I have 24 first graders who already knew how to say their alphabet and little else. They did have some English vocabulary in their little minds, but what else? We are ending the 3rd month of lessons and my kids are reading short passages, spelling 3 and 4 letter words, and understanding a majority of what I say. They can look at almost any picture (providing we've had it in the past) and identify the picture - - even some obscure things such as "jet" (instead of airplane) or "skip" (instead of hop).
Slow and steady wins the race. Our first 3 or so weeks were initial sounds. "B", "B" "Buh", etc. Then I'd give them a piece of paper with, say, 10 words on it - - 8 "B" words and 2 something else. The "B" would be missing:
__ aby
___ ig
___ all
___ ike
___itten (kitten)
for example. All they had to do was write down that initial sound if they heard it. If they didn't hear it, leave it blank.
Once we got through the alphabet with initial sounds (leaving out Q and X of course), then we started on ending sounds. "G" for example:
bi __
le __
pi __
eg __
se __ (set)
Then we went on to short vowels (not long ones yet). We are wrapping up "i" this week, "u" next week and then on to simple sight words. Believe me, most of my kids get bored with these lessons because they can learn them so quickly. I try to follow the same format every time so they get used to it while spicing up the lessons a little with a little variety from time to time.
The thing is, once you introduce "pig" with the initial sound, then later with the final sound, then even later with the short "i" - - the kid knows how to spell pig (plus a whole lot more). They know how to say it. They know what it is. They can use it in a simple sentence. When they are reading a story, the just "know" it when they come across it. They rarely have to think how to spell the words when we have spelling bees.
So, are my kids fluent now? Of course not, but I feel they are on a good path towards becoming fluent (by the way, my kids get two English lessons from me a day, 5X a week and we use good texts from the USA).
alphabet to reading
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Sally Olsen
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I found this article for homeschooling students and thought she expressed my ideas well.
"Teaching Reading to Children: Phonics and Whole Language by Sheila Somerlock Ruth
Theory
There are two primary schools of thought on teaching reading: whole language and phonics. For much of the history of education, these methods have been supported by opposing camps, and they have alternated being the dominant method. But today, there is greater recognition that both are needed, that the two methods can complement each other.
Teaching reading through phonics is a methodical approach of teaching the child the sounds of individual letters, then moving up to letter combinations, simple words, and finally more complex words. The phonics method teaches a child to "sound out" words. Educators generally agree that phonics is an important part of learning to read. Phonics teaches the child how to read, so that they can figure out on their own words that they don't know. Even a child with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, can learn to read using the phonics method.
But as important as phonics is, a program that emphasizes phonics alone can alienate the child. A child, particularly one who has not been read to at home, may not understand why the sounds are so important, may not "get" that eventually these sounds will help them learn to read.
Whole language takes the approach of teaching reading in the context of literature. A child learns to enjoy and appreciate reading by reading books and writing his own stories. Traditional whole language programs put an early emphasis on learning to recognize words, so that the child can make rapid early progress in reading, and experience for themselves the pleasure and pride of achievement in reading by themselves.
But while some children thrive in whole language programs, others don't do as well. And reading by word recognition can only take the child so far; eventually they will need to learn to sound out words in order to progress. Today's educators are learning to draw the best from both methods; to use phonics as the methodical underpinning and whole language as a way to encourage enjoyment of reading. The other advantage of using both methods is that different children have different learning styles. Some children learn best initially by one method, while others favor the other method."
"Teaching Reading to Children: Phonics and Whole Language by Sheila Somerlock Ruth
Theory
There are two primary schools of thought on teaching reading: whole language and phonics. For much of the history of education, these methods have been supported by opposing camps, and they have alternated being the dominant method. But today, there is greater recognition that both are needed, that the two methods can complement each other.
Teaching reading through phonics is a methodical approach of teaching the child the sounds of individual letters, then moving up to letter combinations, simple words, and finally more complex words. The phonics method teaches a child to "sound out" words. Educators generally agree that phonics is an important part of learning to read. Phonics teaches the child how to read, so that they can figure out on their own words that they don't know. Even a child with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, can learn to read using the phonics method.
But as important as phonics is, a program that emphasizes phonics alone can alienate the child. A child, particularly one who has not been read to at home, may not understand why the sounds are so important, may not "get" that eventually these sounds will help them learn to read.
Whole language takes the approach of teaching reading in the context of literature. A child learns to enjoy and appreciate reading by reading books and writing his own stories. Traditional whole language programs put an early emphasis on learning to recognize words, so that the child can make rapid early progress in reading, and experience for themselves the pleasure and pride of achievement in reading by themselves.
But while some children thrive in whole language programs, others don't do as well. And reading by word recognition can only take the child so far; eventually they will need to learn to sound out words in order to progress. Today's educators are learning to draw the best from both methods; to use phonics as the methodical underpinning and whole language as a way to encourage enjoyment of reading. The other advantage of using both methods is that different children have different learning styles. Some children learn best initially by one method, while others favor the other method."
