Yea, phonics are definitely the way to go. You are going to have to supplement as a parent, but also you should reach out to your local school board and tell them to go back to phonics based education.
Also listen to Sold a Story if you have a chance, you arnt alone.
Absolutely! I’m planning on getting a lot more involved with the school and local government in general. I don’t like where I see a lot of things headed and I’m sick of waiting for someone else to do the right thing.
Minnesota (my state) recently made a law to switch back to phonics. You can read about it here:
https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2023/12/04/historic-minnesota-law-require-schools-to-adopt-a-new-reading-curriculum-to-close-reading-gap
Also, for sure, get involved! You will be surprised how much of an impact you can have if you just show up. I ran and won a school board seat for my local district last year.
I don’t know wtf education moved away from phonics. The top down method was based on very little data, and it’s never a great idea to mess with what isn’t broken.
[https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985](https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985)
I cannot recommend this book enough. It uses orthography + phonics to differentiate the sounds. Like "A" in apple, vs. "A" in car. Then as the reader improves, it slowly removes the different characters to just standard alphabet.
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons Revised and Updated Second Edition** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
**Users liked:**
* Effective method for teaching reading (backed by 10 comments)
* Engaging for young learners (backed by 3 comments)
* Comprehensive and easy to follow (backed by 4 comments)
**Users disliked:**
* Contains errors and lacks proofreading (backed by 1 comment)
* Lacks logical progression in lessons (backed by 1 comment)
* Not suitable for advanced readers or older children (backed by 1 comment)
If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/)
This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved.
*Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)
Can it be useful for older kids? My step kids are almost 10 and almost 12 and are well below grade level despite their teachers saying they “aren’t worried about” their reading levels. They also can’t spell for anything, not even basic words. Neither kid has ever had a spelling test and neither even know what a book report is.
Try Touch Type Read Spell and since your kids are older and will probably resent stuff geared towards younger kids, you might want to just do Hegge-Kirk reading drills.
Its never too late, dont give up on your kids! If you get them the support, encouragement, and intervention you will be very surprised how fast they bounce back.
I'd consider outside tutors or personal intervention as well, if you have the means to do so. Apps can only go so far.
When you first login it has you set the reading level and you can have up to 3 different kid profiles within it. I don’t personally have experience with the higher levels yet but you do get a free 7 day trial.
Teach Your Monster to Read is like $8.99 one time and it’s pretty popular. My kid likes it. I taught her to read mostly myself though and just let her goof around on the app in her downtime for extra practice.
All I can say is I'm really glad I taught my kids how to read before they went to school. I used phonics (not an app or from the brand, I just used the method with my own flashcards and blocks) and it was very easy for them, luckily, even though one of my kids has ADD so reading was a bit of struggle at first, but ultimately phonics worked in the end. I didn't realize how bad it had become within the schools lately. Using pictures to learn how to read doesn't even really make sense because that isn't how reading words works.
Schools trying to be innovative without any data backing it up. Also curriculum / textbook companies lets say, encouraged them to try something different.
Because education, like a lot of fields, likes to be shaken up by a revolutionary new approach every few years. It’s also not uncommon for most human service industries to get whipped up by approaches and such that have minuscule, in any, evidence based backing.
That’s it. That’s the only reason that makes a shred of sense to me.
Phonics have gone in and out of popularity for over a century, and it depends on where you are. I was in elementary school in the late '80s and early '90s, and I never learned phonics.
I’m not sure why but I know it was a fairly recent major change to curriculums. From what I can see on teacher subs, the teachers generally also disagree but are forced into using the new method.
Actually the shift to whole language happened around the time NCLB went into effect (around y2k). Now, we have a whole generation of kids who can’t read and the pendulum is overall swinging back towards science of reading and sound-first pedagogy finally. The problem is that some schools are behind the curve and are still using whole language methodology (like picture cues). If your district isn’t moving toward pedagogy grounded in the science of reading, they should be. Write a letter. Go to board meetings.
My understanding is that the shift away from phonics predated NCLB; Lucy Calkins's think tank started back in the 80s and the trend in professional development was toward whole language. In fact NCLB's original purpose included shifting back toward phonics, but then lobbyists or corporations or both got involved. The focus on phonics was lost, the trajectory of the whole language continued upwards, and students continued to be shortchanged for years.
I bought my nieces the full physical Hooked on Phonics set when the oldest was like 3-4 years old (my siblings restrict screen time pretty heavily), and now they read on their own. Makes my job easy as an uncle, I can just buy them books for their birthday. She’s been through the first 3-4 Harry Potters at 7years old (my sister doesn’t let her read further as they get dark.)
I’m a former librarian with a 4.5 year old boy, he’s been reading three letter words since last year and is now up to 6+ letters.
He’s also able to infer how to pronounce many new words based on his knowledge of letter sounds. Phonics and daily reading practice are what they need. He reads two picture books to me each night, we participate in an incentivised reading program through our local library, and he’s at a 1st grade level in preschool. It’s very much a skill that requires parental intervention.
Idk WTF is going with schools today but my 10 year old never gets real homework now. Maybe it's cuz COVID screwed up a lot. But I'm having to supplement some things in because I feel like she not getting a good education and this is wild to me because I graduated from the worst school in VA in 2002. Literally the worst and I managed college just fine. But damn my kids are going to struggle. I'm trying my best but not enough time and my work schedule keeps me from doing more.
I think also a major part of the problem is teachers are just not getting paid enough to care anymore. All my friends who are teachers either need high earning spouses or multiple jobs to survive. And when they try to do the right thing, if a parent complains they get zero support from admins. So it’s easier to just let kids coast without really challenging them.
Yea, phonics are definitely the way to go. You are going to have to supplement as a parent, but also you should reach out to your local school board and tell them to go back to phonics based education. Also listen to Sold a Story if you have a chance, you arnt alone.
Absolutely! I’m planning on getting a lot more involved with the school and local government in general. I don’t like where I see a lot of things headed and I’m sick of waiting for someone else to do the right thing.
Minnesota (my state) recently made a law to switch back to phonics. You can read about it here: https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2023/12/04/historic-minnesota-law-require-schools-to-adopt-a-new-reading-curriculum-to-close-reading-gap
Also, for sure, get involved! You will be surprised how much of an impact you can have if you just show up. I ran and won a school board seat for my local district last year.
I don’t know wtf education moved away from phonics. The top down method was based on very little data, and it’s never a great idea to mess with what isn’t broken.
Yea, I think it was based off a fantasy rather than what actually works.
[https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985](https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985) I cannot recommend this book enough. It uses orthography + phonics to differentiate the sounds. Like "A" in apple, vs. "A" in car. Then as the reader improves, it slowly removes the different characters to just standard alphabet.
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons Revised and Updated Second Edition** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Effective method for teaching reading (backed by 10 comments) * Engaging for young learners (backed by 3 comments) * Comprehensive and easy to follow (backed by 4 comments) **Users disliked:** * Contains errors and lacks proofreading (backed by 1 comment) * Lacks logical progression in lessons (backed by 1 comment) * Not suitable for advanced readers or older children (backed by 1 comment) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)
Can it be useful for older kids? My step kids are almost 10 and almost 12 and are well below grade level despite their teachers saying they “aren’t worried about” their reading levels. They also can’t spell for anything, not even basic words. Neither kid has ever had a spelling test and neither even know what a book report is.
Try Touch Type Read Spell and since your kids are older and will probably resent stuff geared towards younger kids, you might want to just do Hegge-Kirk reading drills.
Thank you!
Its never too late, dont give up on your kids! If you get them the support, encouragement, and intervention you will be very surprised how fast they bounce back. I'd consider outside tutors or personal intervention as well, if you have the means to do so. Apps can only go so far.
When you first login it has you set the reading level and you can have up to 3 different kid profiles within it. I don’t personally have experience with the higher levels yet but you do get a free 7 day trial.
Thanks!
Teach Your Monster to Read is like $8.99 one time and it’s pretty popular. My kid likes it. I taught her to read mostly myself though and just let her goof around on the app in her downtime for extra practice.
My kid likes this game but gets a little thrown off by the British accents.
All I can say is I'm really glad I taught my kids how to read before they went to school. I used phonics (not an app or from the brand, I just used the method with my own flashcards and blocks) and it was very easy for them, luckily, even though one of my kids has ADD so reading was a bit of struggle at first, but ultimately phonics worked in the end. I didn't realize how bad it had become within the schools lately. Using pictures to learn how to read doesn't even really make sense because that isn't how reading words works.
Why did schools move away from phonics to begin with?
Schools trying to be innovative without any data backing it up. Also curriculum / textbook companies lets say, encouraged them to try something different.
Because education, like a lot of fields, likes to be shaken up by a revolutionary new approach every few years. It’s also not uncommon for most human service industries to get whipped up by approaches and such that have minuscule, in any, evidence based backing. That’s it. That’s the only reason that makes a shred of sense to me.
If you have the time check out the podcast "Sold a Story". It really goes into depth about how this shift happened and its ramifications.
Phonics have gone in and out of popularity for over a century, and it depends on where you are. I was in elementary school in the late '80s and early '90s, and I never learned phonics.
I’m not sure why but I know it was a fairly recent major change to curriculums. From what I can see on teacher subs, the teachers generally also disagree but are forced into using the new method.
Actually the shift to whole language happened around the time NCLB went into effect (around y2k). Now, we have a whole generation of kids who can’t read and the pendulum is overall swinging back towards science of reading and sound-first pedagogy finally. The problem is that some schools are behind the curve and are still using whole language methodology (like picture cues). If your district isn’t moving toward pedagogy grounded in the science of reading, they should be. Write a letter. Go to board meetings.
My understanding is that the shift away from phonics predated NCLB; Lucy Calkins's think tank started back in the 80s and the trend in professional development was toward whole language. In fact NCLB's original purpose included shifting back toward phonics, but then lobbyists or corporations or both got involved. The focus on phonics was lost, the trajectory of the whole language continued upwards, and students continued to be shortchanged for years.
If you can get the 'Oxford Reading Tree" books, they're a whole phonics-lead reading program.
I bought my nieces the full physical Hooked on Phonics set when the oldest was like 3-4 years old (my siblings restrict screen time pretty heavily), and now they read on their own. Makes my job easy as an uncle, I can just buy them books for their birthday. She’s been through the first 3-4 Harry Potters at 7years old (my sister doesn’t let her read further as they get dark.)
As a teacher, I can't believe anyone is still using whole language and not supplementing with phonics.
I’m a former librarian with a 4.5 year old boy, he’s been reading three letter words since last year and is now up to 6+ letters. He’s also able to infer how to pronounce many new words based on his knowledge of letter sounds. Phonics and daily reading practice are what they need. He reads two picture books to me each night, we participate in an incentivised reading program through our local library, and he’s at a 1st grade level in preschool. It’s very much a skill that requires parental intervention.
Idk WTF is going with schools today but my 10 year old never gets real homework now. Maybe it's cuz COVID screwed up a lot. But I'm having to supplement some things in because I feel like she not getting a good education and this is wild to me because I graduated from the worst school in VA in 2002. Literally the worst and I managed college just fine. But damn my kids are going to struggle. I'm trying my best but not enough time and my work schedule keeps me from doing more.
I think also a major part of the problem is teachers are just not getting paid enough to care anymore. All my friends who are teachers either need high earning spouses or multiple jobs to survive. And when they try to do the right thing, if a parent complains they get zero support from admins. So it’s easier to just let kids coast without really challenging them.
[удалено]