maptime Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) My now 5yo dd begged for me to teach her how to read last year. I had a new baby and lacked the bandwidth to run her through a formal phonics program, but since she already knew her letter sounds I let her practice blending with some AAR readers, and she was off to the races. She ended up reading through all of the level 1 and 2 readers to me while I nursed the baby; I taught her “th” “sh” “ch” and silent e as those came up, but that has been about the extent of any *phonics instruction” she has received. Fast forward to now, and she’s reading chapter books with ease. There is still the occasional word she trips over, but for the most part she can easily read any of the books on our shelves. Can I just have her keep reading aloud to me while we start a phonics-based spelling program like AAS in the fall (technically her kindergarten year) and call it good for phonics? I’ve heard tales of a 4th grade reading slump afflicting kids without a strong phonics background and I’d like to avoid that, but the idea of making her start a reading program from the beginning at this point sounds like a drag if we don’t have to😜 I appreciate your thoughts! Edited August 2, 2019 by maptime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Spelling and phonics are not the same thing. 🙂 Yes, you can do AAS (although I'm a fan of Spalding, but AAS is fine). Clearly your dd doesn't need more phonics, as she is already reading. In fact, her reading skills will be improved because her spelling has improved. Many methods teach children to read by teaching them to spell. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock2 Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Sounds like she'll be fine. I would go ahead and just do the spelling. I have not heard of this 4th grade reading slump, but if she's already reading chapter books, I can't see her having a slump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Sure! All About Spelling is also a complete phonics program, so you'll be able to fill in any gaps that she has as you work through AAS. Congratulations on your daughter's reading success! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 I think what you are referring to as the "4th grade reading slump" is the point when children who are taught to read mostly or entirely by sight (sight words with very little, if any, phonics) reach the limit of their ability to memorize words. A child taught to read phonetically won't have that problem. They don't have to memorize very many words at all, just the few and far between words that completely break the rules, the phonograms themselves and some rules. They will not reach the point where they are not capable of memorizing more words. They can use their phonics tools to decode words that are new to them rather than try to memorize it. If she is a solid reader, which it sounds like she is, you can just start her on AAS or whatever spelling program you like. Spelling, especially spelling instruction that relies on phonics, will help strengthen her reading phonics skills. While phonics, reading and spelling are not one in the same, they are very closely related with one skill often influencing the other skills whether you mean to or not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 I would be hesitant to invest in a program as intensive (and expensive) as AAS for the child you describe. You're not likely to need a $300 program to teach this child to spell. We are using Spelling by Sound and Structure, it's meant to be began with children who are already reading and the first book contains lessons on short vowels, long vowels, digraphs, and syllables using mostly 2nd grade words. The activities/exercises are varied enough that we find it interesting. It is not just a workbook that you hand to the child (at least in the early levels, we haven't gotten into the upper levels yet). There are drills that you do, exercises, and back-and-forth interaction so you can use this program with just lined paper like we do, or you could buy the student workbooks. It IS very Christian-themed but I'm teaching it directly to my young child so I just skip those words/example or change/alter those test sentences because we don't align with that world-view. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maptime Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 14 hours ago, MerryAtHope said: Sure! All About Spelling is also a complete phonics program, so you'll be able to fill in any gaps that she has as you work through AAS. Congratulations on your daughter's reading success! Thank you, that’s exactly what I was hoping🙂 14 hours ago, sweet2ndchance said: I think what you are referring to as the "4th grade reading slump" is the point when children who are taught to read mostly or entirely by sight (sight words with very little, if any, phonics) reach the limit of their ability to memorize words. A child taught to read phonetically won't have that problem. They don't have to memorize very many words at all, just the few and far between words that completely break the rules, the phonograms themselves and some rules. They will not reach the point where they are not capable of memorizing more words. Yeah I’m not sure why I referred to it as a “slump” as that probably implies a regression in skills, but what you described is what I was talking about🙂 I hadn’t made the connection with sight words specifically though. I never really taught her many sight words, so perhaps she is still technically decoding words phonetically as she’s intuited the rules. I don’t hear a whole lot of sounding out, but I guess she had to learn the word somehow😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maptime Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 14 hours ago, mathmarm said: I would be hesitant to invest in a program as intensive (and expensive) as AAS for the child you describe. You're not likely to need a $300 program to teach this child to spell. This is a good point. I tried a level of SSS with one of my older boys a couple of years ago, and while he did turn out to need more intensive spelling instruction, dd may not. Because my older two kids are already going through AAS I’ll already have the materials on hand, but it’s a big time investment for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 A child who is fluent with their reading skills can use those skills so quickly that they do not need to slowly sound out every new word aloud, just the ones that they stumble over. As long as you are encouraging her to sound out the few words she still stumbles over and not just telling her the word when she stumbles, she should be fine. ;-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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