100 Easy Lessons Help

[pink&bluemommy]

So, I've taught two other kids to read using this book, child #3 is stumping me.  We are at about lesson 10.  When sounding out a word himself he stops between the sounds EVERY TIME.  How do I teach him not to?  I have used OPG after 100 EL (skipping about 1/3 through) but I kind of feel like it it too explanatory.  My child is 4.5 by the way (same age as the others when they started) and seems ready, maybe 100 Easy lessons isn't the book for him?  It sure was easy and worked terrifically for my others though.

[mom2bee]

Just continue to model blending/smooth phonics. Add some "say it fast/say it slow" type games to his daily regiment and continue on at the pace that he can manage.

I'd say that its a little early in the game to determine if its "broke" just yet.

Blending comes easy to some kids, for other its a real task to get a grip on. I would say continue on with 100EZ lessons since its not causing any grief, just always model it for him before hand and afterwards. Sandwich his attempts between your own. I am still modeling and helping with blending for many boys up until 5.5 or even 6.5 yo.

 

When you read to him, model blending on simple words and just keep him in 100 EZ Lessons.

[TracyP]

I would put 100EZL away for now. I would write the word on a whiteboard and model it. I told my ds to listen to me as I do it. Then I told him to take a deep breath and do it with me. I did this with my 4th. He came back to 100EZL and is breezing through it.

 

Having said that, 100EZL isn't a good fit for everyone. I used it with my oldest two and am using it with #4, but it just didn't work for #3. IMO, it is a great fit for kids who are ready to read - now. Many kids needs need a little slower pace.

[Murmer]

Also I found that modeling just 2 letters smoothly is easier than the whole thing...usually the end because that stays the same in a lot of words (word families).  So if it is cat I will point out at and model just at and have him repeat that part.

[BatmansWife]

I used 100EZ with my oldest dd at about the same age.  It worked great.  She did hit a snag somewhere in the middle where she would cry...so we put it away for a few weeks.  Once we got back to it, all went fine and shortly after turning 5 we finished and she could read anything and everything...fantastically too.  Didn't work so well with my son.  I also remember having to help him blend / smooth the sounds together.  I actually used frosting.  I'd tell him it was like frosting how we wanted to blend the sounds and have them smooth.  We don't want to be choppy.  Show spreading the frosting with a knife in a choppy jerky way as you say a word like cat in a choppy sharp way (each sound cut short with a slight pause between each sound): c.a.t.  (you could even talk short sentences in this way showing how  this isn't how we talk...we would sound almost robotic)...no, we want to smooooooth the sounds together (spread/smooth the frosting)...caaat, caat, cat.  For some reason that helped him get it.  Sometimes I'd have to remind him to smooth the frosting as he was reading.  I say give this a try.  If he doesn't catch on...then put the book away for a little while.  It's amazing how coming back to something a little later can seem like there never was a problem in the first place.

[4peanuts]

I agree with the comments from other posters, but would also like to add some tips to try on blending that worked for mine:  tell him to take a big breath when you say "Get Ready", so that he can push the sounds out all in one breath.  You could also tell him to think of it as "singing" the sounds.

 

Also, 4.5 is still on the young side for starting, so I'd encourage you not to move on to something else just yet.  NOT to discourage you or anyone else from starting at that age--it's definitely possible!  I started my oldest 2 somewhere in that range, and have just started with my 4 year old, but it was/is more of a slow intro....We took it at a VERY relaxed pace, repeating lessons several times and closing the book when it got frustrating.  We might have gotten through 20 lessons in half a year.

 

I don't think I started in earnest, ( i.e. consistently), until they hit a solid 5...at which point they really took off.  Getting through that initial phase of mastering blending is so critical, and if you have to camp out there a while I wouldn't let that discourage you.  Having that foundational focus on blending is one of the major reasons this program is so effective, IMO.   We would play the say it fast game in the car often, with whatever words I could think of on the fly, just to get in as much practice as possible.   

 

Also, for motivation in the beginning I awarded a sticker (put in the book) for each task within the lesson....because getting through a single task was that big of a deal. :)  As we moved on I upped the bar to a sticker for the whole lesson (plus getting to color the story picture)