How much time per day do you spend teaching reading to a 6 year old?

[Michelle My Bell]

I would like to see what others do on a normal school day to teach reading. Please list all the time you spend...

• teaching a reading lesson using a program (please list your program)
  
• your child is working on worksheets
  
• your child is reading to you
  
• your child is reading (not looking at pictures) for themselves if they are able
  
• hands on activities
  
• supplemental activities
  
• real life teaching
  

All I seem to do is a daily reading lesson and read to my son. He is not fluent enough to read on his own yet. I feel as if I am not giving him enough to get him reading well by the end of the school year. We are using Reading Made Easy and adding in supplemental worksheets from this program. We probably spend 20 minutes a day tops on this. I really don't think this is enough and I want to create a culture of learning to read for him but I am unsure what this would look like. Any information you can provide would be great. Thanks!

[pollo_la]

This is something that varies so much by individual child. My current 6 year old is not anywhere near fluent, and is not able to read on her own at all yet. She can read Bob Books and some very beginner books, but they are still laborious to her. We spend about 20-30 minutes each day working on phonics, usually in game form. I also utilize beginner books and such (Bob Books, progressive phonics, sound city reading) in our lessons. I try to vary it up as much as I can to keep interest high. I read a loud to her each day (well most days) as well. The goal is a short story in the afternoon (or chapter from chapter book), and another short story before bed.

 

My oldest who is currently 8, was a completely different story! She started reading fluently at age 4, and at 6 read the unabridged version of Little Women on her own over the course of a couple days.

 

The important thing is to gage correctly where your child is at. Challenge them, but never overwhelm them. Try to keep the process as enjoyable as you can. Don't hesitate to use incentives and rewards for a challenging activity done with a good attitude. All children are different. My next in line after my 6 year old is 4, and her progress in reading is similar to my first dd. She is capable of doing more than my 6 year old - and that's okay!! :-)

[blondeviolin]

This is going to vary widely. My own 6yo does not do reading lessons or anything of the sort. She reads on her own for school (30-45 min) and then whenever she chooses (averages 90-120 min).

[Chris in VA]

Agreeing it varies.

 

Addressing a "culture of reading"--

 

What exactly is he doing now? Not curricula, I mean what is his "stage" of reading? Initial consonants? Just sounds of letters? Just letter i.d.?

[Cassy]

It really does depend on the child. DS5 reads to me for about 30 minutes a day, in one session, and sometimes insists on reading for longer; he's reading chapter books fairly fluently. DS8 can only read for about 20 minutes at a time before he gets tired and starts making lots of mistakes; he reads twice a day for 20 minutes each time and really struggles. I don't use any reading program or worksheets. DS5 will often read ahead on his own in whatever book he's reading to me at the time.

[scbusf]

I read to him for ... I don't know ... maybe 30 minutes a day? Some days more? He reads some books on his own.

 

But we're sort of Unschoolers :001_smile: so we don't do a formal reading curriculum.

[T'smom]

Well, I'll be one who will say my five year old is NOT reading yet. And I'm okay with that. (No, really..... I am!) But learning/teaching a kid to read IMO is a separate issue from having a reading culture in the home. I think there are some things you can do that can create that culture. Have a special time that you read every day. We do bedtime and a bible story at dinner. Have books everywhere. Everywhere. Have magazines everywhere. Get him a subscription to a magazine or two that he can look forward to/get excited about. When questions come up, use them as a springboard to use books to research things. Make a weekly trip to the library a big deal. Get a big stack every week. (I admit, I am not good at this. When I take my kids to the library, they just grab books randomly, so I generally go by myself and thoughtfully pick out books that I think they will like.) Let them see you and your dh reading. Show them how much you enjoy it. (Again, I'm not good at this.....my reading is generally done after they are asleep. But it is something that I need to work on, not only would I have more time to read, but it would set an excellent example for them.)

 

To answer your specific questions, we use OPGTR and spend maybe 20 minutes. I do some supplemental worksheets just because my kid loves worksheets....he's weird. We also use progressive phonics and bob books.

 

[HS Mom in NC]

Generally speaking, we did short 10 minute reading sessions 2-3 times a day. We had them spaced in the morning, afternoon, and evening in the very early stages.

 

Once they were doing letter sounds (we didn't do letter names until they could read) and sounding out simple words in simple sentences, we moved up the time to about 15 minute sessions twice a day so they didn't feel rushed.

 

Once they were able to read sentences with confidence, we increased the time to 15-30 minutes of them reading aloud each day, usually in one session. My oldest had just turned 5 when she could do this, and my second started to learn to read at almost 8. My youngest is 7 and can really only handle about 15 minutes sessions of reading aloud.

 

I taught my oldest 2 to read with Ruth Beechick's Homestart in Reading pamphlet and real storybooks and picturebooks that we had around the house and checked out at the library. We also used letter tiles and pencil and notebook paper . I used Phonics Pathways and the companion sentence pyramid book with my youngest. We're not textbook/worksheet types, so we go through those two books and then move over to real books starting with Bob Books readers and supplement with real books. We also use McGuffy Readers because the phrasing is unusual enough to discourage children guessing what the sentence will say, but familiar enough that it doesn't sound foreign. I have to address the subtle works based theology sometimes, but the readers are useful enough that I continue to use them in spite of this.

 

My kids are 17,15, and 7 and have been read aloud to 1-2 hours a day for most days of their lives since just before the oldest was 4. Dad reads classic children's literature like Narnia, Little Britches Series, Tolkien, Harry Potter, and many of the books you'll find that section at the bookstores and other things as they get older. I usually read literature, mythology, storybooks and folklore related to where were are in history because I do SOTW by region in a unit study. Sometimes it's related to the holidays. We also let the kids check out books on tape if they're not reading all by themselves yet. Here's a link to what kids can do while someone is reading aloud in person or on CD:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/448632-boy-activities-while-listening-to-read-alouds/

 

My single best piece of advice is: Don't read boring books. There are plenty of engaging books and it's worth the extra time to find them rather than wasting your time on boring ones. Children who are exposed to dull books have no incentive to learn to read.

[mamajag]

My younger DD has been reading fluently since about October. We do very little formal reading instruction. We used Explode the Code and some OPGTR. She reads books on her own and reads recipes in the kitchen and menus in restaurants. The more we went into real life reading and the Simplex Spelling apps for iPad the better she read. She was having a lot of issues with standard reading instruction to the point that she was "being watched" for dyslexia by her former ped. She now can read virtually anything I put in front of her.

 

I second the recommendation to get books that are fun to read or are useful reads. It helps so much to have them motivated to read, and Sally, Dick, and Jane aren't very engaging. My DD in particular wanted to know how reading would make her life better before she bothered to learn to read.

[Michelle My Bell]

Agreeing it varies.

 

Addressing a "culture of reading"--

 

What exactly is he doing now? Not curricula, I mean what is his "stage" of reading? Initial consonants? Just sounds of letters? Just letter i.d.?

 

 

His stage of reading would be simple words and sentences like...

 

The bat has a sack.

 

He can read this, but it takes me sitting right there watching that he is reading it correctly. It takes a minute for him to get through a sentence like this. He does well, but I feel his progress is slow. I want him reading independently by next year so he can read beginning readers for history.

[Farrar]

I certainly never counted how long we spent at any point at that age. We spent a lot of time every day reading aloud - at bedtime, and for science and history and so forth. We spent some time every day reading together. We spent some time many days doing some specific phonics work with worksheets. But mostly I just let the house be a language rich environment - good movies, good books, conversations, good games, etc.

 

I noticed that the OP's list didn't include reading aloud or audiobooks and specifically did not include looking at pictures in books, yet those are all important things that lead to kids who love books and love reading. For many years, our educational system took a misguided route to teaching reading, where they ignored the mechanics - phonics - in favor of other approaches. And now the pendulum has rightly swung back to phonics, which is good. Obviously, children who don't learn the mechanics will not learn to read. However, children who don't get exposed to rich language and good stories and beautiful pictures and interesting facts in books may not want to learn to read, which is a really important piece of the puzzle.

 

So to me, spending just long enough on phonics is important. And practice is important too. But if the question is creating a household that will really help a child love to read and want to read, then I don't think the focus is practice, practice, practice in BOB books. The focus is snuggled up on the sofa reading The Wizard of Oz or something like that.

[StartingOver]

We go through a lesson in OPGTR, I write the words on the white board with the new letters, letter combination in another color from the rest of the word. I just read them with the kids, sounding out the new letters, and later just simply reading them. Then they read a couple of the sentences, with me sounding out words as needed with them. We usually take a break from that 5-15 minutes of work. In McGuffey Reader they read 2 stories, in readers I usually read every other page. When they reach about a 3rd grade level they read on their own aloud while I listen. Short, concentrated lessons, with lots of practice works with mine. We would read Bob books 1, 2, & 3, then drop book 1 and add book 4, and so on.... Lots of re-reading to build fluency. Reading aloud may take 15-30 minutes depending on the book.

 

ETA They did do Explode the Code as they like the silliness of it. I also have them read anything they can on games and such. I avoid frustration by giving them words that they haven't learned to read yet.

[sewingmama]

Both my 6&5yo are reading now so while we still do reading lessons formally they are a bit different from what I did when they started.

 

We use AAS as our phonics lessons now - lessons are 15 minutes 3x a week.

 

I have both read to me from levelled readers. We use readinga-z.com for those. We also use the sonlight readers.

 

I haven't required them to read on their own so they do it as they feel like it. Dd has just started reading chapter books to herself -usually at bedtime. DS rarely reads to himself although he can. I don't really start to encourage until 1st grade.

 

As for read alouds -well a lot of the curriculum I choose is literature based so we do a ton of it. I ra at breakfast and lunch. Morning circle we do history read alouds and poetry. After lunch is our literature RA. At bedtime is usually more of our scheduled RAs as well as whatever else they randomly choose for me to read.

 

I read picture books throughout the day as my 3yo brings them to me.

 

 

 

When my kids were beginning readers I used phonics pathways (a Page a day) and the lessons from readinga-z.com. Those lessons included simple worksheets so I never really added extras. Took about 30 minutes. Then I had them read their levelled reader for the day and that was all the time we spent formally learning. I just read aloud to them after that.

 

I didn't actually do any lessons with my 5yo he taught himself to read. I just got him to read a reader to me everyday and helped him if he got stuck on something.

 

We didn't really do anything supplemental or hands on activities for reading -the two program's I used were plenty and worked fine.

[brendag]

I have 5 yr old twins. We read a LOT to the kids and always have. At least one time during the day, I get to pick what we read which is currently the Red Fairy Book.

 

In the beginning, we used Leapfrog Letter Factory and Word Factory dvds for about a couple of weeks each. I then used the lessons that ElizabethB made up for Webster's Speller (available at donpotter.net) and Blend Phonics...all for FREE. I am amazed at the beauty in learning those first Webster's syllables (ex. DA, DE, DI, DO, DU, DY) and THEN teaching them phonics with syllable division rules and spelling along the way! I wish I had been taught this way. We started out really slow though because my kids started to sight read at 3ish and I knew I wanted them to learn using phonics so I scrambled! :)

 

The time we spend is about 15 minutes, 3-5 days a week. I break up the lessons into 2 and sometimes 3 sections depending on how long the lesson is. Now we are about to go back into Webster's for the long haul since we just completed Blend Phonics.

 

No supplements needed although the kids did do Starfall every once in awhile.

[brendag]

I have 5 yr old twins. We read a LOT to the kids and always have. At least one time during the day, I get to pick what we read which is currently the Red Fairy Book.

 

In the beginning, we used Leapfrog Letter Factory and Word Factory dvds for about a couple of weeks each. I then used the lessons that ElizabethB made up for Webster's Speller (available at donpotter.net) and Blend Phonics...all for FREE. I am amazed at the beauty in learning those first Webster's syllables (ex. DA, DE, DI, DO, DU, DY) and THEN teaching them phonics with syllable division rules and spelling along the way! I wish I had been taught this way. We started out really slow though because my kids started to sight read at 3ish and I knew I wanted them to learn using phonics so I scrambled! :)

 

The time we spend is about 15 minutes, 3-5 days a week. I break up the lessons into 2 and sometimes 3 sections depending on how long the lesson is. Now we are about to go back into Webster's for the long haul since we just completed Blend Phonics.

 

No supplements needed although the kids did do Starfall every once in awhile.

[lynn]

We always did a lot of reading and when dd was 3/4 I purchased the word and letter factory and had the old leap pads for toddlers with some beginning reader books. My dd has a later birthday so when she turned 5 we did Phonics Pathways and the first pages of Abeka Handbook for reading along with pages from "The Big book of everything pre-K" Maybe 15 min - 30 min a few times a week. Whatever she would sit for. Now in first grade she is 7 and we use Abeka 2nd and the phonics/language/reading takes about 15-20min a day.

[Guest]

My 5 1/2 year old daughter can do about 10-15 minutes of reading. That is it and that is a stretch. We are working on long vowels right now. My 7 year old son, while still gaining what I'd call fluency, reads in the multiple-hours-a-day category, between reading to me, reading alone, reading instructions to work, and real-life situations. Just another example of how much kids can differ. My son was like this at 5, as well, so it wasn't a leap he made in the last year. I emphasize my daughter vs. my son because so many people stress that girls are early readers and boys are not. That has not been the case in our family.

[Clarkd]

Okay, I guess I must be pushing too hard on this. My 6 yo does about 1 hr per day of language arts four days per week. She writes 2-3 sentences in her journal and draws a picture. We read a story from AAR three times (she reads it, I read it, she reads it). She does Spellwell, Natural Speller, Delightful Dictation with Spelling, and How to Spell. This is for phonics rules, dictation, spelling, and handwriting. She does 3-4 pages of MCP plaid. We read 6-8 pictures books or chapters from a book throughout the day. At bedtime she reads one story to us and we read one to her. As a group we do one lesson from Draw, Write, Now. She often chooses to read during her quiet play time after lunch, but I'm not sur how much. She reads at an early second grade level. We started most of this routine Sept 2011, although she went through 100 Easy Lessons first.

My five year old is on lesson 77 of 100 Easy Lessons. We do 1/2 of a lesson from there, and she reads a story three times from a Go Phonics reader ( same pattern as listed for older sister). She does about 4 pages in MCP plaid. This takes about 45 minutes. She listens to the same 6-8 books/chapters, Draw, Write, Now, and same bedtime routine.

[alisoncooks]

His stage of reading would be simple words and sentences like...

 

The bat has a sack.

 

He can read this, but it takes me sitting right there watching that he is reading it correctly. It takes a minute for him to get through a sentence like this. He does well, but I feel his progress is slow. I want him reading independently by next year so he can read beginning readers for history.

 

This is about where my DD is (though I don't know if she could decode "sack.")

 

Anyway, we spend about 15 min. on phonics (Phonics Pathways - usually just a page). Maybe 5 min. longer if I can get her to play a phonics game afterwards.

Then later in the day she reads me either a whole or half Primary Phonics Reader (probably 5-15 min., depends on how much she struggles that day).

 

This is it. On a rare occasion, we may do a ETC-type worksheet (Primary Phonics), 5-10 min.

Oh, and she'll play 20-30 minutes of Reading Eggs most days, but we don't really count that as school time.

[Gentlemommy]

My dd7 was a somewhat late reader due to some vision issues that needed therapy. Once we got that sorted out, reading changed dramatically. For her, I do

Fifteen-twenty minutes 3x per day of her reading aloud.

Half hour total of ETC/Grammar/spelling/OPG daily.

60-90 minutes of dh or I reading aloud to her (history/science, poetry, bible, artist study literature during the school day, and an ongoing chapter book for bedtime)

 

For dd4 (will be 5 in a month) I do

Ten minutes of Phonics Pathways OR The Reading Lesson daily

Ten minutes of ETC daily

Ten minutes of her reading an early/phonics reader to me 2x daily

60-90 (sometimes less, as she wanders off during history/science sometimes lol) of us reading to her

[StartingOver]

With all of mine, they were sounding out each letter and something just clicked. When it clicked it was amazing. That click time was different with all 5, from age 3 to 10. No matter what I did, it didn't change that natural click.

[Ellie]

eaching a reading lesson using a program (please list your program)

I used Spalding. We spent maybe half an hour, 45 minutes.

your child is working on worksheets

No worksheets.

your child is reading to you

None. I didn't require her to read to me.

your child is reading (not looking at pictures) for themselves if they are able

I kept our library books in a basket by the front door; dd picked them up on her own and read them whenever. I didn't notice how much time she spent.

hands on activities

Not sure what "hands-on activities" would be. :confused1: I guess that would be zero time.

supplemental activities

None. We didn't need supplemental activities.

real life teaching

I couldn't quantify that. Real iife is real life.

 

Other than the direct teaching I did with Spalding, reading was just something that happened in our house. We went to the library weekly and checked out as many books as they wanted, or none at all; and I read aloud to dds, one chapter a day from a good book, right after lunch. Dds read on their own...or not. Younger dd, who is the only one I actually taught how to read, picked up books on her own and puzzled over them, and I let her. I didn't keep track.

[2squared]

All I seem to do is a daily reading lesson and read to my son. He is not fluent enough to read on his own yet. I feel as if I am not giving him enough to get him reading well by the end of the school year. We are using Reading Made Easy and adding in supplemental worksheets from this program. We probably spend 20 minutes a day tops on this. I really don't think this is enough and I want to create a culture of learning to read for him but I am unsure what this would look like. Any information you can provide would be great. Thanks!

 

My 6yo Ker is at about lesson 45 in Reading Made Easy. He does a lesson 3-4 days/week for about 15-20 minutes/day. We don't do every part of the lesson, and some days we don't finish the lesson. We really just do the reading part. I don't make any of the index cards.

 

He spends another 5 minutes copying the RME sentence(s) from his daily lesson.

 

I read picture books to him 4-5 days/week for *maybe* 30 minutes. I'm not currently reading any chapter books out loud.

 

He doesn't do any worksheets.

 

I wouldn't expect a kid to be reading fluently before 1st grade. If it happens, great, but I wouldn't force it. My Ker took 2-3 weeks off school at Christmas time, and he made more progress with his reading in those nonschool weeks than he did the month before. I think the formal lessons just need to simmer sometimes before they take hold. To that end, I think a culture of learning to read has to include being OK with going at his speed. If you pressure him or push him too quickly, he is going to hate to read. Then it will all snowball from there. Then, of course, I have to ask why a 1st grader would *need* to read history readers or any formal, structured history. I start my kids on living history books once they can read fluently, but I wait for them.

 

Learning to read is hard work. My Ker wants to read b/c he enjoys books, and he sees his big sibs loving reading.

[Michelle My Bell]

I certainly never counted how long we spent at any point at that age. We spent a lot of time every day reading aloud - at bedtime, and for science and history and so forth. We spent some time every day reading together. We spent some time many days doing some specific phonics work with worksheets. But mostly I just let the house be a language rich environment - good movies, good books, conversations, good games, etc.

 

I noticed that the OP's list didn't include reading aloud or audiobooks and specifically did not include looking at pictures in books, yet those are all important things that lead to kids who love books and love reading. For many years, our educational system took a misguided route to teaching reading, where they ignored the mechanics - phonics - in favor of other approaches. And now the pendulum has rightly swung back to phonics, which is good. Obviously, children who don't learn the mechanics will not learn to read. However, children who don't get exposed to rich language and good stories and beautiful pictures and interesting facts in books may not want to learn to read, which is a really important piece of the puzzle.

 

So to me, spending just long enough on phonics is important. And practice is important too. But if the question is creating a household that will really help a child love to read and want to read, then I don't think the focus is practice, practice, practice in BOB books. The focus is snuggled up on the sofa reading The Wizard of Oz or something like that.

 

 

We do read aloud everyday. I use Memoria Press for their storyline, Bible, History or Science. That includes a good bit of reading aloud. He also listens in when I read to my older girls from their GOD program.

[Farrar]

 

We do read aloud everyday. I use Memoria Press for their storyline, Bible, History or Science. That includes a good bit of reading aloud. He also listens in when I read to my older girls from their GOD program.

 

I'm sure you do. I meant more that I wanted to encourage you to think of those interactions as just as essential, if not more so, to growing a reader.

[TracyP]

My 5yo is just beginning 100EZL (10 min).

 

I do a read aloud with him (5-10 min) and he sits in if he wants with older kids read alouds (30 min)

 

He is finishing the last ETC primer and then we will maybe? start ETC 1 (5-10 min)

 

He has access to all our bookshelves to look at books even though he is not reading yet (0-30 min, depending on the day)

 

If he were reading, I would have him read a short book/section to me (5 min)

 

I have never spent more than 15-20 min per day teaching my kids to read. I am no expert but with my kids it seems like once they get, they get it. I chugged along with my oldest doing about 15 min a day. One day it "clicked" and she went from slooowly sounding out every word in a Dr. Seuss book to Little House in the Big Woods. With my next child it "clicked" right away. I can see it is going to take my third child more time, and I don't think there is anything I can do to change that. I can just keep slowly teaching him, keep reading lessons low pressure and enjoyable, and wait for him to learn on his own timetable.

[TracyP]

DP

[Michelle My Bell]

My 6yo Ker is at about lesson 45 in Reading Made Easy. He does a lesson 3-4 days/week for about 15-20 minutes/day. We don't do every part of the lesson, and some days we don't finish the lesson. We really just do the reading part. I don't make any of the index cards.

 

He spends another 5 minutes copying the RME sentence(s) from his daily lesson.

 

I read picture books to him 4-5 days/week for *maybe* 30 minutes. I'm not currently reading any chapter books out loud.

 

He doesn't do any worksheets.

 

I wouldn't expect a kid to be reading fluently before 1st grade. If it happens, great, but I wouldn't force it. My Ker took 2-3 weeks off school at Christmas time, and he made more progress with his reading in those nonschool weeks than he did the month before. I think the formal lessons just need to simmer sometimes before they take hold. To that end, I think a culture of learning to read has to include being OK with going at his speed. If you pressure him or push him too quickly, he is going to hate to read. Then it will all snowball from there. Then, of course, I have to ask why a 1st grader would *need* to read history readers or any formal, structured history. I start my kids on living history books once they can read fluently, but I wait for them.

 

Learning to read is hard work. My Ker wants to read b/c he enjoys books, and he sees his big sibs loving reading.

 

 

I actually consider my son a first grader. He will be seven in April. I feel like I need to get him reading we'll so that by 3rd grade he can handle HOD Preparing program. I want to see him reading somewhat so that next year he can work on fluency. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I feel like I got a better idea how to gently beef up our lessons.

[TracyP]

Woops again

[EmilyGF]

I've taught two kids to read with phonics pathways.

 

15 minutes/day phonics pathways until we get to long vowel sounds.

 

If it doesn't stick in 15 min/day, after a few weeks, we take three months off before restarting.

 

Every three months, I get frustrated and try something else (add in Bob books, or, with dd 6, PAL).

 

When we get to long vowel sounds, I add in daily readers. They just get confused otherwise.

 

When they take off, I have them "read" (or nap! HAHA) 1 hour per day and suspend phonics until we begin Writing Road to Reading to fill in holes.

 

Emily

[boscopup]

 

• teaching a reading lesson using a program (please list your program)
  

 

We spend about 10-15 minutes on our phonics program. We were using Dancing Bears, but recently I tried out Phonics Pathways, and we're both enjoying it for the most part. I may swap back and forth some if we get bored. Sometimes we just need something "different", you know?

• your child is working on worksheets
  

 

Zero. My son has a handwriting workbook, but he's not writing words in it yet, since we just started it.

• your child is reading to you
  

 

After doing a page in PP, he reads a Star Wars Phonics reader to me. Well, actually, he only reads the bold words. The rest are for the parent to read. I plan to eventually have him read all the words, as they're often pretty easy to read. These books are bribery for doing a reading lesson. :D

• your child is reading (not looking at pictures) for themselves if they are able
  

 

Sooooo not there yet. :lol:

• hands on activities
  

 

Zero.

• supplemental activities
  

 

Zero.

• real life teaching
  

 

I read aloud daily to him. We're doing Sonlight P4/5, so I read various stories/fables/tales/nursery-rhymes to him each day. I'm not teaching him during this though - just reading to him. He can see the words while we read. Now if he brings me a book to read that I know he could read a good chunk of, I might have him help me read it a bit (like Dr. Seuss books). He tires quickly though, so I don't push it. He LOVES books and LOVES having me read to him. I know that once he can read easily himself, he'll love doing the reading also. Right now, it's hard work. I wouldn't want to spend my day reading legal documents, and likewise, my son isn't ready to spend the day reading Dr. Seuss. They're equally as hard right now.

 

My son is "K", since he has a November birthday. I don't expect him to be reading independently for a while yet. He may even be 7 or 8 when he reads independently. For now, he's about at the same spot your son is. He could read that sentence you posted, but he would sound out most of the words. It is taking him a long time to go from sounding out to "reading".

 

My other two kids have been much quicker/earlier to pick up reading. When my oldest was 6, I handed him a good chapter book at a 4th grade level and had him read one chapter, plus he'd have 20-30 minutes of free reading time from the library book basket. He'd been reading since he was 4.5 (the day he picked up a grade level 1.5 book and read 32 pages to me). My youngest is not very far behind middle child in PP. He could read that sentence you posted, sounding it out first. Though he would probably look down and say in a pitiful voice, "I can't do it." He *can*. But it's hard work for a 3 year old, so he doesn't want to (and I don't push him to). He loves doing individual words or maybe the first couple Bob books. I'm sure when he's 6, he'll be reading independently and fluently. So age 6 has looked different for each kid. But the one that didn't naturally pick it up on his own... just 10-15 minutes a day, consistently, is what works best. He's made huge progress this year. It just isn't nearly as fast as his brothers. That's ok. He'll be reading before he's 16. ;)

[TracyP]

After doing a page in PP, he reads a Star Wars Phonics reader to me. Well, actually, he only reads the bold words. The rest are for the parent to read. I plan to eventually have him read all the words, as they're often pretty easy to read. These books are bribery for doing a reading lesson. :D

 

 

Are you talking about these? I could see my ds liking something like that. What reading level do they start at?

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I haven't read the other replies, but I will go back and do so after answering...

 

My son will be 6yo in a few days. He reads one lesson which "pushes his limits" from a McGuffrey reader each day (5-10min) and then one chapter from a I Can Read book which is slightly below his limit (another 5-10min). We usually do this back to back, first McGuffrey, then I Can Read. We do no worksheets or anything else. We originally used Phonics Pathways until he got about 2/3 of the way through it and then I switched to McGuffrey.

 

I'm totally happy with this reading level for him.

 

I don't know if he really reads on his own. He looks at books a lot, and sometimes he will say things that let me know he has read a bit of them. He definitely reads signs and ads while we are out and about in town.

 

To make a culture of reading, I don't think it's about making the child read. It's about reading to the child and letting the child see you reading. We have no TV, so almost all of our entertainment comes from books. I see my son doing drawings that are bits of the stories we just read in Little House on the Prairie, or he and his sister act out scenes from books we've read quite often. This, to me, shows that they are developing a love for books, even without reading the words.

 

At some point, I expect that he will become fluent enough that he will pick up a book to look at the pictures and suddenly realize that he can "see" the story easily in the text without having to R.E.A.D. it letter by letter. And then he'll take off!

[2squared]

just 10-15 minutes a day, consistently, is what works best. He's made huge progress this year. It just isn't nearly as fast as his brothers. That's ok. He'll be reading before he's 16. ;)

 

 

That's my philosophy as well. 15 min/day consistently will work....it just might not work when I want it too.

 

My oldest read early and easily. She was fluent before 1st grade.

 

My second became fluent the summer between 2nd & 3rd grade.

 

My third seems to be in between the older two.

 

For both olders the light bulb turned on one day after those consistent 15 minute lessons. I just kept progressing them...RME to beginning readers to Sonlight grade 2 & 3 readers. Then they both found an easier chapter book series they liked, and they devoured the series. By the end of the series they were fluent reading anything and everything. My dd's series was the Boxcar Children, and my ds's series was the Magic Treehouse. I wonder which series will light the fire for #3.

[raceNzanesmom]

I actually consider my son a first grader. He will be seven in April. I feel like I need to get him reading we'll so that by 3rd grade he can handle HOD Preparing program. I want to see him reading somewhat so that next year he can work on fluency. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I feel like I got a better idea how to gently beef up our lessons.

 

You may have to accept that he may not be ready. He would be at the very bottom of the range for Preparing. Only the most advanced kids would succeed at that level.

[GSOchristie]

We are doing the WRTR, so we do an oral phonogram review (3-5 minutes), written phonogram review (5-8 minutes), review spelling rules (1-2), spelling dictation for notebook (5-10 minutes), then he reads a book to me. We get the book from the library, so they are all different, but usually the level 1 or 2 books in the "I can read" section (20 minutes, tops). So about 40 minutes a day on Lang arts total. I read to him quite a bit, 8-10 picture books a day, plus his dad reads a chapter book at bedtime and he listens to a book on cd for his 45 minute rest time.

 

And though he can read nearly any word that he sees, he doesn't enjoy reading yet, much to my dismay :(. He doesn't ever just pick up a book and start reading on his own, but he loves to be read to.

[boscopup]

Are you talking about these? I could see my ds liking something like that. What reading level do they start at?

 

Yes, those are the ones. The short vowel books include CCVCC words. The long vowel books have both CVCe words and CV words. I think "Ewoks" is in the short O book also, though my son recognized that one quickly (sight reading, I'm sure). We've done the long vowel books even though we haven't officially gotten there yet (I've explained the concept, but not practiced it much). On one page, there were the words "clone" and "code", which helped prevent guessing.

 

These books have the parent read, and the student just does the bold words. Though the whole book is probably around a first grade level mostly.

[TracyP]

Yes, those are the ones. The short vowel books include CCVCC words. The long vowel books have both CVCe words and CV words. I think "Ewoks" is in the short O book also, though my son recognized that one quickly (sight reading, I'm sure). We've done the long vowel books even though we haven't officially gotten there yet (I've explained the concept, but not practiced it much). On one page, there were the words "clone" and "code", which helped prevent guessing.

 

These books have the parent read, and the student just does the bold words. Though the whole book is probably around a first grade level mostly.

Thanks for the info. LOL here because these are exactly the kind of thing I would have shied away from as "twaddle" in the past. Now I could see these as being great for building up interest in something that is otherwise going to be hard work. Funny how things change - or how different kids can change your perspective.

[Holly]

We are on the more relaxed side (for the WTM boards anyway). ;) One of my DC was ready for far more reading than the others (and one was often in tears with less work), so I think it varies a bit. Generally, we do the following:

 

--We don't use a formal reading program. I teach them letter sounds (usually in K), then we work on blending. We do most of this with homemade flashcards or games. I read through the Spalding book when I was teaching my oldest and somewhat follow it for reading instruction.

--ETC books- We start book 1 once they are reading fairly well, which could be in K or 1st. I'd say they do 2-3 pages daily

--Copywork is usually started with 1st grade...maybe a poetry line or sentence each day to start with, up to 2 by the end of the year

--1 McGuffey lesson aloud, daily...I also alternate these with more "fun" books like Frog and Toad or Owl at Home

--They generally read to themselves before bedtime once they are able. We also do a large assortment of read alouds throughout the day

--For activities, they use reading rods to make words or play computer games, but this probably wouldn't be on a daily basis...maybe a couple times a week

--Real life would be hard to list...we often discuss words we come across on signs, cereal boxes, etc.

 

I don't think all this would take more than 20-30 minutes, but I've never timed it. I'm getting reading to move my DD up to some 1st grade level materials and she'll be my 3rd reader. She turns 6 next month, but would still be considered K. However, she's finished ETC primers and improved her blending skills...although they still need a little more work. We may add ETC 1 before the end of the year. We started the McGuffey primer already. I'm looking into Draw Write Now books for next year (I'm using the Draw and Write Through History with my older two and they love them).

[KathyBC]

Haven't read all the replies, but in reference to the culture of reading idea, this is an area of indirect rather than direct instruction, IMO. What I mean is that studies have shown that raising a reader will be successful when kids observe their parents reading. Having books in the home, trips to the library, time spent being read to, listening to audio books... all these make reading pleasurable, something to aspire to, and something that is just an expected part of growing up.

 

IIRC, at 6 yo we spent maybe 20 minutes on our reading program (Scaredy Cat - hands-on components), another 5-10 minutes on worksheets (ETC), and then some time being read aloud to, which varied from day to day. Stuff like reading signs in grocery stores is pretty hard to quantify. :-)

 

 

I would like to see what others do on a normal school day to teach reading. Please list all the time you spend...

• teaching a reading lesson using a program (please list your program)
  
• your child is working on worksheets
  
• your child is reading to you
  
• your child is reading (not looking at pictures) for themselves if they are able
  
• hands on activities
  
• supplemental activities
  
• real life teaching
  

All I seem to do is a daily reading lesson and read to my son. He is not fluent enough to read on his own yet. I feel as if I am not giving him enough to get him reading well by the end of the school year. We are using Reading Made Easy and adding in supplemental worksheets from this program. We probably spend 20 minutes a day tops on this. I really don't think this is enough and I want to create a culture of learning to read for him but I am unsure what this would look like. Any information you can provide would be great. Thanks!

[MrsBanjoClown]

Both of my kids were early readers, so I don't know if my advice will help much. When they were preschool age, they watched the Leapfrog videos (Letter Factory and Word Factory) over and over again because they loved them. They also loved to play on starfall. Last year, when he was in public pre-k, my now 6yo would read I See Sam books to his teacher while the other kids were napping. She sent the books home with him to read to us each night as well. Now he is reading very well. I use Abeka 1st grade reading program with him. That takes between 10-20 minutes a day. He also reads on his own anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. I read aloud to the kids over an hour a day. We start every day with a Bible story and a chapter of the Burgess Bird Book. I read their history lesson aloud from Story of the World 2-3 times/week. Sometimes we have picture books that go with their science and/or history that I read aloud as well. At night, we have been reading D'Aulaire's Greek Myths and Winnie-the-Pooh. I think finding something he is really interested in to read aloud to him is a great idea.

 

As far as having your child read to you, I suggest that you have him read to you as long as he is comfortable with it. You don't want him to get upset/frustrated because he is tired.

[hollyh]

My just turned 6yo spends 10min with me for reading instruction, although she is pretty much fluent now. She spends about 10 min reading TO me. And then she reads on her own whenever. Usually 20 min one day, 60 min another... just depends on the day. I don't schedule it because this child loves to read and does it happily.