The Writing Road to Reading (Phonics and Spelling)

The Writing Road to Reading is a comprehensive resource for teaching phonics, spelling, reading and writing, and as such it can be quite daunting to tackle for a first time homeschooler.  It has taken me several readings over a number of years to come up with a method for implementing this program in my home school.  I will break it down for you here:

1.  Make phonogram cards according to the directions on pages 213-221.  The phonogram goes on one side and the other side gives the sounds.  So for example in making the first card, on one side is written "a" and on the other is written "a - at / a - na vy / ah - fa ther."

Teach the phonograms according to pages 19-26 and do oral and written reviews according to pages 39-41.

You can make up handwriting pages for phonogram practice or you can use the ones found on a-z-worksheets.com.

2.  Teach about syllables, first giving a general explanation and clapping out the syllables for common words, then using the generalizations found on pages 226-227 as multisyllable words come up on the lists.

3.  Once phonograms 1-45 have been mastered, and you have taught about syllables, begin teaching the Ayers list words starting with list A-G which begins on page 254.  I made up spelling lists on www.spellingcity.com which progressively move through the Ayers word list.  Spelling city will generate handwriting pages and a handful of other activities with your list for free.  You can email me and I will add you on as a "student" so you can access the lists. 

3.  Make magnetic phonogram tiles like the ones found here.  On the day you introduce a spelling list for the first time, use the phonogram tiles to spell out the words.  You can do it on a cookie sheet, the refrigerator, a magnetic dry erase board, or if you have a magnetic one like I do, your front door!

4.  Rules 1-4 (found on pages 223-225) should be introduced as you teach the first 45 phonograms.  Then introduce the remaining rules  as they come up on the lists.  The rule numbers are written next to the words on the Ayers list.  Make up a handwriting page for each rule and give them to the child to write out.  There is no way to save the worksheets on www.handwritingworksheets.com , so I print out two and put one into a binder as a "master copy" for future use.

For young children, just review the rules orally.  You can write or print out the rules pages found beginning on page 237 of the book to use as a visual aid.  

5.  After your child has learned the words and done the activities over a few days, give the spelling test and move on to the next list.  I  typically do the teaching and activities on Monday-Thursday and the spelling test on Friday. 

The Writing Road to Reading also has a great section on children's literature recommendations according to grade level found on pages 206-211.  You should be able to find these books or at least most of them at your local library.

This can be used as a standalone program for teaching reading.  Once the child has mastered the first 45 phonograms, you can start with the  Little Angel Readers Book A or another primer of your choice.

Reading Part One

I have mentioned the Catholic National Readers as our choice for reading practice.  The first book is the "Primer and Book One," and is fine to work from on its own, but it is challenging.  I like the Little Angel Readers Book A as a pre-primer.  You can make up worksheets to practice the letters and words as they come up in the book using www.handwritingworksheets.com .  There is no way to save your worksheets on this website, so print two and put one into a binder as a "master copy" for future use.
 
If your little one does not yet know the alphabet, www.catholicicing.com has a wonderful FREE catholic ABC's program with printable crafts for every letter of the alphabet.  They also have a reproducible book containing the entire program with additional content available for $35.  It is a great deal considering you can use it for child after child. 

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is a great, tried and true choice for teaching reading, and at around $20 new, it is a great value.  Donna Young has free worksheets to correspond with each of the lessons.

The Writing Road to Reading is another great resource for teaching reading which I explain in detail in another post.