If you were going to give a talk on teaching reading....

[Michelle My Bell]

One thing that seems to be missing from homeschool group talks is the basic idea of teaching how to teach. So if you were going to give a talk (possibly with handouts) about how to teach reading what would you say? I am not referring to what curricula to use, but what things to do each day, say to your child, activities to try, frequency of activities, ideas, etc... Basically you would be describing what it looks like to sit down (or stand up) and teach reading each day.

 

Let's hear it!

[NotSoObvious]

I'd check out some helpful websites like Reading Rockets for handouts and suggestions, then I'd talk about explicit instruction and how to choose books at your child's level. The rest depends on if you are going to talk about teaching decoding to beginning students, or working on fluency and comprehension with older students.

[TheReader]

I think it varies too much per child, honestly. If I described what I did for my oldest, and what worked for my 2nd son, and what we're dealing with now for my youngest -- the same things that worked for one did not work for the other. At all.

 

I would love to hear guidelines, though, on when to be concerned and when to just give it time. I think that's a question that comes up over and over and over again, and often-times a 1st time mom teaching her oldest at just barely 5 yrs and Little Johnny isn't getting past sounding out CVC words after 2 months, mom freaks out (or even a 2nd or 3rd time, if the 1st one or two picked it up quickly). Or, like me, it takes 2 years of thinking "he'll get it eventually" before you realize there might be a bigger issue.

 

So, something that addresses that, maybe.....? But technique will just vary too widely, I think, to be effective.

[Michelle My Bell]

I'd check out some helpful websites like Reading Rockets for handouts and suggestions, then I'd talk about explicit instruction and how to choose books at your child's level. The rest depends on if you are going to talk about teaching decoding to beginning students, or working on fluency and comprehension with older students.

 

I am listening... :bigear:

[Michelle My Bell]

I think it varies too much per child, honestly. If I described what I did for my oldest, and what worked for my 2nd son, and what we're dealing with now for my youngest -- the same things that worked for one did not work for the other. At all.

 

I would love to hear guidelines, though, on when to be concerned and when to just give it time. I think that's a question that comes up over and over and over again, and often-times a 1st time mom teaching her oldest at just barely 5 yrs and Little Johnny isn't getting past sounding out CVC words after 2 months, mom freaks out (or even a 2nd or 3rd time, if the 1st one or two picked it up quickly). Or, like me, it takes 2 years of thinking "he'll get it eventually" before you realize there might be a bigger issue.

 

So, something that addresses that, maybe.....? But technique will just vary too widely, I think, to be effective.

 

Don't you think that if you told what did work for your kids that it could be helpful anyhow? I would love to actually hear what you did. I guess what I am asking in my original post is for people to actually give their talks right here. I would love to be inspired. I have already taught 4 of my kids and am in the process of teaching my 5th but I feel like it has always been a struggle for me and I would love to learn from others who have a better grasp on actually teaching reading.

[sbgrace]

Michelle,

 

First I think one of my main goals would be to have my listeners leave feeling confident that they can teach their kids to read. I found the whole thing so intimidating! I think it was because their future academic success seemed to hinge on how well I taught this one area. Coming with zero experience it was scary!

 

I would probably include a handout of warning signs when issues might indicate bigger problems like dyslexia or visual perception issues.

Something like this perhaps for dyslexia and maybe something created from this information about signs of vision issues. I would also include, with those handouts, local/state contacts for evaluations in both areas (the COVD site has a find a doctor section; who to see for dyslexia evaluations would vary by location).

 

Beyond that I would talk about how many aspects of reading are simply developmental. I'd emphasize that not all kids are ready at x age and tears or heavy resistance are, if there is an absence of signs of bigger issues, often a clue the parent needs to take a, perhaps long, break and reevaluate the approach. Learning to read should be enjoyable as much as possible.

 

I would have a lot of trouble talking about teaching reading without talking about curriculum! I favor an explicit phonics approach for example. I think learning to read should be enjoyable for a child. I think most kids benefit from hands on approaches. I think I would emphasize that if something isn't a good fit in an area this important you should likely re-evaluate the approach sooner rather than later.

 

I have a system for teaching but, without showing them the curriculum I used (free), I don't know how I would talk about the approach! Maybe I would show a typical lesson using our curriculum while pointing out the aspects that worked well here. I think, in addition to providing links for my free curriculum resources which might encourage someone on a limited budget, I would also provide a list of other commonly used curriculum that might work for specific kids. If you have a home school group to pull from it might be helpful to give a list and some people who use each curriculum and could answer questions. This might also be a good way to make the point that there are tons of people successfully teaching their kids to read using a variety of materials. Maybe it would help build that confidence I wrote about earlier.

 

I had a typical learner and one for whom reading wasn't natural. The struggling child, at 6 nearing 7, still couldn't rhyme. This wasn't for lack of trying to work on rhyming and being exposed to the concepts from a very young age. That same child couldn't truly sound out dog. Again, he had exposure and in fact phonics instruction. I knew he was tending toward memorizing words/sight reading even though I was using a well regarded program at the time. I stopped completely. I researched a lot (here and elsewhere). I got advice from so many people. After I got a new plan together we started from scratch. He was more work. But, in the long run, he has been my stronger language kid. It was just a matter of finding the correct program that worked with his strengths and mitigated the weaknesses. I think for some, maybe many, kids any decent program will work well. But there is a subset of kids where finding the right program may be a little more work.

[Michelle My Bell]

Michelle,

 

First I think one of my main goals would be to have my listeners leave feeling confident that they can teach their kids to read. I found the whole thing so intimidating! I think it was because their future academic success seemed to hinge on how well I taught this one area. Coming with zero experience it was scary!

 

I would probably include a handout of warning signs when issues might indicate bigger problems like dyslexia or visual perception issues.

Something like this perhaps for dyslexia and maybe something created from this information about signs of vision issues. I would also include, with those handouts, local/state contacts for evaluations in both areas (the COVD site has a find a doctor section; who to see for dyslexia evaluations would vary by location).

 

Beyond that I would talk about how many aspects of reading are simply developmental. I'd emphasize that not all kids are ready at x age and tears or heavy resistance are, if there is an absence of signs of bigger issues, often a clue the parent needs to take a, perhaps long, break and reevaluate the approach. Learning to read should be enjoyable as much as possible.

 

I would have a lot of trouble talking about teaching reading without talking about curriculum! I favor an explicit phonics approach for example. I think learning to read should be enjoyable for a child. I think most kids benefit from hands on approaches. I think I would emphasize that if something isn't a good fit in an area this important you should likely re-evaluate the approach sooner rather than later.

 

I have a system for teaching but, without showing them the curriculum I used (free), I don't know how I would talk about the approach! Maybe I would show a typical lesson using our curriculum while pointing out the aspects that worked well here. I think, in addition to providing links for my free curriculum resources which might encourage someone on a limited budget, I would also provide a list of other commonly used curriculum that might work for specific kids. If you have a home school group to pull from it might be helpful to give a list and some people who use each curriculum and could answer questions. This might also be a good way to make the point that there are tons of people successfully teaching their kids to read using a variety of materials. Maybe it would help build that confidence I wrote about earlier.

 

I had a typical learner and one for whom reading wasn't natural. The struggling child, at 6 nearing 7, still couldn't rhyme. This wasn't for lack of trying to work on rhyming and being exposed to the concepts from a very young age. That same child couldn't truly sound out dog. Again, he had exposure and in fact phonics instruction. I knew he was tending toward memorizing words/sight reading even though I was using a well regarded program at the time. I stopped completely. I researched a lot (here and elsewhere). I got advice from so many people. After I got a new plan together we started from scratch. He was more work. But, in the long run, he has been my stronger language kid. It was just a matter of finding the correct program that worked with his strengths and mitigated the weaknesses. I think for some, maybe many, kids any decent program will work well. But there is a subset of kids where finding the right program may be a little more work.

 

OK, you twisted my arm! lol Tell me about it, I am very curious now. :)

[sbgrace]

Oh, I'm always happy to share my phonics resources. I had spent all my homeschool budget and, as I wrote, what I was using was not a good fit for my struggling kid. I felt so discouraged. I knew I couldn't afford another program and yet I couldn't keep doing what I was doing.

 

So I researched until I found fantastic free resources. I think I spent under $2 not including some printing off the computer. The result was, I think, a program that was as good as anything I could have purchased. We had a great time and both my kids thrived. I was so thrilled that I started a blog just to share those resources.

 

Now, I will say I don't think any one program is a fit for all kids nor do I think this one is superior to everything else out there. However, I'm always happy to share it because not having finances for the best out there doesn't mean we can't give our kids an excellent phonics start.

 

If I were doing a talk in your shoes I would use whatever you feel comfortable teaching. I would, if you can, demonstrate the use I think. I'm sort of assuming you're presenting to people who haven't taught reading or aren't confident in their abilities yet. So seeing it done would help that confidence I would think. Perhaps it would even make them excited to start!

 

If I were doing the presentation about our reading methods it would include this probably:

 

 

After that first failed phonics program and a break to regroup (I would share that; it's not the end of the world if what a person tries first doesn't fit and willingness to switch for a bad fit is important!) I used the early sets of I See Sam readers. My boys loved them, even my struggler could be successful, and they are entirely decodable. You can also print them free. I made a link for free printable decodable phonics readers and it includes I See Sam.

 

As we were working on the first set of those books, I found this fantastic hands on explicit phonics program. It uses a Orton-Gillingham type approach. Having gained some confidence, I began to teach phonics again using that resource. I link to my blog just because occasionally the source changes their links and I try to update the blog when that happens so the clicks aren't to dead pages. It tells you exactly what to do and is, actually, a complete k-2 reading and spelling program if used in that way. I did modify a bit. I never used a word wall for example as I didn't want any sight reading and, as I explain below, I did not integrate spelling.

 

If I were doing a talk I think I would demonstrate a lesson. It might look something like this (not my!) blog. I believe she is using Recipe for Reading and the techniques are also used in the above curriculum. I used the same (hands on/tactile) methods to introduce my phonograms. The program I used does have some craft type suggestions for some specific phonogram sounds if I recall. Over-all we didn't need crafts at our ages but, especially for young kids, I can see how that might be both fun and useful to further solidify the learning. I used the sound/sight introduction, trace on mat ($1.35 if I recall), use sensory materials (salt in a pie plate, shaving cream, pudding, etc...most often salt as it was as effective and easy for me). The point is they are saying, seeing, and doing as they learn the phonogram.

 

So I introduced phonograms using the curriculum I linked but I rearranged the presentation order of the phonograms to fit Progressive Phonics free readers linked on my blog too. My boys loved those readers as well. It helped us immediately use the phonograms we were learning to read interesting text and what they were reading was entirely decodable using only the phonograms they had learned. This was important to me.

 

I introduced new phonograms at their pace and included other resources (I linked here including the resource I used to make my phonogram cards, videos, games, etc) if we seemed to have trouble mastering a particular phonogram. I guess I would include those resources too as they could be added to any program.

 

I did not merge our spelling with the phonics instruction though the program I linked does that and it is typical in Orton Gillingham programs. Doing spelling with phonics instruction slows the pace and my kids were eager to learn to read, especially after the success with I See Sam. So we were solid readers before we started spelling. Either way would work for most kids. We finished up with the next couple of levels of I See Sam to gain confidence but I had two readers! The whole thing was fun and painless. So painless, in fact, that both kids now seem to think they just magically learned to read on their own.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I'd read to them (or heavily quote) the Well Trained Mind on teaching how to read. (Chapter 4, Unlocking the Doors: The Preschool Years, sub chapter Kindergarten Years: Four and Five, section: Reading.)

[Heidi]

Ok. I'm about to embark on teaching reading for the third time. This is how I do it.

 

I start at a young age and teach them the first sounds of the letters and letter recognition. I make flashcards, a card for each lower case and each upper case. After I've taught them five letter sounds or so, I will put down five letter cards and say, "which letter says /b/?" "which letter says /a/?" etc... over and over again. Clap, make a big deal... Then teach another another sound and play the same game over and over. They love it. This is for ages 3 & 4. With the cards we also match lower case to it's upper case and learn the names of the letters. Do this for about 5 min. a day and they will have letter sounds down. OR buy the leap frog movies. That works too ;)

 

Then I start playing a new game to see if they have developed the skill of blending. While driving in the car I will say "try to guess the word I'm saying: /p/ /i/ /g/?" Keep it fun and light. When the child starts getting the answers right, I'll move the game to a dry erase board and write the letters that she blends. When CVC words come fairly easy, I'll bring out the BOB books. We don't sit down with a book until CVC words come easily.

 

We'll sit on the couch together. I'll point with a pencil which word to sound out. I also cover the pictures. After she reads the whole sentence, I uncover the picture for her to see. This keeps them from guessing words.

When Bob Books have been conquered (the first three sets), we move on to McGuffey Readers (which both my readers LOVE) and OPGTR. I start in OPGTR wherever they are at, not from the beginning. I end OPGTR when they are reading fluently. I have yet to finish that book.

 

A few rules I have: They sound out everything. I never teach sight words until they've been sounded out first. For instance "the". I let them sound out /t/ /h/ /e/, they try to blend it, and THEN I say "This is a tricky word. We actually say "the" when we see this word. Now whenever you see it, just remember to say "the".

 

I'm a stickler on making them re-read a sentence if they skip a word or guess a word. NOT ok in my book.

 

If they are struggling with a word, I just tell them what it is and move on, IF they have done their best to sound it out first. I try to keep reading enjoyable.

 

I go at their pace. When they're done, reading time is over. When I'm done, reading time is over. Negativity cannot be present during reading time.

 

Reading time has to be consistent when they are first learning. I try to wait until they are around age 5 and can blend when it becomes a consistent daily practice.

 

If the child can't sit still for more than 5 min., I have done reading time 3 times a day for 5 min. and that worked out nicely.

 

That's all I can think of right now.

[HS Mom in NC]

I wouldn't need to because it's already been done by the best. Ruth Beechick has taught thousands to read, including many labeled "learning disabled." This simple, $4, less than 30 page booklet is worth it's weight in gold. Use it to teach reading with real books and no curriculum at all, or if you want the bells and whistles of a curriculum, it will help you evaluate your options with confidence.

 

It covers how to know if your child is ready to learn to read, general guidelines for what order to teach things in, a simple chart covering the basics so you don't miss anything, and lots of encouragement for homeschoolers who might feel insecure about teaching reading.

 

http://www.amazon.co...ck the three rs

[shanvan]

I know I won't be able to put all of my thoughts in this one post. Off the top of my head I would make sure to address mistaken thinking by many parents...

 

1. It is perfectly fine and even desirable for a child to read books below their reading level. I'd talk about what a great way it is for them to build fluency. Too many parents have the idea that they should always be adding difficulty.

 

2. The powerful motivational tool of reading aloud to children...especially reading books that are above their reading level and making it a truly enjoyable, close, and meaningful experience. I hear too many parents who can't understand why their Dc doesn't want to learn to read or doesn't like reading...and yet they almost never read to them, so there is no motivation, or once their Dc begins to read on their own the parent abruptly stops read alouds.

 

3. I'd discuss tools to use with beginning readers...tools that parents sometimes think of as cheating. Things like repeated readings of the same story or book, echo reading, and shared reading.

 

4. I'd talk about ways to motivate and some of the methods I used and the importance of using real books that the child loves, not just 'curriculum'. I'd couple that with encouragement not to expect too much independent reading too soon and advice about how to vary instruction yet also continue to work on phonics and fluency.

 

With Dd I used a motivational chart with graduated achievement levels and rewards like a trip to the bookstore & cafe. Besides reading stories from the curriculum we used, she also read from books she loved. Sometimes only a sentence, sometimes a page. What truly thrilled her is if I picked out a word or two or even a sentence I knew she could figure out from one of our difficult read alouds. The amazement and pride on her face was priceless. Then I'd go on with the read aloud and not expect her to do more, but she saw that she would someday be able to read those books on her own.

 

Another big motivator fro her was reading out loud to her grandfather to show him what she had learned. She would practice only specific pages of one of her favorite picture books and those would be her pages to read while grandpa read the rest. As she got better at reading, she was able to read entire books to him. Basically, I treated these practices like a piano lesson. I helped her with them, then she practiced without me. Then I'd listen to her and help her some more. If she hadn't mastered the material I gave her, then she'd repeat it again the next day. I always had the attitude that she was working at achieving a goal, not that she had failed if she didn't get it the first time. And, I made sure not to overwhelm her by giving her manageable sections to read.

 

Too many parents expect a beginning reader to always be encountering new words, sentences, stories and sounding them out. Giving the Dc a chance to work on the same material repeatedly (while still working on phonics separately) allows them to master the phonics of that particular material and develop some fluency before they have to encounter completely new set of words, phrases and sentences. One mom I know thought I was letting Dd 'cheat' and she would memorize the words. I minimized memorization by having Dd point while reading, and if you sit with the child and watch and listen you can tell if they are truly reading. I also maintain that memorizing phonetic combinations is beneficial and transfers into future reading. Dd worked on the same material until she had reasonably mastered it and could read it to someone. Of course her audience always made a big deal out of the reading and I often served snacks or hot chocolate afterward. It was an event and a reason to celebrate.

 

I called this method the 'piano lesson' approach. When you are first learning to play (read) something new you have to struggle with it, dissect it, look at all of its parts carefully. It is uncomfortable and tedious (like sounding out words). You really would like to play the old peices you already know (or just get away from the piano). After you've spent some time on it the piece becomes more familiar, somewhat less difficult. Finally, it becomes something you can enjoy playing instead of laboriously struggling through. Some of what you learn from that piece that you enjoy will help you when you move on to learning new pieces, just like some of the words and phrases Dc become comfortable with will be encountered again and will be easier in the future. Imagine if your piano teacher never let you work on the same music until you had learned it, and instead gave you completely new music and expected you to master it in one reading. Sometimes that's what we do with our kids and reading.

 

Sorry if I'm not explaining very well, or repeating myself! I've got to get to bed. I'll probably think of more later. Dd was definitely a challenge to teach reading and phonics. She had to work hard at it and so did I. Today she is almost 11 and has shocked me this year by reading Pride & Prejudice on her own and participating in her big brother's Rhetoric level TOG lit discussions about the novel....and she had a lot to contribute! Back when she was struggling through one page of a Mr. Putter and Tabby book I would never have thought it possible.

[lllll]

...

[Incognito]

Well, mine are still building fluency, but I think both have started "reading", so I'll give this a go.

 

Read lots of picture books. Read more. Learn the letter sounds somehow (Leapfrog DVD, saying letter sounds when doing an alphabet puzzle together). Draw your finger under the words as you read. Read more.

 

Give them very easy books they can read on their own to build confidence and fluency. Keep reading to and with them, and try not to worry. Learn some phonics rules and share them. Read more. Explain phonics rules as they come up in the stories you read.

 

Play word games. Read poems. Rhyme all the time. ;)

 

I think there are a lot of interesting and good programs out there that can help, but in general it is:

 

exposure + their little brain being ready + their little brain being interested = reading

[TheReader]

 

Don't you think that if you told what did work for your kids that it could be helpful anyhow? I would love to actually hear what you did. I guess what I am asking in my original post is for people to actually give their talks right here. I would love to be inspired. I have already taught 4 of my kids and am in the process of teaching my 5th but I feel like it has always been a struggle for me and I would love to learn from others who have a better grasp on actually teaching reading.

 

hmmm, I can try.....

 

with my oldest, he approached me when he was 3.5 asking about how to spell his brother's name. His brother's name has an a in the middle that says a long a, like base. My son knew that a says a short a like the a in apple, so he spelled the name back to me, told me that said (mispronounciation so it had the /a/ sound like apple), and thus HOW did I spell it correctly to make the long a sound?? At that point I seriously contemplated a move to Mexico where each vowel makes only one sound, quickly dismissed that, and instead bought the pre-Explode the Code books. We then did 2 pages per day in ETC, I bought Sonlight's reader (the I Can Read It series, which was all they had at the time) and once we finished ETC (the 3 pre books) I borrowed Teach Your Child in 100 EZ Lessons, we did about 10 of those before he and I got bored, and then we just started with the I Can Read It books.

 

Between the time he finished ETC and was having success with I Can Read It, I made little scavenger hunt clues that said things like "on the bed" or "in a pot" or "in the tub" and things like that, and every day I'd hide 2 to 5 of these, with the end being a sticker, piece of candy, etc. This was a great way to give him practice that he was ready for without the pressure of a book. After a few weeks on that (I think?) he was reading the I Can Read It books and from there he just took off like crazy; by 4.5 he was writing his own stories (typing, not spelling 100% correctly, and they weren't long, but still....).

 

From the time he was a baby, though, I read him Dr. Seuss's ABC book at least once/week, often several times a week. So, he had ABC exposure from day one practically and by the time he was 2 he could point to and name every letter of the alphabet, because of the ABC book. That was by accident, not intentional. I read him the book because it's funny and not mind numbing to the parent; he picked up the letters on his own.

 

So -- take away from that --- small chunks, don't overwhelm the child, meet him where he is, and if a curriculum doesn't grab you or the child, switch and try something that interests him.

 

 

With my second, we did the same thing. Explode the Code, 2 pages a day. He got letter sounds no problem, and cvc words, no problem. He didn't move beyond that for a long time, though; he was about 6.5 I guess when he just suddenly was reading. I attribute it to subtitles -- we watched any and all tv with subtitles on, and as I wasn't doing anything in particular except just kept practicing the CVC words with him, sporadically, as we had a preemie who was getting multiple therapies at the time, the only thing I can figure is something clicked, the subtitles worked, and he was reading.

 

So, take away from that --- don't stress. If your child easily grasps and remembers letter sounds, and gets the idea of blending/putting sounds together, then fluency will come. And, every child isn't like every other, so when #2 doesn't repeat what #1 did, don't necessarily panic.

 

 

With my third --- we've tried the same approach to no avail. For two years we've been starting and stopping the same phonics (pre ETC) and Sonlight's K readers (the new set) to no avail. As we kept going, with little results, I finally asked if this was time to have him evaluated; everyone I asked said yes. He was 7.5 yrs at that time, with attempted phonics instruction for 2 years with very sporadic retention, as well as a few gaps/inconsistencies in other areas that further rang the alarm bells. So, at that point, we sought an evaluation, he was dx'ed with dyslexia (among other things), we've been prescribed a new approach that I'm still figuring out, and we'll see what happens. I can't really speak to method yet as it's complex and individualized and I'm not sure any of it would translate well here.

 

The take away, though is this -- know your kids. Know that a year with one child who does retain phonics sounds and rules, who does figure out cvc words, who does remember sight words, etc. but stalls out some on the fluency is probably not a problem. A child who for a year or two doesn't retain things (and not talking a 3 or 4 yr old here, but a school aged child), who at 2nd grade age and with consistent instruction doesn't or can't move beyond PreK level of reading readiness, that is probably a problem. Trust your gut, know your child, and don't err too far to either side. Just like it's extreme to think a 4 yr old that you've been working with for 3 months and "just isn't getting it, what do I do???" is a problem, so too a 7 or 8 yr old that you *have* been working with for years and still doesn't get it is more than just "every kid in his time, better late than early, etc..." Don't go too far to either extreme.

 

(note: it is different a parent who takes a hands-off approach and follows the better late than early approach; I am talking about one who tries to teach the child, and the child does not retain what he's taught)

 

But the day to day, how to implement.....I really don't know that even describing this it's anything helpful to anyone else. The road will look vastly different to every parent and child, and that's okay.

[CyndiLJ]

I guess I feel that unless a child has a specific challenge with reading, just about any reading program that is strong in phonics will work. I have taught all of ours to read, including our two older adopted daughters who knew no English, and a son adopted with no English at 8 1/2 with severe learning disabilities whom we are still working on reading skills with. Things I have found to be important are:

 

1) Sight words are great, but schools tend to overkill on them. Drilling over and over...actually drilling ANYTHING over and over...takes the joy out.

2) We did lots of work with letters and sounds, even with our older kids. Scrabble tiles and racing games to see who could spot the right letter first, labeling things, etc. involving physical action with the learning helped to cement it.

3) Read to them. A thousand books, a million words, with them following on the page as you read out loud. It almost becomes automatic for some words, as they recognize them from seeing/hearing over and over again. There's your real sight word work!

4) Let them read anything they way. Seriously, anything. I am discovering the value of interest led reading, and of getting out of the way to let them follow it. My 9 year old son has seen a huge jump in his vocabulary that is showing up in his writing. I tried to figure out why and had an epiphany...it was due to him reading from cover to cover multiple times the DC Comics Encyclopedia!

5) Once they are beginning to read, read with them...and stop for the words they know or have just learned so they can read them...then you go on and continue. Point it out every single time you run across a new word they are working on, and have them look for them too.

6) Use newspaper and magazine articles to circle words they have on reading lists...or to circle new words and create new lists.

7) Have them read into a digital recorder and then they can play it back. It's fun!

8) Other than a phonics curriculum of some sort, be super intentional about allowing lots of free reading time during school hours.

9) Let them have the treat of taking favorite picture books to bed and getting 10 more minute if those minutes are spend actively looking at or reading books. Even if they are not reading yet, the more time spent with open pages, the faster they learn to read. Books in cribs until they fall asleep, books in the car, books everywhere, all the time. And when they are a little older and sneak a book to bed with a flashlight, never "call them" on it, instead, when you know they really do need to finally get to sleep, make a lot of noise going down the hall toward their room so they have time to hide the flashlight :-) And hour of sleep lost to a good book is always, always worth it.

10) Set a good example, have them see you reading often, and share what it is that you are reading that interests you. Let them see through conversation about what you are reading, that there are fascinating things to learn about once you can read for yourself.

 

Cindy

[vmsurbat]

Many pp touched on some of the essentials: reading aloud, going at the pace of the child, explicit phonics instruction and direct instruction, and more.

 

I'll add a few that helped me (my youngest is off to college next year!) when a beginner HS mom:

 

1. Always end any "teaching" situation on a successful note. If the child is frustrated with some task and you both feel like tearing your hair out, go back and ask something you KNOW your child can do, even if it is something like pointing to the letter "A." A little verbal praise goes a long way, too. "Wow! You know all the letters and I remember when you couldn't tell a B from a D!"

 

2. Phonics drill (phonogram sounds/letter combos) is ideally suited for all kinds of simple games (ala Sing, Spell, Read, Write games) so play them.

 

3. Reading growth comes in fits and starts. I invested heavily in true easy readers (not primers) for one son who took the longest time of my five to learn to read. Between the time I ordered them and the time they arrived (2 weeks), he had moved onto chapter books. I was astounded but happy! And those books DID get read by him and younger siblings, so well worth the investment.

 

4. I like Ruth Beechick's books (they exude happy confidence that we CAN teach our children) but as a young, busy mother, I needed more guidance in teaching my kids to read. So I appreciated programs that laid out a developmental sequence for me. NOW, after teaching 5 children, I think I could teach reading with nothing more than a few sheets of paper and library books because I know what I am aiming for and how to get there, but there was NO WAY I was able to do that with my first four children!

 

Lastly, I wouldn't assume that anyone knew exactly what "explicit phonics" means or even "direct instruction," so I'd probably demonstrate that "live", not via a handout, as those are key components of teaching and teaching reading.

[Mrs Twain]

I taught all my kids the same way, and they all learned without a problem. My method was systematic and intentional from the time that they were born.

 

1. As soon as they were born, I talked directly to them all the time. Talk to them when you get them out of the crib, tell them you are changing their diaper, tell them it is time to eat breakfast, now we are getting dressed, here is your shirt, oh don't you look handsome today...I also ask them questions, such as, What do you think about the weather? How did you sleep? etc. Of course they don't understand at first, but after a while they know you expect them to say something in response and they do in their baby talk. This is important because many people don't realize that speaking directly to their babies as much as possible helps greatly with language development. It feels silly at first, but one gets used to it.

 

2. Start reading books to them every day starting at six months old. I read to them at least every night before bed, and preferably more during the day. I read mostly simple board books at first, pointing at the pictures as I said words. If there was a ball, I pointed to the ball and said, "ball." etc. I also had board and cloth books around for them to "read" and play with themselves. Soon they knew which way the book was supposed to be oriented and how to turn the pages in the proper direction.

 

3. When they were talking, then I started asking questions while I was reading books to them, such as basic comprehension questions to see if they were understanding the stories or what their opinions were.

 

4. I taught the upper case letter names starting around 1 y.o. By 1.5 or 2 years old, my kids have known all of the capitals. Then I taught lower case letters, making sure they learned the difference between a capital I and a lower case l.

 

5. Then I taught them the basic letter sounds. For vowels, I taught the short sounds only. There is a nice chart with pictures for this exercise in the What Your Kindgergartener Need to Know book. That is all I used. I practiced it once per day for a few minutes, though we didn't usually practice it every day.

 

6. After they mastered the above, I started with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I first found it when my eldest was just about 5 y.o. However, I started it at 3.5 years old with my most recent child who was begging me to teach her to read. We spent 15 minutes maximum per weekday on this book, often taking three days to get through a lesson when it got into the more difficult lessons. It usually took us 9-12 months to complete the entire book.

 

7. After finishing 100EZ, I followed the directions in the back of that book to continue reading lessons, which included continuing to practice sounding out new words with the 100EZ method and asking comprehension questions. Here are the books I checked out from the library, in order for this step:

Simple Dr. Seuss books, then books such as Frog and Toad, Little Bear, Dragon such as "A Friend for Dragon," Mr. Putter and Tabby, Henry and Mudge, Nate the Great.

 

8. After that, the kids were at about the 1st-2nd grade reading level.

 

9. Of course, from the time that they were 6 months old, we read to them every night before bed (stories and Bible reading).

 

As I said from the beginning, my method was systematic and intentional from the time they were born. All of my kids learned to read in this way early without any issues. They are all excellent readers who read high above grade level. They also love to read, often reading for a long time just for enjoyment.

 

10. Audio books in the car are also excellent. I have just started using them in earnest, though.

[nansk]

One thing that seems to be missing from homeschool group talks is the basic idea of teaching how to teach. So if you were going to give a talk (possibly with handouts) about how to teach reading what would you say? I am not referring to what curricula to use, but what things to do each day, say to your child, activities to try, frequency of activities, ideas, etc... Basically you would be describing what it looks like to sit down (or stand up) and teach reading each day.

 

Let's hear it!

 

 

This sort of info is given in the book How to Teach Phonics, by Lida M. Williams. It is available as a free download from gutenberg.org.

[lllll]

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