christielee7278 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Hi! I have a quick question that I hope has an easy solution. My four yr old (five in June) knows all of the letter sounds, thanks in part to Leap Frog. The problem is putting those letters together to make words. Say we're reading the word cat. He'll say "c-a-t", sounding out the letters. The problem is he doesn't know how to blend them together to make the word. We've tried several phonics programs including Blend Phonics and Teach Your Child to Read..., but still he struggles. If he hears me sound out the words, he'll get them about 3/4 of the time. He can, however, spell pretty much any cvc word. I can tell him a word and he will sound it out and come up with the letters almost every time. How can I get him to do the opposite and read the words? Is this something that will just come to him? Should we keep working on it? The only reason we're working on it is because he keeps asking to teach him to read. Just so you know too, we're flying through the three early ETC books. I'm wondering if we should just skip these three and start with Book 1. He loves doing these workbooks though and I think it's a good self-esteem booster, but I don't want to hold him back if he is ready for Book 1. This turned into more than one question....lol. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 This is a readiness issue (at least in my experience). I've had two that did this... just couldn't get the concept of blending. They could spell CVC words, knew all of their sounds, but just couldn't blend the words. For my #1 son (who was older), it was watching the 2nd Leap Frog video (it was new, back then). Everything just "clicked". For my 2nd son, it took time. Modeling, numerous watchings of the Leap Frog series, mom not making it a big deal and being patient... time. Once he got it, there was no stopping him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thanks!! This is what I was thinking, too. We have all of the LF videos and my plan was to just let him watch those and work in the primer ETC workbooks until he turned five. Then start again with trying to blend. That was my plan, anyway, until he kept asking and asking so I thought we'd try again. I have a 3 (almost 4) yr old niece who is easily reading and it's bothering my 4 yr old that he isn't yet. So he and I both just need to be patient!! lol Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 You can work on blending as a "game" away from the books and the official reading instruction. Something like this, "Hey, Max! Let's play a game! I'm going to say a word reeeaaalllllly slowly, and you guess what it is! Okay? Mmmmmm- [pause for split second] - aaaaaaaaaa - [tiny pause] nnnnnnnnn. Did you hear it? Can you say those sounds fast? Okay, I'll do it again. mmmmmmm - aaaaaaaa - nnnnnnnn... That's right! You got it! I said, 'man'!" Try with other cvc words. Give him a chance to try -- don't help him too quickly -- but if he needs help, say the word a little faster and drop the pauses. Encourage him to say the sounds, then say them faster to blend them together. Praise copiously when he gets it right. Be very careful with letters that can't be dragged out. If you say "b" or "t" or "p", just say the sound clearly and sharply, pause briefly, then say the next sound. It's tempting to say "buh" or "tuh" or puh", but that will just confuse matters. A "cuh-aaaa-tuh" can only be blended to be a "cuh-a-tuh" -- it won't ever turn into a "cat". ;) If this is too hard, start with compound words split apart. "Hey, what am I saying? Cart - [pause for a full second or more] - wheel. Good! I said, 'cartwheel'!" etc... Once he can do those, go back to the cvc words. All of this makes for great car-riding or waiting room practice. And then when it comes up in his reading, you can act all surprised, "Hey! Isn't this just like our game?!? Wow, this'll be easy, 'cause you already know how to do this!" It still takes time. It's still developmental. But this practice can help them along the way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 You can work on blending as a "game" away from the books and the official reading instruction. Something like this, "Hey, Max! Let's play a game! I'm going to say a word reeeaaalllllly slowly, and you guess what it is! Okay? Mmmmmm- [pause for split second] - aaaaaaaaaa - [tiny pause] nnnnnnnnn. Did you hear it? Can you say those sounds fast? Okay, I'll do it again. mmmmmmm - aaaaaaaa - nnnnnnnn... That's right! You got it! I said, 'man'!" Try with other cvc words. Give him a chance to try -- don't help him too quickly -- but if he needs help, say the word a little faster and drop the pauses. Encourage him to say the sounds, then say them faster to blend them together. Praise copiously when he gets it right. Be very careful with letters that can't be dragged out. If you say "b" or "t" or "p", just say the sound clearly and sharply, pause briefly, then say the next sound. It's tempting to say "buh" or "tuh" or puh", but that will just confuse matters. A "cuh-aaaa-tuh" can only be blended to be a "cuh-a-tuh" -- it won't ever turn into a "cat". ;) If this is too hard, start with compound words split apart. "Hey, what am I saying? Cart - [pause for a full second or more] - wheel. Good! I said, 'cartwheel'!" etc... Once he can do those, go back to the cvc words. All of this makes for great car-riding or waiting room practice. And then when it comes up in his reading, you can act all surprised, "Hey! Isn't this just like our game?!? Wow, this'll be easy, 'cause you already know how to do this!" It still takes time. It's still developmental. But this practice can help them along the way... Oh I LOVE this!!! I never thought about starting with compound words. Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofabcd Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I've been working on blending with my just turned 4 year old dd. I write a word, such as CAT on the white board and put dots under each letter like Teach your Child to Read in 100 easy lessons does. I first run my finger under the sounds to sound ccccaaaatttt, then I tell her to say it fast. Then I have her run her fingers under each sound saying it slowly then I have her say it fast again. She still doesn't quite understand the concept that letters put together make words, but she's beginning to catch on. Maybe you could play the say it fast/say it slow games from 100 Easy Lessons and do them informally throughout the day then incorporate that into written words. I think it's an ingenious way to teach blending. I am also using 100 Easy Lessons without dd's knowledge. She didn't want to do it anymore after lesson 4, so I use the lessons on a white board without her realizing they are from the book. She loves that white board! I hope this makes sense, Deena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 You might want to try Phonics Pathways. Before moving onto words this is how they introduce blending: a v-a va e v-e ve i v-i vi etc.. The child says the vowel sound then the c-v sound, then tries to blend them together. This trains them to see the cv as one sound. The child does not move on till they can do this with ease. This is how the whole program is set up. We tried 100 Easy Lessons and even though it is a similar approach; PP is just a better lay out, making it easier for the child to see what is going on. The example I gave above is all that would be on one page, (not all the distracting parents text) all the v's with just one c at a time. Hope you find what works :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Try word mastery (also free from Don Potter.) It starts with letters that more easily blend together. M, N, R, and L are the easiest consonants to blend. I don't like r and l at first because they change the sounds of the vowel a bit. (R and L at the beginning are ok: ran, lan, at the end after the vowel, they change the sound of the vowel.) You can also try Webster's Speller. 2 letter blends are easier. Blending is hard, and, the sounds of consonants when you're saying them in isolation (other than m and n) are not the same sounds as when they're blended together. For instance, you cannot say /b/ without a little bit of an uh sound. You can say less of an uh sound, but there is still a little bit of a vowel sound hanging off. So, they don't fit together exactly like legos when you're blending, they have pieces of sound on the end that get chopped off when you put them together. There are pictures on my dyslexia page that explain this. (Don't be put off by the label, there's a lot of info on that page that is good for anyone who is teaching someone to read to know.) For the pictures and why syllables are useful, scroll down about 1/3 of the way down to "the atomic nature of syllables" http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/dyslexia.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbajgrow Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 It sounds like a readiness issue to me too. My son did this for a while. He was one of those that taught himself the abc's and sounds via his toy computer and books. He could sound anything out, but it didn't click for the longest time. The light didn't seem to turn on, even though he sounded the whole word out, until I said it. We just kept reviewing and eventually he got it. Rest assured, a lot of kindergarteners go to Kinder without knowing their letters and especially their sounds. You're still very ahead of the game. He'll get it. Just take a break and try again soon. FYI, we do Abeka and sometimes Phonics Pathways for phonics. Abeka starts out their first part of Kindergarten learning the letters and sounds again. HTH, Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 You can work on blending as a "game" away from the books and the official reading instruction. Something like this, "Hey, Max! Let's play a game! I'm going to say a word reeeaaalllllly slowly, and you guess what it is! Okay? Mmmmmm- [pause for split second] - aaaaaaaaaa - [tiny pause] nnnnnnnnn. Did you hear it? Can you say those sounds fast? Okay, I'll do it again. mmmmmmm - aaaaaaaa - nnnnnnnn... That's right! You got it! I said, 'man'!" Try with other cvc words. Give him a chance to try -- don't help him too quickly -- but if he needs help, say the word a little faster and drop the pauses. Encourage him to say the sounds, then say them faster to blend them together. Praise copiously when he gets it right. Be very careful with letters that can't be dragged out. If you say "b" or "t" or "p", just say the sound clearly and sharply, pause briefly, then say the next sound. It's tempting to say "buh" or "tuh" or puh", but that will just confuse matters. A "cuh-aaaa-tuh" can only be blended to be a "cuh-a-tuh" -- it won't ever turn into a "cat". ;) If this is too hard, start with compound words split apart. "Hey, what am I saying? Cart - [pause for a full second or more] - wheel. Good! I said, 'cartwheel'!" etc... Once he can do those, go back to the cvc words. All of this makes for great car-riding or waiting room practice. And then when it comes up in his reading, you can act all surprised, "Hey! Isn't this just like our game?!? Wow, this'll be easy, 'cause you already know how to do this!" It still takes time. It's still developmental. But this practice can help them along the way... :iagree: This is what I've done with both of my girls. We spend quite a bit of time driving, and this works well in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Knowing the sounds and blending are two separate skills. Dd#2 knew her sounds in K but couldn't blend. She didn't really take off reading until 2nd grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I didn't have time to read all the responses, so if this has already been suggested, I'm sorry for the repitition. Something we do in our house is "sing" the sounds. So, in your example of "cat", we will sing in a high voice "c_a_t". Somehow, the singing voice makes it blend together easier, and it's something he can do on his own. Just say, "let's sing the sounds to find out what it says". Then, you can model it for him a few times. You can also practice what I think is called phonetical awareness, which is where you say some words out loud and see if he can identify the first, middle, or last sound - not the letter, but the sound. Mix it up, and use easy 3 letter words at first. Also, make sure that it's fun, because at his age, being only 4, you should not expect much, but just keep putting in all the good stuff, like good books, letter sounds, mix it up, and have fun. When he's ready it will come pouring out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Something like this, "Hey, Max! Let's play a game! I'm going to say a word reeeaaalllllly slowly, and you guess what it is! I just adore his kind of sage advice :001_smile: Christie, I'd plug on quickly going thought the primers as the symbols encountered there will help with ETC 1. And you might think about Bob Books, not so much to help with the "blend" issue, but they work nicely with ETC in our experience, and the "I read the book all by myself" factor is very encouraging to young ones. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 We used A Beka K4 Phonics last year and their approach is to teach the 5 short vowels then start introducing the consonants. They immediately start blending a consonant with all 5 vowels using ladders. For instance, using the b sound, you would have them say ba, be, bi, bo, bu. I think 2 letters was easier for him than 3 at first. Here is a link to a book by them that contains all their blend ladder charts (and they mix up the order of the vowels). https://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=40495 It also includes short vowel words and some long vowel toward the end. I think that approach really helped my son. He was reading short vowel words easily at the start of this K year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 My 9yo could spell words for a year before she could blend them. She reads above grade level now. :D Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 If you aren't opposed to electronic media, what my DD did may work for your DC. We allowed her to play at www.starfall.com while I was doing other things (fixing dinner, working with her brothers, etc) and she watched "Between The Lions" on PBS. Before we knew what hit us she was flying through her BOB readers. One day she sat down and read through all of box one and part of box two. We never formally did anything with the readers, just left them where she could access them. YMMV of course, our DD is very competitive and had been begging for "school" for years by that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I agree that it is a readiness issue. While I was waiting for it to "click" I let her play on starfall once or twice a week or so. I do think starfall helped her get the blending concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfatherslily Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 It clicked for my DD when I made cards with simple two letter words (it, in, if, on, up, at). We then went through them each day until she was sounding them out. Having just two sounds to put together was far easier for her and from there she easily switched to three letters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) Thank you everyone for the suggestions! I just found that starfall website this afternoon. It looks pretty awesome. I really like the two letter word card idea too. We'll try those and stick with the LF videos and ETC books, and take a break from the rest for now. Thanks again everyone!! Just had to add....as my 4 yr old and I were working on sounding out the words, my 2 (almost 3) yr old blended all of the words the 4 yr old couldn't. Kaleb would say "/c/ /a/ /t/" and Gabriel would yell "CAT!" :lol: It amazes me how much littles absorb! Edited March 31, 2009 by christielee7278 fixing all of my one-handed typing typos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Just had to add....as my 4 yr old and I were working on sounding out the words, my 2 (almost 3) yr old blended all of the words the 4 yr old couldn't. Kaleb would say "/c/ /a/ /t/" and Gabriel would yell "CAT!" :lol: It amazes me how much littles absorb! This made me smile. My 2yo does the same thing. He hasn't really had any direct instruction, just hanging out with older ds and he has learned a lot. BTW, my ods (5yo) has only been comfortably blending for about 3 months now even though he's known his letter sounds for a couple of years. He just wasn't ready for that skill. Since he was so young, I just let it go and we'd try every now and again. Now, he's having a great time using his new skill working through Bob books and some of the easier Suess and Eastman books. It's fun for me because he isn't stressed at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I almost laughed out loud in the library today (thinking about this thread) when I found Between the Lions Book for Parents: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn to Read by Linda K. Rath and Louise Kennedy on the shelf. I've only just started it, but so far it's really good. You might want to see if your local library hs a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.