Supplementing classroom instruction

[Deb]

I've read with interest the various discussions relating to classroom instruction, reading programs, parental involvement, etc.

I realize that most of you have a curriculum for your grade, and that you teach according to some "program" whether it be Open Court, Saxon, SRA etc.

I am a big believer in phonics instruction, and I work with my kindergarten kid extensively with software, games, musical CD's, and anything else I can get my hands on to encourage and teach reading phonetically.

His classroom instruction centers largely around "word families" and involves a lot of rote memorization of what words look like. They even go so far as to outline the letters of certain words so that there is a visual of the word.

Does my supplementing his education with hard core phonics hinder is learning in the classroom setting? There are things that he has trouble with at school, but that he does extremely well with at home.

Any suggestions?

[irish223]

I believe most reading programs use a combination of whole language and phonics. You aren't harming your child's progress by practicing phonics. However, you might also want to work with the word families and sight words (high frequency words) at home.

Decoding is a vital skill, but to become fluent, children also have to learn to recognize words and word patterns. If a child learns to read only phonetically, comprehension may suffer, especially in English where so many words don't follow the 'rules.'

[Boxcar]

No, your teaching of phonics doesn't undermine the teacher's method.

You are doing your child a favor by teaching him phonics. :)

There are many ways to learn to read. A combination is the most useful.

One tip: Keep it as fun as possible. Teach through the things he loves to do. Reading can be compared to toliet-training in that it can quickly become a battle ground.

There is a really great phonics CD you might want to look into. I don't have the name on hand, but it is the sounds of the letters played with the Jepordy theme. A kindergarten teacher I know uses it, and she says the kids will start singing the song while they are writing/reading and need to know letters/sounds.

[Deb]

Thanks Boxcar,

I have that CD, and we play it in the car so that he can be "entertained" while I drive.

I also use a lot of computer software - as long as he thinks it a video game and gets points---I'll go along.

I'll keep working with him if since you don't seem to think I can do too much damage.;)