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Using Pathway Readers Learning Through Sounds
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My son is 9 and we are using the pathway series with the Amish family. He is doing very well with the reading but the learning with sounds is a bit of a challenge. As we are getting midway into second grade there is a lot of focus on identifying the sound symbols like “u” and “o” with one or two dots or a straight line above it or the upside down “e”. I don’t remember this at all when I learned to read. I’d love to hear some feedback if someone has used this method or should I pass over it.
Thank you,
Toni
It sounds like you may be using the workbooks that go along with the readers. I didn’t use those. I just had my children read aloud the readers so I could hear how they were doing with their reading progress. I think you’re on the right track when you say that you don’t remember those code symbols. Yet I would assume that you are a good reader. The goal is that he becomes a fluent reader, not that he knows all those symbols. At least that’s my $0.02 worth.
Hello Sonya,
My son is doing very well reading the books but when we get to the workbooks, ugh! Everything changes. What else did you use to accompany reading the books? I’ve used The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading in the past. I just want to be sure that I’m giving him a solid foundation before we move forward.
Thank you,
Toni
I’m doing a combination of Delightful Reading and the Pathway readers right now with my youngest. We do Delightful Reading two days a week and she reads aloud from the Pathway reader two other days a week. That combination seems to be working for her. The Delightful Reading lessons give us enough time to explore words and learn new letter combinations and such, which in turn support her reading aloud. It’s been a good combination for us.
We’ve used and are using these. I like the workbooks because they are working w/ new words and also has comprehension questions, just enough of them. As for the phonics pages, they are good but can be tough. I’m right there w/ you as far as knowing what each thing should be.
Couple of options:
–skip the workbooks entirely
–skip just the Learning Through Sounds pages
–look at the AK and see what each one is. I usually will help w/ some. I exagerate the sounds in the words. I don’t get hung up on them and I will even go through it w/ him if I need to. Those pages are good to help them distinguish those subtle differences and giving them an awareness of the sounds to help them w/ spelling. But, they can be skipped, too.
I’ve also used the Pathway program in conjunction w/ AAS and/or Phonics Pathways so I didn’t get too focused on the workbooks. They’re just a tool I use how I want to and in a way that works best for that dc.
K
I’ve used Pathway readers but never the workbooks. For my children that were reading the 2nd grade books easily, I did not find it necesary to add any other reading instructions. Once they finished the 3rd grade books, they transitioned to reading chapter books.
Some of my children benefitted from a little bit more reading instruction. At the back of each book, there is a list of each new word. Sometimes we would review this list and “mark up” each word. By this I mean, we would break it into syllables, circle vowel teams and consonent teams (or dygraphs if you prefer that terminology), and determine vowel sounds,etc. I didn’t do this unless the children needed this extra step. Since you have The Ordinary Parent Guide, you could easily add in a little bit of reading instruction if your dc is showing you that he needs more instruction. I got the impression that your son is reading well but having difficulty with the workbooks.
CM would cover comprehension with narration and not the workbook. CM would also teach the child “enough” phonics then let them read. It really comes down to your educational philosophy and goals.
HTH
I’ve used Pathway readers but never the workbooks. For my children that were reading the 2nd grade books easily, I did not find it necesary to add any other reading instructions. Once they finished the 3rd grade books, they transitioned to reading chapter books.
Some of my children benefitted from a little bit more reading instruction. At the back of each book, there is a list of each new word. Sometimes we would review this list and “mark up” each word. By this I mean, we would break it into syllables, circle vowel teams and consonent teams (or dygraphs if you prefer that terminology), and determine vowel sounds,etc. I didn’t do this unless the children needed this extra step. Since you have The Ordinary Parent Guide, you could easily add in a little bit of reading instruction if your dc is showing you that he needs more instruction. I got the impression that your son is reading well but having difficulty with the workbooks.
CM would cover comprehension with narration and not the workbook. CM would also teach the child “enough” phonics then let them read. It really comes down to your educational philosophy and goals.
HTH
How long should I use a phonics program? I am doing the Pathway readers, the workbooks and The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. He has struggled with reading until just this year. It’s all starting to come together now which is so exciting for him. At this point I’m hesitant to change anything because it is working but it takes a long time to complete and I feel like he’s ready to do more actual reading. He also reads aloud from the Second Reader from Yeasterdays Classics. We started with the Primer and have worked our way to the second. He enjoys that as well. Thank you for all your wonderful insight. What amazing blessing this forum has been to me.
Toni
Toni…we too use the Pathway Readers, but not the workbooks. We use Explode the Code workbooks instead. It’s a very sound, easy to use, and straightforward series. It’s also relatively inexpensive, much like Pathway.
In regard to “How long should I use a phonics program?”, I’m currently reading a book by Dr. David Sousa called “How the Brain Learns to Read” and it says this….
“Phonics lessons should last typically from 15-20 minutes a day, but should also be reinforced during the remainder of the day with other activities in the child’s reading program, including opportunities to read and write. Phonics instruction should be taught for about two years for most students, usually kindergarten and grade 1. If begun in grade 1, it should be completed by grade 2.”
I wouldn’t get too hung up on grade 1,2, 3, or 4, because I believe the child needs to be ready to begin, but I think once you have that readiness piece, the notion of two years of phonics instruction is feasible.
I’ve linked an interesting slide presentation, IMHO, to a recent blog post I did on the above mentioned book here if you’re interested…http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/2012/01/rambling-about-reading.html
Blessings to you,
Melissa
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