Homeschooling Reading Curriculum: First Steps

The child who is a non-reader may be age 3, 5, 7, or even 10. My husband, at the age of 10 in 1957, could barely read. Why? Because he had been taught by the “see and say” method of reading.

Teaching the Non-Reader to Read

By Ann Bowers

The child who is a non-reader may be age 3, 5, 7, or even 10. My husband, at the age of 10 in 1957, could barely read. Why? Because he had been taught by the “see and say” method of reading. Children were given little readers, told the words, and expected to remember them, without any means of “cracking the code.” After learning about 100-200 words, the children would get confused by words that looked alike (they and them, for instance) and their reading progress stopped. In 5^th grade, my husband’s teacher, Mrs. Wasciepinez, (whom he remembers to this day) taught her students phonics and they learned to read. Today, John is a university graduate and software engineer.

Three Things To Do To Teach Your Child To Read

To teach your child to read, you must do three things:

Read to the child every day from the time he is 8 months old. (However, it’s never too late to start.)
Teach the child the letters and sounds of the English language and their relationship to reading.
Teach the child to comprehend what is read.

When you read to your child, choose anything he/she enjoys. Have the child sit so that he/she can see the words and pictures. Use a marker under the words as you read.

phonics tools for homeschoolers - alphabet blocks and reading cards — Hands-on phonics tools make learning to read a playful, confidence-building experience.

Talk with your child about the story and the pictures. Ask questions of him/her and explain parts of the story he/she doesn’t understand. (Comprehension)

Teach the letters and sounds of English and their relationship to reading. This starts at age 3 when the child is following along as you read. Many children will learn “phonics” (i.e.; the letters and sounds and their relationship) just by doing this for several years. As you read, point to various words and say things like, “This word is apple. What sound does apple start with?” “This word is dog. What sound does dog end with?” “This word is hat. What sound does hat have in the middle?” “This word is the. It’s hard to sound out. Let’s memorize it. Let’s spell it together. T,h,e”

As soon as your child learns to print, he/she can print some of the words and say the sounds. Give the child some magnetic letters to use on a cookie sheet. Help the child spell words with the letters, sounding them out. Have your child watch Sesame Street at least three times a week to learn letters, sounds, and numbers. There are also excellent computer games which are fun and teach these skills.

Soon, your child will know some words. Create word cards for him/her to show off their reading skills for relatives and friends. Teach the child to recognize and print his name at age 4 or 5. Label things in his room at age 3, such as bed, dresser, mirror, lamp, etc. Use standard printing to do this. Play games that teach letter names and sounds, such as Concentration, Rummy (with letter cards instead of regular cards). Cut pictures out of magazines and help your child make the words, using the magnetic letters.

By kindergarten age (5-6), your child should know all the letter names and sounds and how to blend sounds together. He/she should have a reading vocabulary of at least 30 words, including: the, boy, girl, see, has, a, to, ran, run, has, cat, dog, mom, dad, go, have, car, house, bed, I, you, we, for, home, school, play, laugh, sad, happy, with, me, said.

Here are the sounds needed by the non-reader to read in English:

What are the three things I must do to teach my child to read?

Ann Bowers, a 20-year teacher and school principal, outlines three essential steps: First, read to your child every day — starting as early as 8 months old, but it’s never too late to begin. Second, teach the letters and sounds of the English language and how they connect to written words (phonics). Third, teach your child to understand what they’re reading, not just decode the words. All three work together — children who only learn to sound out words without building comprehension will struggle with meaning as texts get harder.

Should I teach phonics or sight words when my child is learning to read?

Phonics instruction is consistently more effective for most children, according to the National Reading Panel’s review of hundreds of research studies. Teaching children to understand the sounds that letters make and how to blend them into words gives them a reliable system for tackling new words on their own. Some irregular words (like ‘they’ or ‘the’) do need to be memorized as sight words — but phonics is the foundation. Children who are taught only to memorize word shapes often hit a wall once their reading vocabulary gets complex.

How do I start teaching my child phonics at home?

Begin while reading together — point to words as you read and ask simple questions: ‘What sound does this word start with?’ or ‘What sound do you hear in the middle?’ As your child learns to print, have them write words and say the sounds aloud. Magnetic letters on a cookie sheet work well for building and sounding out words. Educational TV like Sesame Street and phonics-based computer games can also reinforce these skills in a way young children enjoy.

What reading skills should my child have by kindergarten?

By age 5 or 6, most children should know all the letter names and sounds, understand how to blend sounds into words, and have a reading vocabulary of at least 30 common words — things like ‘the,’ ‘mom,’ ‘dad,’ ‘go,’ ‘run,’ ‘house,’ and ‘school.’ They should also be able to recognize and print their own name. If your child isn’t there yet, that’s okay — these milestones are a guide, not a hard deadline, and consistent daily reading practice makes a significant difference.

Vowels and some Vowel Digraphs

Aa apple	Aa gave	ay say
Ee end	ee seem	ea team
Ee eagle	Ii in	Ii ice
ie tie	Oo octopus	Oo hope
Uu up	Uu tune	ue Blue
Yy yes	Yy my	Yy baby
Consonants
Bb bed	Cc cat	Cc Circle
Dd Dog	Ff fair	Gg girl
Gg giraffe	Hh house	Jj jam
Kk Kitten	Ll Love	Mm Mom
Nn nine	Pp pig	Qq quart
Rr red	Ss salad	Tt ten
Vv violet	Ww wagon	Xx six
Zz zebra
R-Controlled vowels
ar card	er dinner	or for
ur fur	ir girl
Consonant Digraphs
th them, the	sh she, shoe	wh white, when
ch child, chin	qu quart, quail	ph photo
kn knife	ng song
Dipthongs
nk sink	lt belt	nd bend
oo wood	oo too	aw awning, saw
ew new, dew	ow plow, cow	ou ground
oi coin	oy boy	au auto

A great site for phonics and sight word worksheets and instructional units is:
www.edhelper.com.
From the BBC, check out:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/phonics/index.shtml.
To find a copy of the Dolch 220 Most Frequently Used English Words go to:
http://english-zone.com/.

Bio for Ann Bowers

Ann Bowers has been an elementary school teacher, in kindergarten through 8th grade, for 20 years. She was a Bilingual Education Grant Project Coordinator for seven years and a school principal for seven. She has a B.A. in English, an M.A. in Education, and holds California Life Teaching Credentials and specialist credentials in Remedial Reading and Teaching English as a Second Language. She is retired and has started a second career as a freelance writer.

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The First Steps In Reading For Homeschoolers

What are the three things I must do to teach my child to read?

Should I teach phonics or sight words when my child is learning to read?

How do I start teaching my child phonics at home?

What reading skills should my child have by kindergarten?

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What are the three things I must do to teach my child to read?

Should I teach phonics or sight words when my child is learning to read?

How do I start teaching my child phonics at home?

What reading skills should my child have by kindergarten?

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