This question has been on my mind for quite some time now. Which method to use to teach Nigel to read? Phonics or the whole word method or a combination of both methods. I had taught Sarah to read using the phonics method, and it was a breeze for her. As for Nigel, I have taught him all the letter sounds, and has been using somewhat the whole word method to teach him to read and it was quite successful in that he is receptive and is able to recognise and remember the words. But because I am familiar with the phonics approach, I thought I should give it a try. Well, I would say it wasn't as easy as using the whole word method, with him having difficulty in blending, but to be fair, we have only done this for 2 days.
Right now, I am more inclined towards the whole word method, but I need to research more on it as I have yet to find a structured approach which will eventually teach the child to read all words. Unfortunately, most of what I have read so far tends to favor the phonics method, and almost all parents I know used the phonics method. Hopefully I will be able to find some answers soon.
1 comment:
You might want to consider guiding your son on the high frequency words first (ie. sight words) that can't be read using regular phonics such as where, what, the etc. Since these words are very common in most printed matter.
Guide him with the rest of the words phonetically later when he's ready. My daughter was also unable to read using the phonics way when she's at your child's age. Now that she's 4 she's more ready to use phonics to read.
More importantly, at this stage, you might want to consider building up his vocabulary if he shows no signs of interest/improvement in reading yet. As stated in Ruth Beechick's 3Rs book using the natural way would be more efficient. Once he's ready, add that with his huge bank of vocab he'll pick up reading very fast and easily when the time is right. :)
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