APS - Which Phonics Program did your school adopt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore teacher here. I started using Heggerty on my own for phonemic awareness since Fundations doesn’t have much PA. Heggerty is fantastic and my kids love it. The book wasn’t cheap but I’m used to buying everything myself. Fundations is slow and dull but it is systematic.

DCPS parent here. Our school adopted Fundations and it seems really solid - maybe slow from a teaching perspective, but my kid really seemed to lock into it.

Unfortunately it doesn’t align with the benchmark reading levels students should be on. Kids should be on a level D at the BOY in first grade. The curriculum just began blending CVC words now in first grade so if you follow the curriculum with fidelity, your students will not meet the benchmarks. Very frustrating when you do what you are told to do and then are told your students aren’t meeting benchmarks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Lucy Calkins a phonics program? I'm a teacher in another state and I always thought it was just comprehension. We use Fundations in Baltimore City. It is remedial and pretty slow but our population needs it. Don't even get me started on this guessing at words based on the first letter. That enrages me as a teacher.

You are correct, Lucy Calkins used to be for reading and writing only, then she wanted to make more money so she now has a phonics program too, and many elementary schools are using that phonics program. I don't have a list but I know many adopted her phonics program, which sucks as bad as her other programs, if not worse. UGH!!!!

NP here. I would be concerned about any phonics program designed by Lucy Calkins since reading this quote by teacher and writer who works in dyslexia circles. "A few years ago I attended a week-long Reader’s Workshop in NYC with over a thousand other reading teachers and the word dyslexia was never even whispered (yes, at a reading workshop). When a colleague of mine asked Lucy Calkins, the creator of Reading Workshop, about her approach to dyslexic students, she told an auditorium packed with teachers that the condition is over-diagnosed and quickly moved on." Dyslexic students might represent a small percent of learners but I wouldn't trust a phonics curriculum written by anyone who was so dismissive of it.

Here is a link to the article. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dyslexia-action-denied-an_b_5950008?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADuomZ9D8g4niC3fG21li7pIcGgiLVNDwDNVr7G5JuH7Q_v6m94SdB_MscpdygHYos0rtTeM1gTzeDaW5ykQRufXtetVgNiP7yfdbjaNb--7VQqIYciOox7L5LYhTyL6W-uxpRX98aIrkEPK2d9MmUFq6Owft4q3kKITcarzeOD7

Estimates from Yale Center for Dyslexia are that 1 in 5 kids has some degree of dyslexia. Lucy Calkins and her ilk are a source of great harm to many children because they aren’t effectively training our teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does ATS use?

McGuffey readers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone going to post any actual information or research here? It’s impossible to tell whether these posters are just spouting off or there is some actual validity to these claims that it’s so terrible and yet the majority of arlington elementary schools use it. That doesn’t seem to add up.

I can share my anecdata.Two kids.

Older one started reading long before Kindergarten, it just clicked and made sense from a very early age for DC1. Got to K and flourished with the Lucy Caulkins workshop, so I assumed all was good. What I know now is that it’s a great program for advanced readers, because they can move at their own pace, choose more difficult books, books of interest, etc.

Younger one had no interest in learning to read, but loves books and being read to. Attended high quality preschool, but it still didn’t click. The LC workshop model has been a disaster for DC2. DC2 has absolutely no idea what to do when encountering a new word, and uses all the bad strategies of a struggling reader (looking at the picture, guessing based on the first letter, etc.). Luckily our school is one that’s doing the good phonics program, and DC2 really needs it. DC2 is very far behind her peers who were reading prior to K, and has made very little progress beyond memorizing easy sight words. DC2 needs phonics and to learn how the parts of words come together to make sounds. It’s really depressing that I had to go out and buy workbooks and spend time over the summer trying to remediate their mistake. DC2 is really embarrassed about reading in front of peers because DC2’s deficits are pretty evident now that they are a little older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone going to post any actual information or research here? It’s impossible to tell whether these posters are just spouting off or there is some actual validity to these claims that it’s so terrible and yet the majority of arlington elementary schools use it. That doesn’t seem to add up.

I can share my anecdata.Two kids.

Older one started reading long before Kindergarten, it just clicked and made sense from a very early age for DC1. Got to K and flourished with the Lucy Caulkins workshop, so I assumed all was good. What I know now is that it’s a great program for advanced readers, because they can move at their own pace, choose more difficult books, books of interest, etc.

Younger one had no interest in learning to read, but loves books and being read to. Attended high quality preschool, but it still didn’t click. The LC workshop model has been a disaster for DC2. DC2 has absolutely no idea what to do when encountering a new word, and uses all the bad strategies of a struggling reader (looking at the picture, guessing based on the first letter, etc.). Luckily our school is one that’s doing the good phonics program, and DC2 really needs it. DC2 is very far behind her peers who were reading prior to K, and has made very little progress beyond memorizing easy sight words. DC2 needs phonics and to learn how the parts of words come together to make sounds. It’s really depressing that I had to go out and buy workbooks and spend time over the summer trying to remediate their mistake. DC2 is really embarrassed about reading in front of peers because DC2’s deficits are pretty evident now that they are a little older.

What program is you DC2's school using? I am going to buy materials and tutor my own kid, since her school is using LC! Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone going to post any actual information or research here? It’s impossible to tell whether these posters are just spouting off or there is some actual validity to these claims that it’s so terrible and yet the majority of arlington elementary schools use it. That doesn’t seem to add up.

I can share my anecdata.Two kids.

Older one started reading long before Kindergarten, it just clicked and made sense from a very early age for DC1. Got to K and flourished with the Lucy Caulkins workshop, so I assumed all was good. What I know now is that it’s a great program for advanced readers, because they can move at their own pace, choose more difficult books, books of interest, etc.

Younger one had no interest in learning to read, but loves books and being read to. Attended high quality preschool, but it still didn’t click. The LC workshop model has been a disaster for DC2. DC2 has absolutely no idea what to do when encountering a new word, and uses all the bad strategies of a struggling reader (looking at the picture, guessing based on the first letter, etc.). Luckily our school is one that’s doing the good phonics program, and DC2 really needs it. DC2 is very far behind her peers who were reading prior to K, and has made very little progress beyond memorizing easy sight words. DC2 needs phonics and to learn how the parts of words come together to make sounds. It’s really depressing that I had to go out and buy workbooks and spend time over the summer trying to remediate their mistake. DC2 is really embarrassed about reading in front of peers because DC2’s deficits are pretty evident now that they are a little older.

What kind of workbooks did you buy for her, and did she make progress over the summer?

[Anonymous]

Campbell uses Fundations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore teacher here. I started using Heggerty on my own for phonemic awareness since Fundations doesn’t have much PA. Heggerty is fantastic and my kids love it. The book wasn’t cheap but I’m used to buying everything myself. Fundations is slow and dull but it is systematic.

What is PA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS - Which Phonics Program did your school adopt?

Mine chose "Lucy Calkins", which is horrifying, absolutely the worst choice ever, it shouldn't even been an option to begin with, and yet the principal selected that one!! So frustrating. Lucy Calkins teaches kids how to "guess", not how to "read".

Curious of what other schools chose. Please share your experience with reading instruction at APS, thank you!

Please tell me which school chose Lucy Calkins, because if it's mine I may have to move.

Do you have to move? see list below:

Abingdon, Arlington Science Focus, Ashlawn, Barcroft, Barrett, Claremont, Discovery, Drew, Fleet, Hoffman-Boston, Jamestown, Key, McKinley, Nottingham, Randolph, Taylor

What does ATS use?

Wilson.

Evidence based.There's no evidence that Lucy Caulkins works. Go on to google scholar or NLM and look for yourself if you don't believe me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does ATS use?

McGuffey readers.

LOL

Did you know that "phonics" has been used in teaching English reading since the first books were written for children? It's how they learn. Explicit instruction. not guessing and looking at pictures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS - Which Phonics Program did your school adopt?

Mine chose "Lucy Calkins", which is horrifying, absolutely the worst choice ever, it shouldn't even been an option to begin with, and yet the principal selected that one!! So frustrating. Lucy Calkins teaches kids how to "guess", not how to "read".

Curious of what other schools chose. Please share your experience with reading instruction at APS, thank you!

Please tell me which school chose Lucy Calkins, because if it's mine I may have to move.

Do you have to move? see list below:

Abingdon, Arlington Science Focus, Ashlawn, Barcroft, Barrett, Claremont, Discovery, Drew, Fleet, Hoffman-Boston, Jamestown, Key, McKinley, Nottingham, Randolph, Taylor

What does ATS use?

ATS uses Wilson Fundations or another Wilson program?

Wilson.

Evidence based.There's no evidence that Lucy Caulkins works. Go on to google scholar or NLM and look for yourself if you don't believe me.

[Anonymous]

ATS uses Wilson Fundations or another Wilson program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore teacher here. I started using Heggerty on my own for phonemic awareness since Fundations doesn’t have much PA. Heggerty is fantastic and my kids love it. The book wasn’t cheap but I’m used to buying everything myself. Fundations is slow and dull but it is systematic.

What is PA?

phonemic awareness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ATS uses Wilson Fundations or another Wilson program?

I think Wilson Foundations but am not positive.

To the poster who asked about workbooks; I'll try to find the one my child brought home at the end of K from ATS.

I am not sure it matters though as long as it is real phonics, not fake phonics (Lucy Calkins). See below for what I mean.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/teacher-blog/2013/apr/01/phonics-teaching-resources-schools

[Anonymous]

Last year ats used Pearson phonics.