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

[Anonymous]

Why are you seeking out phonics instruction instead of using the Lucy Calkins method, developed at famous Columbia University?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

To be clear, I'm not an educator either. Those are my observations about reading/writing that I've gleaned after learning a lot about dyslexia. There are lots of Facebook Groups and resources online. YMMV. I will say the yesterday/today/tomorrow thing is common for dyslexics. Also over/under, left/right, etc. and telling time. And also systematic teaching doesn't hurt those who won't need it, but lack thereof can hurt those who do.

Pam Katner has great stuff. I haven't listened to this but it came up when I Googled her, but spelling showing an understanding of language is an important idea: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fW_8HtR6Kag

I've typically cited this, which I have watched: https://vimeo.com/203740803

These things operate in a continuum so I've found them helpful w.r.r. family members with and without diagnosed dyslexia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you seeking out phonics instruction instead of using the Lucy Calkins method, developed at famous Columbia University?

please be sarcasm, please be sarcasm, please be sarcasm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

To be clear, I'm not an educator either. Those are my observations about reading/writing that I've gleaned after learning a lot about dyslexia. There are lots of Facebook Groups and resources online. YMMV. I will say the yesterday/today/tomorrow thing is common for dyslexics. Also over/under, left/right, etc. and telling time. And also systematic teaching doesn't hurt those who won't need it, but lack thereof can hurt those who do.

Pam Katner has great stuff. I haven't listened to this but it came up when I Googled her, but spelling showing an understanding of language is an important idea: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fW_8HtR6Kag

I've typically cited this, which I have watched: https://vimeo.com/203740803

These things operate in a continuum so I've found them helpful w.r.r. family members with and without diagnosed dyslexia.

*Kastner

[Anonymous]

Phonics? Seriously??

Phonics curriculums /supplements were sold on the Rush Limbaugh radio show!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Phonics? Seriously??

Phonics curriculums /supplements were sold on the Rush Limbaugh radio show!

This may be the strangest comment I've ever read on DCUM. Please research the science of reading.

[Anonymous]

Please ignore the troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you seeking out phonics instruction instead of using the Lucy Calkins method, developed at famous Columbia University?

please be sarcasm, please be sarcasm, please be sarcasm

It is NOT sarcasm. Phonics is extremely MAGA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you seeking out phonics instruction instead of using the Lucy Calkins method, developed at famous Columbia University?

please be sarcasm, please be sarcasm, please be sarcasm

It is NOT sarcasm. Phonics is extremely MAGA.

This is true.

Rush Limbaugh and other right-wingers have long promoted anachronistic phonics reading methods over more progressive, science-based methods.

Specifically, Rush Limbaugh's promotion of phonics-based reading methods is well-known, as well as his related children's book series.

Going back as far as the 1990s, and the height of the "reading wars" debate, Limbaugh's conservative talk show prominently featured ads for “Hooked on Phonics,” which Rush Limbaugh endorsed as a traditional, allegedly effective teaching method for children.

[Anonymous]

OMG, can lefties not make phonics a right-coded thing? We know phonics works to reach kids to read. Please use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG, can lefties not make phonics a right-coded thing? We know phonics works to reach kids to read. Please use it.

Right? FCPS started phonics when the local NAACP made it a big issue in 2021. And thank goodness for that!

Just because Rush Limbaugh once endorsed something doesn't make it inherently evil. That's not how the world works.

[Anonymous]

The Phonics-Maga thing is a troll. Ignore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, can lefties not make phonics a right-coded thing? We know phonics works to reach kids to read. Please use it.

Right? FCPS started phonics when the local NAACP made it a big issue in 2021. And thank goodness for that!

Just because Rush Limbaugh once endorsed something doesn't make it inherently evil. That's not how the world works.

Riiiight. Sure thing, MAGA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Phonics-Maga thing is a troll. Ignore.

Notice how people on dcum keep hurling “MAGA!” around, when in fact, they are the ones being MAGA ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG, can lefties not make phonics a right-coded thing? We know phonics works to reach kids to read. Please use it.

No, “we” do not know what you are claiming to be true.

The Berkeley public schools still use the Lucy Calkins reading curriculum, not anachronistic and right-wing phonics.