Phonics for 1st Grader Who Already Reads

[JNW]

I've read through some old threads but I'm still not sure how to decide what to do for DD6 for 1st grade this coming school year. She has been bounced around from homeschool to public school for Kindergarten. (We moved recently.) I feel like I should spend the summer trying to fill in any holes to make sure she's ready for 1st grade. She reads Bob books and knows about 50 sight words. She reads most blends and a few digraphs. I am not concerned about her progress so far or for the future. I taught K and 1st grade in PS. I guess I'm experiencing paralysis of analysis with all of the different homeschool curriculum choices. I sort of want to go to a homeschool conference/curriculum fair, but I'm wondering if that will confuse me even more. I know people say "Don't worry, just pick something and go with it." I'm not worried; I just don't want to waste time/money.

 

If you have any suggestions for what I should do with her over the summer and what I should do in 1st grade, or even how to go about deciding, I would appreciate it!

[lorisuewho]

I have a few suggestions that make work well for you.

 

One is the book Phonics Pathways. It is inexpensive and it is quite clear on directions. You can easily skip ahead in the book if she already can read cvc words, etc.

 

Another suggestion is to use The Writing Road to Reading. This teaches phonics and reading through a focus on spelling and analysing words. This also is relatively inexpensive. People vary in their opinion on the ease of use, but I don't think you can go wrong with the 4th edition.

 

If you want a program that is more hands-on and multi-sensory with games and includes handwriting, then I would suggest you take a look at Logic of English Foundations. You probably could start at level B with your daughter based on what you wrote. You could aslo just purchase the Logic of English game book and game cards and use them with any phonics curriculum you are using.

 

Another option woudl be more of a workbook approach. Explode the Code are incremental phonics workbooks that are relatively fun and interesting. Based on what you said, I would start her on level 2.

[mom2boys030507]

I would suggest starting with your library. I am able to get Hooked on Phonics, The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. This might help you be able to pick a program that you like without the expense of purchasing multiples.

[JudoMom]

My favorite is Phonics Pathways. It's inexpensive and thorough, and the lessons can be as long or short as you want. It's a simple no-frills book, and it worked extremely well with all of my boys (by the end of K or 1st, they could decode any word I put in front of them). I agree with the suggestion to check your library; I was able to figure out that I really disliked a couple and like PP when my oldest was learning to read.

[mom2bee]

I suggest going with something like Phonic Pathways. But check out your library first to see what they have. Go on Amazon and 'look inside' some phonics/reading books such as:

 

Phonics Pathways

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

The Reading Lessons

Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading

The Writing Road to Reading

 

Personally I like The Reading Lesson, but the first 4-6 chapters (out of 20) may be redundant for you, or just a little bland, so I don't know that its the best investment financially. OPGTR is easier to accellerate but I didn't like the program much myself, but it is a very thorough and very detailed GUIDE to phonics and with your background in teaching, you may be able to make it work beautifully. I like what I have seen of Phonics Pathways but I have never used the program.

 

Right now, I am re-reading WRTR because I would like to go from TRL to WRTR and use WRTR for the remaineder of elementary level language arts.

[JNW]

Thanks everyone, so far!

 

I tried the 100 Easy Lessons book with DD this past year and I did not like it.

 

I tend to want to just stick with what is recommended in The Well-Trained Mind (Phonics Pathways), but if there's better curriculum out there that's been published since WTM was written, I want to explore that.

 

Should I just start with Phonics Pathways(if that's the one I choose) over the summer to fill in the holes, or just start a "normal" school year in August/September?

 

I know a lot of this will be determined as we get started and see where it all takes us. :)

[lorisuewho]

 

Should I just start with Phonics Pathways(if that's the one I choose) over the summer to fill in the holes, or just start a "normal" school year in August/September?

 

I know a lot of this will be determined as we get started and see where it all takes us. :)

 

 

Phonics Pathways (and some of the others suggested) are very easy to implement. You can take just 10 minutes a day. Just start whenever you want. There is no need to follow a school year schedule. I would start now if your daughter and you are both interested and ready to go.

[morgan]

My 6yo started k this year reading. We tried a few things, but Christian Light's LA for 1st grade has been the thing she likes the best. The lessons are short and have taught her a lot of phonics rules that she didn't really know (she likes to sight read). It also includes beginning grammar rules. It is not as basic as their Learn to Read program, which is fairly repetitive, but also a good program. Just another option :)

[JNW]

I think I will try to get my hands on a Phonics Pathways book, and if we like it we'll just start with it this summer and see what happens. Then if I want to switch I won't feel like I've wasted part of the actual school year on something we don't want to continue with. Thank you all!

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

My kids learn to spell first, and then jump into reading. Once they are reading we go through OPGTR to make sure we fill in the gaps. We also continue spelling, which for us is AAS.