A neighbour has been harassing me to teach her kid reading and I’ve agreed to do it if I can find a good reading program or teaching technique.
Google searches reveal a lot of “buy our proven program and …” and Forumosa searches don’t reveal a lot on the topic.
If any of you have great tips, or directions to a fantastic (and free) ressource (bonus points for lesson plans!!!) please share the wealth.
Penthouse letters?
How old is the kid and how much English does he/she speak?
It’s not free but it’s pretty cheap I think: readinga-z.com/
With it you can print out books and it has lesson plans, worksheets and stuffs. I use parts of it with my kindergarten kids and they like it. The books start off real easy, then move up adding more phonics and site words as it goes along.
Even if you don’t pay for it the site has some tips and things in it.
Hooked on Phonics. It’s a fantastic reading program. It’s not free, but if you don’t know how to teach reading, a handful of worksheets and a box of crayons isn’t going to help either one of you. They’re paying you, why not make the class worth it instead of trying to make things as cheap and easy as possible? I mean, they could go on the internet and download a bunch of worksheets if that’s what they wanted. 
Of course, this applies only if the child in question is at the stage to be learning reading and writing formally. How old is this kid again? Where is he or she developmentally in reading and writing?
I have witnessed miracles using this book:
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
I was given a ‘problem’ class who couldn’t even hold a book the right way up and had one semester to teach them how to read. I used this book, and even the slowest learners in my class beat the best readers in other classes in phonics and reading tests. I can’t recommend it enough.
Miltownkid, Stray Dog and Joe Sax, I’m going to check out each of those pages/books. Thanks for the advice.
Imaniou, you’re assuming an awful lot about what I am or am not willing to do, don’t you think? 
Which one?
[Hooked On Phonics site: Home > Our Products > Reading]
Is there different stuff somewhere else?
ImaniOU and Persephone made very good points, of course. To really start to teach the kid to read, it would be best if he/she already had some English listening/speaking ability. (Otherwise, you’ll have to teach him the language at the same time as you start to teach basic phonemic awareness. It can be done but it requires some skill and is not as easy as when the child already knows some English.) And he should be developmentally ready for it. And it would require a lot of time and energy from you, which by the sounds of it you may not really be up for.
If not, a better thing to do would be to read easy stories aloud to the kid. That would expand his vocabulary and grammar, prepare him for reading in future, and most importantly show him that reading in English is fun.
Tape Sandman reading a selection, give comprehension questions…
I can’t think what could be more exciting…
JD Smith, calling JD Smith…
Can’t believe that he hasn’t posted here.
[quote=“Bassman”]JD Smith, calling JD Smith…
Can’t believe that he hasn’t posted here.[/quote]
Well, I have avoided this as I don’t know enough about the kid in question. And it’s a tutoring thing, not a classroom thing…
If the kid is basic level…why not use Dr Suess?
[quote=“joesax”]ImaniOU and Persephone made very good points, of course. To really start to teach the kid to read, it would be best if he/she already had some English listening/speaking ability. (Otherwise, you’ll have to teach him the language at the same time as you start to teach basic phonemic awareness. It can be done but it requires some skill and is not as easy as when the child already knows some English.) And he should be developmentally ready for it. And it would require a lot of time and energy from you, which by the sounds of it you may not really be up for.
If not, a better thing to do would be to read easy stories aloud to the kid. That would expand his vocabulary and grammar, prepare him for reading in future, and most importantly show him that reading in English is fun.[/quote]
Thanks Joe. 
I’d still like to know more about the child in question before making a lot of suggestions, but here’s one:
The sight has lots of phonics-based stories that don’t use a lot of vocabulary. I used to use it with some Russian 1st graders with learning disabilities when I was tutoring back in NYC. They loved it because, unlike the books they got from school, they were able to stumble through these books by themselves after about 4 tries, and read them fluently after about 8. The pictures are funny, and they enjoyed seeing the same characters in different books. “Zac the Rat” was a confidence builder like no other for these kids 
I just printed the stories out and gave the kids a new one every 3 weeks. My friend homeschools with them, using her computer. If you do it that way, the kids can interact with the stories: pronunciation/listening practice and games.
Hope this helps!
I don’t normally Agree with Stary Dog, But I have used the same book very successfully with my kindergarteners.
How to Teach your child how to read in 100 easy lessons.
Good luck,
Okami
[quote=“Persephone”]
I’d still like to know more about the child in question before making a lot of suggestions, but here’s one:
The sight has lots of phonics-based stories that don’t use a lot of vocabulary. I used to use it with some Russian 1st graders with learning disabilities when I was tutoring back in NYC. They loved it because, unlike the books they got from school, they were able to stumble through these books by themselves after about 4 tries, and read them fluently after about 8. The pictures are funny, and they enjoyed seeing the same characters in different books. “Zac the Rat” was a confidence builder like no other for these kids I just printed the stories out and gave the kids a new one every 3 weeks. My friend homeschools with them, using her computer. If you do it that way, the kids can interact with the stories: pronunciation/listening practice and games.[/quote]
Hi Persephone, I’ve seen the Starfall site before. As you say, they’re phonics-based stories: “decodable readers”, with each reader focusing on a particular sound.
I’ve been thinking about these kinds of books recently. A possible criticism is that the language used is very artificial. Unusual names and words juxtaposed for the sole purpose of practising phonics skills. Some experts vehemently oppose this kind of instruction. But, as you said, some kids seem to love these books! The fact that the books are decodable builds confidence and the pictures and stories are funny. And these particular books, at least, focus on the vowel sounds, which are harder than consonant sounds.
I agree that this could be a nice easy way in for the OP. After a couple of reads through of each story, he/she could ask the child to identify the sound that is common to most of the words: for example in “Zac the Rat” it’s the “short a” sound.
I haven’t read the book: “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” but it certainly has a lot of good reviews. The trouble is that it is designed for native-speaking children so unless the child already has a fair listening/speaking ability OR the OP is prepared to design a language teaching program as well, it might not be ideal.