what did you use to teach reading?

[LEK]

My dd is in her first year of school and making good progress with the get ready for the code books which we will be finishing within a few weeks. I feel we are now ready to move on to reading and would like a "reading program" to help us both in this stage. I am planning on continuing onto the ETC series and will start AAS after she has started reading but would like something more in the mean time. I am considering phonics pathways but am definitely open to suggestions for programs specifically teaching reading at this stage. Recommendations please, what worked for your children.

[Alice]

I've used Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading with both my boys. It's worked great for us.

[Lots of boys]

We have used OPGTR and AAR, We like AAR a little better but both are great. AAR is a very similar format to AAS so your dd would be use to how the program was structured when you started AAS.

[chepyl]

100 easy lessons worked easily for DS, I am trying Phonics Pathways with DD because she likes the pictures. She wants to read, but I don't really think she is ready, she likes to practice her "letter book" though.

[KristenR]

For my oldest we did a combo of OPGTR and ETC. Halfway through OPGTR we started AAS.

 

Now, with my middle daughter I am utilizing AAR. I reviewed it on my blog. It is definitely a good fit for my middle -tactile- daughter who has a short attention span. As she progresses we'll add in OPGTR.

[boscopup]

I think the two biggest things that will help are:

 

1) Pick one program and stick with it.

2) Be consistent, practicing for 10-15 minutes every day.

 

Now having said that, I haven't exactly followed it. :lol: I used Webster's to get things started with DS2... open and closed syllables in the syllabary. He can now sound out basic open syllable "sight words". Next, we used some I See Sam readers, which are great. So much nicer than Bob books! And now, we've landed on Dancing Bears, which seems to be a good fit for him. I'm just trying to make sure I spend about 10 minutes a day on it, since he's sooooo close to taking off. He just needs more repetition of the words he knows how to sound out, and DB is giving him that.

[besroma]

For readers, we really enjoyed the Nora Gaydos readers, Pathways readers, and CLE readers.

[Karenciavo]

I used TATRAS.

[BlsdMama]

We've used a couple things over the years. Once I found Ordinary Parents Guide I haven't deviated. ;)

 

We start with OPGFTR and add in ETC a little later when pencils don't frustrate little hands. It's a great combination and works wonderfully. We've used it to teach six so far.

[DianeW88]

100 Easy Lessons for my oldest, Sing, Spell, Read and Write for my middle dyslexic child, and Veritas Press Phonics Museum for the youngest. Because the same program wouldn't work for all three of them. Totally different learning styles. :glare:

[Ellie]

Spalding. :-)

[momma2three]

I started using 100 Easy Lessons, but she dug in her heels at about lesson #2. So then we moved onto the Starfall curriculum (not the free site, but the subscription site and we ordered some of the workbooks and materials), and that was very nice. We sort of gave up on it after Christmas, though: I'm not entirely sure why.

 

Really what taught her to read was Reading Eggs on the computer. I can't really claim any credit.

[Ummto4]

I used Reading Made Easy by Valerie Bendt (http://www.valeriebendt.com) with my 1st and second dc. My third one is not reading yet, but I'm planning to use this book for her as well.

 

A bit about RME:

 

RME is a bit similar to 100 EZ Lesson in that it employs marking system to make reading easy. However, the marking is simpler - short vowel is black, long vowel is gray and silent letters are dotted. I find the marking is very helpful to enable the child to read more easily and confidently at the early stage.

 

The scope and seq is rather different from regular reading program, going from short 'a' to long 'a' within a few lesson, without even going to other short vowel first (NOTE: this is easy to do because of the marking system). This, in combination with the early introduction of frequently used sight words like the, you, etc, enables the child to read interesting sentences and short stories in the book within a few lessons. No tongue twister stories here (cat sat on a mat). Hence, you practically do not need any other reader like bob books etc to accompany this program.

 

It also includes several games and kinesthetic activities to reinforce the reading. Plus, in each lesson, there are practices to read sentences without the marking to make the transition to non-marked reading easier.

 

In short, this book combines reading lesson with the love of reading. The later point, is often forgotten in many primers which mainly focus on decoding skills. I've used such primer (PP) in the past with my son, but we're both bored to tears. Really, to get your child to be motivated to read, they need to have interesting stories to read . You know, the one with meaningful sentences, not the tongue-twister sentences (KWIM ?). Reading MAde Easy supplies these stories(along with pictures) in abundance within a few lesson.

 

When you finish with this, you can make transition to non marked reading by getting easy readers. In our home, we used Mc Guffey primer (first 30 lessons), then switched completely to a combination of Elson and Treadwell primers.

Both Elson and Treadwell primers are available free from google books and baldwin project respectively. I highly recommend these two primers. The language is easy enough, but the stories are not dumbed down. They are interesting to read. We enjoy these a lot in our home.

 

To help reading logner words, you can use Webster Speller.

[Mommy_of_4]

We are using Phonics Pathways. I love it! It is open and go and we can re do a page as many times as DS needs.

[kristinannie]

Once you get past the CVC words, I love The Struggling Reader. It teaches phonics and sight words through games. You don't have to do the sight words if you don't want to. It is a separate program. I started using the sight words games when my son would getting frustrated at not reading more fluently (about the time he mastered long vowels). I also do ETC as a review and use LOTS and LOTS of real book and readers.

[SnMomof7]

I used A Beka's Handbook for Reading and leveled readers with my oldest, but now that there is AAR I'm trying to go with that - wrapping up Pre-1 and have Level 1 ordered up!

[Bree]

I used 100EZ lessons till the kids were reading CVC words well and then went into SL grade 1 readers with ETC.

[ALB]

Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading

[Ray]

We had success with both phonic programs below, but The Dancing Bears set from Sound Foundations did the trick for second learner. If I could do-over the Dancing Bears set would get the nod for both children. Fwiw.

 

http://www.criticalthinking.com/getProductDetails.do?code=c&id=04301

 

http://www.prometheantrust.org/usshop.htm

[Therese]

We started with 100 EZ Lessons, moved on to Alphaphonics with Bob books (are they still around? My younger two were reminiscing about those books the other day.) and finished up with Writing Road to Reading.

 

That program worked well for my younger three. Oldest went to brick-and-mortar school until halfway through second grade, by which time he had learned to read.

[rocketgirl]

I taught public school kindergarten for 7 seven years - part of that, 3 years, I taught using a phonics program called Success For All which was very similar to the program I learned to read with which was using the I See Sam books, and those were my favorite years. The phonics taught my students the "code" that they would learn to use to "read". On www.readinglessons.com you can print all of the I See Sam books for free and it also offers free pre reading lessons. I am using these right now for my just turned 4 year old.

 

The other 4 years I taught in public school kindergarten, my school minimized phonics, pushed sight words, and reading strategies, which was ok for my students who already knew the alphabet and all of the letter sounds, but that was just a handful in kdg, so a lot of kids got left behind...

Edited April 2, 2012 by rocketgirl

[Tanikit]

I used Little Reader (www.brillkids.com) when my child was a baby and then starfall from 2 years of age and OPGTR (not as scripted) from about 3.5 years of age. I also looked at some of the early instruction in 100EZ to get an idea of how to teach blending but in the end didn't follow their methods either.

[Melenie]

I used OPGTR with both my kids. We did add some Bob books, Websters Blue Book and Pathway readers for fun; but OPGTR is what taught them how to read.

[lollie010]

We use a variety of resources. Once they have letters and sounds down, we use OPGTR with ETC. Once they cover all of the long vowel sounds in OPGTR, we start using real books and I help them with unfamiliar words. We continue OPGTR and ETC but at that point they have pretty much picked up on the rules and it's fast moving.

[Bula Mama]

I've used different things, too. I think the best combination was Phonics Pathways with adding in Explode the Code along the way and then Pathway Raders.

 

Reading Reflex was a lifesaver with my dyslexic dc!

[mommatomany]

I think we're in the minority but we've used and loved The Reading Lesson paired with ETC!!!

[warriormom]

I taught ds to read with TYCR 100 easy lessons. We did hit a wall where my son got upset when I corrected him (very tense). I decided to bring some levity by using his stuffed animal as my teacher assistant ( the one to correct). After that, we went through Webster's syllabary, played Reading Eggs....In private school they are reviewing with A beka (this year). We are skipping through OPGTR to fill in any holes.

 

I 100% agree with one of the posts that suggests sticking with 1 program. We did that with TYCR and now OPGTR (of course with a beka since he is in private school).

 

This year I am teaching my daughter to read with OPGTR. I really enjoy it because it is so gentle with tons of review. I am using a puppet to teach about half the time since she is so young.HTH

[mom31257]

I really like A Beka's K4 and K5 for beginning reading. I can't say I like much else of theirs, but both of my kids did it when they were very young and were reading by age 4. I love the approach they have to begin by blending just 2 letters together. It seems like a natural approach.

[deeinfl]

Reading Reflex (mildly dyslexic and learned to read with this in only about 4 months) and then followed up with Tatras for one son

 

Reading Reflex and then followed up with Let's Read, A Linguistic Approach...for the other. With this son, we are now using Tatras phonograms to help with spelling and decoding of larger words. I've loved this combination. He is by far, my best reader at his age.

 

I like RR for getting the child quickly through the short vowel sounds and into short vowel readers.

 

Dee

[Susan in TN]

I've used/am using Phonics Pathways (along with ETC) for 5 of my kids. It's worked well for all of them, despite their very different learning styles, as long as they were "ready to learn". I tend to stick with what works in the most simple form possible.

[Mandylubug]

We are using Phonics Pathways, BOB books and ETC books. I am seeing definite progress :)