Questions on teaching reading

[LivingLatin]

Hi, all! I'm using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading with my oldest kid, who just turned six. He's in the unit on long vowels now. This is my first experience teaching reading, and I have a couple of questions. I hope all you experienced homeschooling mamas can help me!

 

First, he seems almost completely addicted to that stuttering way they read at first ("c -- aaaa -- t.") When I have him read aloud, he'll always sound out the word that way first, unless a) he's just read the word in a previous sentence, or b) it's a sight word. I suspect it's a habit for him and he doesn't need to do it anymore, at least for short-vowel words. How on earth do I train him to move on to more fluent reading, without encouraging him to cut corners and guess rather than actually examining the entire word?

 

Second, I have a hard time keeping him looking at the page. He keeps looking up at me, even in mid-sentence, for reassurance. (Or looking at his noisy little sister, or leaning over and poking the baby on my lap, or some other similar way of losing focus.) This distracts him and weakens his reading comprehension. Any advice?

 

Nealy

mama to Thales, 12/9/02, in kindergarten; Lydia, 2/26/06, in preschool co-op; and Odin, 12/12/08, in a babywearing device of some sort

[athena1277]

I'm no expert, but I am working through OPG with my dd6. We are much further than you and dd is reading wonderfully. I'm sure your dc will improve, OPG is great.

 

My thoughts on your dc are first to find a time/place where there are no distractions from siblings to read. We always do reading when ds is napping. My other thought is to get some easier beginning readers, like the Bob books for your dc to read. They are simple and help build confidence. My dd loved it when she could read "a whole book".

 

HTH!

[RhondaM.]

Hi, all! I'm using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading with my oldest kid, who just turned six. He's in the unit on long vowels now. This is my first experience teaching reading, and I have a couple of questions. I hope all you experienced homeschooling mamas can help me!

 

First, he seems almost completely addicted to that stuttering way they read at first ("c -- aaaa -- t.") When I have him read aloud, he'll always sound out the word that way first, unless a) he's just read the word in a previous sentence, or b) it's a sight word. I suspect it's a habit for him and he doesn't need to do it anymore, at least for short-vowel words. How on earth do I train him to move on to more fluent reading, without encouraging him to cut corners and guess rather than actually examining the entire word?

 

 

 

Maybe I'm totally wrong but once my dc knows the individual sounds I no longer have them do the c---aaa----t.

I drill my kids like this:

 

da (not 'd---a', just simply 'da')

de

di

do

du

 

Then once they get it and can say those quickly I move on to the next letter:

fa

fe

fi

fo

fu

 

I go through the entire alphabet like this.

 

My dd went around reciting

ma

me

mi

mo

mu

 

Once they were all learned it is nothing to add on that end sound.

 

My oldest ds who was taught to read at public school did the c---aaa---t, bit. Drove me nuts. I taught my younger two and never even let that get started. Because 'ca' does not say c---aaa, it simply says ca.

 

I used Phonic Pathways with them and it was sooooo easy. 5 minutes per day. Both my kids that I taught this way were reading on a solic 3rd grade level before we even finished the book.

 

My 2nd grader is fluently reading The Secret Garden and I totally give Phonic Pathways all the credit.

 

Hope this helps.

Rhonda

[mktyler]

Some children can take a long time to feel comfortable just reading a word without first saying its sounds. This is not a problem generally because it lets you know he is not guessing at the words.

 

If you want to help him move forward, gaining more confidence, I suggest--using words from the beginning of the program or even two sound combinations (na, ma, el, si, etc.)--having him say the sounds in his head (without moving his mouth) then say the word out loud. Like all other skills, some kids will do this easily, some will struggle to "hear" the sounds in their head. As he becomes more proficient you can add words from later in the program and expand to phrases (starting with a cat, an ant, and moving up to prepositional phrases and phrases with 'and') and sentences.

 

Another option is to restart the program, so that his current skills outpace the work. This gives extra practice and may help him feel more confident.

 

As for readers, while some kids find them motivating, others, who perhaps are less confident with their reading, will find them more taxing, as it adds another dimension-the plot-to the reading experience.

 

Melissa

Minnesota

Reading Program Junkie

dd(10) dd(6) ds(4) ds(1)

[LivingLatin]

Thanks, y'all!

 

I tried the trick with practicing initial sounds with short vowels, and it seemed to do some good. It helps me to know that other kids have grown out of this, too. I don't remember learning to read, so I have no idea how long I did it.

 

We do have the first three sets of Bob books, and he does the stuttering sounding-out thing when he reads those, too, but he does it with a bigger grin on his face. :tongue_smilie:

 

I find he's happier with doing the reading drill from OPGTTR if I have him illustrate the story from the lesson when he's done. Also, it motivates him to work at reading comprehension.

 

Nealy

mama to Thales, recently 6; Lydia, almost 3; and Odin, almost 2 months

[newlifemom]

Nealy,

 

The thing I have noticed with my dc. I'm up to 3 that I have taught to read (well 2 are still going through OPGTR) it just depends on the child. I have a 5 year old (precocious) and she was learning the sounds but it was all so stilted. I would have to say it wasn't until after the initial long vowel sounds that she just got it. Something clicked. Before then, she could stutter her way through a Bob book or really easy reader, but it wasn't fun for her. Fast forward 2 months she is reading up a storm. Amelia Bedelia, Henry and Mudge, even regular picture books. Her fluency just got better. I don't think it was my amazing teaching. It was her timing. She was ready. Sadly, I do not have any patience for the stuttering c aaaaaa t type reading which is why I started with 100ez lessons. No matter what, try to remember, he is only 6 and when he is ready to make that leap, he will. We just have to keep giving them practice.