Katydid Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Help! I need something to help me teach my rising first grader how to read. I had a baby this year so I didn't plan much for DD, but she is now ready and eager to begin learning how to read. My oldest taught himself to read when he was 4 and I never used any phonic programs with him, so this is all new territory. I have OPGTR, and have done the first couple of lessons with DD, but honestly I can't stand it.... it's just so boring. :leaving: DD loves to draw, color, write, etc. so I'm thinking something with worksheets with fun little activities would be good for her. I love the looks of All About Reading and thought I had decided on it, but I do question whether the program is worth the cost. Maybe something cheaper would work just as well? Then I saw the Explode the Code books and wondered if those would be a good fit. Is it a complete program, or just workbooks to help reinforce what they are learning in another phonics program? Are there any other fun, easy to implement phonics programs that you would recommend? Any and all thoughts are appreciated! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Check out http://progressivephonics.com/. We've used this along with ETC and DS loves it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Explode the Code is good, and many children learn to read with it. :-) I like Spalding, which teaches children to read by teaching them to spell, and includes penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing, all in one fell swoop. You can get everything you need for under $50 (there are additional materials, but they aren't necessities). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I am doing All About Reading's Prelevel with my middle daughter. She was asking for schoolwork like her older sister's. I am using AAR with Get Ready for the Code books for her. We also do OPGTR. There are many ways to "jazz up" OPGTR if you are so inclined. You can write the lessons on a white board or print out a few and have your child illustrate them when done. Just something to make it more tangible.... Just some thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeplessnights Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 My daughter did AAR this spring, and it worked great. I love that it is all scheduled out with activities, cards, reading fluency pages and readers. I was having trouble "fitting her in," and with AAR I could just open the book and go! Now that we're done with AAR Level 1, we are working through ETC 2 while waiting for AAR 2 to come out this fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Of those choices I'd use AAR. We've only used the readers (program wasn't out yet) and we love them. Great, engaging stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I am planning to use Phonics Pathways and ETC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Woods Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I just switched DD from OPGTR to AAR1. We have always done ETC so she is still doing that with AAR1. AAR is a better fit for her and so far she seems to enjoy the program and we are able to get through our lessons with little prodding and no crying! :001_smile: OPG is a good program too. It just wasnt a good fit for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavy Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Thanks to Ellie, I can also recommend Spalding(WRTR). Between my two boys I was using ETC, HWT, PP, AAS, AAR readers, etc before I started WRTR. They are all great programs, but we were swimming in language arts and their skills were all over the place. Now we do WRTR and they have soared in spelling, reading, and handwriting. I did have to learn to teach it(Ellie is a great help), but now it only takes me about thirty minutes to work with the boys together, and they are learning so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Patch Academy Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 My oldest has had a lot of success combining ETC, Starfall, and BOB Books. I can't budget for anything more, but that is ok. That combo has been enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydid Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 My daughter did AAR this spring, and it worked great. I love that it is all scheduled out with activities, cards, reading fluency pages and readers. I was having trouble "fitting her in," and with AAR I could just open the book and go! Now that we're done with AAR Level 1, we are working through ETC 2 while waiting for AAR 2 to come out this fall. The bolded was our issue this year and that's why I was leaning towards AAR. I'm glad to hear it was a good choice for you. So did you use ETC with AAR or just to fill in the gap between programs? Does AAR have similar worksheets and stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeplessnights Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 AAR doesn't have any writing; it's solely reading. We didn't use ETC while we did AAR, just handwriting practice. I was trying to get her excited and enthusiastic about reading, and I think it worked! She's now reading Sonlight's grade 1 readers with decent fluency. She does miss AAR, though. Hopefully level 2 will be out soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I started with OPGTR and struggled to keep it up (though I am saving it for a year or two from now, when DD is a bit older.) We're currently using AAR1 and occasionally ETC. AAR has helped because I can just open and go, and it's all ready to roll. That said, I don't think it offers anything that can't be thrown together pretty easily (just need some letter tiles and a plan of attack/sequence to follow...add some games and you're golden). I also just picked up Let's Read: A Linguistic Approach (Cynthia & Robert Barnhart) and I like the look of it. And I also really, really like the Scott-Foresman Phonics Handbook (you can pick it up on Amazon dirt cheap and it has all sorts of phonemic awareness games/activities & ways to practice phonics & word lists -- quite like the AAR approach). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyOBoy Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I did 100 Easy Lessons with my son, upon the recommendation of my mother in law, who taught her 6 children with it. It worked very well for our first, and quickly moved him to reading words and stories, with an illustration. It addresses comprehension at the same time, not just decoding. I wouldn't exactly say it way fun, but it was interesting enough for him. I've also heard great things about Alphaphonics, and may try it with my next, who has a shorter attention span than his brother. Both of these are relatively cheap and easy to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydid Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 Yeah, I have Alphaphonics as well and can't really get into that one, either. :lol: I really think AAR is going to be my best bet. It's fun, cute and all laid out for me! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Yeah, I have Alphaphonics as well and can't really get into that one, either. :lol: I really think AAR is going to be my best bet. It's fun, cute and all laid out for me! :D I tried Alphaphonics, too. :p I couldn't get into it all.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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