can we just read for 1st grade? for reading?

[Lucy the Valiant]

Or do I need some sort of curriculum?

 

He's 6, reads about average for a 6yo (short books, needs help with bigger words), very resistant to "curricula" but likes REAL books.

 

My plan for 1st grade reading was to check out a tall stack of reading books, hire my 8 year old to play with the 2 year old, and just sit there and have him read to me, every day.

 

Yes, no? Pros, cons? Will I ruin him for life?

 

(He's also going to do 1st grade math, WWE, and whatever else he picks up from his older sisters' classes; my main question is about "reading class.")

[Ellie]

Or do I need some sort of curriculum?

 

He's 6, reads about average for a 6yo (short books, needs help with bigger words), very resistant to "curricula" but likes REAL books.

 

My plan for 1st grade reading was to check out a tall stack of reading books, hire my 8 year old to play with the 2 year old, and just sit there and have him read to me, every day.

 

Yes, no? Pros, cons? Will I ruin him for life?

 

(He's also going to do 1st grade math, WWE, and whatever else he picks up from his older sisters' classes; my main question is about "reading class.")

Some children learn to read just by being read to.

 

I feel more comfortable with more direct instruction.

[PhotoGal]

You could do it. You might want to add in a bit of discussion (could be during/after read alouds, though). Just ask a few questions about the characters, etc. Though I suppose WWE takes care of that.

 

Are you doing phonics as well? You could do phonics as part of spelling if you want to keep reading simple.

[beth83]

I did 100 Easy Leasons with my oldest and she was reading at about the same level as your son in the spring. After hearing that our library gave out baseball tickets for their summer reading program, she blew through 37 readers in a week and a half. Her reading level jumped almost a whole grade level.

 

Not that it works that way for all kids, but you could always start out with it and see if you are making progress. You could always add something a month into school if it doesn't seem to be working.

[Brenda in FL]

Or do I need some sort of curriculum?

 

He's 6, reads about average for a 6yo (short books, needs help with bigger words), very resistant to "curricula" but likes REAL books.

 

My plan for 1st grade reading was to check out a tall stack of reading books, hire my 8 year old to play with the 2 year old, and just sit there and have him read to me, every day.

 

Yes, no? Pros, cons? Will I ruin him for life?

 

(He's also going to do 1st grade math, WWE, and whatever else he picks up from his older sisters' classes; my main question is about "reading class.")

 

This is what I did with all of my children after they had completed 100 EZ when they were 5. First grade reading was reading books out loud to me. (The last child went straight to reading books - somehow he picked up phonics without much help from me!)

[Lucy the Valiant]

I think I'd like to do something more formal with him, but I've never done anything formal, and I'm trying to decide if it's worth the effort. (I didn't with my olders for penmanship, and it came back to bite me, so I'm nervous now.)

 

What benefits will a formal program give him that just reading won't? We do talk about basic phonics rules - should those be more organized, more structured?

 

What are some good reading programs for a kid who's semi-reading? Should I get a basic one and make him sit through the beginner lessons or jump in half-way?

 

(And why is this so hard for me?)

[PhotoGal]

You can do it. You don't need a structured program. If he is already semi-reading, then that is half the battle. :)

 

I taught 1st grade and for reading we would:

- read short books in small groups

- I would ask who, what, when, where, why questions (some of the time)

- I would ask prediction, inference (often why) questions (some of the time)

- We might discuss characters, plot, setting

- Sometimes they would write in response to what they read

- We did phonics as a whole class, but it wasn't a great program

- Various reading centers, morning message, worksheets

 

What you may want to do:

- read a lot

- occasionally talk about the books

- learn phonics as you go (for example, if he is stuck on the word "coin" you would say something like "Do you remember what "oi" says?")

or use AAS or another phonics program if desired.

- teach common sight words (I used handmade flashcards). Note: not everyone agrees with encouraging sight reading).

- maybe add in "Games for Reading" or other ways of practicing rhyming and things like that. Or play with letter tiles to make words and change them into other words (make the word "cat", then change one letter to make "hat" and so on). This may not be necessary.

 

It is certainly not going to hurt him to try. You can always buy curriculum later if you find you need it. :D If you don't do formal phonics this year, you might want to use AAS for spelling next year (or halfway through this year) to cover/review phonics.

 

I will say that I think dd made a lot more reading progress from reading books than she did from any curriculum we tried last year. That's not to say she didn't get anything out of it, but our time might have been better spent just reading.

[jkl]

For 1st grade reading this year, ds is just reading to me, plus doing ETC....We did do a phonics program that we finished over a year ago, and dabbled in opgtr, but honestly, I think he mostly did not retain all of those rules and really learned just by reading. He's reading at about a 4th grade level now...

[jennynd]

DS just read, we didn't use anything. I used HOP with my DD, DS was way ahead of my DD at the same age. So it is really depends on the kids

[Maela]

I was just about to post a similar question. I hope it's okay to post it here. (I'm new. :) Let me know if I should have started a new thread.)

 

 

I have a five year old kindergartner who reads extremely well. Her comprehension is above grade-level. I am planning on getting WWE1 and FLL1 and working with her on spelling. She reads A LOT with me and on her own. I'm encouraging notebooking a couple times a week on what we read. So I was just thinking today, is a reading curriculum/program really necessary? Can we just continue reading the way we have, as long as we discuss the stories/characters/plot often? We're currently using the second grade reader from Houghton-Mifflin, but it's not really doing much for us. And I don't like most of the worksheets in the practice book.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I taught all three of my kids to read with real books, whatever they brought me that they wanted to learn with. No struggles, no problems, great readers. I did have a copy of The ABC's and All Their Tricks on hand as a reference. As teacher, you need to be prepared and knowledgeable, of course. Now, if any of my children had hit a wall with this method, I would not have hesitated to buy and teach a phonics program.

[Soror]

I agree with a pp, depends on the kid. I read to my son TONS, hrs in a day. He needed direct instruction and explicit. I'm still slightly hoping to have one that spontaneously reads on their own here but it hasn't happened yet, although seems to be coming MUCH easier for dd.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I think it is a doable plan except don't have him read every book out loud. Have him read to you and then ask him a question or two, but also have him read silently then ask a few questions to see if he is getting it. He needs practice in both skills. Also have him read different types of writing: fiction, non-fiction, poems, magazine article.Make sure your question time is not an inquisition also but more of a conversation and vary your questions, ask some with definite answers and ask him "what do you think" type questions. If it is a chapter book have him recap yesterdays reading before you start.

[kristi26]

Has anybody here seen this: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED437625&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED437625

 

I downloaded it to my Nook and read it. It actually has some really great ideas that we use with my first grade DD when we read. We also do EtC though for Phonics. Otherwise, I just have her read to me to help her practice. :)

[JessieC]

I think you can. Motivation is everything in reading. "Elephant and Piggie" and some of those books are so appealing to kids--you can read the books aloud, then ask them to read it aloud. Neither of my kids seem to need a lot of direct instruction in reading because they are very drawn to books and try to puzzle out the words on their own. I still use ETC workbooks though, just to reinforce common patterns and make sure they are looking at words carefully.

[thebacabunch]

Of course it is enough. THe point of teaching a kid to read is so they can read. I let my kids read all they want on grade level. I had them work on a book just above where they were comfortable a little each day. I ask questions about each book to check comprehension. 100 EZ is all the formal instuction I ever did. My 6th grader read at a college sophomore level last year. My dd7 reads at a 6th grade level.

[NASDAQ]

Go to Lexile.com.

 

Use the book search engine. Use books he enjoys now to approximate his reading level.

 

Search by Lexile score and push him up some points with each book, providing scaffolding (vocabulary help, reminding him of phonics rules) as necessary, as he moves up.

[SnMomof7]

Have you done phonics instruction? If he's decoding, from here on out it's all just practice and fluency-building :). I used the SL reader progression just because it's such a nice way to move from grade 1 books (Hop on Pop etc. up to chapter books. We never do any reading comprehension/formal reading programs at this age at all though :).