All About Teaching and Learning Phonics

[tamarind]

Most experts will tell you that you should read regularly to your child from birth. However, reading to your child is not the most effective method of teaching your child to read. You may find yourself reading until your child is 6 years old, and he/she is only able to read simple books.


I have found the most effective way is to teach the following at the same time :
1. Phonics
Start with the Leapfrog Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory DVDs. Checkout my blog about how to practice phonics at home :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-teach-phonics.html

2. Reading out loud using the Ladybird key word series (Peter and Jane series)
According to Ladybird :
12 key words make up one quarter of those we read and write
100 key words make up half of those we read and write
About 300 key words account for three quarters of those we read and write

The Peter and Jane series let kids learn the 300 key words very quickly. Thanks to this series, both my kids (5 and 6 years old) are able to read normal-sized prints, with few pictures in between the pages, which according to the article above, is meant for 12 - 17 years old.

Parents may think that this series is old fashioned and boring. But the fact is that it is the best series for kids to learn to read, and it is especially good for kids of average abilities who need many repetitions in order to learn. Parents who have kids with very high learning ability may not need to use this series, if the parents have been reading regularly to the kids.

Read my blog for more explanations about how to use the Peter and Jane series :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/12/key-words-with-ladybird.html


The fact is that any mommy can teach your child to read at home, if you use good resources. It may seem that I have spent many hours a day teaching my kids to read, but the fact is that I am a full time working mommy, and I can only afford to spend 15 minutes a day to teach each of my kids to read. I started when my boy was 3 years 3 months old, at that age he could not read a single word. By teaching him consistently everyday, using a combination of phonics and the Peter and Jane series, he is able to read Roald Dahl books before the age of 5.

I have heard comments that kids below the age of 6 should not be made to read books with a few hundred words a page, because this may cause the kids to dislike reading. This is not true. A child who reads very easily, will love to read. My 6 year old girl has been reading books of a few hundred pages since she was 5 years old. She often giggles and laughs when she reads, she is transported to a whole new world of fun.

Most people think that reading is a chore or a difficult thing to do for kids, and that by making a child read everyday, he is not enjoying his childhood. This is a misconception.

The truth is that reading wonderful books can be great fun for kids

[ksunflower]

Hi,


It is always a pleasure reading this forum as there are so many wonderful mommies here that shared great tips on teaching our children to read.

Hi tamarind,

I have followed your blog for some time and I must say I have since became a fan.... The tips you have shared selflessly in teaching phonics and reading works for my child as well. I have just started my 4.5 yr old son on P&J not too long ago and he is now starting to recognize the words and read ! Thanks to you. :celebrate: And kudos to you ! :ugogirl:

[tamarind]

ksunflower:

Hi,


It is always a pleasure reading this forum as there are so many wonderful mommies here that shared great tips on teaching our children to read.

Hi tamarind,

I have followed your blog for some time and I must say I have since became a fan.... The tips you have shared selflessly in teaching phonics and reading works for my child as well. I have just started my 4.5 yr old son on P&J not too long ago and he is now starting to recognize the words and read ! Thanks to you. :celebrate: And kudos to you ! :ugogirl:

ksunflower,
You are welcome I am very happy to know that your son is reading now I am glad that you find my blog helpful, but you are the one who has done all the hard work !

[tamarind]

For parents who have kids below the age of 2, I have created a new webpage sharing the resources which I used to teach my boy ABCs :


http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2009/10/first-step-teaching-b-c.html

[all.013398in.013398one]

Hi Tamarind,

Thanks for sacrificing your time to give us such a rich resource!
I have saved your blog link as favourite liao!
Your contribution with benefit many of the mums who are at a lost
as to how to grow their's kids language ability.
I took a similar path as you, learning from scratch how to build up my
girl's language ability from 0 years old.
She is now an avid reader like me! So all the effort and time was worth it!
(Of course I hope she need not put on glasses like her mama :lol: )
Hope to learn from you and share some of my experience!
(Plan to bring my girl to library's story telling session tonight :celebrate: )

[tamarind]

all.in.one:

Hi Tamarind,

Thanks for sacrificing your time to give us such a rich resource!
I have saved your blog link as favourite liao!
Your contribution with benefit many of the mums who are at a lost
as to how to grow their's kids language ability.
I took a similar path as you, learning from scratch how to build up my
girl's language ability from 0 years old.
She is now an avid reader like me! So all the effort and time was worth it!
(Of course I hope she need not put on glasses like her mama :lol: )
Hope to learn from you and share some of my experience!
(Plan to bring my girl to library's story telling session tonight :celebrate: )

I am still learning too. Please feel free to share.

[all.013398in.013398one]

tamarind,

So for me, now is what to do to re-inforce from here on?
My girl already trained and \"certified\" ICR.
It will be quite boring to repeat the blends and diaphgram etc.. again.
Any online tools to polish her rusty mind :lol: ?

[tamarind]

all.in.one:

tamarind,

So for me, now is what to do to re-inforce from here on?
My girl already trained and \"certified\" ICR.
It will be quite boring to repeat the blends and diaphgram etc.. again.
Any online tools to polish her rusty mind :lol: ?

How old is your girl ? If she is reading everyday, she already has enough practice Though my kids can read independently, I still let them read a few pages out loud to me, from a book of my choice every day. This is my way of polishing them. At the same time, they learn many new words every day and build up their vocabulary. They are also free to read any other books silently.

I make sure that they read all the wonderful children's classics, all original and unabridged versions :
Charlotte's Web and The trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The enormous crocodile, The giraffe the pelly and me, The Minpins by Roald Dahl (also the BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (and all other books in the Little House series)
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I just bought this book from amazon:
Jonathan Swift's \"Gulliver\"
http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Swifts-Gulliver-Swift/dp/1406301744/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257670556&sr=1-3
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31SXWEc9PJL._SL500_AA210_.jpg\">

It is adapted from the original written in 1726. It is a wonderful book of extraordinary adventure, as well as a satire on human nature. This book has excellent illustrations on every page which enable kids to understand the story easily.

All the above books are available in the National Library. There are of course many more wonderful books to read

[starz]

Hi Tamarind,


My girl is 3.5 months old. She is reading Peter and Jane 3a. I have just borrowed Dr. Seuss from the library \"Mr. Brown can moo, can you?\"
For this Dr. Seuss book, am i suppose to read to my girl or she is suppose to read aloud to me? Cos at times, she doesnt want to read to me, always prefer me to read to her

I notice when my girl reads Peter and Jane, she reads very slow plus her tone and voice is only ONE tone (monotones), not LIVELY at all. I always ask her to read more lively and high pitch. hee After each sentence, i will read very lively to her and ask her repeat after me. But she always forget the next day when we read a new page. Any tips or advise? issit true when they just started reading, they are montonesless and very slow? i sometimes wonder whether she understands the sentences.

Another thing, for Peter and Jane series, she will read 1 new page and those old pages she doesnt want to read cos all the words she is able to read. Is it a must to revise those previous pages or just move on to series 3B?

For phonics, I am still stuck at vowel a and i. Havent proceed to other vowels due to busy schedule Btw how many times do u actually revise each vowel like \"ip\" and \"it\" before u proceed to new ones?

Thank you for taking your time to read my post.

[starz]

I am really inspired and motivate by you and ur kids. However, whenever i got home, i will feel tired and abit lazy. no motivation at times. Really impress by your girl who can draw and write so excellent and wonderful. When did you start to teach to trace or write alphabets n letters? my girl still yet to know how to write alphabets, not even trace. only know how to write numbers only.


btw i dun think i have the time to complete all vowels since i have been dragging for so long. Since my girl is now 3.4mths, 2 more month she is able to join the montessori phonics class, may i know which branch do u recommend? i m staying in the west. Thanks.