonic Pathways, Reading Pathways, Workbook for Dyslexics, and Explode the Code online. Nothing was really working for him. First we dropped Phonic Pathways because it moved too fast for him. Then we dropped a Workbook for Dyslexics, again because it moved too fast. He occasionally does Explode the Code online but finds it so boring and too babyish. He was still working on Reading Pathways but didn't get too far. He had a really hard time blending letter sounds. I ended up ordering Apples & Pears Book A (spelling). Something about this program really clicked with him. He's not in love with the curiculum but he is learning how to spell. He does a level every day and has made huge progress. He's actually learning to read by learning to spell. Since I loved A&P so much, I decided to give their reading program a try. I ordered Dancing Bears Book A. His reading took off! We take our time and if he struggles with a page, I will repeat the page the following day, or several days in a row until he gets it. Every story (they are very strange but will hold a kid's attention) we read two days in a row. I can't say enough good things about this program! We are also doing Bear Necessities B which is really a slower version of Dancing Bears A. Most of the book is a repeat from A&P book A, but I'm using this book as a confidence builder for my son. The reading is easier for him because he's already done it before. About a week ago, I was at a book store and picked up Reading Rescue 1-2-3. There are so many great suggestions in this book! Things I would have never thought of. I've implemented a few of the suggestions (to work with Dancing Bears) and I'm already seeing an improvement. I highly recommend reading this book. There is a bunch of great information in it! To the OP: I recommend getting Bear Necessities and Reading Rescue 1-2-3. Once he gets his letters down, then add in Apples & Pears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 . 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.