Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: 1st grade, phonics

This topic has 9 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 7 months ago by Stacey.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

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February 24, 2009 at 7:44 pm
baileymom
Member
We just received our 1st grade phonics readers from R&S.I didn’t purchase the TM or wkbks to go with them.
Just wondering how anyone else uses these? I plan on just going over them together, and letting him read all he can to me…
Kathi
February 24, 2009 at 9:46 pm
richpond
Participant
Are the Rod and Staff readers the same as Pathway Readers?..1st grade is First Steps,Days Go By, & More Days Go By are those the books you are talking about? If they are I just have my kids read them to me each day. I didn’t purchase the wkbks either. I love the stories and have enjoyed them the second time around now with my second child. The problem is my kids love them so much that they breeze right through them..not because they are too easy but because they don’t want to just read one story a day. So my first grader has read them all and is now up in the 3rd grade book. All in one year. We love them!!
February 25, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Rene
Participant
Rod and Staff readers are not the same as Pathway readers. With Pathway (at least First Steps) the teacher reads a short story and then the child reads simple words in a Dick and Jane style that completes the story Mom read.
With R&S, the readers start very simply, with the first lesson saying “God”. Lesson 2 says “God made light”. By lesson 4 there are pictures for the word “plants”:
Lesson 4:
God made the (picture of plants).
God made the big (picture of plants).
God made the little (picture of plants).
I know a mom who has 10 kids and used the R&S readers by making flash cards of the words used in the books, teaching one or two new words to the child each day, and when the child had learned a good supply of those words she brings the reader out and reads it with the child.
Here is a quote from her:
Once in the book, I simply sit my child next to me and I point to each word and help him read. If he doesn’t recognize the word and say it quickly, then I say it for him and go to the next word. I try to always have a positive encouraging attitude and don’t put any pressure on the child. If they need repetition, then I reread the same story a couple days in a row before moving on. As soon as possible I try to get into a reader series because the vocabulary builds on itself and I can just keep going this way, a new story every day or two.
From this link:
Raising Godly Tomatoes: Homeschooling
You have to scroll about 1/4 the way down for this info.
February 25, 2009 at 11:33 pm
baileymom
Member
Sorry for the misunderstanding…they are the Pathway Readers.
I’m going to just slowly have him read them to me as he can.
Are the words on the bottom of each page new sight words to teach him? Should I make flashcards for these.
And***right now as we come to some tricky things like…ck is just /k/…and gg is just /g/…and so on, I’m just telling him the rule as it applies, and it’s actually sticking with him, is this the right way to do this?
Sorry for all the ??? my girls learned to read in Public School, this whole phonics thing is new to me.
Kathi
February 25, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Tanya
Participant
Kathi,
We own some first grade Pathway Readers and I just have my son read them to me. I don’t make flashcards, because I figure the words get used over and over again throughout the stories. I was taught to read through the whole word method, with some phonics sprinkled in, so I guess that’s how I teach my kids too. I’m not sure if this is right or not, but it seems to work. Phonics alone confuses me because there are so many exceptions to the rules (I guess I just don’t trust myself). We also read many other early readers, McGuffey, etc. so that they are exposed to quite a variety of words. Again, not really sure if this is what you’re supposed to do, but it has worked with 2 kids so far.
February 26, 2009 at 1:30 am
Sonya Shafer
Moderator
That’s what I did, Kathi. I gave the kids just enough phonics rules to get them started, then once we started reading the Pathway Readers, I gave them rules only as they needed them at the moment.
February 27, 2009 at 7:44 pm
csmamma
Participant
Hi Kathi,
Just wanted to share that we do not normally do workbooks around here, but we do use the phonics tm and wkbs to go along with the pathway books. We do alot of it orally and some written. I love the wkbs because they go along with the story. Also, they’re easy to just pull off the shelf along with the book ~ no planning on my part. My son seems to enjoy them too- at least for now. We started with First Steps.
Blessings,
Heather
March 6, 2009 at 1:42 am
Shanna
Participant
I love these also. They are fun. It is good to know that others are using them the same way we are.
October 2, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Stacey
Member
Hi everyone. Don’t know if anyone still checks this topic, but here is a great way to add to the Pathway Readers. You can follow the link below to a site where I purchased “Learning Through Sounds” for my son. This series of workbooks are wonderful for teaching phonics and sight words prior to beginning the “First Steps” reader. Everything is in the same program, so it all connects. Hope this helps someone!
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Pathway_Readers_Grade1/
October 2, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Stacey
Member
Sorry, the link I posted 15 minutes ago does not work. Try this one if you are interested!

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Pathway_Readers_Grade_1/