S/O of teaching 4yo to read thread- letters and sounds

[angelmama1209]

My 4yo WANTS to read, BEGS to read, but can NOT pick up her letters and sounds!We've tried several different programs and she does great with the current letter, but ask her about any previous letter and forget it. It's so frustrating! Help! How do I teach her letters and their sounds so she can read? And how long should I stay with a program I feel is not working before switching to something else?

 

Here's what we'cve done:

Starfall

Reader Rabbit pre k

Progressive Phonics

HOP pre k

ETC A

http://www.abcthekey.com

a homemade LOTW curric

 

I have:

100EZ lessons but I'm pretty sure that's not going to work for us

A Scholastic phonics program

 

I am at a loss, please help.

[boscopup]

Have you tried Leapfrog Letter Factory? My middle son didn't learn letters until he was 4 (he's my "late bloomer", compared to the other two kids), and Leap Frog did it for me.

 

Also, have you had eyes checked?

[Kathryn]

Have you tried Leapfrog Letter Factory? My middle son didn't learn letters until he was 4 (he's my "late bloomer", compared to the other two kids), and Leap Frog did it for me.

 

Also, have you had eyes checked?

 

:iagree: ODS went from not wanting to read before watching the LeapFrog DVDs to reading long chapter books within a year from age 4 to 5. I was extremely skeptical of a DVD, but finally listened to advice and got it from the library. Wow! My 2.5yo has seen it a handful of times and knows all his letters and sounds just from watching it.

[Tanikit]

I would probably teach her people's names as sight words first - not too many, but certainly her own name and her families names - that way she would feel she can read some important words.

 

And then... teach her what letter her name starts with and the letters the other names start with. If she can get this down then move on to teaching her the other letters in her own name as they are more meaningful this way - you are not teaching blending at this point - just letter recognition in a meaningful word.

 

You can do a similar thing with any word she chooses. Yes, there is some sight word reading involved here, but it is for the purpose of giving her something to link the letters with - not to enable her to read a whole book.

 

Also at 4 can she tell you what letter a word starts with as this is also key to reading and one of the initial steps - work on this at the same time by going round the house and finding things that start with a particular sound (not letter - so "kite" and "cat" would be for the same sound) Phonics itself is very auditory except for the recognition of the letters - try and separate the visual first and see if she can do the auditory at all.

[edeemarie]

Definitely try the Letter Factory. We checked it out from the library and within a week my 3 year old knew his letters and sounds- I was amazed!

We are also using PAL reading and all of the letters have a story that go with them (and a cute picture!). For example "o" says "aww" and he is the sad letter because he is a cookie that no one took a bite out of. Thekids stories seem to have really cemented the letter sounds for my son.

Edited May 3, 2012 by edeemarie

[WeeBeaks]

Yeah, another vote for Letter Factory. It was a miracle - letter names plus sounds painlessly for my kids.

[ssavings]

My oldest three all learned their letters from the Leapfrog videos! We nearly never watch TV (we don't even own a TV, we had to go to my mom's to watch), but those movies are amazing!

[Stratford]

Ditto the Letter Factory video. "The Frog" worked wonders at our house.

[SilverFirefly]

Here are my thoughts…

 

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…but I wonder if maybe your DD just isn’t ready yet (it sounds like you’ve done a lot of work on this). I know you said that she WANTS to read, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s READY. Four is still very young to be worrying about reading. If you are confident that she is then I would second the suggestion to check for vision problems or anything else that might be preventing her from learning. I’m also curious who is finding the process frustrating. Is your DD frustrated that she can’t remember or are you? If she is perfectly happy working on letter sounds over and over then I would just keep practicing them in whatever way she finds most engaging until she gets them (barring any actual LD). But if she is the one frustrated…that’s when I think it’s time to switch tactics. That might mean trying something different or it might mean putting reading on the back burner for a while and trying again in a couple of months.

 

My suggestions for programs to try…

Leap Frog Letter Factory is awesome for learning the names of letters and their sounds. You might also check out the first set of Bob books. The first book in set one only uses four letters (m, s, t, a) so if she can learn those sounds she can read the entire (very short) book. From there each book in the set adds one or two letters. It’s a nice way to give very early readers the satisfaction of reading a “real bookâ€. If you want hands on, we used the printables from www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com. You can buy the entire LOTW download or you can find most of the activities for free on the printables page under preschool. My DS is very hands on so he loved these activities.

[Ellie]

That's a boatload of methods to try with a child who is only 4. :001_huh:

I would pick one and stick with it. I would probably do 100 Easy Lessons as it is particularly good for young children who are not ready for the writing that many methods require.

 

But in any case, you just need to pick one and stick with it.

[angelmama1209]

Have you tried Leapfrog Letter Factory? My middle son didn't learn letters until he was 4 (he's my "late bloomer", compared to the other two kids), and Leap Frog did it for me.

 

Also, have you had eyes checked?

 

Doh! I forgot to list this. She is sick of the Leapfrog videos. I can't MAKE her watch them anymore. When her sister chooses one, she leaves the room. :/

 

 

Also at 4 can she tell you what letter a word starts with as this is also key to reading and one of the initial steps - work on this at the same time by going round the house and finding things that start with a particular sound (not letter - so "kite" and "cat" would be for the same sound) Phonics itself is very auditory except for the recognition of the letters - try and separate the visual first and see if she can do the auditory at all.

 

She can NOT do this. Or the inverse (tell me a word that starts with /a/). I have tried and tried.

 

Here are my thoughts…

 

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…but I wonder if maybe your DD just isn’t ready yet (it sounds like you’ve done a lot of work on this). I know you said that she WANTS to read, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s READY. Four is still very young to be worrying about reading. If you are confident that she is then I would second the suggestion to check for vision problems or anything else that might be preventing her from learning. I’m also curious who is finding the process frustrating. Is your DD frustrated that she can’t remember or are you? If she is perfectly happy working on letter sounds over and over then I would just keep practicing them in whatever way she finds most engaging until she gets them (barring any actual LD). But if she is the one frustrated…that’s when I think it’s time to switch tactics. That might mean trying something different or it might mean putting reading on the back burner for a while and trying again in a couple of months.

 

 

 

We both are. When she can't do it, she cries and says "I'll NEVER learn my letters!"

 

I should also add she is a very kinesthetic learner- a HUGE challenge for me.

[Ohmomjacquie]

Lauri makes a letter puzzle that is foam I believe

That may help her get the tactile part of the letters down or even wooden magnetic letters.

 

If she is that frustrated I woul take a break and just let her.relax about it. My oldest gets quite frustrated with math. We take a break from the work if I see her getting upset. Like pp said, she may just not be ready even though she wants to. I also second bob books. Three sounds and they can read.

 

Oh and maybe reading eggs? My ds loves it!

[boscopup]

I should also add she is a very kinesthetic learner- a HUGE challenge for me.

 

You might check out the Logic of English lady's stuff... Her daughter is an extreme kinesthetic learner. She did a whole lecture on the topic. You might see if it's available for download, or if you can go to a convention that has her speaking, she'd be worth listening to and talking to. The lecture I went to was about teaching reading to kinesthetic learners. She had all kinds of games to play, like shooting phonograms with dart guns, running to a white board and writing a letter, etc, etc.

 

In the meantime, you might also try forming letters with Playdoh, writing them in sand or salt, that sort of thing. Maybe that would help her? A Spalding or Spalding-spinoff (like LoE or SWR) may actually be a great fit for her once she's physically ready to write. Just a thought.

 

ETA: Here's the Phonogram and Spelling Game Book link: http://www.logicofenglish.com/store/supplements/phonogram-and-spelling-game-book#

Edited May 3, 2012 by boscopup

[FairProspects]

Silly question - can she hear okay? Have you had her hearing checked? Any speech issues or ear infections?

 

She is still really young, and it could be nothing, but some of what you have said does throw up some red flags for possible auditory processing issues.

[mo2]

Just want to point out that several of the LeapFrog videos are available on Netflix streaming. My kids are hooked on Phonics Farm right now.

[kwg]

I would back off.

 

 

Just to offer something that has not been said, which may be more too- I don't know- "school-y"

 

But she probably can at least recognize many words and this might satisfy her for a little bit. For instance the STOP on a stop sign, or Mcdonald's,cheerios, labels and such.... I know it isn't really reading but sometimes it is fun to cut out pictures of words they can "read". SHe sounds discouraged and maybe that would give her some confidence- a book with words she can read.

[angelmama1209]

Silly question - can she hear okay? Have you had her hearing checked? Any speech issues or ear infections?

 

She is still really young, and it could be nothing, but some of what you have said does throw up some red flags for possible auditory processing issues.

 

Her eyesight and hearing are fine. No major history of ear infections or speech issues.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I keep thinking maybe she's not ready, but she wants to so. bad. She did just learn the word "exit" and points it out everywhere. Is there a good "whole to part" reading curric I could try maybe?

[lovintolearn]

Sound games -lots and lots of them!

 

Getting Ready to Read is a great book for this. It is my go to handbook for games and other ideas to build up pre-reading skills. Here is another overview of "I spy" sound games.

 

My 2-year old is in the first stage, so for example I'll hold up a banana (real, minature, or a picture) and say "I spy something with my little eye that begins with the /b/ sound," and he'll say banana. I'd then say "Yes, banana starts with the /b/ sound." Eventually I'll move on to holding up two objects. Another great game is to draw out words. So for example say "Bring me a b-o-o-k" (saying the word book very slowly, so the child can hear the individual sounds and begin to understand the blending process.)

 

HTH

[angelmama1209]

Sound games -lots and lots of them!

 

Getting Ready to Read is a great book for this. It is my go to handbook for games and other ideas to build up pre-reading skills. Here is another overview of "I spy" sound games.

 

My 2-year old is in the first stage, so for example I'll hold up a banana (real, minature, or a picture) and say "I spy something with my little eye that begins with the /b/ sound," and he'll say banana. I'd then say "Yes, banana starts with the /b/ sound." Eventually I'll move on to holding up two objects. Another great game is to draw out words. So for example say "Bring me a b-o-o-k" (saying the word book very slowly, so the child can hear the individual sounds and begin to understand the blending process.)

 

HTH

 

Oooooohhhhh! I like this!

[Five More Minutes]

I hesitate to throw this out there, because you've already tried so many options and this one isn't a cheap one, but ... Jolly Phonics was a good fit for my kiddos. They learned letter sounds using actions for each and songs to go along with each. The Jolly Stories was invaluable because it had tactile letters for them to trace on each page.

 

My daughters were both determined to read at age 4, and this was the easiest way for me to keep it fun. I posted a review about it a while ago.

[Kendall]

You could back up (and only do any work when she asks) and start from scratch. Take the letters you know she always remembers and then add one. Review those quickly each day she asks and then when you feel those are solid add another one.

 

My almost four year old daughter knew half of the sounds but couldn't tell you which sound a word started with. I started with 2 very different sounds, gave her a few pictures that started with each and had her match them to the letters with lots of help. Within a few week it clicked with her and now she can usually tell you the sound that words start with. She is not ready to blend sounds into words, so we will keep adding sounds slowly until she knows them all. I would tend not to start a reading program until they know all short vowels and all other consonants(hard c and hard g only).

[WeeBeaks]

Kinesthetic - make shapes of letters with your body (movement) or in the air, sandpaper letters, play-doh, stick in the dirt, etc.

[ALB]

Sound games -lots and lots of them!

 

Getting Ready to Read is a great book for this. It is my go to handbook for games and other ideas to build up pre-reading skills. Here is another overview of "I spy" sound games.

 

My 2-year old is in the first stage, so for example I'll hold up a banana (real, minature, or a picture) and say "I spy something with my little eye that begins with the /b/ sound," and he'll say banana. I'd then say "Yes, banana starts with the /b/ sound." Eventually I'll move on to holding up two objects. Another great game is to draw out words. So for example say "Bring me a b-o-o-k" (saying the word book very slowly, so the child can hear the individual sounds and begin to understand the blending process.)

 

HTH

These sound like great ideas for both auditory and kinesthetic learners! Thanks for sharing!

[jennynd]

I didn't use formal program. Just starfall for my DD

The other thing to try is to make up some game.

I used the foam letter, scatter on the floor and maybe 5-10 at the time. and when I say a letter (or a letter sound), she jump on the letter. That works very well for my leapfrog hater

[angelmama1209]

You could back up (and only do any work when she asks) and start from scratch. Take the letters you know she always remembers and then add one. Review those quickly each day she asks and then when you feel those are solid add another one.

 

My almost four year old daughter knew half of the sounds but couldn't tell you which sound a word started with. I started with 2 very different sounds, gave her a few pictures that started with each and had her match them to the letters with lots of help. Within a few week it clicked with her and now she can usually tell you the sound that words start with. She is not ready to blend sounds into words, so we will keep adding sounds slowly until she knows them all. I would tend not to start a reading program until they know all short vowels and all other consonants(hard c and hard g only).

 

I didn't use formal program. Just starfall for my DD

The other thing to try is to make up some game.

I used the foam letter, scatter on the floor and maybe 5-10 at the time. and when I say a letter (or a letter sound), she jump on the letter. That works very well for my leapfrog hater

 

These are great! Keep 'em coming!

[pitterpatter]

Maybe slow down? Focus on one or two letters a week. Get some little workbooks, games, etc. Work on the letter every day. Sing the alphabet song a lot. Print out the alphabet on a half- or third-sheet piece of paper. Space out the letters a bit. Use a normal font. Have your DC point to the correct letter as she sings. Give it to her and allow it to hang out in the living room for a while.

 

Try Letter Factory. There's also the one by Preschool Prep. Having said that, DD watched Letter Factory since she was two. She never totally learned her letters from watching the DVDs (or much at all). I was surprised, as she didn't get to watch hardly any TV back then. She learned them best while working with me.

[Chris in VA]

Can you get your hands on an old Twister game mat? They can be invaluable for the kinesthetic learner--You can

put a letter written large on a sticky note on each circle (start with two, repeated throught the mat) and have her jump to them. I'm sure you can think of other things, too, once you get the concept of jumping/moving to the letter/word/sound. You can also throw a bean sock/bag and try to land it on a sound/letter, or "fish" for letters.

 

Have you seen Montessori object boxes? They are so cute and fun! You can buy sets of objects or make your own. We used them for beginning sounds and later, for 3-4 letter words. We played bingo-type games, matching, etc. with them.

 

You can hold up a letter, tell her what it is, and then have her look around the room for something that begins with that sound. Later, just either hold up the letter silently or just say the sound and have her look for the letter.

 

You can write one letter on the back of her hand and let her "wear" it all day, constantly reminding her of the sound. After a day or so, write a different letter on the other hand. Reinforce that one all day, then have her hold out her hand to tell you which one makes which sound. Or do a bracelet with a letter bead (same idea, but not writing on her--some kids and some moms don't like to do that LOL). The thing is to get her to see it all day and tell you all day, so the multiple repetitions give her a chance to memorize it.

 

But she may need context--I have started kids with their names the way a previous poster suggested. You can have her label her possessions with her letter on a sticker. She can make her name in sand/fingerpaint/whipped cream, etc. It's fun to know what the name of your pet starts with, or Mom or Dad, or your best friend.

 

There's about a million fun ways to proceed.

 

I would keep it fun, and maybe just put it aside all together for a couple of months and THEN go at it in the above ways.

 

We also made environmental print books with our preschoolers. Just go thru a newspaper and look at bags from Target, Walmart, JCP, McD's and other fast food places, etc and see what she recognizes. Gives them confidence.

 

We set up very small clipboards so they could scribble and write as part of play. (Progression of writing--scribble, linear scribble, random isolated forms that sort of look like letters, random letters, words spelled phonetically, real words.) Add a block signs basket to her blocks so she can write the name of what she built--not a real word, but connecting the idea of letters and sounds. She may just be ready for linear scribbling or she may get the first letter of the word, just give her a chance.

 

Just some ideas.

[Tanikit]

I would probably back off letter recognition for now and work on the phonemic awareness (at this stage knowing what letters a word starts with) "Teach me how to say it right" which is a book about articulation disorders but addresses early reading issues too might be worth looking at as it gives fun ways to address phonemic awareness.

 

You can then also read a lot of rhyming words and see if she is able to give you rhyming words (some children manage this easily and some really struggle so it is not a sign of anything if she battles) - if she can do it then it also helps for beginning word sounds - can she hear the difference between bat, cat, hat - you could always put out pictures, say the rhyming words and get her to find the one you said and then discuss how they start with a different letter.

 

I would also play games where she claps initially for each word you say in a short sentence and then later for each syllable in a word to get her to segment and hear parts of a word - you do it for her at first and then she copies you later.

 

Once she can hear the sounds properly it will be easier for her to learn to identify them and then later to blend them. If she is very keen to be reading in the midst of this process then teach her some sight words that she can see around her - shop names, her own name, the labels on your appliances at home, names of products you have bought (like Coke etc) just so that she feels she is getting somewhere with the written word.