What to try when the OPG is a non-starter?

[Smithie]

My son will be five in June. In September, I tried Saxon Math K and the Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. The Saxon lessons were a hit (the calendar portion was not), and the OPG brought us both to tears. So we dropped it for awhile.

 

This past week, I pulled out all the materials again after a lot of questions about how specific words are formed (the "what sound does this letter make" questions have already been asked, answered and internalized as far as I can tell). The Saxon Math, minus the torturous calendar, is the highlight of his day. Dictating stories, he loves. General talk about letters and sounds, fabulous. Even pencil skills have evolved from a chore to be avoided into a task worth doing in order to get the reward (a word on the page).

 

He still loathes the OPG.

 

How do I teach my child to read without the OPG??? He uses Starfall.com for games a bit. I really think that the issue is the (lack of) materials, not that he isn't ready to read or is allergic to phonics.

 

In case it matters, we hope and plan to do a classical curriculum starting with Grade One. We are very "zen" about the whole kindergarten year, and don't need any firm structure - just a child who is literate when he wants to be literate, which was yesterday. ;)

[JudoMom]

Do you have any idea what he loathes about it?

[razorbackmama]

We couldn't STAND OPG. We use 100 EZ Lessons with great success so far. I'm tossing around the idea of JUST using WRTR with my 6th child, but she's only 20mo so I have a while LOL.

 

There are LOTS of options to teach your child to read without OPG!

[ElizabethB]

Webster's Speller (free!) from a white board! (link below in my signature, and this thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70153)

 

The start with 2 letter syllable blends is good for a young student, they also like working from a white board. You could also try Blend Phonics (donpotter.net) from a white board if Webster's Speller is too hard to figure out. We did Webster's Speller from a white board in K, the white board held her interest a lot better than working from a book. (She also liked to pick the color marker we were using for the day! I'm not sure if that would excite a boy as much, however.)

 

Here's some more suggestions with some games.

 

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

 

I also found that spelling really helped. My daughter has been able to write her letters well from a young age (but still struggles with numbers), but you can do oral spelling and "written" spelling with magnetic letters.

[Alice]

I agree with the previous poster that there are many other reading programs out there that might be better suited for you. I'm sure people will post about them.

 

I had a similar experience with OPG when we first started it. I liked it fine but ds didn't. I was reluctant to buy something else as I'm cheap. :) I kept it and modified it some and it's working for us. I don't really read the scripted lessons. I like that they are there to give me guidance but I don't read it. I found my son found it overwhelming to look at the page of writing and read from the book. I started writing the words/sentences on a white board for him. That pretty much solved the problem. I also go slow. I probably do 3 lessons a week instead of a lesson a day. Sometimes we go faster, sometimes slower. I add in reading games and we're using Beyond the Code now for extra practice.

 

The other thing I'd add is that a 4 1/2 yr old boy just might not be ready yet. I tried starting with my son at about that age and he wasn't ready. I was reluctant to believe that but posted here and got many people writing in telling me to wait. In all honesty, I kind of resented that advice. (No good reason, just being honest.) But I did back-off for awhile and then started back with OPG around the time he was 5. He was then much more ready even though it was only a few months later.

[Melenie]

We have been stop and start with OPG. DD will tolerate it for a few weeks then get tired of it. When we get tired of it I will write words on a white board for her to sound out and we cut the lesson down to half or even into thirds. Right now we are doing both OPG and Websters speller using a white board and she loves it. If I was you, I would not toss OPG just yet and rather use it as a guide than word for word.

Edited March 3, 2009 by Melenie

[Smithie]

"Do you have any idea what he loathes about it?"

 

I think it is the lack of control over how the lesson plays out. But he seems happy to follow the agenda of the scripted Saxon Math lessons... I believe that having materials to hold and touch and control helps him to feel empowered in his learning, even while carrying out specific instructions.

 

I may be talking myself into buying a movable alphabet...

[the floating cottage]

I kind of took a combination approach with my son. He is almost 6 and could care less about doing school. He is not interested at all. I know this is just him as his sister wanted to read early and we are all readers in our family. I did the same thing with Ordianary Parents. I bought and sold it twice. I have tried just about everything out there with my daughter( she has auditory processing disorder). In the end I wanted simple and bought it again. Now I love it because I modified it, something I did not have the confidence to do before. I liked the way MFW taught there letter sounds. My son likes there flash cards, and I like how they tie in a bible verse with it. But I did not want to do everything else. I rearranged the sequence of OP to teach the MFW sequence. I downloaded some pages notebook pages and made him an alphabet notebook. So for everyday there would be something hands on to teach the letter we working on for 15 min. That's it. He loves it. I would read every scripted part. Boys are different sometimes they are just not ready, or care. We love starfall, and also enchanted learning. Once they start reading the short voowel words and get over the blending hump it sure does help.

[kellycbr]

DS8 just wasn't interested or ready, I guess until a little later, then he was just bored by OPG, Phonic Pathways and anything else I tried. Finally, I took him to a private tutor 2 months ago. She uses Phono-Graphix and it has worked like a miracle! However, once we're done with her in two weeks I'm going to have DS use ABeCeDarian. Its a similar teaching style without me needing to get a Masters.

[Lovedtodeath]

Have you tried writing the words and sentences from OPG on paper, a whiteboard, with Lauri letters, scrabble tiles, typing them on the computer screen?? DD has always hated reading out of the book. These strategies have all worked for her. There are also really good game suggestions in OPG and you just need index cards and a pen or marker.

[DarlaS]

How do I teach my child to read without the OPG???

 

Well, it's been done. ;)

 

Try teaching him the lesson without letting him get sight of the book. Take out a sheet of paper and write the short A words etc. If he needs to know what's expected tell him "We're going to look at 5 words today to see if we can figure out what they say" or something like that.

 

If he's willing to write try and get him to write a short (three word) sentence. My little guy gets a big kick out pf copying things I've written - but bring out a book and he gets all suspicious :glare:

 

Whoops - I just reiterated what the previous poster said. Next time I'll read first - sorry!

[Lovedtodeath]

Whoops - I just reiterated what the previous poster said. Next time I'll read first - sorry!

 

How dare you agree with me!! :lol:

 

 

I usually post first, read later, that way I am giving my honest answer without being influenced.

[Smithie]

Awesome suggestions - thank you all!

 

I am also cheap/frugal, so I'd like to find a way to make OPG work so I can spend my $$$ on all the great materials that literate students need! We have a big whiteboard and he loves to write on it, so I will give that a try tomorrow.

[runamuk]

The answer for us was Explode the Code. My son hated 100 EZ Lessons and was just not interested in OPG. He likes to trace, color, write letters, and play matching games, so the ETC workbooks were perfect for him. Those books, along with Starfall, really helped him get a grasp on his letters and sounds. Now that we've finished the Get Ready/Get Set/Go for the Code books and have started on ETC 1, he's excited about learning to read.

 

The books aren't that expensive, either. You'll need the teacher's manual for Get Ready, etc, but I haven't needed to use the one for ETC book 1 yet.

[PollyOR]

I tried OPG with my now 10yodd. She balked. I taught her to read using library books.

 

There is a list of books in the index of Mark Thogmartin's book that helped me get started:

Teach a Child to Read with Children's Books: Combining Story Reading, Phonics, & Writing to Promote Reading Success Mark B. Thogmartin (Bloomington: Grayson Bernard, 2nd ed. 1997) (ISBN 1-88379025-5).

 

I admit I didn't use his lesson ideas.

 

 

Also, I really like the Leapfrog DVD's (Letter Factory and Word Factory).

 

Ruth Beechick has a good book for teaching reading - A Home Start in Reading.

[ElizabethB]

I may be talking myself into buying a movable alphabet...

 

88 cents at Wal-mart for a set of magnetic uppercase letters. (I use uppercase at that age.) You'll need 2 sets to have enough vowels for words like seem.

 

Use them on a magnetic white board or a cookie sheet. (I used cookie sheets for years with my remedial students before I finally splurged for a magnetic white board.)

 

If you're really cheap, I have cards with all the letters printed out on two pages, extra vowels and a few extra consonants, with little lines where to cut them out, they're about 1 1/2 inches square each, I keep meaning to put the pdf on my website, but I haven't, send me a real e-mail address and I'll e-mail them. I print them out on cardstock and use them occasionally for games with my remedial reading students. (Uppercase, too. I'm a big fan of uppercase for young students and remedial students. It breaks up word shape and stops guessing for remedial students and they are just easier to read and more distinct for a young student.)

[Lovedtodeath]

I may be talking myself into buying a movable alphabet...

You may already have one.... Scrabble or Upwords?

 

I just bought the AAS tiles. I like the fact that phonograms are together to show that they make one sound.

[Smithie]

Dude. Scrabble! I wonder if I could talk my MIL into lending me her Scrabble set. I don't think it's ever been used...

 

Anyhow, we tried the whiteboard today and the spelling approach ("How do you spell cat?" and then I'd write the answer he gives). I think there's some real potential there. But we are still on OPG Lesson 29. It's the blending hump, I think. The key now is to avoid frustrating him.

 

The whiteboard is in my bedroom, so it sure would be handy to teach reading in there while I'm recovering from the next birth! Magnetic letters are also a great idea - I will see if that board is magnetic. We have Leapfrog letters on the downstairs fridge, but not enough to be useful.

[yslek]

As far as frugality goes, you can find used copies of Phonics Pathways (especially older editions) or 100 EZ lessons pretty cheaply. The ETC primer workbooks mentioned previously are also fairly inexpensive. So far all three of my kids of "reading instrucion age" have used the ETC primers and really liked them.

 

For other reading instruction, each dc has needed a different approach so far. B learned to read with 100 EZ lessons, but neither T nor D "got" this approach.

 

T learned to read (and B greatly improved his spelling) with Spell to Write and Read.

 

I started D with All About Spelling (similar approach to SWR), which helped her learn the first 26 phonograms. After that, she got stuck, though. (Couldn't identify the last sound in a word.) So, I pulled Phonics Pathways off the shelf (bought it used for T, but didn't work at all for him) to try that with D. She gets it! It's so exciting to see her make the connections. :) In all honesty, I though Phonics Pathways looked really dumb; I only held on to it "in case". Now I'm sooo glad I did!

 

I would recommend checking out Phonics Pathways and/or 100 EZ Lessons (cheap used copies or from the library) and see how that works. The ETC workbooks are nice, too. :D

[kalanamak]

My son will be five in June. In September, I tried Saxon Math K and the Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.

 

My kiddo was mathy and has gone so much faster in math, I was alarmed at his phonics and reading. Then I remembered I didn't get even vaguely good at reading until I was 7. I restarted later and things are much better. That said, I'm not using OPG, but started with preETC, ETC, some plaid phonics and once he got his "ears" on, we've been doing SWR.

 

At that age, I'd play more word games, etc, before pitching a book and buying a new one.

[LadyAberlin]

For my son OPG, Reading made Easy and 100 easy lessons were all no goes. I think it is because the teacher's instruction was written on the same pg as what he had to read. He would see it and say " I have to read all of that!" I'd try to explain that most of the words were for me to read, but at that point he had shut down. We used Alphabet Island 1 and he loved it and asked to do it. Level 2 I haven't cared for , so I just purchased McRuffy. I think that the color and games and activities will help.

[DarlaS]

I wonder if I could talk my MIL into lending me her Scrabble set. I don't think it's ever been used...

 

Even better (WAY more fun) is this little game:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bananagrams-BAN001/dp/1932188126

 

Interesting what someone mentioned about using capital letters. For the most part little ones are taught to recognize those first, but I have yet to see an early reading program that uses them. Hmmm...

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Interesting what someone mentioned about using capital letters. For the most part little ones are taught to recognize those first, but I have yet to see an early reading program that uses them. Hmmm...

That is what I was thinking too. I taught my 3 to recognize capital letters first, then their sounds and then to recognize lowercase letters before teaching any phonics or reading.

[KarenNC]

The answer for us was Explode the Code. My son hated 100 EZ Lessons and was just not interested in OPG. He likes to trace, color, write letters, and play matching games, so the ETC workbooks were perfect for him. Those books, along with Starfall, really helped him get a grasp on his letters and sounds. Now that we've finished the Get Ready/Get Set/Go for the Code books and have started on ETC 1, he's excited about learning to read.

 

The books aren't that expensive, either. You'll need the teacher's manual for Get Ready, etc, but I haven't needed to use the one for ETC book 1 yet.

 

We first tried Phonics Pathways and 100 EZ lessons (luckily I was able to borrow 100 EZ lessons and get PP from the library)---both were horrible flops for us. Tears, avoiding, the whole nine yards. OPG wasn't out at the time, but, since at least PP was the recommendation in the original WTM book, I imagine it is similar. My girlfriend had great success with 100 EZ lessons with her son, so I was very surprised it didn't work here.

 

ETC worked really well for us. Instead of tears, I got a lot of "can we do it now pleeeeeeeeease". I tried initially the pretest in ETC 1, realized we needed more consonant work and went back to the preprimers, working through at her pace (some days a little, some a *lot*---I think we went through Get Set for the Code in one afternoon of "can't we do just one more page":) because those were primarily the consonants she already did know). We went all the way through ETC 8 and I didn't find a need for the teacher's manual at all for any of them--I'm not even sure they were available at the time we started (4.5 years ago). In fact, after about ETC 5, I tried switching to Spelling Power, as we were using ETC primarily for spelling at that point and SP takes much less time. She asked to go back to ETC because it was her "favorite".

 

I think we may have used one of the half books for something early on in which she needed reinforcement, but I don't remember if it was 1 1/2 or 2 1/2. They are really only for extra practice if needed---it would be very tedious to do them if they weren't necessary.

 

We did add in Dolch sight word cards and Bob books (as well as other leveled readers from the library) in ETC 1 and Dick and Jane books around ETC 2. These really helped her confidence and fluency. We would play with the sight word cards---if she could read it, she got to keep it in her pile, if not, I kept it. She played around with Starfall a bit as well and of course she has been surrounded by reading and still is. We still do read-alouds every night and audiobooks in the car even though she tests at a 6th grade level or beyond.

 

She also enjoyed it when I would write little stories for her using words she knew, including in them things like the names of our cats. If she could read it, she got to illustrate it (so that I knew she was reading the words and not guessing from the pictures). We had things like:

 

Marco sat. Marco sat on Meg. Meg was mad. Meg bit Marco. Marco ran.

 

This is a fairly frequent occurrence in our house, so she loved it ;).

[jedbel]

My ds 5 loves doing OPG but I am creative with it! Like others mentioned I use a white board (personal small one) and a marker. He loves erasing and writing on it. I also made a big deal about giving him his own set of books (five box set of BOB BOOKS) He was so excited about them he began reading them right away and hasn't stopped since.:D