Beginning Reading and Writing Resources

My sister, Kris, asked me about teaching beginning reading and writing, so I thought I would post some of the resources we have found useful. This is not a comprehensive list of all of the things we have used. Some materials we have tried for a while and found that they are not a great fit for us. I will not bother to list them here.

I really like the book How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. I think I favor it since my Master's program was focused on Direct Instruction, and so it is very familiar to me. I find it very easy to use and very systematic. The kids have found success with it.

We have also really enjoyed using Systematic Sequential Phonics They Use. The lessons are simple and relatively quick for those with short attention spans.

We have also used the Letter Factory DVD by Leap Frog for learning the letter sounds.

We have also found a few great websites.

Starfall (http://www.starfall.com/) has lots of reading resources and it is FREE! They have great little songs for remembering vowel sounds and all of the girls have just loved the stories, especially Zac the Rat and Gus the Duck.

We have also used Headsprout (http://www.headsprout.com/). The girls have enjoyed the "episodes" in this program, and I have certainly seen great improvement in their skills as they have progressed through the program. Madeline is almost finished with the program and Isabella is about a third of the way through.

As I stated in another post, we have recently started using ClickN Read Phonics (http://www.clicknread.com/). I think this program is a bit more comprehensive than the Headsprout program. It does require them to find the letters on the keyboard. It has the added benefit of the child being able to start on any lesson, based on his or her ability. This was great for Madeline since I felt that there were skills that she still needed reinforcement with, but she certainly did not need to start all over at the beginning. Also, with ClickN Read Phonics, once one child has completed the program another can begin at no extra cost.

To help the girls enjoy literature and its elements (including illustrations), we have used Before Five in A Row and Five in a Row. This program uses children's literature to teach language arts, social studies, science, math, and art. Both the girls and I have enjoyed reading the stories and they have learned about things like onomatopoeia, where Paris is located, and different mediums illustrators use. You can find the guides at http://www.fiveinarow.com/. The only difficulty is that then you either have to buy the children's books to go along with it or find them in your library.

As for writing, I have found the Handwriting Without Tears program to be a great curriculum for teaching letter formation (http://www.hwtears.com/). It provides many different ways for the children to experience the letters (and numbers). The girls have really enjoyed the activities from this program. Madeline was particularly fascinated with the wood pieces when she was younger.

That is all I can think of, for now.