"Teaching Reading at Home" from the March/April 1995 issue of 
Mom's Network News

by Colleen Kay Porter

Teaching preschoolers to read is a controversial topic among 
many educators.  Certainly the best strategy is to read to your 
children, let them see you reading and have books in your house.  
A child should never be pushed into learning, and reading should 
never be stressed as more important than other skills like counting 
objects and identifying colors.  But sometime after their fourth 
birthday, each of my children has reached a point when I noticed 
that they were trying to sound out words and picking out enough 
phrases to read signs at the store.  So I taught them to read.  

As my next child approaches that stage, I decided to investigate 
the latest in home learning aids.  I was astonished at the number 
of commercially available kits;  more than a dozen possibilities 
were listed in reviews in the Sep/Oct 1994 issue of Family Life 
magazine and the Fall 1993 issue of Practical Home Schooling.  
They ranged in price from $28 for Alphaphonics (1), a highly rated 
traditional phonics program, to over $250 for some multi-media 
packages.  Commercial programs aren't the only possibility, 
either; the system I used to teach my older children is a 
university home study course called "Tutoring your child: reading" 
(2) which currently costs $25.  

ADVANTAGES

What are the advantages to using a reading program?

1.  Lessons were preprogrammed to be equal in length, and right 
for the student's attention span.  We did one lesson a day; I 
never had to look at the clock or worry about a fidgeting child.  
I think it turned out to be 15-20 minutes.

2.  A variety of techniques was utilized, which seemed to catch 
the child's attention and test different skills required for good 
reading.  Our program used both phonics  and "sight" words such as 
"the", which seemed to be a realistic approach.

3.  The most important advantage was that it fostered self-
confidence by creating a universe in which they knew every word.  
It started by teaching one vowel sound, a few consonants and two 
sight words, and then built simple sentences: "I am a man.  Sam is 
a man.  The man is Sam."  The child reads sentences from the first 
lesson without struggling over words, so they can acquire a feel 
for inflection and expression.  Each lesson adds a few consonants, 
more vowel sounds, and eventually blending.  Each lesson closes 
with the child reading sentences utilizing those new skills.  Just 
teaching them on my own or reading books around the house, I don't 
think I could have kept track of what they knew or didn't.

4.  One plus for the parent is that there is no daily preparation.  
The kit I used was  well organized and I never had to spend time 
thinking about what we would do that day.  We just did it.  Many 
of the courses include some kind of introductory training for the 
parent, to teach the general techniques that will be used in the 
course.  


CONSIDERATIONS

If you decide to invest in a home reading program, there are some 
important considerations in choosing the best program for your 
particular child.

- Is this going to be your child's primary curriculum, or just a 
supplement to the training they get at school?  One of the highly 
recommended multi-media packages is Sing, Spell, Read and Write 
(3), a comprehensive language arts program that includes 17 
storybooks, 2 student workbooks, 6 singalong cassettes and several 
games.  At $150, it's a bargain for homeschoolers, but perhaps 
overkill for a good student with a great teacher, who just needs 
support and supplementation at home.

- Is this learning tool something they do on their own, or will it 
be one-on-one with a parent?  Some of the multi-media systems 
include video or audio-tapes with songs and stories, so that the 
child can work on it themselves with minimal adult supervision.  
But other courses require interaction with a parent or other 
tutor.

- Will it be used for teaching a brand new reader, or for remedial 
help for an older child who needs extra attention?  Gift of 
Reading ($55, 4) has been implemented with learning disabled and 
English as a second language students, but not all programs have 
that track record.

- Consider your child's learning style, and find a program that 
matches it.  Some kids would enjoy singing along to a rap song, 
while others would hate it.  

- Be sure to ask about return policies, shipping charges and 
followup support such as a parent hotline.  These varied widely 
from program to program.  

More information is available upon request to MNN.

1. Alphaphonics: 208-343-3790
2.  Brigham Young University, 801-378-4351
3.  Sing, Spell, Read and Write: 800-321-TEACH
4.  Gift of Reading: 210-828-5179