Writing/phonics resources for 1st grade (for at-home supplementing)

[Anonymous]

My youngest is 6, in first grade, and can use help in all academic areas, but I am looking especially for a good writing (or reading/writing) curriculum we can do for 10-15 mins a night that includes a significant writing component. He has CP but does not have dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, and most recently scored in the 40-50 percentile range in iready. His handwriting is OK but I think writing will help his reading really click. His school curriculum (fundations) is phonics heavy but he still tends to just memorize words rather than sound them out. He will mostly just sound out CVC words. He also needs a lot of help with punctuation, sentences, etc. The CP most affects his speech articulation, so things like sounding out and writing blends and that kind of thing will be helpful for him IMO. He was not able to read the words to place into "All about spelling" level 1. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Can he read all the Bob books? They are good phonics readers. There are some others as well.

There are handwriting books for manuscript and cursive. I taught my kids with Zaner Bloser books.

[Anonymous]

All About Reading and All About Spelling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can he read all the Bob books? They are good phonics readers. There are some others as well.

There are handwriting books for manuscript and cursive. I taught my kids with Zaner Bloser books.

We have two sets of Stage 1 Bob books and he can read those, albeit with some effort, but we don't have the more advanced sets (stage 2/3). He is not very motivated to read them so I was hoping to find something new to add in at home to mix it up. We do still keep those in the rotation, though. My other kids enjoyed them more because they progressed more quickly, but anything I do with DS will just be a slog (it took a LOT to get him to his current level).

I couldn't find a preview of the Zaner Bloser books- I am looking for writing more as in encoding, punctuating, writing the correct direction, using spaces, etc. His letter formation is fine, especially relative to his other skills. Would the Zaner Bloser work on all those skills?

[Anonymous]

I am a little confused if you are looking for reading or writing help but I used Teach Your Kid to read in 20 lessons book. I thought the lessons were clear and easy to follow, and gives a very solid phonics foundation, and there is a writing component to each lesson.

For writing, it might help to just have him copy simple sentences from easy books (bob books or this one I recommended).

https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Lesson-Teach-Child-Lessons/dp/0913063029/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2A0NA8RA6DZE9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ALrdnvAEq-KqOiAvt_ZmMWCekKO608PMkw98YVBSS3L2V80VCmRmS4V0J3TR_Hky.nyU0kk-w8LvWSPofc-KlpIydR1IDiiLtB029yHa3UZg&dib_tag=se&keywords=teach+your+kid+to+reach+20+lessons&qid=1758834258&sprefix=teach+your+kid+to+reach+20+leasons%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1

[Anonymous]

Costco in Chantilly has sets of Bob Books on sale. Likely also available now at other local CostCo sites. Recommended.

Another option -- for more advanced readers after the Bob books -- are the phonetic readers that are part of "Jolly Phonics" series. These can be bought online at homeschool supply stores. Interesting stories. Carefully chosen words.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. He had a reading tutor this summer who worked with him a lot on writing. She said it helped make the reading “click.” She used her own resources - they used letter tiles and dry erase boards and index cards with words that he would have to unscramble and make into a sentence. I guess I was looking for a resource that took a similar hands-on approach since his reading really took off over the summer, and he likes writing about topics of interest more than reading about topics not of interest (and there not a ton of interesting books at his level)

[Anonymous]

I have used the "180 days of _____" series of workbooks for my kids, at various grades and subjects from K to 6, depending on need. They have them for multiple subjects and sub-subjects like writing, reading, spelling, etc. I also like the Evan-Moor series of workbooks, but they are usually a few dollars more expensive.

Lately I have also used Chat GPT to create simple reading passages and reading comprehension questions according to my parameters.

[Anonymous]

I use extra handwriting practice and math sheets from Teacher pay teachers for my sped kid at home.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Grade-Phonics-Level-1-Units-1-14-Bundle-2957582


They don’t have workbooks like this, so if you ignore the crappy pictures, it will mirror what they are doing in school and keep in line with the tutors approach.

[Anonymous]

IIRC, you are supposed to complete certain level(s) of All About Reading before moving to All about Spelling, so you could still start with AAR. I don't know that I'd focus a lot on writing without getting reading and spelling down more solidly, unless for some reason the CP diagnosis is expected to cause permanent reading issues.

Reading and spelling are supposed to become automatic, which would then reduce the cognitive load with writing. It sounds like now that the spelling may be inhibiting how many ideas he can get on paper and how fast? This would be, for instance, if he can verbally respond with a lot more detail and substance than shows up when he answers a question on paper.


Does he have working memory issues? And I assume he's been tested for dyslexia?

[Anonymous]

7:04- I missed that you think writing will help reading click, but I basically addressed that anyway. I'm curious why you think that because I would strongly disagree. I'd encourage you to learn as much as possible about how kids learn to read.

Also does he do OT for writing? Maybe his wiring appears okay but is taking a lot of effort, which can also affect output.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:7:04- I missed that you think writing will help reading click, but I basically addressed that anyway. I'm curious why you think that because I would strongly disagree. I'd encourage you to learn as much as possible about how kids learn to read.

Also does he do OT for writing? Maybe his wiring appears okay but is taking a lot of effort, which can also affect output.

Highly recommend watching the "Toddlers Can Read" videos on youtube. I used a lot of the suggestions in teaching my now-kindergartener to read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I use extra handwriting practice and math sheets from Teacher pay teachers for my sped kid at home.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Grade-Phonics-Level-1-Units-1-14-Bundle-2957582


They don’t have workbooks like this, so if you ignore the crappy pictures, it will mirror what they are doing in school and keep in line with the tutors approach.

Thank you - this looks great

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IIRC, you are supposed to complete certain level(s) of All About Reading before moving to All about Spelling, so you could still start with AAR. I don't know that I'd focus a lot on writing without getting reading and spelling down more solidly, unless for some reason the CP diagnosis is expected to cause permanent reading issues.

Reading and spelling are supposed to become automatic, which would then reduce the cognitive load with writing. It sounds like now that the spelling may be inhibiting how many ideas he can get on paper and how fast? This would be, for instance, if he can verbally respond with a lot more detail and substance than shows up when he answers a question on paper.


Does he have working memory issues? And I assume he's been tested for dyslexia?

Thanks. He doesn't have working memory issues or dyslexia per his neuropsych (but I am skeptical about the results and curious what we will learn when he is 8 and has his next one) but there is definitely some type of cognitive issue(s) going on. His biggest measurable impairments are speech and language related (speech articulation; mixing up easy words like animal names, today/tomorrow/yesterday, breakfast/dinner, naptime/bedtime; and forgetting what he was planning to say). He doesn't qualify for OT anymore in his IEP and we are taking a break from private OT these days.

As far as reading -he went to a Montessori preschool and that approach is all about learning to write before learning to read, so I guess that's where I first picked up that idea. But I am not an educator and not wedded to any approach - just looking for something to work on a few minutes a day with DS to improve his overall ELA skills. I will try the fundations practice referenced above, but if we need more systematic practice and he starts falling behind, it sounds like AAR is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

A friend who ended up not loving All About Learning was a huge fan of Logic of English for her child with suspected dyslexia (school wouldn't diagnose because her LOE supplementation made her child too strong in reading for a diagnosis and she hadn't yet gotten an outside eval).