Learning to read, sight reading, phonetics...advice please!

[Mere]

Ds is almost 7.  He is doing well in his reading and I'm not worried about anything, but I want to make sure I'm not skipping anything with him.  We went through all 100 lessons of the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons; ever since then, we practice reading nightly with level 2 & 3 Easy Reader books.  The issue - and maybe it's not an issue at all - is that he has become a total sight reader.  Once he sees a word a few times he has learned it for forever, but when he comes across a new word his first inclination is to guess, based on the context of what he's reading and the first letter of the word.  It's almost as if he's completely forgotten how to sound things out!  I realize that sight reading is probably the most efficient way for our brain to work, but the result is that he's not reading carefully and he's getting a lot of words wrong (even words he knows). 

I'm wondering if this is something that we need to work on (e.g., Explode the Code) or if it will eventually iron itself out through continued reading practice?

[bass chick]

My son is also almost 7. We did the 100 Easy Lessons, but I felt it was missing a lot, so we are now going through The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. It is more comprehensive IMO.

I was talking to another hs mom with older kids and she advised me to completely teach all phonics and not skip over the less common ones because her kids were now having problems in grade 4-5. She didn't go into any detail, but just advised me to go through phonics 100% even if it seemed unnecessary. So that's why we are doing the Ordinary Parents Guide now (We jumped in at lesson 50 because he was struggling most with long vowel sounds & silent e).

I think it is important to be able to decode a word by sounding it out. He may just be enjoying reading so fluently that he doesn't want to stop to sound out a word, so instead he guesses based on context. My ds sometimes does that. I help him by pointing to the word and if he still doesn't get it, I point out the individual letters until he sounds them all out and then he reads the word. Your son may just not want to stop to figure it out.

Another thing to think about is that spelling will also help with phonics and reading. If you are doing a spelling program that teaches all the phenoms, then his reading will be reinforced.

[AAK]

Reading does become automatic--that is the goal.  But, we also need to be able to decode unfamiliar words.  So, you are right to be concerned.  If I were you, I wouldn't make a huge deal out of it, but I would address it.  Since he is already reading, ETC (I think) would be very dry and boring for him.  I would (instead) start on AAS (all about spelling).  I realize it is a spelling program, but it is one that requires the student to be able to work with individual sounds.  It also teaches rules and patterns explicitly.  They also have some great readers you can buy as well.  Additionally, I would make some lists of nonsense words and have him read those to you.  Do this regularly (as practice).  He won't be able to "guess" because it isn't really a word.  He would have to decode it.  This works well with single syllable words. 

Amy

[bass chick]

Dr. Seuss books are great for nonsense words!!

I second the All About Spelling. That is what we are using as well.

[simple living mama]

A fun way to add reading in to a child's life also is to put films on that they enjoy, turn down the sound (or not) and put the subtitles on.  Our eyes can't help picking up the sentences as we look at the screen.  I think it helped my kids when it came to reading.