Teaching a (young) 4 year old to read

[Mommy to monkeys]

I taught my 2 oldest kids to read when they were 5, but my 4 year old ds is begging to learn to read. I'm sure this has been discussed AD NAUSEUM. What does the hive recommend?:bigear:

 

Nothing too writing intensive.

 

Not The Reading Lesson. (or anything like it) I tried that with my dd who is now 7 and couldn't stand it. I like "the rules". . .atleast to start with.;)

 

Is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons comparable to the Reading Lesson? I have the OPGTR but the print is a deterrant for this particular child.

[SilverMoon]

My 4yo reads to me from Phonics Pathways when she asks for her own lessons, and BOB Books or Nora Gaydos books when she wants a reader. No writing. It's not scripted like OPGTR.

 

I try getting her to watch the Leapfrog videos that worked so wonderfully with her older siblings, but she knows the plots too well already (btdt mom).

[Mommy to monkeys]

Does Phonics Pathways have bigger print than OPGTR?

[WIS0320]

Try the Reading Eggs website. It might give her a fun way to start reading without it feeling too much like school.

[Kendall]

I have taught 6 children (on the 7th now) using Alphaphonics. One of them was 3.5 when we started. The oldest was 6 when we started. They have taken anywhere from 4 months to 18 months(the one who started at 3.5) to complete it. It is simple, no writing required(definitely best for the young ones), and very effective. I also used a few readers, Dig In and I Can by Merrill Linguistics and taught them a few sight words (most or all of which were eventually covered in Alphaphonics). It isn't scripted like 100 easy lessons and it doesn't have any of the unique markings on the words, just regular text which gradually decreases in size. With my young one we sometimes only did a handful of words a day. By the end of the book all of mine have been reading at 2nd grade level(just guessing, could be higher) I had one whose reading didn't "take off" after completing the book like her siblings had, but she continued reading aloud to me and her reading "took off" about 6 months later.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I have two boys who learned to read early (3.5-4ish) using only the incremental phonics books by Nora Gaydos. They are fun, colorful, silly, and gave the boys a huge sense of accomplishment from the very beginning. They come with notes for the parent/teacher about what sounds each book introduces and also stickers for the kids to put in the book when they've read them.

 

The boys first learned their letter sounds and beginning blending with the (painless! easy! fun!) Letter Factory and Word Factory DVDs from Leap Frog.

[SilverMoon]

Does Phonics Pathways have bigger print than OPGTR?

 

Judging from the Look Inside on Amazon, yes, PP does have larger print for the child to read. Except for the occasional cartoon speech bubble, all text on the page is for the student.

[Mergath]

My dd has done really well with Funnix.

[LillyMama]

I don't know The Reading Road, but I have both 100 EZ and OPGTTR. I tried both and ended up using OPGTTR so I know it better, but since no one's yet talked about 100EZ, I'll tell you what I remember. The font is bigger in 100 EZ, and my daughter, a self-taught reader like yours, would have probably been content to use it. But my son, a reluctant reader, absolutely hated it and that's why we made the switch. I felt that 100 EZ was too scripted, moved too slowly, and was just cumbersome. But that could have just been our personality styles. It feels more "bottom up" (for lack of a better way to describe it) than even I, a huge phonics fan, could stomach. It took too long, for us, to get into "real words" and "real stories" so it just didn't hold our interest long. It felt like too much work. I think if you have a phonics-friendly kid it can be great, but if you have a "whole picture first, fill in the details later" kid, it might not be a good fit.

 

I second the suggestions for BOB books. In addition to the basic "phonetic" books, they have a box of sight word readers for K and 1st that my son latched onto.

 

We also use computer resources a lot. I know you don't want a written program, so the Explode the Code books are probably not of interest. But they have an online component that is phenomenal. It's a lot of computer games and it adjusts which game is assigned to each child based on their performance. And you have a lot of control in re-assigning, assessing, printing reports... We were enrolled into it as a gift, so I don't know the cost, but it has been our most successful tool in keeping my kids interested. Others talk about free the site starfall.com but we've not spent much time with it.

[mudboots]

I agree on the Nora Gaydos recommendation.

 

We started with www.starfall.com for learning lower case letter sounds. Then we made CVC words with magnet letters (mom, mop, top, tap, cap, etc.). Sometimes I'd write words or phrases for them. Then we moved on to Nora Gaydos Animal Antics.

 

Now we're using TOPGTTR, starting at the appropriate place in the book. The pages are too busy for my kids to read directly from the book. I'm using the cards that can be bought with the book, but you can make your own cards as you need them, based on the prompts (or write on paper the parts they'll be reading). I like TOPGTTR because of the order in which phonics rules are presented. I also like that it's pretty comprehensive - we'll be using it for a while.

[ALB]

While 100 Easy Lessons does have a slightly bigger font, the pages are also very cluttered and (imo) hard to read. I agree that OPGTR just looks like too much for a young kid. I'm using it now to teach a 4 yr old to read, and I just write it all out on the chalkboard to make it less visually overwhelming to him. That does get old after a while, and I imagine we'll transition to reading from the book once he becomes more proficient.

[chepyl]

I used 100 ez lessons with my young 4 year old. We skipped all the writing and most of the scripted stuff. We did the letter sounds and words.

 

I am trying phonics pathways with dd and I do prefer 100 ez lessons.

[sewingmama]

I use Phonics Pathways (no writing) and www.progressivephonics.com with my 4yo.

[Tanikit]

I used OPGTR from 3.5 years of age with my DD but we have never read from the book - I copied the word lists out very big into a small book and we read about 4-8 words a day from this book. We never did use the sentences since she was already reading other things anyway.

 

Yes there was work involved in copying out the lists of words, but it really did not take very long at all. I would probably use a whiteboard if doing it with the sentences.

[Mommy to monkeys]

Many thanks! I'm going to sit with my coffee and peruse all of this stuff. Ah the joys of curriculum.

 

Some of these things I hadn't even heard of! Funnix? Reading Eggs? We do love our starfall, and he's gone through the pre-ETC books minus writing the letters with no trouble. My other kids just used a page a day of Abeka's handbook for reading. I'd say "If there are two vowels, the first one says its name". . .they'd say "ok" and read the words no problems. . .then on to the next day. DS 4 obviously needs more than that. Probably because he's FOUR.:D

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

All 4 of my children learned using Abeka ....oldest was 6, youngest was 4. All you need is the Handbook and their readers, the workbooks are not needed.

[boscopup]

My younger two love Reading Eggs. My 5.5 year old has gotten some much needed repetition. My almost-3 year old enjoys it too and is almost done with map 4 and actually does read the words. :001_huh:

 

What I've also done with my middle one is Webster's Speller syllabary to teach open and closed syllables right from the start. That helps with all those "sight words" like he, she, it, I, a, the. Those are easy for a kid that has worked through the syllabary. I did the syllabary at the white board so I could write it nice and big.

 

I agree that OPGTR is too small print for many 4 year olds. If you use it, write the stuff on the white board. I used it for a bit, but DS2 really wasn't enjoying it. He liked Webster's better, strangely enough. I think Websters was a bit easier for him because of the pattern involved (BA BE BI BO BU BY). Easy is good! Most 4 year olds don't want to do hard work.

 

I also recommend the I See Sam readers. The first 52 are available online for free. They are like Bob books, but cuter. :) You just have to teach the "ee" phonogram before you start. We started these after going through some basic syllabary work, so "I" was already understood, etc. The first book has the words: I, see, Sam. That's it. I teach phonetically how to sound out the words, and then we just repeat, repeat, repeat until it's well understood. I use a notched card for DS2, so he is learning to read left-to-right.

 

We're using Dancing Bears now to get to the next level, along with Reading Eggs. The combo is working well for DS2. DS3 is still only doing Reading Eggs (well, DS1 sometimes will use Dancing Bears with him also, but he's not really ready for that and actually doesn't have much interest in learning to read, but does have high interesting in playing Reading Eggs, so I'm not trying to teach him to read right now ;) ).

[edeemarie]

We are using PAL reading with ds3.5 and he loves it! He has so much fun with the games and has even been known to cry when we are done! It is working very well for him and I would highly recommend it!

[ssavings]

DS was 4 in Jan and has been moving through PP for quite a while. He does very well with it, and it's simple to use. He's also working on the ETC books, but I scribe for him.

[SewingMom2many]

I've just started working with my 4yo. He's been doing Starfall for a while and loves it. Reading Eggs is good too, he begs to do that! We are using bits and pieces from HOP and OPGTR very, very slowly and I recently bought Reading Made Easy which we just started and are enjoying very much. She has printables that go along with it and my son loves that part of it.

 

 

 

I also recommend the I See Sam readers. The first 52 are available online for free. They are like Bob books, but cuter. :) You just have to teach the "ee" phonogram before you start. We started these after going through some basic syllabary work, so "I" was already understood, etc. The first book has the words: I, see, Sam. That's it. I teach phonetically how to sound out the words, and then we just repeat, repeat, repeat until it's well understood. I use a notched card for DS2, so he is learning to read left-to-right.

 

We're using Dancing Bears now to get to the next level, along with Reading Eggs. The combo is working well for DS2. DS3 is still only doing Reading Eggs (well, DS1 sometimes will use Dancing Bears with him also, but he's not really ready for that and actually doesn't have much interest in learning to read, but does have high interesting in playing Reading Eggs, so I'm not trying to teach him to read right now ;) ).

 

How do I get to the free I See Sam readers? I keep finding ones that are not free. Also, can you link the Dancing Bears site? I saw that months ago and now I can't find it. Thanks :)

[Ohmomjacquie]

Ooh I've been contemplating this myself. Didn't Teach my oldest (ps k) but I'd lile to start with my ds.I saw alphaphonics.a few years ago and it looked great.

[blondeviolin]

My 4yo is almost halfway through 100EL. It is working nicely for him and he has a sense of accomplishment with it. He also reads the I See Sam readers when he has a chance.

 

We have OPGTR but he complained every time he even saw the book. He really does love his reading lessons and is doing much better than I would have thought at just barely 4.5.

[pitterpatter]

We started with some letter sounds workbooks and Starfall at 4 years, 4 months. After she had her letters and sounds down, we progressed to HOP: Kindergarten. We used lots of level-appropriate readers along the way. We're currently using HOP: 1. I ordered All About Spelling last night.

[desiraejb]

We started OPGTR at four. After we got to about lesson 35 my son started acting out when I got the book out, and I considered dumping it and spending a ton of money on another reading curr. Instead, we took a break from it and just practiced our abc's and their sounds for a month or two. The print size is a concern, I think all the teacher script being on the same page freaked my son out a bit. I made up little books on my computer and printed them off for each lesson for lessons 36-50. The books had one word or sentence on each page, with a picture on a separate page after some stories or sentences. The pictures acted like a reward for him, he loved it. I got a bit tired of making the books, though. So now, I put all the things he will need to read on a single sheet of paper and store them in a binder (to hopefully use again). This gives him only what he needs to see, and it keeps his hands off my book, which was getting dog-eared. Another thing we have used is an index card with a hole cut in the center to mask off the lines we aren't reading. This has helped a lot, too. I have definitely had a love/hate relationship with OPGTR, but with our personal modifications, I see it lasting the long haul. I really do love the simplicity of it.

[happypamama]

I started 100 Easy Lessons with my DD at about 3, but she very quickly took off and didn't need it. I did it this past year with my then-6yo DS1, and it was a good fit for him, because within a couple of lessons, he could read a real word (it helped that it was "Sam," which is his dad's name). We skipped the writing exercises (though we did copywork separately), and I didn't do all the scripted stuff. DS1 wasn't ready to learn to read until this past year, but my DS2 will be 4 in October, and I feel like he might be ready to read then. He shows more interest in letters and books than DS1 did at that age, and he seems like the kind of kid who will be motivated to learn more (this kid seems to have a lot of personal drive in general) so I am going to start with 100 Easy Lessons, since I have it, and see how it goes.

[duckabell]

After my son learned the sounds and could blend magnets together then we started OPGTR. I found the best way to keep him engaged was to simply type up the sentences and leave a large space between each sentence. Then we would sit down on the couch and he would read the sentence and I would draw a stick figure picture to go along with it.

 

This does take a bit of effort on my part, but I think it's worth it and he's now reading Frog and Toad and taking off by himself. We'll still finish OPGTR so that we don't miss anything, but OPGTR has worked well for us.

[three4me]

I haven't read all the responses, but wanted to chime in since we have a young 4yo. We started 100EZ just after she turned 4. She wanted to learn to read and I had already bought that book. She loves doing her reading lesson every day and we do it nearly every day. We are currently on lesson 40 and she is progressing well. I like that it moves pretty slowly because I don't want to push her too hard. Anyway, the program is working really well for us! It is very scripted, but she likes how "schooly" it is and likes that she can anticipate what we will do next.

[Mommy to monkeys]

So far my favorite thing that I've looked at are the Nora Gaydos readers. They look like a lot of fun! I think I HAVE Alphaphonics somewhere. I haven't used it. It's probably in a stack of things I haven't used. I'll dedicate my evening to finding it.

[tjneary99]

I see Sam Readers FREE for reading or listening with colorful illustrations at the link below:

You can sign up your child to be evaluated also. Quizzes are provided at the end of each book if you like. There are 52 books there. There is also 47 pages of free printable sight word cards for the lessons--listed by lesson and sound(these are very nice), and 27 sound/symbol color photo cards---super nice!!

 

http://readingteacher.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=14

 

Blessings,

Jen

[thebacabunch]

I used 100 easy lessons with 2 kid so far. 1 has autism and I had no problems. I really love that book and my girls are waaaaaaay ahead of grade level. I never did any other reading instruction. They both learned at 4. They now pick up word meanings in context and grammar is intuitive because they read so much.

[Spy Car]

We did "The Cartoon Road to Reading" at 4 very successfully. The parts are:

 

1) The Leapfrog Talking Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory I and II DVDs. These are worth their weight in gold.

 

2) Explode the Code (ECT). There are 3 "Before the Code" primers that take you into ETC 1, 2, 3.....

 

ETC can be modified to be done orally or using a finger to "trace" rather than requiring writing which makes it more developmentally appropriate for early use.

 

3) A graded set of phonic readers. We used Bob Books, but I See Sam or Nora Gaydos are reasonable options.

 

Combined these 3 elements are fun and effective IMO.

 

Bill

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD

Leap Frog Word Factory DVD

Abeka K5 Workbooks

Bob Books

White board & marker

 

Then we moved on to Phonics Pathways

 

This method had my twin boys reading fluently at age 4. :)

[....]

We did "The Cartoon Road to Reading" at 4 very successfully. The parts are:

 

1) The Leapfrog Talking Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory I and II DVDs. These are worth their weight in gold.

 

2) Explode the Code (ECT). There are 3 "Before the Code" primers that take you into ETC 1, 2, 3.....

 

ETC can be modified to be done orally or using a finger to "trace" rather than requiring writing which makes it more developmentally appropriate for early use.

 

3) A graded set of phonic readers. We used Bob Books, but I See Sam or Nora Gaydos are reasonable options.

 

Combined these 3 elements are fun and effective IMO.

 

Bill

 

This is exactly how my 4 yro started reading this summer. I had no idea it was a plan with a name! :lol: We also use BOB Books.

[craftyerin]

My young 4yos are doing fantastically well with a combo of Phonics Pathways, ETC primers, and Bob & I See Sam books. We do maybe 10/min per day, probably 4x a week, but they were ready and interested, so I didn't see any reason to delay.

 

I checked Phonics Pathways, OPGTR and 100EZ lessons out of the library and read all 3 cover to cover. I liked PP best for this age set, and bought that one. If you're finding that there is too much on the page, try using the book yourself and writing the words on a white board for them to read. One of mine prefers that. The other would rather curl up in my lap and have me segment parts of the page for him to work on with a 5x7" blank note card covering the rest.

[myfatherslily]

1) Teach the letter sounds. Letter Factory is great for this, but anything you have will work (flashcards, letters written on paper, etc).

 

2) Start with two-letter words. Some programs start with two-letter blends (sa, se, si, so, su). Either way would work. I made notecards with all the two-letter words I could think of (it, on, in, up, at, an, am) and we practiced themregularly till they got the concept. I don't start teaching blending until they easily know almost all sounds.

 

3) When they are ready for three-letter words (which comes very quickly after grasping the concept with two letter), choose a book that you like. My favorite combo is an A Beka workbook with Word Mastery (on google books), but you have three pages of good suggestions here.

 

My 4 1/2 yr old is now walking aroung the house trying to sound out everything, so I know where you're coming from! When they're determined, you just have to follow along!!

[StartingOver]

My children started Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading at 3. We had HOP books, BOB books, I see Sam, McGuffey Readers free off the net, and other beginning readers. They never saw that OPGTR, I just copy the lessons to paper, or the white board, or we use blocks, & etc. Then we would read together, with me sounding out any words we haven't covered yet. We start ETC very early too.

 

OPGTR is so straight forward, can be done in just a few minutes a day. I love it. The kids also have LEAP FROG Letter Factory, and all the others. They play on Starfall too.

Edited October 18, 2012 by StartingOver

[MeaganS]

We're doing it now, so I haven't been there done that, but here's what we're doing. It seems to be working well, and my daughter is special needs too.

 

We started with the frog around age 2. She learned all her letter sounds within a few weeks. It took almost another two years for her to be able to tell me what sound was at the beginning of a word. When she could tell me what letter started the word "mail," for example, we started working on blending without reading. What helped solidify blending for this particular child was the ABC Magic Reading apps (free). She would practice with them for much longer than just listening to me. Once she could blend fairly reliably, that's when I started with OPGTR.

 

Like others, I never show her the book. What I've done is gone through several lessons at a time and made my own readers for it. I take the practice sentences, put a few per page, add a relevant clipart picture, and go to the next page. Then I staple those into a book (or several books). It takes me a few hours in the evening while I'm watching tv to do several weeks worth, and I have more children who will be able to use them as time goes on. She only reads the readers, and they aren't overwhelming for her at all. It is slow going, but that's because she is young and doesn't like to read more than 2 or 3 sentences at a time.

 

We also use the Reading Bear website for fluency. She will practice with it for 45 minutes or more, which is way longer than she will practice with me. In fact, I usually have to cut her off. We also use Bob Books, Pathway Readers, etc. for extra practice on occasion.

Edited October 18, 2012 by MeaganS

[Spy Car]

This is exactly how my 4 yro started reading this summer. I had no idea it was a plan with a name! :lol: We also use BOB Books.

 

I made up this name as a joke in one thread, then Aubrey revived it and we got a good laugh. So what the heck :D

 

Bill