~Puddins~ Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 My son did (well, is doing right now) the Abeka reading program (Letters and Sounds plus the Handbook for Reading). I don't want to continue with it as we both felt over whelmed with endless charts, lists, worksheets, augh! He's doing quite well with reading, which is wonderful, but I am wondering where I should go with this for 2nd grade next year? Do 2nd graders continue with a phonics program or is more just tweeking the skills they've learned already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 IMO anyway! :) Is your ds a solid reader? Is he still decoding words or has he moved into sight reading? Is he a confident enough reader to pick up a book on or near his reading level and attempt to read it? Does he experience frustration when he comes upon a new word? Is he applying the phonics skills he's learned so far? So many questions you can ask yourself! For us we chose to work our way through the entire ETC series even though my ds6 is a strong reader and I have not regretted that decision. It has done nothing but boost his confidence and make him a great speller even though we have never done a formal spelling program. If your ds is a strong reader, is experiencing little or no frustration and has excellent "word attack" skills I see no reason to continue with phonics. If he is still not quite as strong in any area you could consider continuing phonics instruction but changing programs to something that's not so tedious possibly. Hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanna Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 For my ds in 2nd next year, we are going to do AAS *all about spelling*. I feel that this is a great program for cementing phonics yet teaching spelling! Without worksheets and tons of writing! I think it looks painless and effective! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 My daughter's reading really exploded last year, going from barely reading Henry and Mudge to reading the Little House books, then books like Secret Garden and Caddie Woodlawn. She first learned to decode at 4, but it took her about 3 years to really be able to pick up anything she wanted and read it, with most of that happening the last 5 months or so until she turned 7. (I don't mean to brag, just telling our journey!) We kept up phonics, using Adventures in Phonics (got it from Winter Promise, but I think it's Christian Light--not sure!) and also Spelling Workout. AP has rules at the top of the page, which are mostly spelling rules, in Book C that we are using. It's hard work for her, but boy, are we seeing an improvement in spelling! For me, I have wanted her to continue to see the various phonetic constructs, and to learn things like syllabication and dictionary skills. She's reading fine, so now I think of phonics as spelling helps. The best thing we did to get her to learn to read more difficult books was to read to her. We went several steps beyond her reading ability, and also, we let her read on her own. She developed marvelous fluency, and she got out of those contrived phonics readers early, and into books whose stories interested her far more than Mat the Cat. I say, if you can give them the building blocks of reading, then let them build as much as possible, you will see them absorbed and interested in reading. I'm not making much sense--no coffee yet! Hope you know what I mean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 My ds is a bit different in his reading path from yours, but I think I have a couple of suggestions that might work for you. For a phonics road map, try OPGTR. It covers all of phonics in a quick, fairly painless format. Although the type was too small to use when we were doing CVC words, ds can read from it with no stress now. It's not our only resource, but for you, it probably could be. If you do want worksheets to reinforce phonics, ETC is really useful. Given your history, I'd only add that if it's necessary and if your ds doesn't balk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Puddins~ Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 Thanks to all. I have Phonics Pathways that I am using with my second son (I knew Abeka would way overwhelm him!) so I was trying to figure out a way to continue on with my oldest with PP, but the structure is so different from Abeka that now I'M confused. My younger is doing ETC and loving it, and I think that might help out. Plus we did order Spelling Workout and that's been a hit. I'm wondering if the OPGTR might work better for me since it's more scripted though...hmmm... thanks again! I greatly appreciate all the help and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneRoomHomeSchool Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 We used the Abeka Letters & Sounds K workbook (no extras though) and then went to ETC. I feel that after the K workbook that Abeka's Letters and Sounds is just too redundant and busy. ETC is short, simple, and my child enjoys it. Add to ETC LOTS of easy readers...that was the charm of getting my son actually reading more fluently = reading itself, even if easy builds fluency, confidence, and gets them to move towards sight reading, rather then sounding out everything. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Your second grader sounds strong. I think that phonics are OK. If both of you are overwhelmed with all the charts and stuff, reconsider using all the extras. I have my second grader now reading the books and then we do the comprehension questions. He needs to be able to tell back the story, answer questions about the story, etc. I go over the charts once in awhile, but my focus is his spelling. So, I do a lot of copywork with him. I also have him read stories to me out loud. He hates this part, but it is the only way that I know if he is pronouncing words properly. That is where I am in my teaching him reading. So, he does one lesson is a read aloud. One lesson is quiet reading and then he answers questions for comprehension purposes. Another lesson is a narration exercise. Hope that helps! Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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