Beginning reader suggestions...

[StaceyinLA]

Dd is doing Phonics Pathways with dgs, but would like to get him some little readers (probably sight-type) where he can learn a few words and "read" the books. She is thinking this will give him some confidence and make him excited about reading.

 

I can't remember if BOB books are like this in that you learn the words in the beginning or if they are for sounding out words. I know A Beka has something like this, but don't know what they are called.

 

Anyone know about either of these, or any others that would be like this? I'd like to order him some.

[cabritadorada]

BOB books are designed for phonics but they don't introduce a ton of words at a time so they could work for sight reading too.

 

Have you looked at the Progressive Phonics books/pdfs? I'm thinking especially of the Alphabetti ones.  They're free, super cute, and you "read" together which allows the child to be part of reading a more complicated book. The books address phonics, but the words the kids read are repeated so often that kids learn the words by sight. 

[StaceyinLA]

No I haven't seen those. I'll have to check them out.

[Tanikit]

I know the Ladybird Sight Word Readers (Keywords Reading Scheme) is exactly that - it teaches the most common sight words used. The first book (book 1a) has only 16 words in it. They are British books so don't know about their availability in America. 

 

Jane Belk Moncure also writes a lot of books that can be used for very early reading using both sight and phonics.

 

You can also try the Biscuit series of readers.

[ElizabethB]

You can print the I See Sam readers for free. They are phonics based and very incremental, so confidence building, cute pics and much more fun than BOB books, too.

 

http://www.marriottmd.com/sam/

 

I have had a lot of remedial students over the years from sight words, here is how and why not to teach sight words as wholes, how to teach them with phonics.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

 

You can also get in repetition to build confidence with fun blending games, some students take a lot more repetition than others, here are a few fun blending ideas:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/blendingwords.html

Edited August 21, 2016 by ElizabethB

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Depending on how far into PP the child is, they can do Frog and Toad books.  These are wonderful and are very phonetic, with only a few non-phonetic words ("said" and similar).  My kids liked Reading Pathways, which is designed to go with PP.  Not a story book, but a great confidence and speed builder.  

[Eagle]

The Usborne Very First Reading set of books has pages that the parent reads and pages that the child reads. This allows for more of a story than just sticking to beginner words. They are phonics based and progress in difficulty with each book.

http://www.usborne.com/veryfirstreading/

[JennSnow]

Dick and Jane..I know they are old school but they are 100% sight word based..they start with a couple of words and add on with each story.  New readers can sit down and read the stories right away without needing to sound anything out :).

**ETA because I know this is a hot button issue and I want to be clear, lol - please note that I am not advocating teaching your child to read using the sight word method but rather advocating the use of the Dick and Jane readers for boosting confidence by providing beginning readers with the satisfaction of being able to sit down and read a book right away.  They are a nice supplement to a traditional phonics program :)*

Edited August 21, 2016 by JennSnow

[shawthorne44]

The Usborne Very First Reading set of books has pages that the parent reads and pages that the child reads. This allows for more of a story than just sticking to beginner words. They are phonics based and progress in difficulty with each book.

http://www.usborne.com/veryfirstreading/

 

Plus the pictures are nice

[shawthorne44]

Another thing on the Usbourne readers that I haven't seen with others is they have 'puzzles' at the end.  Basically a little quiz.  Like they will show a picture from the story and a sentence from that story with one word changed to one that rhymes.  The puzzle is to find the word that is wrong.  

 

Of course I've only seen a small segment of the offerings.  

 

We got our Usbourne lot off ebay.  

[mathmarm]

I would get a book of decodable stories from a school publisher. Much better value than Bob Books in my experience.

[ReadingMama1214]

I would get a book of decodable stories from a school publisher. Much better value than Bob Books in my experience.

Where do you find these? We have the New York State ones that are on PDF, but I'd love a physical book of decidable stories

[Sk8ermaiden]

Dick and Jane..I know they are old school but they are 100% sight word based..they start with a couple of words and add on with each story.  New readers can sit down and read the stories right away without needing to sound anything out :).

 

**ETA because I know this is a hot button issue and I want to be clear, lol - please note that I am not advocating teaching your child to read using the sight word method but rather advocating the use of the Dick and Jane readers for boosting confidence by providing beginning readers with the satisfaction of being able to sit down and read a book right away.  They are a nice supplement to a traditional phonics program :)*

 

We did ETC from A - 8, starting at 4 years old, so definitely phonics-based teaching, but it was DD picking up a Dick and Jane book that got her reading.

 

It was just the confidence. After that, she considered herself a reader. She was SO PROUD. And what do readers do, but read books of course! She read those books to everyone, and after she plowed through all of them, she moved onto more phonetic readers.

 

Loved what those did for her. I will definitely use them again with DS.

[mathmarm]

Where do you find these? We have the New York State ones that are on PDF, but I'd love a physical book of decidable stories

Ooh, could you link me to the New York PDF?

 

You can get a book of decodables from Amazon or eBay for a good price. Or you can still buy new from the publisher and you don't have to worry about getting half used books. We have not had a problem but it's a risk with used books.

 

Do a search for any of the following + "decodable"

Open Court Reading

Imagine It!

Story Town

Houghton Mifflin Reading

 

If you get a series from 2000-2012 it's going to be MUCH cheaper than if you want the latest series out there such as Wonders!

 

I have a few sets in full color and they are MUCH better than Bob Books in my opinion and cost less.

[forty-two]

Where do you find these? We have the New York State ones that are on PDF, but I'd love a physical book of decidable stories

 

I like the SRA Basic Reading Series (has illustrations) and the Merrill Linguistic Readers (without illustrations).  The SRA Basic Reading Series is a set of 7 readers, A-F (level A is split into 2 books, part 1 and part 2; the scope and sequence and list of titles is on pgs 7-8 of the linked pdf); each reader has about 20-25 stories.  The Merrill Linguistic Readers are a set of 8 readers, A-H; each reader has about 40 stories.  They suffer some from educational pricing new ;), but I was able to get them used online for around $5-$10 a reader.  They both begin with very simple CVC words (and a few sight words), and gently increase both the decoding load and the number of words per page.  I started my middle dd (halfway through a phonics program) at the very beginning, even though it was *well* below her decoding level and somewhat below her words-per-page level, to increase confidence and fluency. 

[ReadingMama1214]

Ooh, could you link me to the New York PDF?

 

You can get a book of decodables from Amazon or eBay for a good price. Or you can still buy new from the publisher and you don't have to worry about getting half used books. We have not had a problem but it's a risk with used books.

 

Do a search for any of the following + "decodable"

Open Court Reading

Imagine It!

Story Town

Houghton Mifflin Reading

 

If you get a series from 2000-2012 it's going to be MUCH cheaper than if you want the latest series out there such as Wonders!

 

I have a few sets in full color and they are MUCH better than Bob Books in my opinion and cost less.

https://www.engageny.org/resource/grade-1-english-language-arts-skills-strand

 

You would go down to "unit 1" and then download the "reader" there are curriculum workbooks available for K+ and we've just used the first grade readers. The website is great to explore.

[ReadingMama1214]

I like the SRA Basic Reading Series (has illustrations) and the Merrill Linguistic Readers (without illustrations).  The SRA Basic Reading Series is a set of 7 readers, A-F (level A is split into 2 books, part 1 and part 2; the scope and sequence and list of titles is on pgs 7-8 of the linked pdf); each reader has about 20-25 stories.  The Merrill Linguistic Readers are a set of 8 readers, A-H; each reader has about 40 stories.  They suffer some from educational pricing new ;), but I was able to get them used online for around $5-$10 a reader.  They both begin with very simple CVC words (and a few sight words), and gently increase both the decoding load and the number of words per page.  I started my middle dd (halfway through a phonics program) at the very beginning, even though it was *well* below her decoding level and somewhat below her words-per-page level, to increase confidence and fluency. 

 

I like the look and cost of SRA. We have the first 3 sets of Bob Books and Nora Gaydos Readers. These both cover most of what DD has learned except phonograms for long vowel sounds (ex. oa, ee, ay, ie, etc.) and silent E words with long vowels. I am wondering which level I should get. I see the benefit of starting at the beginning, but we have tons of readers for the CVC and CVCC level. 

SaveSave

[forty-two]

I like the look and cost of SRA. We have the first 3 sets of Bob Books and Nora Gaydos Readers. These both cover most of what DD has learned except phonograms for long vowel sounds (ex. oa, ee, ay, ie, etc.) and silent E words with long vowels. I am wondering which level I should get. I see the benefit of starting at the beginning, but we have tons of readers for the CVC and CVCC level.

 

We've worked through the first three Bob book sets (and I looked through the fourth and fifth sets) and a couple level 1 Nora Gaydos sets. They had a *lot* less words per page than the SRA readers and the later Bob books increased in decoding difficulty faster than dd could handle. That said, the first SRA reader (part 1 of level A) is short-A words *only*, and part 2 only adds short-I words. I really only bought level A to have a complete set and to use with my youngest - it's way below dd7.5's level. However, she really loves it, and the easy fluency practice has raised her confidence a lot. Still, it's *really* basic decoding, and not that many more words per page than the readers your have - in your shoes I'd skip it and only buy it if level B is too much.

 

Level B brings in the rest of the CVC words, but with a *lot* more words on the page than the usual CVC readers - full pages of text (but with illustrations on each set of facing pages), but formatted so it's just one sentence (or sentence part) per line. Sentence complexity is probably equivalent to level 2/3 in Bob books; stories can extend for several pages. For my dd, this was a big increase in how many words per page, but a very easy decoding load. (Dd has learned CVC, consonant blends, common consonant digraphs and common vowel digraphs (first sounds only). We've also worked through the Dolch sight word list phonetically several times, so she could read more of the balanced literacy readers and stuff in daily life.). This is a really good level for dd - stretches her, but is doable. If your dd isn't used to a lot of words per page, I'd start here.

 

Level C brings in consonant blends, and smaller type and a serif font (levels A and B were in a sans serif font). Some pages are approaching easy chapter book amounts of text, but still illustrated and with all one-syllable words (minus a few sight words, like began). If your dd is just as comfortable with blends as with cvc words, and isn't fatigued by a lot of words on the page, you could start here. It would have been too tiring for my dd, I think.

 

Level D brings in consonant digraphs and two-syllable words. Same type size and about same amount of words per page as level C. Most pages are illustrated, but a few aren't. Level E brings in vowel digraphs and suffixes. Probably 1/2-2/3 of the pages are illustrated; some stories are 10 pages. Same type size as level D; definitely more of a chapter book feel in terms of word amount and overall feel. Level F brings in r-controlled vowels and irregular sounds. Probably 1/4-1/3 of the pages are illustrated; same type size; definitely would be ready for chapter books when finished with this.

 

Does that help any? I have all but Level A part 2 on my shelves right now (that one ought to be arriving any day now), so I can answer questions.

[happypamama]

Dick and Jane!

 

If he likes Batman, there are early readers for Batman: https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Classic-Phonics-First-Read/dp/0061885428/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473259807&sr=8-1&keywords=batman+phonics  They're a mix of superhero words and first words.

[ReadingMama1214]

We've worked through the first three Bob book sets (and I looked through the fourth and fifth sets) and a couple level 1 Nora Gaydos sets. They had a *lot* less words per page than the SRA readers and the later Bob books increased in decoding difficulty faster than dd could handle. That said, the first SRA reader (part 1 of level A) is short-A words *only*, and part 2 only adds short-I words. I really only bought level A to have a complete set and to use with my youngest - it's way below dd7.5's level. However, she really loves it, and the easy fluency practice has raised her confidence a lot. Still, it's *really* basic decoding, and not that many more words per page than the readers your have - in your shoes I'd skip it and only buy it if level B is too much.

 

Level B brings in the rest of the CVC words, but with a *lot* more words on the page than the usual CVC readers - full pages of text (but with illustrations on each set of facing pages), but formatted so it's just one sentence (or sentence part) per line. Sentence complexity is probably equivalent to level 2/3 in Bob books; stories can extend for several pages. For my dd, this was a big increase in how many words per page, but a very easy decoding load. (Dd has learned CVC, consonant blends, common consonant digraphs and common vowel digraphs (first sounds only). We've also worked through the Dolch sight word list phonetically several times, so she could read more of the balanced literacy readers and stuff in daily life.). This is a really good level for dd - stretches her, but is doable. If your dd isn't used to a lot of words per page, I'd start here.

 

Level C brings in consonant blends, and smaller type and a serif font (levels A and B were in a sans serif font). Some pages are approaching easy chapter book amounts of text, but still illustrated and with all one-syllable words (minus a few sight words, like began). If your dd is just as comfortable with blends as with cvc words, and isn't fatigued by a lot of words on the page, you could start here. It would have been too tiring for my dd, I think.

 

Level D brings in consonant digraphs and two-syllable words. Same type size and about same amount of words per page as level C. Most pages are illustrated, but a few aren't. Level E brings in vowel digraphs and suffixes. Probably 1/2-2/3 of the pages are illustrated; some stories are 10 pages. Same type size as level D; definitely more of a chapter book feel in terms of word amount and overall feel. Level F brings in r-controlled vowels and irregular sounds. Probably 1/4-1/3 of the pages are illustrated; same type size; definitely would be ready for chapter books when finished with this.

 

Does that help any? I have all but Level A part 2 on my shelves right now (that one ought to be arriving any day now), so I can answer questions.

That does help. I have B,C, and D In my Amazon cart. I'll start with B and go from there. She's at a point where her fluency seems to be improving at a rapid pace, but I don't want to push her too hard and I don't know how she'd feel about the font and word amount in C and D. Thanks for the help! I am so excited! And cheaper than Bob books!

[Peaceful Isle]

We are using the mcruffy k readers which are great, and start off slowly. We are also using the Saxon readers for k5. They can be found on rainbow resource and are super cute and colorful. They come in 3 levels: Easy , medium, and advanced

[ReadingMama1214]

We've worked through the first three Bob book sets (and I looked through the fourth and fifth sets) and a couple level 1 Nora Gaydos sets. They had a *lot* less words per page than the SRA readers and the later Bob books increased in decoding difficulty faster than dd could handle. That said, the first SRA reader (part 1 of level A) is short-A words *only*, and part 2 only adds short-I words. I really only bought level A to have a complete set and to use with my youngest - it's way below dd7.5's level. However, she really loves it, and the easy fluency practice has raised her confidence a lot. Still, it's *really* basic decoding, and not that many more words per page than the readers your have - in your shoes I'd skip it and only buy it if level B is too much.

 

Level B brings in the rest of the CVC words, but with a *lot* more words on the page than the usual CVC readers - full pages of text (but with illustrations on each set of facing pages), but formatted so it's just one sentence (or sentence part) per line. Sentence complexity is probably equivalent to level 2/3 in Bob books; stories can extend for several pages. For my dd, this was a big increase in how many words per page, but a very easy decoding load. (Dd has learned CVC, consonant blends, common consonant digraphs and common vowel digraphs (first sounds only). We've also worked through the Dolch sight word list phonetically several times, so she could read more of the balanced literacy readers and stuff in daily life.). This is a really good level for dd - stretches her, but is doable. If your dd isn't used to a lot of words per page, I'd start here.

 

Level C brings in consonant blends, and smaller type and a serif font (levels A and B were in a sans serif font). Some pages are approaching easy chapter book amounts of text, but still illustrated and with all one-syllable words (minus a few sight words, like began). If your dd is just as comfortable with blends as with cvc words, and isn't fatigued by a lot of words on the page, you could start here. It would have been too tiring for my dd, I think.

 

Level D brings in consonant digraphs and two-syllable words. Same type size and about same amount of words per page as level C. Most pages are illustrated, but a few aren't. Level E brings in vowel digraphs and suffixes. Probably 1/2-2/3 of the pages are illustrated; some stories are 10 pages. Same type size as level D; definitely more of a chapter book feel in terms of word amount and overall feel. Level F brings in r-controlled vowels and irregular sounds. Probably 1/4-1/3 of the pages are illustrated; same type size; definitely would be ready for chapter books when finished with this.

 

Does that help any? I have all but Level A part 2 on my shelves right now (that one ought to be arriving any day now), so I can answer questions.

I meant to update. Our SRA readers level B, C, and D arrived and we are loving them. In level B it seems that Dd can read most of the words with occasionally help splitting up compound words. But the stories are fun and new. I am really excited to use them!!