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The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
A plain-English guide to teaching phonics. Every parent can teach reading―no experts need apply! Too many parents watch their children struggle with early reading skills―and don't know how to help. Phonics programs are too often complicated, overpriced, gimmicky, and filled with obscure educationalese. The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading cuts through the confusion, giving parents a simple, direct, scripted guide to teaching reading―from short vowels through supercalifragilisticexpialidocious . This one book supplies parents with all the tools they need.
Over the years of her teaching career, Jessie Wise has seen good reading instruction fall prey to trendy philosophies and political infighting. Now she has teamed with dynamic coauthor Sara Buffington to supply parents with a clear, direct phonics program―a program that gives them the know-how and confidence to take matters into their own hands.
Over the years of her teaching career, Jessie Wise has seen good reading instruction fall prey to trendy philosophies and political infighting. Now she has teamed with dynamic coauthor Sara Buffington to supply parents with a clear, direct phonics program―a program that gives them the know-how and confidence to take matters into their own hands.
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 2004
84 people are currently reading
379 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
September 19, 2009
Of course, I am a huge fan of Jesse Wise and her daughter, Susan Wise Bauer (authors of "The Well Trained Mind") so when I saw that Jesse Wise had written this book, I had to check it out.
It's wonderful.
She uses a phonics approach and goes step-by-step first teaching sound-symbol association, then basic words. Using catchy rhymes, children learn first the consonant and short-vowel sounds, then progress to the long-vowel sounds. All the while, they're building on what they've learned by reading short words and sentences using the sounds they've learned...and introduction to punctuation is seamlessly intertwined with each lesson.
After having tried a few other reading programs, I can say that this is the easiest, most comprehensive and straightforward program for teaching a child to read. Each lesson is short, sweet, to the point and VERY easy for a parent to present. It is structured so that it can be tailored to any child's needs (my daughter already had sound-symbol association but needed to learn short-vowel vs. long-vowel sounds, so we were easily able to skip to that part of the book).
At the beginning of the book Wise reassures parents that teaching reading is very easy to do...and she proves it throughout the book.
I would recommend using the BOB books in conjunction with this guide.
It's wonderful.
She uses a phonics approach and goes step-by-step first teaching sound-symbol association, then basic words. Using catchy rhymes, children learn first the consonant and short-vowel sounds, then progress to the long-vowel sounds. All the while, they're building on what they've learned by reading short words and sentences using the sounds they've learned...and introduction to punctuation is seamlessly intertwined with each lesson.
After having tried a few other reading programs, I can say that this is the easiest, most comprehensive and straightforward program for teaching a child to read. Each lesson is short, sweet, to the point and VERY easy for a parent to present. It is structured so that it can be tailored to any child's needs (my daughter already had sound-symbol association but needed to learn short-vowel vs. long-vowel sounds, so we were easily able to skip to that part of the book).
At the beginning of the book Wise reassures parents that teaching reading is very easy to do...and she proves it throughout the book.
I would recommend using the BOB books in conjunction with this guide.
April 27, 2011
This book is organized into lessons with script for the parent to follow to teach phonetic reading concepts to their children. It's not flowery. It's not illustrated. It's direct with enough ideas for games and variation to keep my son's interest. Sometimes he doesn't want to read. Sometimes he gets frustrated - but if he sticks to it, immediately after the frustration is when he conquers the difficult concept and breezes ahead.
We go through a lesson or a half-lesson almost every day. If it's a hard day, we go back and review past lessons. If he and I are loving the lesson, we'll sometimes go through two. It just depends.
I love that I can tailor this to his needs and our schedule. It works for us - it may or may not work for you.
We go through a lesson or a half-lesson almost every day. If it's a hard day, we go back and review past lessons. If he and I are loving the lesson, we'll sometimes go through two. It just depends.
I love that I can tailor this to his needs and our schedule. It works for us - it may or may not work for you.
partially-read
June 3, 2021This is the book we’ve been using this year (kindergarten) for phonics and starting to learn to read. We are almost 50 lessons in and I love the open-and-go format. Simple method, fun rhymes, especially in the early lessons, some SIMPLE games to mix things up and make review/mastery of certain concepts more fun. Goes through the 4th grade reading level, so this has been a very low-cost program that should be all we will need in terms of actual lessons.
We have been using various easy phonics readers alongside for my son to practice reading some more simple stories. They don’t always “match up” exactly like a more extensive (expensive) phonics program would that has coordinating readers and other bells & whistles, but it’s easy to judge which ones he is or is not ready for since I’m the one doing all the lessons with him.
We have a long way to go, but he’s so excited to see his progress — and so am I! No curriculum will work for every kid, but this seems to be a good fit for us. What originally seemed like a bit of a daunting task, has not necessarily been *easy,* but it’s been really great to be able to work on this together. We will be continuing at least through the summer and then we will see about 1st grade.
We have been using various easy phonics readers alongside for my son to practice reading some more simple stories. They don’t always “match up” exactly like a more extensive (expensive) phonics program would that has coordinating readers and other bells & whistles, but it’s easy to judge which ones he is or is not ready for since I’m the one doing all the lessons with him.
We have a long way to go, but he’s so excited to see his progress — and so am I! No curriculum will work for every kid, but this seems to be a good fit for us. What originally seemed like a bit of a daunting task, has not necessarily been *easy,* but it’s been really great to be able to work on this together. We will be continuing at least through the summer and then we will see about 1st grade.
November 17, 2009
A good foundational plan for teaching phonics, but you better bust out the sock puppets because it can get a little boring for the child!
March 20, 2018
My daughter is a Scorpio and prefers learning letters in secret and showing them to me for improvement and discussion, but I feel like this could be a good resource when she's interested in a more systematic approach.
August 22, 2017
This is a terrific book for teaching your child to read. There are 300+ lessons and each lesson tells you exactly what to say and do.
January 27, 2010
I'm actually still working through this with my daughter. But I've read enough to review it. It is a helpful guide for anyone wanting to introduce reading to their child, and especially for the homeschooling parent. It is a phonics-based system and it's easy to adapt for your own child. Sometimes I combine lessons for my daughter when she's picking up on things quickly, or do one lesson for a week if needed. I don't teach her directly from the book, as she doesn't respond well from that. Instead, I write words from each lesson for her to sound out and then write herself. I would recommend this because the lessons follow each other in a logical order and build on each other.
Want to read
January 24, 2012borrowed from UP library after The Well-Trained Mind. Looked through it a little, didn't try any of the lessons as they seemed above the level of my 2.5 yo. I have not satisfactorily educated myself about sight reading vs. phonics, and I'm not sure that it needs to be a matter of contention anyway. For the time being, this is above both my son's and my level of interest/dedication. Our current philosophy is that reading is a frequent, pleasurable activity, plus all the opportunities for reading in our every day lives.
April 2, 2014
When I started using this book to teach my son to read, I found it a bit tedious. My son grudgingly did it, but after awhile, it was just part the daily routine, so it went more smoothly. Eventually he really caught on, and we whizzed through the last sections. He reads very well now, at age six. Every child is different, but this worked for us. It is a bare bones, very thorough resource.
October 26, 2014
My delayed 9 year old has struggles with a handful of phonics programs and methods. We use this with a white board. We write the words and sentences on the white board. Amazing progress for him. The white board seems to help him as he isn't distracted by other words on the page.
February 10, 2015
I'm more of a whole-language girl, but If I needed a phonics guide for my girls, this would be one I would try.
February 19, 2025
Read this to get some ideas in case reading with my rising 4-year-old doesn’t go as smoothly as it did with my 6-year-old. 5 stars for the phonetic approach and using word families (I didn’t see that term used in the book, but that’s what is used).
I am not a fan of all the scripting, particularly when learning letter sounds. It isn’t a very fluid or fun way of teaching, at least not for me. But if you aren’t sure where to start or you’re an ESL homeschool parent, this book gives you exactly what to say.
It essentially teaches sounds, digraphs, etc. in the same order and manner as BJU Press. I prefer the BJU techniques of “hear the [a] sound in the [A] words…” to all the little rhymes and jingles in this book, but it’s not that the ones here are bad. I also prefer BJU Press’ use of characters (Mrs. Short, Mr. Short, Uncle Short, Miss Long, Marker E, Miss Silent, Bossy R) to recognize and remember sounds—it seems a more efficient method than expecting a child to remember rules for pairs of letters—but this book is still teaching new readers to look for these patterns.
There were some other specific things not explained as well as I’d prefer. E.g. Lesson 42 - no mention that the /k/ sound is spelled as “ck” after a short vowel and just “k” after an “n.” I’d teach those concepts at the same time. I found it strange that -ed and other endings (BJU “bad cats” -ing, -er, -est, etc.), contractions, and a few other things weren’t taught until the end of the book (lessons 200+). Also that multi-syllable words are left for Lesson 215; phonetically—and knowing that each syllable must have a vowel—a young reader can sort out these words much sooner. Interesting that they feel “ey” can be spoken as /ǐ/ or /ē/ (Lesson 201). I did like how “rule breaker” words are grouped together in a meaningful way (e.g. Lessons 128-129: O standing alone as /ǔ/ in son, won, ton, from, some, come, love, dove, etc).
I’d have to read more closely to critique further or argue any of the points above—they are just personal notes—but I don’t feel the need.
I am not a fan of all the scripting, particularly when learning letter sounds. It isn’t a very fluid or fun way of teaching, at least not for me. But if you aren’t sure where to start or you’re an ESL homeschool parent, this book gives you exactly what to say.
It essentially teaches sounds, digraphs, etc. in the same order and manner as BJU Press. I prefer the BJU techniques of “hear the [a] sound in the [A] words…” to all the little rhymes and jingles in this book, but it’s not that the ones here are bad. I also prefer BJU Press’ use of characters (Mrs. Short, Mr. Short, Uncle Short, Miss Long, Marker E, Miss Silent, Bossy R) to recognize and remember sounds—it seems a more efficient method than expecting a child to remember rules for pairs of letters—but this book is still teaching new readers to look for these patterns.
There were some other specific things not explained as well as I’d prefer. E.g. Lesson 42 - no mention that the /k/ sound is spelled as “ck” after a short vowel and just “k” after an “n.” I’d teach those concepts at the same time. I found it strange that -ed and other endings (BJU “bad cats” -ing, -er, -est, etc.), contractions, and a few other things weren’t taught until the end of the book (lessons 200+). Also that multi-syllable words are left for Lesson 215; phonetically—and knowing that each syllable must have a vowel—a young reader can sort out these words much sooner. Interesting that they feel “ey” can be spoken as /ǐ/ or /ē/ (Lesson 201). I did like how “rule breaker” words are grouped together in a meaningful way (e.g. Lessons 128-129: O standing alone as /ǔ/ in son, won, ton, from, some, come, love, dove, etc).
I’d have to read more closely to critique further or argue any of the points above—they are just personal notes—but I don’t feel the need.
August 11, 2021
Schools did not teach my child to read. I did using The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington.
This book has a series of scripted lessons that go from “The short-vowel sound of A is a as in apple,” to being able to sound out words like “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
This book is a bit old fashioned and kind of dry. It doesn’t have any pictures, and that is intentional because it’s training children to only look at the letters and not at pictures for clues. But it works.
Within 18 months, I took my son from barely being able to read three-letter words, to having him (as a 2nd grader) reading fluently.
Our process was that we worked with this phonics primer for 5-10 minutes a day (3 lessons; 2 review, 1 new). Then my son would practice reading aloud from an early reader book for 8-15 minutes, with either my husband or me sitting next to him to help him sound out difficult words. We also read aloud to our son or had him listen to audiobooks for an additional 30+ minutes a day for fluency and to help him gain context for the larger world. Reading aloud is great because he has the opportunity to stop us and ask questions.
It’s a lot of work, but it works. Reading aloud together is one of our family’s favorite ways to spend quality time.
This book has a series of scripted lessons that go from “The short-vowel sound of A is a as in apple,” to being able to sound out words like “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
This book is a bit old fashioned and kind of dry. It doesn’t have any pictures, and that is intentional because it’s training children to only look at the letters and not at pictures for clues. But it works.
Within 18 months, I took my son from barely being able to read three-letter words, to having him (as a 2nd grader) reading fluently.
Our process was that we worked with this phonics primer for 5-10 minutes a day (3 lessons; 2 review, 1 new). Then my son would practice reading aloud from an early reader book for 8-15 minutes, with either my husband or me sitting next to him to help him sound out difficult words. We also read aloud to our son or had him listen to audiobooks for an additional 30+ minutes a day for fluency and to help him gain context for the larger world. Reading aloud is great because he has the opportunity to stop us and ask questions.
It’s a lot of work, but it works. Reading aloud together is one of our family’s favorite ways to spend quality time.
September 19, 2018
This is a great resource. I especially appreciate the detailed descriptions of how to say the sounds (voiced, unvoiced, nasal consonants, etc) and have even found it helpful for teaching English sounds to native Spanish speakers, both adult and children. It's no-fluff, no-pictures, scripted lessons, so it's not a stand-alone program in terms of reading content. Obviously one will want to supplement with early readers and other fun books, but these are great bones to get readers going. Easy and practical.
June 1, 2018
This was my best resource when teaching my kids how to read. It is practical, easy to follow and enjoyable for kids as they work their way to fluency. I would recommend this to anyone who is homeschooling or teaching their own children how to read.
May 12, 2020
I loved this book. A well-structured guide on how to teach phonics. This book has been key for the past two months in quarantine. I was sad it ended. The sentences are often surprisingly funny. I recommend this to anyone who wants to help their child learn to read.
August 30, 2017
Took us four years to go through all the lessons, but my kids is a great reader!
August 5, 2021
There is no need to purchase fancy, pricey curriculum to get your child reading. This book will do the trick. Straight-forward and no nonsense but it works.
October 8, 2020
My first exposure to homeschooling was through SisterL and her decision to do so. She's a Catholic Stay-at-home Navy Wife and Mama to six and it fits their life perfectly. My second introduction was not just to homeschooling, but also to a Classical Christian Education through my job as a long term and short notice substitute teacher at a Classical Christian Education School in Georgia. Working there was some of the best months ever as I learned about the methods in teaching a Classical Christian Education and really involving God on all levels of the educational experience as well as using a tried and true method of teaching that works so well. It was through preparation to work there that I found The Well-Trained Mind and in essence Jessie Wise. (More to come on TWTM...)
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is a perfect place for people to start if they are going to homeschool in a Classical Christian Education method. Better yet OPG is for everyone! If you're using any method of homeschool, or even if you are sending your child to school, you could benefit from the OPG to Teaching Reading. Some children pick up reading skills easily and others may find them a bit later and need more effort to acquire them. Yet once those skills are established the entire world is opened and an adventure of education awaits.
I am absolutely delighted to get my hands on a copy of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading! True, AppleBlossom is only 16 months old, but I'm not opposed to venturing out and making some decisions on where we might go in the next few years. Already she has a vast vocabulary far more varied that I would have expected both in verbal language and sign language (more to come on the sign language...). When she is ready, because I have equipped myself with the OPG I feel confident of what to do and where to go. After reading TWTM I was ecstatic to discover co-author Jessie Wise had continued on with other materials to aid in the education of children's minds. The OPG is the perfect place to start.
The complete set, with everything related to the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Included in [the] combo pack are 1 paperback copy of the OPG, 1 copy of the flashcards, 1 copy of the Audio Companion, and 2 magnetic letter boards (1 set of the board and letters, 1 additional letter storage board). All of this is available at $55, a savings of almost 14%.
When we get a bit closer to time where AppleBlossom is talking more and ready to really learn the alphabet and to read, I definitely plan to invest in the other parts of the OPG kit or pieces like them. Reading through the lessons, I can definitely see where they will come in and be valuable. In addition to lessons that take you through the vowels, consonants and many combining words... there is a great FAQs section that answers so many questions in a clear light. This really is a book that they have made where anyone may be qualified to teach their child to read. (Even an avid reader with poor grammar like myself...)
*Thanks to Kim Norton of Peace Hill Press for providing a copy for review.*
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is a perfect place for people to start if they are going to homeschool in a Classical Christian Education method. Better yet OPG is for everyone! If you're using any method of homeschool, or even if you are sending your child to school, you could benefit from the OPG to Teaching Reading. Some children pick up reading skills easily and others may find them a bit later and need more effort to acquire them. Yet once those skills are established the entire world is opened and an adventure of education awaits.
I am absolutely delighted to get my hands on a copy of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading! True, AppleBlossom is only 16 months old, but I'm not opposed to venturing out and making some decisions on where we might go in the next few years. Already she has a vast vocabulary far more varied that I would have expected both in verbal language and sign language (more to come on the sign language...). When she is ready, because I have equipped myself with the OPG I feel confident of what to do and where to go. After reading TWTM I was ecstatic to discover co-author Jessie Wise had continued on with other materials to aid in the education of children's minds. The OPG is the perfect place to start.
The complete set, with everything related to the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Included in [the] combo pack are 1 paperback copy of the OPG, 1 copy of the flashcards, 1 copy of the Audio Companion, and 2 magnetic letter boards (1 set of the board and letters, 1 additional letter storage board). All of this is available at $55, a savings of almost 14%.
When we get a bit closer to time where AppleBlossom is talking more and ready to really learn the alphabet and to read, I definitely plan to invest in the other parts of the OPG kit or pieces like them. Reading through the lessons, I can definitely see where they will come in and be valuable. In addition to lessons that take you through the vowels, consonants and many combining words... there is a great FAQs section that answers so many questions in a clear light. This really is a book that they have made where anyone may be qualified to teach their child to read. (Even an avid reader with poor grammar like myself...)
*Thanks to Kim Norton of Peace Hill Press for providing a copy for review.*
February 21, 2010
My biggest fear when I began homeschooling was teaching my children how to read. I am not an "elementary" type of person, and all of the phonics activities, sight words, various readers, etc. intimidated the bajeebies out of me. But, this book was the saving grace - it's a no-nonsense approach, but oh, so effective. I have employed it with two of my children, who are extremely successful readers, and plan to begin my third child next fall. The beauty of it is that my children are enamored with words themselves; not pictures - they have learned the true joy of learning and reading without all of the overkill usually employed with phonics programs - hence their imaginations have grown, too. I LOVE this book!!!
June 12, 2012
Through experience I found that my daughter does not do well with traditional approaches to phonics involving crafts, games, and stories. Since TOPGTTR is a bare-bones phonics program, it was perfect for her. The lessons are short and visually pleasing on the page, albeit very basic. This is not an unimportant factor when the child is expected to read sentences as they gain the ability to read. Through rhymes, the book takes the child from the short vowels to the remaining consonants and then onto reading small words and short sentences. This was the book that gave my daughter the keys to reading any word presented to her. This ability gives a young reader control and confidence as they begin to explore the world of reading.
July 4, 2014
I like it.
Very easy to understand, no need for anything extra.
Bit boring for children to look at (this is basically only book the two of you will need).
My firstborn didn't actually like that style of learning because he was very young at the time. Now he's 5 1/2 and learned through daily homework activities to sit still for ten - fifteen minutes or so, so we're going to give it a go.
Although I just might have to go with another program to help him have "fun" while learning, this is exactly how I learned how to read. Grandma would sit me down and break things up phonetically. Bit easier since I was learning Russian at the time...
Again, Susan reinforces the need to read and read some more to your children.
Very easy to understand, no need for anything extra.
Bit boring for children to look at (this is basically only book the two of you will need).
My firstborn didn't actually like that style of learning because he was very young at the time. Now he's 5 1/2 and learned through daily homework activities to sit still for ten - fifteen minutes or so, so we're going to give it a go.
Although I just might have to go with another program to help him have "fun" while learning, this is exactly how I learned how to read. Grandma would sit me down and break things up phonetically. Bit easier since I was learning Russian at the time...
Again, Susan reinforces the need to read and read some more to your children.
December 14, 2011
I haven't finished this book... but then as it is a lesson book for teaching reading, I feel like I can rate it without actually finishing it. I started going through the lessons from the very beginning with my two five-year-olds and they reviewed all the sounds the letters make. Within a few weeks after starting the actual reading lessons (just last month) they were reading short sentences. Now we've progressed to consonant blends and they are again doing well with reading phonetically. After having it out from my library for two months, I decided to buy my own copy since I'll need it again in another few years. I'm so glad I found this book!
May 6, 2014
No pictures to distract, very thorough, and inexpensive. I have also used Bob Books, to teach reading, which I also like to throw in with this book toward the end for variety. I am on my second child learning to read using this book and am very pleased. My other kids have learned with other programs and I think this one is more direct with the phonics rules and will be helpful with spelling down the line. (My only complaint is that sometimes the text is a little hard to read - the t and f can be difficult to tell apart. If they ever come out with another addition, I hope they use a different font, but this isn't enough to for me to take a star off the rating).
September 10, 2011
This is the best reading manual I've come across. There's no tricks or gimmicks (not even pictures); it's just good old-fashioned phonics, and lots of it. My four-year-old was sounding out words on her own before she had even learned the whole alphabet, because she understood the phonics behind reading. I especially love the way it introduces long-vowel sounds and irregular words.
I actually didn't need to make it through the whole book; now I'm just using it to reinforce concepts when my children need a little more practice.
I actually didn't need to make it through the whole book; now I'm just using it to reinforce concepts when my children need a little more practice.
November 7, 2011
Nice, basic way to teach your child to read. The absolute lack of illustrations and graphics is actually wonderful for my child, who is easily distracted by images and uses them to "guess" what he's reading rather than attempt to read. This book not only has given him confidence that he _can_ read, he looks forward to reading sentences and making up his own sentences with each new word he learns.
September 1, 2016
We started with this book after my oldest son and I had gotten through most of the "pink" and "blue" word series via the Montessori curriculum. Great timing and you still use the moveable alphabet. Nothing to make ahead of time (which was where I was getting stopped up with the Montessori Method...I just didn't have the time and by the time he mastered one lesson, he needed another 2 weeks later). I highly recommend this book.
November 22, 2007
Both of our kids learned their alphabet using this book. We have friends whose daughter learned to read by age 4 using this book, but we just aren't that gung-ho. We did earlier parts of the book, but let the Preschool and Kindergarten teachers take it from there.
January 21, 2009
I've been working with my son on these lessons since early December (07). It is so exciting to see him learning to read. Lessons are clear and very well-laid out. Excellent for teaching phonics to your child.
June 30, 2008
I really liked her "First Language Lessons" but this is bland. My daughter likes the "The Reading Lesson" better, and also, I suspect, "Phonics Pathways" and "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons".
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