Teresa had a great question about teaching kids to read.
Of course, I have my opinions and thought I would share.
I am currently using a program that was designed to teach kids how to read by using phonogram cards and having the kids "memorize" the sound each letter makes. The kids learn all 70 sounds, and once they have them down pat, they then begin to form words with them. I am using this method with my 2nd and 3rd grader for spelling only. My personal opinion is that when kids want to read, they want to read. And the sooner they have their own book to read (book 1 of the Bob books, for example) the more excited they are about reading.
And so, I used an eclectic approach when teaching DD #1. (my boys learned to read in the Montessori school they had attended) Hooked on Phonics had sent me a little "teaser" set that included phonogram cards (blech) 5 little books, (yay) and a drill book that listed short 'a' and short'i' blends. Like: at, bat, hat, mat, sat, etc. Each page featuring a different blend. Once DD could master a few of those pages, she was ready for the first book. Oh! She was super proud!
After her success with the short 'a' sound, I picked up with the Little Angel Reader series available from Emmanuel Books. They start with the short'a' sound too. We are currently working on the last sound of Reader A, the short 'o'. And then she will move to Reader B. I think we may be a tad bit behind, but I'm confident she knows it and will pick up the pace on her own. DS #2 has read all the Readers, but still needs to finish the workbook pages. He loves to read, but isn't thrilled about doing the work!
On a related note here, I noticed that DD #1's handwriting had a lot to be desired. And so we went through the Handwriting Without Tears program. It just gave her a set explanation of how to form each letter. There are other programs, to be sure, I just chose one that had some manipulatives and a catchy cd....(yes, I'm a sucker for those things)
I think I will do the same thing for DD #2 next year. It just seemed to work better, to go slowly at first, to let them form the words, to show them what to do with these sounds they are learning. The purpose of the letters is the sounds they make in a word, after all. And I think that making them memorize all the sounds at once might confuse the kids, and they may end up thinking that the means to the end is the end...
My two cents......anyone else?
4 comments:
I went to Teresa's blog and wrote her about Little Angel Readers as well.
I also use the Explode the Code series which I get at Christianbooks.bom. For pre-readers, there is Get Ready (Book A), Get Set (Book B) and Go for the Code (Book C). For readers, it begins with Book 1 - I just got Book 2 and Book 6 for my 1st and 3rd graders.
I'm also supplementing with Abeka's Language Arts for grammar. Here in Virginia, we MUST do standardized testing every year, and the formal program will help the kids with the stupid bloody CATs.
As I said in the other post, we use CHC Little Stories for Little Folks and have enjoyed it. My kids love having the little books to read to Daddy at the end of the week instead of one big reader. Their program is designed to cover K and 1st grade. I have had some children who complete the program in K and some who have followed the course.
We also found the HWoT books and have been using their cursive and printing books. I didn't see the CD, but I did see the manipulatives and opted not to get them. The program has worked fine for us thus far even without those things. What does the CD add to the program?
The CD has little songs and such.
I didn't really use it that much, but the manipulatives were neat. They would "build" the letter in the same order they would write it....this line (block) first, then the next one, etc. DD #1 really enjoyed it.
Thank you for the info, everyone! It is hard when you are new to this homeschooling thing. The thing that really boggles my mind is how on earth do kids learn to read in school, where the ratio of student to teacher is 30 to 1!
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