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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Can anyone suggest a non-phonics learning to read scheme?

45 replies

carocaro · 09/01/2013 20:05

I don't want phonics based learning to read scheme, I would like to try out an alternative at home, thanks.

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KindleMum · 09/01/2013 21:31

In your position, I think you should try Peter and Jane. Available on Amazon. DS is bright and wanted to read when he turned 2 and he never got on with phonics and was frustrated by the large number of common, non-phonetic words in English. I got levels 1 and 2 of Peter and Jane to try out as I was out of ideas and he flew through them, I could hardly order them fast enough for him. We've done the whole series now. I didn't bother with the C books which are for writing.
Peter and Jane is ok. Yes, it's not thrilling but frankly I don't see that Biff, Chip and Kipper or Project X are thrilling either.

mrz · 09/01/2013 21:34

""Why? They do phonics at school. It's the easiest way to teach them to read. Why would you not do it? "
Not actually true. It's much easier for the teacher to send home a box of sight words and get the parents to teach their child to recognise them by sight.
Schools teach phonics because it is the most effective way to get children reading and provides an effective tool when they encounter a word that isn't on their sight word list.

I read Michael Rosen's views on phonics and highlighted his many errors ...so far he hasn't responded, He didn't manage to get his basic claims about the phonics check correct ... tut! I wonder where he gets his misinformation

learnandsay · 09/01/2013 21:36

I can find you lists of graded reading books scheme by scheme. The only problem is that I've found tracking the correct level non phonics scheme books down a real problem. The books are mostly old.

I don't know how big your local library is, but in the early reading section of my local library there are lots of easy reader children's learning to read books which are non phonic. My library even has an early reading co-ordinator who will telephone you back in the evening and discuss reading books.

mrz · 09/01/2013 21:40

learnandsay OUP are still publishing non phonics scheme books as are Pearsons/Heinemann available on Amazon

frazzled1772 · 09/01/2013 21:44

Fuzz Buzz - good for children who struggle to segment and blend phonemes. Combines reading and writing in a stuctured way.

learnandsay · 09/01/2013 21:46

Well, if we can track it down for the OP then, I'd recommend the Heinemann Once Upon a Time Storyworld series for her son.

OP, I did once have a website with photos and explanations of all the Storyworld books on it. The books rock!

learnandsay · 09/01/2013 21:49

Here it is

www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/AssetsLibrary/SECTORS/Primary/PDFs/StructureCharts/Storyworlds08.pdf

golfyc · 09/01/2013 22:38

At our school they do a mixture of 'jolly' phonics and sight reading. Mostly the oxford reading tree - which actually is a mixture of both anyway.
Quite right to try different methods - children are different! I have a friend who is a teacher at infant stage and says that some children just take to leaning in different ways.

simpson · 09/01/2013 22:51

My DD (reception) loved Peter and Jane (my mother still had my set so she read them when staying there....

It repeats a word over and over (as others have said)...

Maybe look at the Oxford owl website and see if there are any of the older ORT on there to read as ebooks...

DD has now moved onto ORT I was complaining about JP books and now they seem fab in comparison....

Tgger · 09/01/2013 23:00

I remember my kids liked me reading Peter and Jane books to them age 2 and 3. Strange. I guess it's all the repetition. I was not teaching them to read at this age I must point out! Some of the old stuff is hilarious too.....

what ORT is your DD blessed with simpson? I thought she was reading Magic Key, or has she moved on?

manicbmc · 09/01/2013 23:06

Children learn by different methods. For some phonics is great, but quite a few children find them confusing.

simpson · 09/01/2013 23:39

She got 3 books this week

One ORT (gold) can't remember what it's called but a magic key one about floppy needing to be rescued....

A Wallace and Gromit book (don't know what level - just says green c phase 5)

And a picture type book "The monkey with a bright blue bottom"

The earlier magic key ones she read through the reading chest but I think I might take her off it now if she will get 3 books every week....

Summersbee · 11/01/2013 09:39

We lived abroad and buying the Oxford Learning Tree was brilliant for my children who loved them all and read them over and over. I bought them to have fun, interesting books around at home - along with many others of course. I have kept them all.

learnandsay · 20/01/2013 08:51

here

learnandsay · 05/02/2013 11:12

Back on the subject of non phonics reading schemes, what's to be done if the child can't hear the sounds properly? Will the school help the child at an early enough point so that he or she doesn't fall behind? How will such a child be taught to read?

redfleur · 05/02/2013 11:17

Try the Ginn series, especially the older print ones...not at all phonic based.

Some kids learn to read with phonics, others learn by sight words...as long as they love reading, who cares how they learn to do it.

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 05/02/2013 13:01

If you have a local oxfam book shop try there. Ours has loads of the old ladybird Peter and Jane books etc.

You could try one or two really cheaply then invest in the whole lot online if you like them.

zingally · 05/02/2013 14:23

I learnt to read via Peter and Jane (this was in the late 80s/early 90s).

My school used the Roger Red Hat, Billy Blue Hat series.

Some earlier Oxford Reading Tree books are non-phonic. Try searching out some early/mid 1990s editions.

WMDinthekitchen · 05/02/2013 14:46

Some of this might help... www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=315580

Mashabell · 05/02/2013 15:30

I found with my children (and now with my grandchildren too) that finding books which they want to read and re-read is very helpful. Dr Seuss has appealed to all of them.

My daughter in her early years (now in her 40s) and one of my grandaughters (aged 7) got absolutely hooked on the Pied Piper. She brought with her when coming to stay with us over Christmas a simplified version of it which seemed awful to me. So I printed off the real one from the internet and she could not put it down, was reading it to herself aloud for hours, with fanstastic expression.

For my son, who was a reluctant reader, the Beano and Dr Who books were the salvation.

So capitalising on their current interests, whether its fairies, goblins (The Hobbit?) or whatever works better than anything.

As u say, they can do their phonics at school. Reading at home should be mainly for enjoyment or education. My 3-yr-old grandson is currently obsessed with a book about the body which has lots of pictures, flaps and writing too. I am sure that this is already helping him to learn to read too. He is certainly starting to recognise some words and I have even done a bit of incidental phonics with him using those.

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