If you’ve found your way over to my little corner of the internet via this post you are probably one of two people.
You are either a stay at home or homeschooling parent who wants to teach your child to read or you are a teacher in search of resources.
Both of whom one might argue are overworked and underpaid. So you’re desperately in search of amazing plans laid out for your to lighten your workload at home and/or at school.
I get it. I’ve been both of you.
I taught lower elementary school for over a decade, and spent almost all that time teaching kindergarten or first. I quickly developed a love for teaching all things literacy and a drive to learn more about the most effective way to begin teaching a child to read and write. So much so that I went on to pursue my Graduate degree in Reading and graduated in May of 2010 with a MEd (Master’s in Reading Education).
However, after 10 years of teaching, my husband and I decided it made sense for me to take some off after the birth of our second child. It was hard to justify the cost of full time day care in the beginning, and soon my husband and I realized life functions so much more smoothly for us if one of the parents is working from home. My oldest daughter has a late birthday and wasn’t eligible to enroll in Kindergarten until she was almost 6. So I did what any former Kindergarten teacher/literacy nerd turned Stay At Home Mom would do.
I started teaching her to read.
And because I’m next level extra, I didn’t just teach her to read. I took all my years of teaching beginning reading and knowledge from graduate school and started writing lesson plans and units. I even researched new ideas and suggestions to make sure every approach I use is current and relevant.
What evolved has been me slowly creating an entire early reading curriculum that can be used step by step to teach beginning reading.
This curriculum is some of the simplest, yet most effective method of teaching beginning teaching you’ll find. I know, because I watched it work year after year with my own students, who, year after year, either met or exceeded their end of the year targets.
And , I’ve not only had success with these methods in schools.
I’ve also used these strategies at home as I taught my own daughter to read.
I’m continuing to use them to challenge her at home outside of the school day.
And thanks to this curriculum she entered kindergarten this fall quite a bit ahead of the curb. She can comfortably read level C books with support (which is the end of the year reading target in our county) .
Disclaimer: We wanted to give her an advantage, but not push her too far too fast. Speaking as from a teacher’s perspective, being super advanced isn’t always advantageous to students. Often they become bored and have disruptive behavior, and sometimes, it backfires and they will struggle with comprehension later on.
Now you may decide you want your child able to read Chapter books before starting kindergarten and it’s entirely possible especially if you speed through the curriculum . However, do so with caution.
Alright. I’m In! Now Give me the Goods!
And here’s the kicker! The bulk of these materials are completely free!
Now I’m not going to lie. I’m trying to help provide for my family, so I do offer amazing supplementary products that aren’t free, but they are crazy affordable.
They are literally are designed with two things in mind.
- Your Budget
- Your Precious Time.
I understand with technology these days you can probably sit down and create your own games and worksheets. And if you want to, more power to you Mama! But if you’re like me and there are piles of laundry waited to be folded and sink full of dishes in the kitchen, time is not always on your side. So in the spirit of saving time, and being practical, I’ve created supplementary units that are priced cheaper than the menu at McDonalds!
So if you feel like saving time and scoring amazing additional resources dirt cheap be sure to check out my posts for details!
Please note: This curriculum is a work in progress – almost halfway there! It’s also the preface of something really big and amazing! It all seems to be happening at a turtle’s pace but slow and steady wins the race! Stay tuned because big things are coming!
Get Your Pinning Fingers Ready!
You’re going to want to save these to come back to later!
Phonemic Awareness
This is an entire 26 week of lesson plans! Each week contains a lesson plan filled with free activities and crafts I’ve already searched out for you on the internet! Check out my first lesson here. Or just skip to the entire unit here!
Reading Behaviors & Print Concepts
Two of the often overlooked aspects of teaching beginning reading are Reading Behaviors and Print Concepts. These are essential to success for beginning readers! I’ve got a helpful post here that explains what these are, how to teach them and offers free printables to get you started!
Sight Words
Another crucial piece to the literacy puzzle is sight words. Having a mental library full of words that can be recognized on sight is a tool necessary for all beginning readers. It’s not always the most fun thing to teach though, so I’ve got a complete 3-part series for you. My first post explains why and how, and gives you a completely free set of lists to start off with. My second post explains TONS of fun, interactive, ways to teach sight words. And finally, the third post gives you a free lesson plan template and ideas on how to fill it!
Reading Strategy Instruction
As a reader starts to read and struggles with decoding unknown words, reading strategies become essential tools to help them. Typically you find there to be 7 strategies universally taught, but I saw a few holes in my instruction and adjusted it. My reading strategy series details how to teach not only the 7 traditional reading strategies and 3 additional ones I created to fill in the gaps! My series offers free strategy posters, teaching tips and even some free printables! Check out my first strategy poster and ideas here. Or just skip to the entire unit here!
Word Study
****Coming soon! Be sure to subscribe for updates!
Fluency
****Coming soon! Be sure to subscribe for updates!
Comprehension
****Coming soon! Be sure to subscribe for updates!
This is one post you’re definitely going to want to pin! It’s literally going to be a step-by-step guide to teaching your child to read at completion! I anticipate the final product to take a few more months but I’m plugging a long as quick as a Stay at Home Mom can! However, if you’re getting started now, you should likely be able to move right a long with me!
Also, don’t forget to check out my Pinterest board. I’ve got a ton of other resources pinned to help you as you teach beginning reading.
