The Logic of English Essentials by Denise Eide ??

I heard her at our local convention and loved her ideas. I looked at the curriculum and decided it was too workbook-y and just more than I wanted to do. I bought the book though and have been going through the phonemes and grammar rules with my 4 kids, ages 7-12. Now we are resuming our regular spelling curriculum (Spelling Power) and I hope it helps them figure out how to spell words. Even if they can;t apply the rules themselves, maybe I can say “do you remember this rule?That is why this word is spelled this way.”

Nebby

http://www.lettersfromnebby.wordpress.com

Agreeing with Doug! I made the mistake of too many rules with one child. My other kids did much better with just learning phonics basics and then sight word drills. A few rules are needed of course, but not all. This is just my experience though. 🙂

To answer the original question about The Logic of English: yes, learning the 70 basic phonograms will be enough to teach your child to read. The lessons should be just long enough to keep your child’s full attention.

I use a program (Spell to Write and Read) that is similar to The Logic of English in that it teaches 70 phonograms and 29 spelling rules. I look at these phonograms as building blocks to words and the rules as the blueprint or design plans. I teach my children these building blocks and show them how to place these blocks together in word patterns. When proficient with the phonograms, we then move into introducing the spelling rules a few at a time. These spelling rules may be what is referred to as intensive phonics. With so many ways to make similar sounds in English, these rules help us to get an idea for which combinations of letters work together in words.

As we are introducing these rules gradually and continuing to reinforce them, it reminds me of how one gets started in learning a craft: one project at a time, graduating in difficulty. Before I have my children build the chicken coop out back, I would like them to work on smaller projects such as birdhouses, the life size Christmas manger for our Christmas books, a small cabinet for our pantry, and the dogs’ shelter. They need some plan to contruct these things with each set of plans building on the skills of the last project. This is the same with reading and spelling.

My children begin to read independently with just phonogram awareness and word pattern practice. This doesn’t mean we stop our lessons once they can read. It means that they can handle the power tools now and eventually become the general contractor with the plans (very helpful when written narrations come into play). We get more involved with our spelling rules.

Most importantly, each child is different and must be taught at their comfort and readiness level with customized instruction. This customization of lessons keeps our learning time fresh and fun. I also don’t worry about their pace. One of my children at the age of nine went from reading only three letter words to reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia series. She just needed her own time and pace. Her favorite authors now are Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Tolkien (of course).

It is fun to blend both the phonogram system and Charlotte Mason’s word pattern method together. I don’t stick to word lists. We love to get a line from our poem, hymn, or Scripture memory and see how these individual words are designed. One resource that I also use is Wheeler’s Elementary Speller. We go slowly with the copywork exercises in this book as we first analyze the individual words with the Spell to Write and Read markings. I also have my older ones working through the Spelling Wisdom books (yes, marking a handful of the words from the dictation).

And just for a great library search, An Acorn in My Hand by Ethel Bouldin (copyright 1964) is the book that has such a special place in my heart. This slim book is the story of how one first grade teacher taught her students to read and spell using both phonograms and word patterns.

I didn’t use the Logic of English but I do teach reading starting with the phonograms. Dd#3 was reading by the time she learned all the sounds for the first 26 phonograms. When she learned all 70 she took another jump in her reading ability. When she could read AND write all the phonograms her reading ability jumped again. 

Our first step is to teach the student to read the first 26 phonograms. Second is to write the first 26. Then to start ungluing and gluing words both orally and in writing. Then more phonograms are introduced focusing both on reading and writing them all the while ungluing and gluing words of increasing difficulty. Rules are taught as the words are taught so the learning is done in context. The phonograms and the rules become second nature and reading is moved into naturally. If a student of mine is struggling to process rules or phonograms while reading, he/she is not ready and needs more foundational work before being asked to read new material. A really powerful way to approach reading and builds a strong foundation.

Still taught using short lessons while the student is still engaged.