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Struggling with reading/using pathway series
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My son is 7 1/2 and having alot of difficulty reading. We’ve used The Ordinary Parents Guide to TEaching Reading and Alpha Phonics but he really struggles with sounding out words. He just wants to read a book. I saw the recommendation for the pathway series and was curious if anyone has used it? They don’t carry it at my local library so I would have to purchase it. My son is super high energy, when I try to get him to sound out words he has a melt down. I’ve backed off alot and have just been reading books and gently inserting some phonics. It’s going much better but I’d like to have some other suggestions if anyone has any.
We use Pathways readers. I don’t know if that is what you are talking about. Both of my children were later readers. My son learned to read in third grade. I used part of an Abeka phonics book, Dick and Jane books and Pathways readers. He picked it up easily. Then my daughter came along
, and she didn’t pick it up easily like her brother. She just finished third grade, and is still a beginning reader. We will do the whole Abeka phonics book and we have used Bob Books, Dick and Jane books, and Explode the Code along with the Pathways readers. We are at the point where she needs lots and lots of practice. We’ll get there.I like the Pathways readers. My daughter thinks they are boring. But I like how they progress adding in a few new words with each story. We just use the reader and not the workbooks that are offered.
hope that helps!
sarah
My son is also 7 1/2 and is not really reading yet. He still struggles with remembering letter sounds and names. One day he has it the next he doesn’t. We just keep plugging along though. We also use the pathway readers and 100 Easy Lessons. He can read some of the First Steps. But again will struggle some days and not remember letter sounds or names. Frustrating for me, but I try to not let it show. I encourage you to just keep practicing. Play games with words too. Make it as fun as you can.
I haven’t used it yet but I checked a book out from my library called Teach your Child to read with Children’s Books. It was REALLY good and it’s the method I’m planning to use with my 7 yo DS to get him to keep moving (He is reading easy books) and the method I’ll try with my 4yo son (not now, but when he’s ready!) It’s a combination of using phonics but with REAL books (not made up stories just to teach a certain letter sound, etc) and skill drilling in fun ways. Check to see if your library has it!
This is not too CM. but I have resorted to Explode the code workbooks, and sometimes the 1/2 books in order to painlessly drill in concepts. My almost 6 year old is starting with book 1 now. We also are starting with the Pathway readers as well because they do a nice job of covering sight words and have a real story line.
We started with Sing Spell Read and Write only because someone gave me the set and I just needed to purchase the workbook. It was okay, my son liked it, but it’s not my first choice (nor will I use it with my 4yo in the fall, I may use pieces of it for fun). What I did use to help my middle boy, who is almost 8, is Reading Reflex. When I found it I thumbed through it and thought it was worth a try. It was exactly what I needed to help both of my older boys (now 11 and almost 8) further their reading skills. Now that they are reading independently we just read (like CM recommends), read and read. I plan to use some of it in the fall to sharpen some skills and will use it in the fall for my almost 5 yo (slowly, of course).
BTW, I did not use anything for my 11yo as he went to ps for almost 2 1/2 years, but I do use it for him when I feel he needs help. I used it for my 8yo and he reads at about a 4th grade level. I don’t know if it’s just strengths vs. weaknesses, but my 8yo reads much better than my 11yo did at that age.
I felt it gave me the tools needed (and the exact words to say) when we came to words that were unfamiliar, plus I changed my own approach to things which helped tremendously:)
As Chantelle mentioned, Teach your Child to read with Children’s Books is really good and would go along with the process of using regular books as you’ve started doing. The entire idea of that book is that, although phonics are important, they sometimes get in the way of children’s learning because the child simply wants to read a book (not a lesson in a manual). I used this book/method with my first child with great success.
I also have recently use The Reading Lesson (sold at Amazon, Rainbow Resource, Timberdoodle, and their website http://www.readinglesson.com) with my third child. She sounds similar to your son in that sounding out words did not come easy to her. Prior to The Reading Lesson we tried Teach your Child to read with Children’s Books, Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons, AlphaPhonics, and a sample of Reading Made Easy with no success. The Reading Lesson is delightfully simple with adorable stories and the child begins reading short stories immediately. I used the book The Reading Lesson and also ended up purchasing The Reading Lesson Computer CD which proved very helpful and my daughter loved the Computer CD. She finished The Reading Lesson at the end of this last school year and is now reading 2nd grade chapter books.
Hope this helps! Good luck finding the right program for your son.
Blessings, Angie
THank you all so much for your suggestions. I feel like we’ve gone through 2 years of phonics and he’s not any further than were we started. I started looking into all the programs you’ve suggested and they seem nice and simple. He did pick up some bob books that we used a long time ago and he could read the beginning books, he was really excited. So I think that I have to go back to really simple books. THank you again for your encouragement, I need it!!
Sounds like he’s not developmentally ready. 7.5 is not old for reading. Read some of the Raymond Moore books for encouragement. It doesn’t matter what curriculum you use; if your child isn’t ready, none of it will work. If he is ready, any of it will work.
I hope I’m not going to totally upset the apple cart, but I have a suggestion… in CM’s writings, you will find a method for teaching children to read by not only phonics, but SIGHT reading, which makes sense, WE ALL read by sight, you, me, none of us would be sitting here reading if we had to phonetically sound out each and every word, it would be too painful! Take a bible verse, a poem, etc, put each word on a card, teach the child to pronounce and read each word, have the child put the words in order to formulate the sentence, it just gives children real words to use instead of what can be very boring: cat, bat, rat… their reading can really take off, and they are able to read interesting stories.
Both of my children are sight readers, phonics was too piecemeal that didn’t = anything, but words, ah, that was something “real” and concrete, much more so than ba be bi bo bu.
Don’t know if it’ll help. It may not if your DS is not developmentally ready, which I’m a very firm believer in being sensitive to. Kids can be stretched, but sometimes they just aren’ ready to do something, and that’s OK. Try a different approach, and if it doesn’t work, give him space, reading is too important to make him hate it.
Blessings,
Ginnie
I love Pathway however we began them after we were well on our way with reading. I used a rather expensive, yet free resource that was given to me by my mother. I think they are excellent readers and my children are doing very well. My 6 year old son is reading at a solid 3rd-4th grade reading level. The books are published by Houghton Mifflin. You can go to their website and purchase the “Phonic Readers.” There are about (10) I think. The total cost was around $100, but if you have the same experience as we did with them, you will never regret spending that kind of money. I also used a series of Phonic Readers with my kids by Christian Liberty Press. They are simple, but not quite as step by step as the Houghton Mifflin series. The name of the Houghton Mifflin Phonics series is “Phonics Library.” There are very few “sight” words taught. Everything is phonics based. We did Explode the Code to learn the sounds and letters.
Do you think he is comfortable and solid with all of his sounds. After my children had learned their letters and sounds (short and long only), we began to build word books. Make your own story. I taught my son the vowels first and then the consonants. As soon as he learned a few consonant sounds, then we would put a vowel between the consonants and then we would have a word. We would make word books. Sam, can , pan ran. It sounds like you did Ordinary Parents Guide and I was pretty sure that the book talks with Parents about covering the letters as they are reading. Only exposing some of the word (break it at a syllable for them) have them work with that part of the word and then uncover the remainder of the word and have them sound out that part. Then have them read the “whole word.”
I’m thinking if he’s in tears there has to be a reason. He may be struggling with tracking, or not remembering his sounds.
, and she didn’t pick it up easily like her brother. She just finished third grade, and is still a beginning reader. We will do the whole Abeka phonics book and we have used Bob Books, Dick and Jane books, and Explode the Code along with the Pathways readers. We are at the point where she needs lots and lots of practice. We’ll get there.
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