[amcal]

Today my DD was sent home with a book. The instructions said I was to read it with her until she was confident in the book. Ok, no problem. So, we sat down tonight to read the book it's basically "Come her Nan. Nan cat sat. Nan cat sat up. I am sad. Look at nan cat." I assumed they've been working on sounding out words at school since she comes home with letter sheets and we practice the letter sounds constantly but when we sat down to read the book, DD had absolutely no idea how to go about sounding out the words.

So, I read the directions more closely and it says that I am to read the book to her multiple times until she is comfortable with the words. Ummm, isn't that just memorizing? Shouldn't we be working on her learning how to sound out the words not just having me read it to her again and again until she's memorized the book?

This is my first kindergartener so I really have no idea how this is done but it just doesn't sound right to me.

 

[octobermom]

memorization is a part of learning to read it forms sight words it reinforces letter sounds and letter placement sound recongization. Phonics is part of reading but so is just simpily being read to.
I'm teaching my almost five year old to read right now. (Will be in K in the fall) She is confident with letter sounds. We can do games excersises like what does letter does the word Cat start with.. She can figure out begning and ending letters to many words. She is beging to put some words with pictures or actions together. Like open close exit Woman men off on push pull. In reading she can sound the letters in simple words but still isn't putting the sounds together. She will and likely soon enough and will probably take of when it happens. Keep reading to her and yes read enough she "memorizes" as well as other things it will above anything else help her the most.
We use this http://www.starfall.com/ oneline program with her as well.

 

[Britishmum]

Reading is memorization. She needs to learn to sound out, but she also needs to read along with you frequently enough to gain sight-recognition. Children need to repeat and repeat and repeat predictable book until they know them by heart. Luckily they like repetition

My 2 yo drives my 5 yo nuts because when she's reading aloud he keeps interrupting with the words that he's memorized from the book, before she gets to read the words. So, they are both at different stages of reading. He has the words memorized, but she is reading them. In time, he'll start to match the letters to the words that he's reciting. It's a gradual process, but yes, memorization is a big part of it. For some children, memorizing phonic texts is the way that they put the pieces of the puzzle together in their minds.