I See Sam Books Are Free to Download and View Online

I recently discovered I See Sam Books. The books were published through a federally funded program in 1972 and made available in the public domain in 1977.

The original versions of 52 I See Sam books continue to be available for free. You can print, download, and view the original I See Sam books.

In 1993 changes were made to I See Sam books through the Reading For All Learners Program. The RALP versions of I See Sam books are copyrighted and can be purchased in printed form.

Animated I See Sam books are also available through a subscription website called The Reading Teacher.
You can find more information about this online reading program and another online reading program I highly recommend on my Parent and Child Reading Assistance website. Reading Programs

I See Sam Books Are Free to Download and View Online

Teach Basic Phonics

I've put together a video to help you teach basic phonics.
I share information about teaching letter sounds and basic phonics rules.
I show you how to introduce books from the Playful Pals early reader book set.
I show you how to use magnetic letters to have early readers practice reading, spelling, and phonics rules.

Here are the magnetic letters, magnetic easel, and books I use in the video:

Magnetic Learning Letters - Lowercase
 

Magnetic Letter Organizer with Adjustable Dividers
Here's a post that shows how I organized my magnetic letters.
 

Magnetic Tabletop Learning Easel

You can check out Hop on Pop from the library or purchase from a local book store.
Here's a PDF of Hop on Pop and an app for Hop on Pop - Dr. Seuss.


Short-Vowel Pals


Playful Pals (Click on the text to purchase from Innovative Kids.)


The video I created is over an hour long. You can use the video as a reference and training resource for you to teach everything yourself, or you can have a child watch certain parts before reading books and doing magnetic letter work.

I posted some of the content from my Basics Phonics video on YouTube.
Here are three videos showing teaching VC and CVC phonics rules.

You can purchase this video by scrolling down to the bottom of this blog and purchasing through my PayPal link. Enter $10.00 as the amount. This will include shipping. Make sure you enter your mailing address and let me know you are purchasing the Basic Phonics Video. The video is in DVD format. Please come back and share a comment if you purchase the video and find it useful.

Here are three videos showing a book introduction and magnetic letter work for a book from the Playful Pals book set.

Teach Basic Phonics

How to Get Children Reading More

Children become better readers by reading more.

Some children read a lot. 

Others need encouragement.

This post will address common reasons children avoid reading and a few solutions.

Problem: 

Many children avoid reading because it's hard for them.

Solutions:

1. Find a reading program
2. Teach your child to read yourself 
3. Find a reading tutor.

Problem:
Children are bored or confused by what they are reading.
Solutions:
1. Find reading material that interests a child. This post from Children's Books and Reading will give you some ideas for finding reading material of interest.
2. Read part of what your child is reading aloud together. Takes turns reading, talk, and share thoughts. You can help a child understand what is read through simple interactions. Find more information about this here.
3. Use Total Reader to find out a reading level for your child and use Find a Book or Scholastic Book Wizard to search for books that interest your child close to your child's reading level.
4. Research good books online.
5. Ask other parents or your child's friends to suggest good books.
6. Choose books together at the library, online, or in a store.
Finding a book your child will choose to read instead of playing a video game or watch a TV show is possible. It happens around my house from time to time.


Problem:
Children aren't motivated to read.
Solutions:
1. Motivate your child by providing time to read and encouragement.
2. Find an incentive program at your local library or a local book store.
3. You can set up an incentive program online by registering for free with Book Adventure.
4. Read free online books and donate a book to a school or charity of choice at We Give Books.
5. Let kids stay up later if reading.
6. Buy a head lamp flashlight for reading in the dark. Sportsman LED Headlight
7. Create a special reading area in your home.
8. Have books in the car and other places where children have to wait. Pack books in a ziplock bag or purchase a reading device to have books ready for reading anytime anywhere. Kindle Fire
9. Help your child create a box of favorite books. Young readers benefit from reading books more that once.

I hope you found some helpful advice here. Please sign up with Feedburner in the top right column of this blog to get all new posts sent via email.

How to Get Children Reading More

Michelle Breum - Parent Reading Consultant

I'm sharing my best advice for parents teaching a child to read.
I hope you find some helpful information.
Check out my first SlideShare presentation.

Michelle Breum - Reading Consultant for Parents from Michelle Breum

Michelle Breum - Parent Reading Consultant

Monthly Poll March 2013

Here are the results from last month's poll.

What do you find most challenging when helping a beginning reader?

finding good books 4 votes knowing how to help a child sound out words 3 votes knowing what is expected of a beginning reader 5 votes knowing a reader's strengths and weaknesses 6 votes

There were 18 votes and most votes went to knowing a reader's strengths and weaknesses. When I trained as a Reading Recovery teacher I used knowing a reader's strengths and weaknesses to teach a reader.

It's hard to explain teaching this way. I can't give an exact lesson plan for this. This can only be done during supporting a reader one on one. That is why informed parents are so important. Parents who know their children and know how to help can have a bigger impact than a teacher in a class full of children. Reading Recovery is a successful program because it is tailored to individual student needs. The program is quite costly. My children's school district and the school district where I was trained and taught Reading Recovery no longer uses the program.

I strongly believe that helping parents is the way that I can help the most children learn to read.
Here's a page to find Reading Resources to get you started on your learning. Feel free to ask me specific questions. I'll address your question in a future post or answer you personally. 

Monthly Poll March 2013

Learn the Alphabet and Letter Sounds

Many experts suggest teaching letter sounds along with letter names. Vowel sounds and the sounds for the letters c and g can be tricky since they make more than one sound. Most research I have done suggests teaching the short vowel sounds first and the hard sounds for the letters c and g. The hard sound sound of c is in the word cat. The hard sound of g is in the word goat. The soft sounds are in the words cent and giraffe.

Free Online Letter Learning Websites: Here's a page with links to ten high quality letter learning websites.

Alphabet Books: Here's a page with my favorite alphabet books.

Apps: Here's a page with a few apps for teaching letter sounds and teaching early reading skills.

Learn the Alphabet and Letter Sounds