One thing we do is we have the closed captioning on with the TV. I think it facilitates the kids and learning to read a little bit.

I think it's hard when the kid wants to, but is having trouble grasping the concepts. It doesn't sound like OP is pushing him to do it.
Learning the phonetic sounds of individual and combined letters (sh, th, ch) really helps in both reading words and being able to sound a word out and spell it.
If he's good at memorizing, sight words would be a great start. Also, as a PP mentioned, CVC words (consonant -vowel-consonant).
Borrow books from the library so there's less of a chance of him memorizing the text. Maybe just pick 1 word for that book that he says every time it comes up.

He is not ready. Just read to him. He will likely be ready in first grade.

For a fun alternative to worksheets and books, you could watch Heidi Songs Sight Words videos on YouTube. DS (5) loves the songs. They are catchy tunes.

One method that worked for us (in addition to some of the many other suggestions here)

We have an easel next to our kitchen table. Every morning I would write a few sight words down. At first, 2-3. But we got up to 10. I would either have him point to ones as I said them, or read them to me. We worked through all the first couple of sets of the Dolch sight words.

After doing sight words for a few months, I started writing very basic sentences. Similar to Bob books. But, instead of Sam sat on the cat.... I might write "Larlo sat on the cat." Etc. My son would come down every morning, eager to read the silly sentences I came up with. I would intersperse our family members into the sentences and reinforce various sight words we had practiced... plus a few CVC words.

Gradually, we built up to actually sitting down with readers like Bob Books and Tug the Pup. My son also really enjoys nonfiction readers.

I still write out sentences some mornings. But now I take them directly out of a Level 1 reader. We spend a week or so working through a Nonfiction book this way.

Anonymous wrote:We used Leap Frog's Letter Factory for my kids to learn phonetics. We then progressed to Talking Words Factory to learn simple words, and then moved on to Code words. Both of my children had fun with the songs and catchy tunes.

Dr. Seuss books like Hop on Pop are also great for new learners. The rhyming and easy words make it fun for young readers.

Good luck!

+1 Exactly what I did with my 3 for phonetics, particularly teaching concepts like "silent e," and blends. Absolutely wonderful! Once the phonetics were down, we moved on to Bob books - another great resource. And a PP mentioned books like, Hop on Pop - fun reading and good confidence builder.

Oh, and yes, continue to read together! It's essential. You can also do the he reads one page, you read one page as well. Takes the pressure off.

You might also want to speak with the K teacher and see if she notices anything in particular, or has alternate suggestions.

Good luck!

I am the one who originally suggested Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

I just checked my copy and it also says copyright 1983.

A quick tip: the first few lessons will seem really easy and almost pointless-- do them anyway. Go through each part of the lesson. They help to build your child's confidence and introduce you to the book's methodology.

Read the intro to the book, it will explain what you are doing and why you shouldn't skip anything.

Preschool prep videos are great

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you are pushing too much. What does his teacher suggest?

Sounds like the kid wants to read, not the parent pushing him.

Leap Frog Letter Factory and Word Factory are FANTASTIC. Used them with all 3 kids. Plus get the letter magnets so you can make words on the fridge!

DS gets a sticker every morning if he can figure out what 3 letter word I have made on the fridge before breakfast. Very low pressure, and you can choose whatever reward you honk would work - a tattoo?

It sounds like you are pushing too much. What does his teacher suggest?