Phonics Pathways vs. Ordinary Parent's Guide

[Melis]

Hello Everyone! :)

 

I am torn between these two books: Phonics Pathways and Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading...

 

My original plan was to use PP...then I realized our library's copy of TWTM is an older edition and now OPG is out...oh, so many decisions! LOL

 

I will be supplementing with ETC workbooks and BOB Books as the original copy suggested (for those interested in additional materials, anyway).

 

I have two boys, ages 4 and 6 (both will turn 5 and 7 in the next few months) who I am just beginning to homeschool. DS4 is leaving his second year of preschool and DS6 is leaving 1st grade. Both are fast learners and have been read to since birth. The materials I listed above are to teach my DS4 to read. He knows all his letters and most of their sounds.

 

DS6 is an advanced reader. Upon review of PP (I have never actually HELD this book), I was going to determine whether or not to move onto First Language Lessons. Either way, FLL was my plan for next year. I was going to supplement with ETC workbooks. He loves reading The Magic Treehouse series.

 

I have not had the opportunity to look at either of these books so my knowledge of them is limited to sample pages and reviews (which have been EXTREMELY helpful). From this limited exposure, I am leaning more toward PP, but since I am planning to move onto FLL, it seems more logical to go with OPG...so I'm sort of stuck...

 

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts you might have to share with me. Thank you so much for all of your help! I have been so blessed by you!

 

Melissa

[Beth in Central TX]

For me PP is more of a supplement to the reading work that I do with my youngest son. I don't have the newest edition, so things might have changed, but there are no daily lessons lined up for you like there are with OPGTR. In addition, I think OPGTR covers phonics thoroughly; not all concepts are covered in PP.

[Tonia]

I have seen Phonics Pathways but decided to go with OPG. I prefer the layout of OPG and that it covers so much more material. The one thing I don't like about OPG is the font size for the child's reading portion. I find it to be too small, but we compensate that by using a white board or the computer.

[Classical Michele]

For me PP is more of a supplement

 

I agree that PP is probably better as a supplement to OPG. I used 100EZ for all three of my dc and though I didn't feel like I needed to supplement the program, I *did* use PP afterward for extra practice because I had it on my shelf.

[Ali in OR]

I have never seen OPGTTR, but just want to note that there is absolutely no problem using FLL after PP. In fact we started up FLL before completing PP. PP was not a favorite for my dd, but she reads so beautifully now that I felt no need to consider anything else for next dd (now on about page 42 of PP). She and I are doing about 1/2 page a day at this point.

[Melis]

Oh, thank you so much for your replies! That was extremely helpful and good to know...:)

 

My children will be happy to know that I will now be stepping away from the "Land of Curriculum" and returning for their bedtime routine...or maybe not...LOL :)

[Lakeside]

Hi-

I've used both with my son. I have the newer edition of TWTM which suggested OPGTTR, so I started with that. (I had looked at a friend's copy of PP and it seemed a bit confusing to me at first.:o)

 

I liked OPGTTR at first because I was just starting "lessons" with my son and because it told me what to say, I was reassured that I wasn't forgetting anything. But after a while, I felt like we could use some more practice and got a copy of PP and started with that at the beginning, basically using it as a review. My son loves PP! He really likes reading the lists.

 

So, I've continued to work our way through OPGTTR because we were so far through it, but if I were to do it again I'd probably just go with PP.

 

Good Luck!

Shannon

[Sew happily ever after]

LOVE OPGTR here! I thoroughly investigated PP and couldn't stand how it was set up and how it taught the child to blend words---ugh! OPG works well here and when it gets tough we stop for a few days and read fun books together then go back to OPG--once your child has mastered the short vowels and consonant sounds it gets pretty tough pretty quickly--i had an extremely wiggly 5yo and some lessons we cut in half or we would partner read--that was a HUGE hit! Books we read for fun include: BOB books and the SL grade K readers (huge hit with those!) and any other phonics books that encourage blending words...some easy readers are sight word oriented and I would be sure to stay away from those if you are wanting to teach your child phonics...

[Narrow Gate Academy]

We love PP here! I've used it with just additional library books to teach both of my DDs to read so far. I'll be starting it again in the fall with my DS. I like that the lessons aren't planned out. It means we can move at whatever pace works best for each child. Sometimes that may mean 2 pages a day, sometimes 1/2 a page, sometimes the same page over again for a few days until it sinks in (especially in the beginning). The text is a good size. The catepillar's comments can sometimes lead to some good discussion. Other than the making cards to play the game to learn the vowels at the very beginning, you never need anything other than the book.

 

We did move both DDs from PP into FLL. The first went all the way through FLL with no problem, but her retention wasn't as great as I had hoped. The second went part way through the first year of FLL before we decided that it was moving to slowly and relied to heavily on auditory learning. We'll cover all of the material next year, but I'm going to change the set up of the lessons.

 

HTH

[Sasha]

I checked PP out of the library a few times but I just couldn't get into it. I used 100EZ to teach my 6 year old to read. We made it to about lesson 70 before he got tired of it and moved on to reading books. We use OPG now for phonics and I'm starting to use it with my 4 year old as well. Of the different programs I've looked at I like OPG the best.

[langfam]

I've found PP to be very useful for teaching spelling, but not for teaching reading.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Since your little guy is already reading, I would suggest that you use PP. OPG might be cumbersome because it is scripted. It might be frustrating to try to go through the script, trying to find where to start.

 

I used PP with both my kids, and both finished it reading at or above 4th grade reading level. I didn't use anything else, besides phonics based readers. It's an excellent program. OPG will hold your hand more, tell you exactly what to say, and how much to expect each day, but PP is easy to navigate. You can easily just do the review pages, starting at the beginning of the book, and move through those until your ds starts to stumble. Then, you'll know to back up and work through that section before moving on. Then, just go at his pace each day, until you've made your way through the book.

 

I'm not saying OPG isn't good. I've heard wonderful things about it, but it wasn't written when I was teaching my kids to read. I'm just thinking that if your ds is already reading, it might not be a good fit for you. I'd check PP out from your library, and get familiar with it. OPG might be there, too. Try to get a look at both of them before you decide.

[Ohio12]

I checked them both out from the library and used them both for awhile. You could do that and decide what you like better, but that said, I liked OPG better!

[FlockOfSillies]

It's really a matter of personal preference. If you want a little hand-holding, or if you're like me and you need to be forced to review, OPG will suit you better. But if you like the layout of PP better, then use that. Either one will get your kid to read, and move into FLL without difficulty.

 

HTH.