Dalene Mactier

Hi All

I have a few questions regarding introducing letters and learning to read.

When you read ABC books like the one of Dr Seuss, do you read it as phonics or not??

Did you use phonics to introduce letters to your child. Is anyone using Jolly Phonics.

And the last question is re bilingual children. Which language did your child learn to read first?? My son's strongest language is Afrikaans, but now that we are living in New Zealand he probably hears more English than Afrikaans??

Dalene

http://geocities.com/mactiers

"There is no such thing in anyone's life
as an unimportant day."

Alexander Woollcott



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

> I have a few questions regarding introducing letters and learning
to read.
*My kids just seem to pick things up. I don't know where 4yods
learned that S-A-D spells sad (he told me this yesterday), or how 1
1/2yodd learned her letters - the ones she knows - but somehow they
just picked it up. We read a lot, and we have a lot of words around
our house. Our clothes have words on them, food packages have words
on them, books, of course, and even toys often have words on them.
Sometimes they ask what things say. Yes, we read Dr. Seuss
sometimes - ds likes Green Eggs and Ham. He noticed that certain
columns of words were the same. Had I pointed it out, he probably
wouldn't have cared, but since he was the one who noticed, he did
learn. A friend loaned me a book - Teach Your Child to Read in 100
Easy Lessons. I really wasn't interested, but I leafed through it,
and could hardly believe how arrogant the authors encourage the
parent/teacher to be. But I don't think other teaching materials are
much better.

>
> And the last question is re bilingual children.
*I find that my children are learning both at the same time. We
do our best to keep as much Japanese materials around the house as
English, and we speak mostly Japanese at home. They get English from
everybody else. My MIL sent us some Japanese worksheets that my son
actually enjoys <gag>, but maybe that's because he decides when/if
and how long he spends on them. We also have frequent contact with
family in Japan - we'll be visiting them this summer, and that
helps. As long as they see and use both languages as LIVING
languages (and not just dry rules that nobody in their world really
uses), they'll just pick it up, as they will anything else. DS also
has a Spanish CD-ROM that he likes to play with, but he doesn't
understand or speak the language. To him, it's not real. He doesn't
know anybody who actually speaks or uses Spanish. To him, it's just
a game.

Hope this helps.

Melanie in Indiana

Tracy Oldfield

DS also 
has a Spanish CD-ROM that he likes to play with, but he
doesn't 
understand or speak the language. To him, it's not
real. He doesn't 
know anybody who actually speaks or uses Spanish. To
him, it's just 
a game.


What's the Spanish CD, Melanie? I have Spanish rellies
so the kids have some Spanish (and Catalan!) books...
Disney do some bilingual books, a page of English and a
page of Spanish...

Tracy

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/14/01 3:14:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
tracy.oldfield@... writes:

<<
What's the Spanish CD, Melanie? I have Spanish rellies
so the kids have some Spanish (and Catalan!) books...
Disney do some bilingual books, a page of English and a
page of Spanish...
>>
We have Jumpstart Spanish here which my son loves, though it's more for ages
4-7. Usborne also makes a First 100 Words cd, besides videos, bilingual
books, and books in foreign languages.
Amy

Amy Kagey
Usborne Books consultant...I sell books kids love!
Visit my website to view a catalog,
to register for $50 in free books or set up an e-show!
<A HREF="http://www.ubah.com/z0939">Usborne Books Online Sales</A>

[email protected]

In a message dated 06/14/2001 12:09:05 AM !!!First Boot!!!,
Mactier@... writes:


> do you read it as phonics or not??
>
>


Yes.

:)

All of the above.

Separating the sounds from reading the words and vice versa never made any
sense to me. I read, she reads, she asks, I sound out with her or tell her
what the word is, we continue. She stops reading with approximately one
million questions about the story. We continue reading.

Have fun!

Nance



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

> What's the Spanish CD, Melanie?
*Jumpstart Spanish. He likes it. I think it's boring, but we
have such different personalities. He also likes my "Languages of
the World" cds with Spanish - Transparent Language makes them.

Melanie in Indiana

Tracy Oldfield

> What's the Spanish CD, Melanie? 
 *Jumpstart Spanish. He likes it. I think it's
boring, but we 
have such different personalities. He also likes my
"Languages of 
the World" cds with Spanish - Transparent Language
makes them.

Melanie in Indiana


Thanks! I'll look out for an offer on 'em!! *grin*

Tracy

LisaBugg

>
> When you read ABC books like the one of Dr Seuss, do you read it as
phonics or not??
>
> Did you use phonics to introduce letters to your child. Is anyone using
Jolly Phonics.
>

You know....I think I just give name and sound most of the time.. that's b
and it's sound is buh..... When the kids ask me to spell something, I don't
use the phonetic sound, I use the letter name. I'm firmly convinced that it
matters not which one you do first or second. All that really matters is
that you give your child information and he uses it to make sense of the
world.

I have one son that will tell you, in a heartbeat, phonics is a waste of
time when learning to read. He became a fluent reader and THEN was willing
to dissect words.

So, I vote for telling the kids both names and sounds, along with reading
lots of fun stuff like Suess. ;)

LisaKK

Nora or Devereaux Cannon

I've sifted through all the Bob Book re lines I think. One of
the few things I didn't see was any discussion of how folks
themselves had learned to read. To my knowledge I have never
seen a Bob Book, but have certainly spent quality time with CVC
content. I also have pretty clear memories of the reading
continuum as I experienced it. Maybe coming at the topic from
that direction helps to clarify the perspectives being expressed

Myranda

Hmmm.... good question!!! I was taught to read by my mom - I would have to sit and read books (not the easy readers either) aloud to her, and she would stop me whenever I would mispronounce a word. I'd have to guess and guess and guess some more until I hit upon the right way to say it so I could continue on. Somehow, I grew up loving to read anyway.
Myranda

I've sifted through all the Bob Book re lines I think. One of
the few things I didn't see was any discussion of how folks
themselves had learned to read. To my knowledge I have never
seen a Bob Book, but have certainly spent quality time with CVC
content. I also have pretty clear memories of the reading
continuum as I experienced it. Maybe coming at the topic from
that direction helps to clarify the perspectives being expressed



Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT




~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~

If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please email the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the list owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).

To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address an email to:
[email protected]

Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

MO Milligans

At 07:20 AM 9/17/02 -0500, you wrote:

>One of the few things I didn't see was any discussion of how folks
>themselves had learned to read.
==
I don't remember when I learned. I do remember that we had Dr. Seuss books
around when I was a kid. Other than that, don't know :)

Todd

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
I will choose Free will" -Rush (and Todd)
http://rambleman.tripod.com/index.html

[email protected]

In a message dated 9/17/2002 8:32:45 AM Eastern Standard Time,
dcannon@... writes:


> One of
> the few things I didn't see was any discussion of how folks
> themselves had learned to read.

I can honestly say that I don't remember learning to read or anyone teaching
me. I remember reading Dr. Seuss-type books to my grandmother before I was in
school. My son learned to read with almost no input from me (except for
answering questions like "What does this word say?) at about 3.5.
Amy Kagey
<A HREF="http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/default.asp?sid=Z0939&gid=462366"> </A>U<A HREF="http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/default.asp?sid=Z0939&gid=462366">sborne Books Online Catalog</A>
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where
there is no path and leave a trail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 9/17/02 6:31:55 AM, myrandab@... writes:

<< One of
the few things I didn't see was any discussion of how folks
themselves had learned to read. >>

I couldn't read when I went to first grade, but I could write my name in
cursive, and spell some other words.

I was in Fort Worth Texas, W.M. Green Elementary (still exists, but I went
there the year it and its big neighborhood bomb shelter were brand new) and
we were using Look-Say, learning words by sight and shape and repetition.

I learned to read quickly and well and they gave me a library card even
though the regular drill was you had to be a third grader to get a library
card. I remember the first day they took me into the school's little
library, just me and the librarian and my teacher, Miss Tomlinson. I got a
book on satellites, and it talked about Galileo and the moon and telescopes.

We moved to New Mexico, and I went to second grade in a totally
phonics-focussed school. Since I could already read, the phonics drills were
just puzzles for me. I'd fill them out, argue with the teacher about the
pictures (monkey or chimpanzee or ape? cup or mug? I remember insisting to
Miss Bency that if they wanted "cup" they should've angled the sides in,
because with straight sides it was a mug).

Probably between the two "methods" I was made the strongest, longest-range,
highest-jumping reader of any of my friends.

But I think it was the lack of books at my house and the plethora of books at
school that made the difference.

Sandra

Nora or Devereaux Cannon

I remember very clearly 2 parts and have lately gotten
irrefutable proof of the third piece. At the risk of lingering
too long on a topic, I will share how it happened for me, which
may help somebody understand what is going on with their own kid.
The Christmas I was 2 1/2, I had a new sister and very little
pleasure in that fact. My maternal grandparents came to stay for
an extra long holiday visit to help over the bump of
sibling-ness.

My grandfather was academic dean of a university, but had started
there when it was a normal school (teacher's college). As a
result he had a ton of very cool "Stuff" in his head and on his
shelves. He brought with him several sheets of perforated cards
with pictures, printed in red ink, woodcut style, of all the
kings and queens of England, with just their names under the
pictures. He taught me all the rules of phonics that Christmas.
I remember after that being able to sound out most anything I
wanted to, but also that it was HARD - and frequently not worth
the trouble. I used the skill as needed, to look stuff up and to
select things that had no pictures - in a mill town, a lot of
stuff was labeled with petty generic tags at the store.

I also remember the Summer I was 7, the absolute smothering sense
of panic that I felt when I realized I could no longer look at a
word without automatically reading it. The closest I have ever
seen to a similar feeling being described is in people with
psychosis who suddenly have voices in their head.

The third piece that I have recently picked up is a letter my
maternal grandmother wrote to her sister at Christmas when I was
5 1/2, commenting that I would be reading independently very
soon. She apparently was right, because when I entered first
grade I read all the way through the first reader Alice and Jerry
reader that morning (and got into trouble for showing off and
skipping ahead - I had a rocky academic life).

But among my most treasured books from my childhood are some of
the "early readers" that my grandfather had collected from
textbook companies over 50 years. The pictures are still
beautiful to me - and the memory of the joy of reading
independently rises up from those pages whenever I open them. I
wish I still had the cards, too. I have no idea why or how he
knew that that particular sequence of nouns would pick up all the
rules of phonics, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know
that little girls love kings and queens, especially when shared
exclusively with a big lapped grandfather.

I could defend any of those steps as being the time I learned to
read - in a way each one was. But mainly when I talk about when
one of ours has started reading (or how), I recall my own
multiyear sequence.