Teach a Child to Read with Children's Books: Combining Story Reading, Phonics, and Writing to Promote Reading Success

by Mark B. Thogmartin

Book Overview

A 1999 Parents' Choice Approved Seal Winner! Combining story reading, phonics, and writing, this book offers an anjoyable, integrated approach to learning to read. Topics include preparing children... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883790204
• ISBN13: 9781883790202
• Release Date: June 1996
• Publisher: Grayson Bernard
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Must-Have for Every Parent!

Very well written and a lot of useful information. Don't let this one slip by, your child will thank you.

Great supplement to phonics instruction

I'm a former elementary school teacher and homeschooling mom and this book was very helpful to me. Dr. Throgmartin uses principles of Reading Recovery (a highly successful program used in schools for students who are behind) and shows how to integrate the best elements of phonics and whole language research to help your child get the meaning from the text, which, after all, is the point of learning to read. He includes simple assessments and log sheets to help you scientifically track progress. Of special interest was his explanation of whole language instruction and reasons for bias of many Christian educators against it. Actually, my own bias may have kept me from even reading the book if it weren't for the chapter on Reading Recovery, which, while teaching, I had observed to be the best remedial reading program used. Although I don't follow his program to a T, the elements I added to my son's phonics and writing instruction made an immediate change for the better. The only possible caution is his recommended book list. Although it doesn't contain anything blatantly offensive, there are many better books out there. However, he does give guidelines for rating book levels so you could start with the books your child already has and build from there. Overall, this book is easy to read and understand. I highly recommend it to teachers who rely heavily on phonics instruction or just want to spark their students' love for reading.

Teach a CHild to Read with Children's Books

The contents of this book have been wonderful in implementing a successful reading program for my own children. After many starts and stops with complete phonics based programs, this book was a refreshing approach, that actually worked! Very, very applicable for any home-based instruction. Not to mention an enjoyable learning process, as the children themselves help to pick out their "lessons."

refreshing & just right for the intended audience

The author's target audience is parents who are teachingtheir children to read at home, and he writes in a comprehensiblemanner for those not steeped in educational jargon. On the other hand, he avoids the trap of telling his audience simply what to do as if parents or non-education professionals were not able to grasp the basic principles of literacy development; therefore, this is a book of not only "how to" but "why" and should be quite refreshing for parents who want to know just how reading comes about. The author grounds his beliefs about reading not only in research but also in extensive experience in teaching children to read so that there is a firm connection between theory and practice. No doubt about it--the act of reading is enormously intricate; yet, the straightforward explanation of language acquisition, the interactive reading process, and observable behaviors of early readers should de-mystify the complex reading puzzle for parents. The author has, therefore, skillfully communicated that teaching a child to read is doable without reducing learning to read to some type of simplistic activity. Further, he states the importance of phonics AND places it right where it belongs in the entire reading process--as a valuable tool for the child's word recognition strategies in the context of real reading and real writing. Reading is so much more than merely learning phonetic elements, and the author addresses what the "more" is for the reader. Throughout the book are ample real-life examples of teaching children to read and specific suggestions for parents based on literacy research and actual experiences. Included is a lesson plan format, record-keeping forms, lists of materials, strategy development explanation and activities, and recorded dialogue between parent and child as the child is guided through a book for the first time. This latter section of the book is very helpful--this is what a sit-down, read-with-me lesson really looks like. At the end is a lengthy bibliography of books children customarily enjoy--leveled for a parent's convenience. I am a teacher with 25 years experience in kindergarten and first grade classrooms AND a teacher of parents about reading as well. I would have recommended this book to any one of the parents of my students and do recommend it to parents who are home schooling and those who are interested in how their children learn to read. My suggestion for Mr. Thogmartin is to somehow make his book accessible and available to parents of the various cultures in our society.

Confirms what I discovered as a 1st grade teacher.

At the end of the first day of school in my second year as a first grade teacher, a little girl came up to me at the end of the day. She said, "But, Teacher, we can't go home yet. I haven't learn how to read." So the next day, I came prepared with predictable books and activities that would allow every child go home on that second day with a sense that he/she could read.Mark Thogmartin presents the same philosophy in his book. This book made me think about how I could tie phonics instruction in more closely with predictable books. I came away from this book with concrete ideas and plans that will help children understand connections in reading, phonics, writing, and enjoying stories.