MNHK: Reading, Part 2: Learning to Read
Kindergarten
Children who know their letters may like to memorize and make simple consonant-vowel-consonant words, such as M-O-M, D-A-D, D-O-G, C-A-T, even if they can't yet tell you that T on its own says "tuh, tuh." The kind of store that sells cheap alphabet blocks and refrigerator letters may also have little word-and-picture jigsaw puzzles for these words. They may also want to learn a few sight words (words that can't be sounded out--more on this below) that they consider important, such as their own names or the names of pets or siblings.
When they can easily recite their alphabet and identify large letters on sight, children are ready to begin learning the most common sound of each letter. Of course, since English has 44 sounds and only 26 letters, the actual situation is more complicated than children this age are ready for, but the most common sounds are a good beginning. Add an alphabet book to your storytime lineup. You can find some good alphabet books at any library or thrift store. The best ones I have found online are both by Walter Crane. The titles are:
The Absurd ABC (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17283)
An Alphabet of Old Friends (https://archive.org/details/alphabetoldfrie00cran)
They quote a lot of nursery rhymes, so if you plan to use these, begin by reading Mother Goose. After the books have become familiar, make it a daily habit to to a large letter that your child knows (like the P in O-P-E-N. or the letter blocks in C-A-T) and ask them what the letter says.
Kindergarten-aged children often enjoy having short chapter books read to them. You can read a chapter a day as a break during school time, or at bedtime--or both. See the list in Part 3.
For more advice from Charlotte Mason, see the list of primers below.
Beginning Reading
Most children learn to read sometime between the ages of 5 and 8. Because reading is so foundational, you shouldn't push, or you may cause anything from eyestrain to hatred of books. Just present a basic reading game or lesson and see if they take to it; if they don't, try again with something else in a week or so. On the other hand, if your child is still showing no interest in reading or struggling with their very first lessons by age 7, it's time to ask a doctor what's going on or at least read a book about dyslexia. Do not be too proud to seek help or too pure to accept help from people who are different from you.
There is currently an argument among educators about whether "whole word recognition," i.e., teaching children to memorize the appearance of every word, or "phonics," i.e., teaching children how to sound out letters in order to make words, is better. Actually this argument has been going on for more than a hundred years! The truth is that learning how to read English requires both approaches. On one hand, English has such weird spelling that many words can only be memorized, so that you will know them on sight: they are sight words. On the other hand, our spelling rules are just consistent enough that we can use them to decode many words the first time we see them. I favor teaching phonics as a baseline and dropping in a few common sight words per lesson. The following primers may fall on one side or other of the Great Reading Controversy; adjust the method given in the teacher's manual accordingly. NOTE that some series also have workbooks and other supplements available--just search the archive for the authors' last names. You will have to make some cards and charts for many of these courses; you can use cereal boxes with opaque paper pasted over the printed sides, or any kind of posterboard or heavy paper.
"A Summary of Charlotte Mason's Advice on Teaching Reading," by Jennifer Spead
Mason didn't write a primer, preferring instead to use familiar nursery rhymes and picture books. This document begins with suggestions for the toddler years and goes on to full-blown reading lessons. Find it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dq7wx-C4vTlLO6uzq2r6Fekvnz9JTDMsKsCwjJBg3MQ/edit#
If you need an actual primer, there are quite a few to choose from at the Internet Archive.
The Jingle Primer by Clara L. Brown and Carolyn Sherwin Bailey uses simple nursery rhymes and tales, which Mason would have approved. It includes an explanatory preface. Find it here: https://archive.org/details/jingleprimerfirs00brow
The Easy Primer by Geoffrey Buckwalter (https://archive.org/details/easyprimer00buckgoog) also uses nursery rhymes.
The Elson-Runkel Series dates from the '20s and '30s.
The pre-primer is here: https://archive.org/details/elsonbasicreaderelso_0
The primer is here: https://archive.org/details/elsonbasicreaderelso
The teacher's manual for both books is here: https://archive.org/details/manualforelsonru00elso (This refers to earlier editions of the books, with different stories; use the lessons as models for your own work.)
Easy Growth in Reading by Gertrude Howell Hildreth is from the '40s and '50s.
Here is the first pre-primer, Mac and Muff: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_32
And here is its manual: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_33
The second pre-primer, The Twins Tom and Don: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_28
The third, Going to School: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_27
The first primer, At Play: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_26
The second, Fun in Story: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_24
A general manual for all of them: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinread00hild_1 (It refers to a couple of picture books, Our Picture Book and Our Story Book, which are not in the archive.)
The Finger Play Reader Series by John W. Davis and Fanny Julien includes teacher's notes parallel to the text.
Part One: https://archive.org/details/fingerplayreade01juligoog
Part Two: https://archive.org/details/fingerplayreade00juligoog
The Alice and Jerry Series by Mabel O'Donnell really starts with the basics. According to the Guidebook for the second set, you can skip the following two picture books if your child is advanced.
Here We Go is here: https://archive.org/details/alicejerrybooksf01odon
Over the Wall is here: https://archive.org/details/alicejerrybooksf02odon
And their guidebook: https://archive.org/details/alicejerrybooksgodon
Skip Along is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas01odon
Under the Sky is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas02odon
Open the Door is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas03odon
High on a Hill is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas04odon
And their guidebook: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas02odon_0
McGuffey's Eclectic Primer is the first in a series that is a giant of the homeschooling field even though it's more than 150 years old. The first few books are still excellent introductions to reading. I favor the 1909 reissue because the art is better. Here is the primer: https://archive.org/details/mcguffeyseclecti00mcgu
The Eclectic Manual of Methods for the Assistance of Teachers by J.T. Stewart (https://archive.org/details/eclecticmanualof00stew) covers the primer, all six readers, and Ray's first three arithmetic books.
Children who know their letters may like to memorize and make simple consonant-vowel-consonant words, such as M-O-M, D-A-D, D-O-G, C-A-T, even if they can't yet tell you that T on its own says "tuh, tuh." The kind of store that sells cheap alphabet blocks and refrigerator letters may also have little word-and-picture jigsaw puzzles for these words. They may also want to learn a few sight words (words that can't be sounded out--more on this below) that they consider important, such as their own names or the names of pets or siblings.
When they can easily recite their alphabet and identify large letters on sight, children are ready to begin learning the most common sound of each letter. Of course, since English has 44 sounds and only 26 letters, the actual situation is more complicated than children this age are ready for, but the most common sounds are a good beginning. Add an alphabet book to your storytime lineup. You can find some good alphabet books at any library or thrift store. The best ones I have found online are both by Walter Crane. The titles are:
The Absurd ABC (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17283)
An Alphabet of Old Friends (https://archive.org/details/alphabetoldfrie00cran)
They quote a lot of nursery rhymes, so if you plan to use these, begin by reading Mother Goose. After the books have become familiar, make it a daily habit to to a large letter that your child knows (like the P in O-P-E-N. or the letter blocks in C-A-T) and ask them what the letter says.
Kindergarten-aged children often enjoy having short chapter books read to them. You can read a chapter a day as a break during school time, or at bedtime--or both. See the list in Part 3.
For more advice from Charlotte Mason, see the list of primers below.
Beginning Reading
Most children learn to read sometime between the ages of 5 and 8. Because reading is so foundational, you shouldn't push, or you may cause anything from eyestrain to hatred of books. Just present a basic reading game or lesson and see if they take to it; if they don't, try again with something else in a week or so. On the other hand, if your child is still showing no interest in reading or struggling with their very first lessons by age 7, it's time to ask a doctor what's going on or at least read a book about dyslexia. Do not be too proud to seek help or too pure to accept help from people who are different from you.
There is currently an argument among educators about whether "whole word recognition," i.e., teaching children to memorize the appearance of every word, or "phonics," i.e., teaching children how to sound out letters in order to make words, is better. Actually this argument has been going on for more than a hundred years! The truth is that learning how to read English requires both approaches. On one hand, English has such weird spelling that many words can only be memorized, so that you will know them on sight: they are sight words. On the other hand, our spelling rules are just consistent enough that we can use them to decode many words the first time we see them. I favor teaching phonics as a baseline and dropping in a few common sight words per lesson. The following primers may fall on one side or other of the Great Reading Controversy; adjust the method given in the teacher's manual accordingly. NOTE that some series also have workbooks and other supplements available--just search the archive for the authors' last names. You will have to make some cards and charts for many of these courses; you can use cereal boxes with opaque paper pasted over the printed sides, or any kind of posterboard or heavy paper.
"A Summary of Charlotte Mason's Advice on Teaching Reading," by Jennifer Spead
Mason didn't write a primer, preferring instead to use familiar nursery rhymes and picture books. This document begins with suggestions for the toddler years and goes on to full-blown reading lessons. Find it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dq7wx-C4vTlLO6uzq2r6Fekvnz9JTDMsKsCwjJBg3MQ/edit#
If you need an actual primer, there are quite a few to choose from at the Internet Archive.
The Jingle Primer by Clara L. Brown and Carolyn Sherwin Bailey uses simple nursery rhymes and tales, which Mason would have approved. It includes an explanatory preface. Find it here: https://archive.org/details/jingleprimerfirs00brow
The Easy Primer by Geoffrey Buckwalter (https://archive.org/details/easyprimer00buckgoog) also uses nursery rhymes.
The Elson-Runkel Series dates from the '20s and '30s.
The pre-primer is here: https://archive.org/details/elsonbasicreaderelso_0
The primer is here: https://archive.org/details/elsonbasicreaderelso
The teacher's manual for both books is here: https://archive.org/details/manualforelsonru00elso (This refers to earlier editions of the books, with different stories; use the lessons as models for your own work.)
Easy Growth in Reading by Gertrude Howell Hildreth is from the '40s and '50s.
Here is the first pre-primer, Mac and Muff: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_32
And here is its manual: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_33
The second pre-primer, The Twins Tom and Don: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_28
The third, Going to School: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_27
The first primer, At Play: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_26
The second, Fun in Story: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinreadhild_24
A general manual for all of them: https://archive.org/details/easygrowthinread00hild_1 (It refers to a couple of picture books, Our Picture Book and Our Story Book, which are not in the archive.)
The Finger Play Reader Series by John W. Davis and Fanny Julien includes teacher's notes parallel to the text.
Part One: https://archive.org/details/fingerplayreade01juligoog
Part Two: https://archive.org/details/fingerplayreade00juligoog
The Alice and Jerry Series by Mabel O'Donnell really starts with the basics. According to the Guidebook for the second set, you can skip the following two picture books if your child is advanced.
Here We Go is here: https://archive.org/details/alicejerrybooksf01odon
Over the Wall is here: https://archive.org/details/alicejerrybooksf02odon
And their guidebook: https://archive.org/details/alicejerrybooksgodon
Skip Along is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas01odon
Under the Sky is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas02odon
Open the Door is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas03odon
High on a Hill is here: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas04odon
And their guidebook: https://archive.org/details/newalicejerrybas02odon_0
McGuffey's Eclectic Primer is the first in a series that is a giant of the homeschooling field even though it's more than 150 years old. The first few books are still excellent introductions to reading. I favor the 1909 reissue because the art is better. Here is the primer: https://archive.org/details/mcguffeyseclecti00mcgu
The Eclectic Manual of Methods for the Assistance of Teachers by J.T. Stewart (https://archive.org/details/eclecticmanualof00stew) covers the primer, all six readers, and Ray's first three arithmetic books.