Learning to Read with Word Families

Always sure to delight, Teacher Book Bag has another hit with its First Steps Reading: Learning to Read with the -at Family. When children learn to read words with a common stem they move beyond sounding out each word, to automatic recognition of components in words that makes reading possible. Working with onset and rime is an essential step in early literacy, one that is well addressed in this colourful 38-page book.

First Steps Reading has a wide variety of activities - from story sequencing to cut and paste, from word finds to word blocks that help children to recognize words by their shape. Altogether there are about a dozen fun activities to do with children, including two books to read and a folder game to assemble and play. Activities can be accomplished quickly, making them ideal for short attention spans.

Some activities offer more than one level of difficulty, so a child can come back and try a slightly more challenging activity as he grows more confident in his skills. I also very much appreciated that the word list for this family included the usual c-v-c words like "cat," but also more difficult words that begin with consonant blends (flat, scat, spat) and diphthongs (that.) There is even a word beginning with a silent letter (gnat.) Some words, like "tat" or perhaps "drat" and "vat," will need definition. There is also a distinction made between "pat" as a noun or verb, and the proper name, "Pat." Other names include Mrs. Prat and Mr. Blat, both combinations which ask an emergent reader to work just a little more. Your little one will be that much more happy with himself when he sees he can read these words!

My preschooler was immediately drawn to the book, and wanted to get started right away when she saw it. She was trying out activities, even before I had time to print any of the pages. Not a big surprise, as our kids always love the books we get from Teacher Book Bag. (My middle daughter spied a copy of the February Book Bag, and was making appreciative noises even before I could look at it myself!)

As a homeschooling parent I can't find a single drawback to the book. It has so many activities, many of them hands-on, and kids really want to do them! There is plenty of explanation from JoEllen Hurst, so no matter if you're a beginning homeschooler or an old hand you are sure to find the information you need to help you make the most of these activities.

Bravo to the good folks at Teacher Book Bag! I can't wait for the next release in this series!

This review was originally published at CurrClick, and was based on a review copy.