Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When it comes to learning how to read, there are 2 ways of teaching your child: 1. You start your child with the basic phonics and slowly work your way up. This approach is mostly phonics-based. It's the philosophy behind reading programs such as Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read, The Berenstain Bears Phonics Fun or the Bob Books. OR 2. You have your child learn hundreds of words randomly (sight words, phonics, plain memorization, etc). The aim is to have them recognize hundreds of words as they open any book (especially sight words which make up 75% of Elementary school text). This is the philosophy behind reading systems such as Little Champion Reader system. A child learns how to read in a manner similar to how they learned how to speak a language. First there are a few words, then there are bigger chunks of phrases and finally there are fluent sentences. I have done some research on both ways and here is my conclusion: -- The first method is probably the most common as it's more simplistic in its concept. The main advantage is that it helps build a child's confidence in reading right from the start and helps parents visualize the end goal (based on the difficulty of the ending books). The main drawback of this method is that it limits a child's reading to the 'Bob' or other phonics books only - it doesn't make a child equally confident about reading the regular books they may see in the library or at school. Eventually, a parent will have to help a child learn to decipher the words that were not taught in the Bob Books. -- The second method may sound a bit harder in the beginning, but it has more advantages in the long run (in my opinion). Your child learns the main sight words (200+) plus a basic phonetic understanding, and are encouraged to read the 'regular' library/school books right from the start. Initially the number of words they recognize is a handful, but soon they start recognizing more words (mainly sight words which make up 75 percent of reading text). I know phonics is important but knowing these sight words is equally (if not more) important. The beginning of this method may be harder since it requires more parent-input, but it makes the process of reading a lot easier in the long run. Slowly your child's fluency keeps increasing, going from recognizing 30 percent of text to 80 percent (for example). -- In my opinion, the process of reading is very similar to learning how to speak. There is an initial delay, a period when the child is 'absorbing' all the patterns of language. Soon there comes a time when the child is able to magically decipher the entire language, which is quite an accomplishment. We as parents don't limit a child's vocabulary to just easy words - instead we expose them to a whole range of words, whether easy or difficult, with the trust that they will pick up the entire language in a matter of months/years. So why not do the same when it comes to teaching them how to read? Children are amazing learners and can soon figure out whatever they are exposed to, even if it is difficult and challenging. In conclusion, I would rather hand my child a regular book (which is quite easy and of his/her liking), let him/her master it fully; then keep moving on to more difficult books, as opposed to limiting them to just one range of phonics books and again start all over with the 'regular' books.