Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



Active Topics || Favorites || Member List || Search || About Us || Help || Register || Login
Language Arts Come Alive (Forum Locked Forum Locked)
 4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Subject Topic: Teaching Reading Without a Program Post ReplyPost New Topic
Author
Message << Prev Topic | Next Topic >>
Jordan
Forum Pro
Forum Pro
Avatar

Joined: Nov 01 2006
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 137
Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 4:53pm | IP Logged Quote Jordan

My oldest child is learning to read and there are a few things that I am unsure of. Is it sufficient for a child to learn to read by simply reading little books like "Bob Books" alongside a parent? Will my child miss something important that will come back to haunt her later? How do I decide when it's the right time to offer the next book?

I know I've read that it's fine to teach reading without a phonics *program* but is the same true if the teacher (me) has no teaching background?

We also use a moveable alphabet to build words and to make words within word families. Dd really enjoys doing this part. She wasn't really catching on to "The Name Game" with the LSFLF but she can do the exact same thing with the moveable alphabet and it works better for her.

We started a long time ago with 100 EZ Lessons but we didn't really like it. Dd learned to blend from it so that was a help. Then I bought LSFLF from CHC, which I like, but dd much prefers the Bob Books. I think she's bored with the pictures from LSFLF and there are many more words per page than in the other 1st readers. She also likes to feel like she's reading a book/booklet as opposed to the folded piece of paper in the LSFLF program.

I should also mention that dd is approaching five and is excited about learning to read. I think she's doing very well with it and is catching on quickly.

We have sets 1-3 of the Bob Books and I just received both of the Level 1 sets from Nora Gaydos's Now I'm Reading. Will this be enough practice for a beginning reader? Am I going to miss something if this is all that we do? It seems too easy.

Thanks,
Jordan

__________________
Jordan

Cheerios & Fingerpaints
Back to Top View Jordan's Profile Search for other posts by Jordan
 
lapazfarm
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star
Avatar

Joined: July 21 2005
Location: Alaska
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6082
Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 5:40pm | IP Logged Quote lapazfarm

Sounds perfect to me. That is basically how I taught all of my children to read.

__________________
Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
Back to Top View lapazfarm's Profile Search for other posts by lapazfarm Visit lapazfarm's Homepage
 
PDyer
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star


Joined: Feb 25 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1043
Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 6:07pm | IP Logged Quote PDyer

lapazfarm wrote:
Sounds perfect to me. That is basically how I taught all of my children to read.


Same here for my daughter, except I threw in a Leapfrog video here and there.   

__________________
Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
Life at Home
Back to Top View PDyer's Profile Search for other posts by PDyer Visit PDyer's Homepage
 
SuzanneG
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Avatar

Joined: June 17 2006
Location: Idaho
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5465
Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 6:54pm | IP Logged Quote SuzanneG

That's how we do it. I've had the same concerns/(thoughts of "is this enough?"). So, I'll be looking at this thread for a bit of reassurance too.

__________________
Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
Back to Top View SuzanneG's Profile Search for other posts by SuzanneG
 
mellyrose
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star


Joined: May 12 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 939
Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 7:51pm | IP Logged Quote mellyrose

That's basically how I did it. We did LSFLF and Bob Books (my boys prefer Bob books as well) and some other phonics-based readers. We started last fall with my oldest and this year he literally reads everything. I've had to keep the newspaper away from him recently because of all the inappropriate stories.

I'm doing the same with Nate this year.

Oh - we did the LeapFrog videos, too, and a few Between the Lions videos. Nothing structured, though --

The most important thing for us was consistency. It was easy with Colin as he loved learning to read; it's more of a challenge with Nate as he has lots of things he'd rather do and he knows his brother will read anything he wants him to. But, I have them both read out loud to me every day, and I read out loud to them every day.

__________________
Melanie in AZ
Colin (11/00), Nate (05/02), Lydia (04/07)
My Little Patch of Sunshine
Pictures of our Life
Back to Top View mellyrose's Profile Search for other posts by mellyrose
 
SuzanneG
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Avatar

Joined: June 17 2006
Location: Idaho
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5465
Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 7:59pm | IP Logged Quote SuzanneG

mellyrose wrote:

The most important thing for us was consistency. It was easy with Colin as he loved learning to read; it's more of a challenge with Nate as he has lots of things he'd rather do and he knows his brother will read anything he wants him to. But, I have them both read out loud to me every day, and I read out loud to them every day.

With Nate.....how much time do you think he spends reading to you?

__________________
Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
Back to Top View SuzanneG's Profile Search for other posts by SuzanneG
 
mellyrose
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star


Joined: May 12 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 939
Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 8:43pm | IP Logged Quote mellyrose

SuzanneG wrote:

With Nate.....how much time do you think he spends reading to you?


Nate reads to me at least 15 minutes a day, 5 days/week. That's my bare minimum, and we make it most weeks. I don't tell him a time frame, though -- it's just "reading time" to him. And it's not at the same time each day, either. It's more like "Hey, Nate -- how about reading to me while I feed Lydia?"

__________________
Melanie in AZ
Colin (11/00), Nate (05/02), Lydia (04/07)
My Little Patch of Sunshine
Pictures of our Life
Back to Top View mellyrose's Profile Search for other posts by mellyrose
 
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Board Moderator
Avatar
Non Nobis

Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
Posted: Nov 30 2007 at 6:35am | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

Jordan,
I think you're doing great! We do pretty much the same thing here. Don't change what's working for you guys!

Once they hit about the end of 1st, beginning of 2nd grade, I like to make sure I hit all of the phonograms/phonemes (these are the blends like oa, ee, ough, tion) just as a review to make sure they can decode pretty much any word. That's it.

My 2nd grader reads about 10-15 minutes aloud to me daily. We love the moveable alphabet as well - it substitutes for spelling, and I have him build words with challenging blends that may have stumped him during his reading. My little guy hates writing! But rearranging letters works!

I use LSFLF, Angel Readers and Cardinal Readers.

__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
Back to Top View Mackfam's Profile Search for other posts by Mackfam Visit Mackfam's Homepage
 
Jordan
Forum Pro
Forum Pro
Avatar

Joined: Nov 01 2006
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 137
Posted: Nov 30 2007 at 7:11am | IP Logged Quote Jordan

Thank you all for your responses! I am very encouraged that others have basically done the same thing and it's worked out fine.

We have also used the LeapFrog videos and I think they're excellent, especially at teaching the sounds of the letters.

Jennifer, how do you like the Angel Readers?

May I ask one other question? What signs do you look for when deciding when it's time to move on to the next book in a series? My dd doesn't read them quickly but she doesn't struggle either. I don't want to frustrate her later by letting her move on too soon nor do I want to bore her by holding her back. I've been having her read each book at least three times or until she does it easily, though easily is still slowly. Is slow just normal when they're starting out?

Thanks so much!    

__________________
Jordan

Cheerios & Fingerpaints
Back to Top View Jordan's Profile Search for other posts by Jordan
 
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Board Moderator
Avatar
Non Nobis

Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
Posted: Nov 30 2007 at 1:27pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

I really like the Little Angel Readers, but it is probably just a preference of our family. If your dd enjoys BOB books, for heaven's sake, stick with what works.

Now, here's our problem with other readers: my kids find them sappy and twaddle. They refused to read the Sing, Spell, Read, Write readers (I have talked to a few moms that said that earlier releases of the program had much better readers, we bought ours in 00.) They really didn't care for the BOB books either, which sort of saddened me since they were so accessible from the library and other places. They wanted purposeful stories with meat from the beginning. Ok how much meat can you put in a short vowel "a" story????? That's when I found LSFLF. It clicked right away with my dd. Ann at Mass - she could relate to that. It wasn't an alien named Sam sipping from a can with a hat. My son is a natural reader, he moved quickly through LSFLF, and I felt he needed a bit more practice. I couldn't have him read the same story more than once, he was bored. That could just be him, or him being a boy, but whatever it was, once he read the story it was consumed and he wanted something new. That's when I found the Little Angel Readers. They were another good fit, lots of sequential phonetic practice, enjoyable stories that weren't twaddle. In fact we just finished the last reader today!!!

Oh, I'm jumping on the LeapFrog bandwagon - we just love those!!!

As far as what signs to look for in moving on, just follow your daughter's cues - which you already are. She's reading the stories multiple times for you which is great, just keep in mind that kid's minds are total sponges at this age and my kids could have an entire story memorized word for word in one sitting - which wasn't really an indication of mastery. Maybe read the story once or twice, and if you're both satisfied move on. Keep a record of those words she struggles to decode, or just needs to memorize as a sight word and maybe on Fridays have her just work with the moveable alphabet and a few of her "stumpers." If she seems bored with a book, that's a sure sign that you need to move on. If she gets frustrated and starts to melt down over reading time, that's a sure sign that you need to slow down, or stop and go back. Make sense?

You're doing just great Jordan, as evidenced by your dd's love of reading and her excitement! Just keep on doing what works!

__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
Back to Top View Mackfam's Profile Search for other posts by Mackfam Visit Mackfam's Homepage
 
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Board Moderator
Avatar
Non Nobis

Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
Posted: Nov 30 2007 at 1:30pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

Oh, I forgot to answer your other question. Yes, slow is normal.

__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
Back to Top View Mackfam's Profile Search for other posts by Mackfam Visit Mackfam's Homepage
 
Jordan
Forum Pro
Forum Pro
Avatar

Joined: Nov 01 2006
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 137
Posted: Dec 01 2007 at 4:29pm | IP Logged Quote Jordan

Thank you so much, Jennifer, for your thorough response. I especially appreciate your perspective on knowing when it's time to move on to the next story. I guess I thought we were supposed to read each book three or four times before moving on but I'm glad to have a different perspective on that. I like your idea of using the moveable alphabet to reinforce areas that stump the child in their reading, rather than reading the same book too many times.

Thank you again. This has helped me a lot.

__________________
Jordan

Cheerios & Fingerpaints
Back to Top View Jordan's Profile Search for other posts by Jordan
 

Sorry, you cannot post a reply to this topic.
This forum has been locked by a forum administrator.

  [Add this topic to My Favorites] Post ReplyPost New Topic
Printable version Printable version

Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Hosting and Support provided by theNetSmith.com