Homeschoolers

[alexsmommy]

Quick question - can you suggest a book that outlines a good reading curriculum for a first grader? DS2 is in a full Spanish Immersion program so he won't officially begin learning to read in English until the second semester of 1st grade (one year from now). Yet, he has already taught himself to read and would like to do more. I skimmed over at WTM but it's overwhelming. TIA

[inmypjs]

We homeschool and choosing curriculum can be overwhelming. If he is already starting to read, probably any phonics based program will be fine, or you may not even need one. You can just continue to have him read out loud to you. Do you have a Barnes and Noble or a teacher supply store near you? I would suggest going there and browsing. You'll probably find something that you like and it shouldn't be too hard, since isn't having any special needs.

[brittone2]

We don't use a very formal program, but off the top of my head maybe check these out:
Explode the Code series
Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading (I don't enjoy this but used parts of it with DD; lots of people on the WTM like it)
All About Reading (AAR?) I know nothing about this but see people mention it.

We did a lot of hands-on, Montessori types of activities at that age to work on reading skills.

[alexsmommy]

Thank you Brittone2, that's exactly what I need :)
I just need a loose progression to follow and some creative ideas beyond just sitting down and reading.

[brittone2]

Thank you Brittone2, that's exactly what I need :)
I just need a loose progression to follow and some creative ideas beyond just sitting down and reading.

DD enjoyed when I'd take her playmobil toys and make up a little set of them with sentences written out like "Feed the dog a carrot." We started with things that were easier and then increased the complexity over time. Making them really silly was also good at testing her comprehension, as I'd have her act out the sentence with the pieces. Sometimes they were super goofy as that held her attention and made the work more challenging. You can keep upping the complexity (eta: and you can add sight words, etc. as needed).

We also worked with manipulatives like letter dice, magnetic letters, etc. and she'd spell out words from Boggle Jr. or other words as a phonics activity.

Depending on what level your DS is at, there's also How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which some prefer to OPGTR. I really, really did not enjoy OPGTR and just used a few pieces of it here and there to work with DD on something more specific.

[AngelaS]

I'm the opposite, I love the ordinary parents guide and hate 100 easy lessons. ;)

[brittone2]

I'm the opposite, I love the ordinary parents guide and hate 100 easy lessons. ;)
I never used 100 Easy Lessons. I tried OPGTR with DD a bit but neither of us enjoyed it. We just used it to work on certain areas. But I still think it can be a great resource for people looking for ways to teach reading at home :thumbsup:

[Kindra178]

Check out some of the Montessori materials. It's a nice combination of whole language and phonemic awareness.

[MommyAllison]

We tried 100 Easy Lessons and didn't like it. Ended up with OPGTR and have been very happy with it. Definitely not the most fun book we use, but it's given DD1 a very solid start in reading (we will finish it next month). By the end of the book the child is supposedly at 4th grade reading level.

In addition to what has been mentioned, I've heard good things about Phonics Pathways. Our library had it, as well as several of the others, if you wanted to page through them.

[fivi2]

I don't homeschool, but I do have two first-graders ;)

If he is already reading, have you tried some of the phonetic type books (like Bob books)? We preferred the Now I'm Reading series. If you buy them in order, there is some sort of progression (which I never paid attention to and we didn't buy them in order).

I also like the "What your __ grader needs to know" books as a reference. We don't follow it by any means, but I have the K and 1st grade ones that I look at periodically.

[megs4413]

When DD was learning we used:
explode the code
100 easy lessons
I Can Read It (series)

the first two teaching phonetics and the last one focusing more on sight word recognition.

the read aloud schedule from sonlight is good in terms of books to read together. I can send you a copy of their list for that age or you can find it on their website.

[alexsmommy]

Thanks all. I really appreciate the leads.

DS2 has several BOB books and he can read them all. We also have the Starfall books. He's mastered many 1st grade site words just from me mentioning them from lists I've found online. He's a "go deep" kid and he really wants to delve into several science topics (right now the universe and electricity). He really wants to read some of the books we've gotten to read to him by himself so I want to take advantage of his motivation and try to kick up his English reading level so he can be more independent with more challenging books. His Spanish reading has really kicked in and his brain just seems ready to figure it all out. Though we were reading in English and he read "I" as the long "E" sound but caught himself and started laughing so he's getting the difference.
I want it to be fun, but be efficient in moving forward while he's interested.

[fivi2]

If you go to your library, there should be a section with the numbered easy reader type books. There are usually a lot of non-fiction ones. Look for a pre-reading level or a level one to start and see how he does.

Once my girls were past the BOB stage, I just let them pick books that interested them at a level that was right for them.

You could also look at some science experiment books for kids that you would do with him. (again, I am not a homeschooler!)

[arivecchi]

Totally OT OP, but how is your DS liking the immersion program? We are thinking of applying to one for DS1.