Explode the Code Book 4 1/2
Let me introduce you to one of my favorite resources! If you want a fun, easy way to teach your child the sounds the letters make, and how to write them, this is it! Explode the Code begins with 3 primer workbooks that open horizontally to a clean, bright format, with simple line drawings done by children. This set of primers teaches all the consonant letters thoroughly with a whopping 12 pages of fun activities for each letter. The most fun of all for my little ones is the riddle page. Mom reads the riddles while the child follows the directions carefully. For example, after learning the letter "f" (how to write it, its sound, and its capital letter) the first riddle says: "I am thinking of something that is often made of wood. It keeps animals in a yard or field. What is it?". Now, the child looks at all the drawings on his page and finds the fence. "What sound does fence begin with? ("ffff"). Color the fence green." Each object that the child finds to answer the riddle has a different direction with it, such as put an X on it, or color it red and yellow, etc. This is excellent to teach children to listen carefully to instructions. Book 1 teaches short vowel sounds, Book 2 teaches consonant blends and Book 3 teaches the phonic units sh, th, wh, ch, ng, ck, tch, ee, ea, ai, ay, oa, ow. Book 4 covers compound words, suffixes, syllable division rules, and 3 syllable words. Book 5 teaches the sound families: all, alk, old, olt, oll, ild, ind, thr, shr, scr, str, spr, spl, qu, -ey words, and the sounds of ed. Book 6 contains ar, or, er, ir, ur, wor, war, ea, ie, igh, oo, oi, oy, ou, ow, au, aw, ew, ui, ue, ou. Book 7 covers soft c and g, silent letters, ear, ph, ei, eigh. Finish up with Book 8 learning suffixes and endings. (If you feel your child needs a little more practice at a certain level, get the 1/2 books.) I would recommend moving forward just as quickly as your child can handle it. My children eagerly do 3 pages a day. (It never hurts to tape a dollar bill inside the backcover as a motivation!) As soon as your child has gone through the primer books, and done a few pages in Book 1, he will be able to read a beginning phonetic book. Paperback, 78 pages per book. |
