No Soul Left Behind

If you’re looking for a great way to motivate a child to read, I’ve had the best luck with Pizza Hut’s “Book It” Program.  Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of Pizza Hut, but nothing motivates The Naturalist more than an opportunity for a special dinner out with Daddy.

The Book It Program is open both to homeschoolers as well as children who attend a traditional instutional school.  Simply go to their website, www.bookitprogram.com  and sign up for the 2008-2009 school year.  You’ll receive everything you need in one packet in the fall, and the program runs from October thru March of each year.

You will receive in the mail six coupons for a personal-sized pizza.  You’ll also receive a reading chart (if you choose to use it), and rules as to how to redeem the coupons (It has to be a stand alone Pizza Hut and not one that’s combined with another fast food chain.)

I was amazed how successful the program was at motivating The Naturalist.  In October, I set some pretty lofty reading goals for him.  In fact, my husband saw the list, and said it was too much, that The Naturalist would never do that much reading in one month.  However, he begged me to read every chance he could get, and he did a month’s worth of reading in nine days!  Nothing has made reading more fun for the Naturalist than an opportunity to earn a free pizza and a night out with Daddy.

 

I’ve had a couple of friends recently ask me how to teach a child to read.  I’m no expert on the topic – a year ago I didn’t know anything about teaching reading.  Today, I know only a little more than nothing.  However, what I’ve done with The Naturalist has worked well, and I’ll share it if it is helpful for anyone. 

If your child is interested and motivated to learn how to read, the first step in teaching reading is to make sure that your child can identify all their upper and lowercase letters, and can match upper case to lower case.  (Don’t worry about confusing lowercase letters b and d – this confuses many kids for quite some time!).  Next, kids need to know what sounds the letters make.  The easiest way to teach this is to get a copy of the Leap Frog DVD called The Letter Factory.  It teaches one sound per letter, is fun, and easy to do.  The Dancer knows all her letter sounds (at the age of three!) thanks to this video alone. 

The next thing to do is to get a good phonics-based book that teaches a child how to read.  I use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but I’ve also heard great things about The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading and Phonics Pathways, too.   

100 Easy Lessons is great because it is cheap and easy to use, and requires no advance preparation on my part (aside from reading the introductory chapter before you get started that explains how to use the book).  When it is time for a lesson, just open the book, and follow the instructions.  It says word for word what you need to say, and each lesson is only 20 minutes long.   

Once you get a bit into the book (say, 40 or more lessons), your child can practice their reading skills on real books (see the list below).  Besides easy readers, one other resource I used that was very helpful was “Happy Phonics” from lovetolearn.net.  It isn’t anything flashy, but it is cheaper than other “fun” reading programs (some “fun” phonics programs cost $200!).  “Happy Phonics” is nothing more than a bunch of phonics games on cardstock.  It does take some prep time (I seem to be cutting and laminating lots of stuff), but it is a great way to make reading a bit more fun.  In fact, if I have any criticisms of 100 Easy Lessons, it is that it can be a bit dry.   

Also, Leap Frog has two other DVD’s worth viewing.  The Talking Words Factory teaches making words with short vowels, and Talking Words Factory 2 Code Word Capers teaches long vowels and vowel pairs, etc.   

Eventually, I found that 100 Easy Lessons was getting a bit hard for the Naturalist.  The book teaches a new sound every other lesson, and, without a lot of reading practice, it can add up and get confusing fast.  So, we started over at the beginning again.  There’s nothing like a little bit of review to get the confidence level and excitement back, as well as to really cement all that he’s learning.  We read completed the first 65 lessons, then started over again at Lesson One.  I’m so glad we started over!  It was great to hear a lot of “Reading is too easy for me, Mommy!” and “Can we do another lesson today?” 

By the time you’re done with 100 Easy Lessons, your child will be reading at a second grade reading level.   

Only one warning:  Do not teach your child to read with a “whole language” reading program.  Whole language is a disaster, and is responsible for much of the reading problems in schools today.  My suggestions employ phonics-based resources, not whole language.  If you don’t believe me, check out the research yourself – it is absolutely amazing that any school can still use the whole language approach anymore, given all that we know about reading these days.   

Above is a picture of the Naturalist, reading a book to several of his friends.  This was one of his proudest moments this fall!

Finally, as promised, here are some great readers to get from the library to give your child practice with his new reading skills. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that not all “Level 1 Readers” are really at the same level.  So, here is list of some of the readers we’ve used and have liked.  All of these (except the Little Angel Readers) we borrowed from the library.  

Easiest Readers (try after 40 or so of 100 easy lessons) 

Bob Books (available from Amazon)

Cowley, Joy.  How to Make a Hot Dog

Cowley, Joy.  I can jump

Cowley, Joy.  Look Out, Dan!

Coxe, Molly.  Cat traps 

Coxe, Molly.  Fox trot

Coxe, Molly. Big egg

Gjording, Nancy Mahan. Go fish 

Haskins, Lori. Ducks in muck

Higgins, Cadie.  The Bus

Higgins, Cadie.  My Fan

Higgins, Cadie.  Pam and Hal

Melser, June.  Two little dogs

Randell, Beverley.  The big kick

Weston, Martha.  Jack and Jill and Big Dog Bill : a phonics reader

Little Angel Reader, Level A.  (The best phonics-based reader around!)  (www.stonetabletpress.com)

Easy Readers (maybe 50 or 55)

Coxe, Molly.  Hot dog 

Cowley, Joy.  Ducks.

Cowley, Joy.  “Scat!” said the cat

Cowley, Joy.  How many hot dogs?

Cutting, Jillian.  Just Look at you!

Bowers, Tim.  A new home

Brown, Margaret Wise.  I like stars

Brown, Margaret Wise.  I like bugs

Earl, Janice.  Jan has a doll

Gjording, Nancy Mahan.  Go Fish.

Hoffman, Joan.  Mia’s Sun Hat

Keller, Holly.  What I see

Knudsen, Michelle. Cat hat

Lascaro, Rita.  Down on the farm.

Lewison, Wendy Cheyette.  Buzz Said the Bee

David McPhail.  Big Pig and Little Pig

McPhail, David, Jack and Rick

McPhail, David, Rick is sick

Ross, Dev.  Fox’s Best Trick Ever (We both read)

Sullivan, Paula.  Todd’s box

Williams, David K.  Tick Tock

Wonder Books series.   (some are too hard, others perfect.  Best are:  Dogs, Malls, A Pet, I like Bugs, Ben’s Pens, Left, A Fox, Hot Pot, Fun, Naps.)

 

Additionally, the Dick and Jane Series can be a lot of fun for kids, even though they are not phonics based.  We especially liked The World of Dick and Jane and Friends as well as Storybook Treasury of Dick and Jane and Friends.  Both are about the same reading level. 

Little More Challenging (has many words that are advanced)  

Cartwright, Pauline.  Me and My Dog.

Cowley, Joy.  Mud Walk

Cowley, Joy.  Scat!” said the cat

Ghigna, Charles.  See the Yak Yak

Hillert, Margaret.  Four Good Friends.

Hillert, Margaret.  Go to Sleep, Dear Dragon.

Hillert, Margaret.  Happy Birthday, Dear Dragon.

Hillert, Margaret.  Happy Easter, Dear Dragon.

Hillert, Margaret.  I need you, Dear Dragon.

Hillert, Margaret.  It’s Halloween, Dear Dragon.

Hillert, Margaret.  The Little Cookie.

Hillert, Margaret.  Merry Christmas, Dear Dragon.

Hillert, Margaret.  Who Goes to School? 

Knudsen, Michelle.  Cat Hat.

Little Angel Reader, Level B.  (www.stonetabletpress.com)

Additionally, the back of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons has a book list that is meant to be completed after finishing all 100 lessons.  However, we’ve found that the books listed could have actually been read much earlier. 

One of the things I love about homeschooling is that my children have plenty of time for great literature.  One of the ways I accomplish this is through books on CD.  The children listen to books in their rooms during quiet time (a favorite time of the day for the Naturalist – he colors, draws, plays with his train set, etc… in his room and listens to books on CD.). 

We also listen to books on CD in the car.  When I was a child and attended school, I had to ride the bus everywhere.  On my bus ride, I wasted an hour and a half every day listening to bullying, ridicule, name-calling, vomiting, dares to do something gross or indecent (like kissing people you weren’t dating), or even once alcohol was passed around (those kids got an in-school suspension!) I don’t blame the bus driver – it was his job to drive safely, not to monitor us.  My kids spend only a small amount of time traveling, but when we do, we make it enjoyable and educational. 

Below is a partial listing of some of the books on CD we’ve listened to in the past six months.  These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head:

Atwater.  Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

Banks, Lynne Reid.  The Indian in the cupboard

Barrie, J.M.  Peter Pan. 

Bauer, Jessie Wise.  Story of the World, Vol. 1

Cleary, Beverly.  The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

Cleary, Beverly.  Runaway Ralph.

Cleary, Beverly.  Ralph S. Mouse.

Dahl, Roald.  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Kipling, Rudyard.  The Jungle Book.

Kipling, Rudyard.  Rikki-tikki-tavi.

Lofting, Hugh.  The Story of Doctor Dolittle. 

Lofting, Hugh.  The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle.

Milne, A.A.  The house at Pooh Corner

Milne, A.A.  Now we are six.

Milne, A.A.  Winnie the Pooh.

Potter, Beatrix.  The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter.

Seldon, George.  The Cricket in Times Square.

Travers, P. L.  Mary Poppins.

White, E. B.  Charlotte’s Web.

White, E. B.  Stuart Little.

White, E. B.  Trumpet of the Swan.

In general, I’d recommend anything read by Jim Weiss, and I also really like the stories in the Rabbit Ears Listening Library. 

My son’s vocabulary has improved tremendously, thanks in part to books on CD.  I’d highly recommend these books to any parent!