Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons????

[hsmom]

Is this book worth buying? Any feedback would be great.

 

thank you

[JudoMom]

I know several people who like it (I wasn't one of them). I ended up going with Phonics Pathways, which I also like better than Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.

 

I was able to get both 100EZ & PP from the library (OPGTR wasn't out yet).

 

But yes, if you plan on using it to teach reading, you'd need to buy it :).

[Mrs Mungo]

Many people have success with it but my kids and I found the lessons very dry. Many kids find the changes in spelling confusing.

[dirty ethel rackham]

It didn't work for us. They use a special lexicon to give visual cues as to the sound. Around lesson 70, they drop the lexicon somewhat abruptly. My son could not read without it. We had to switch and teach him using something else. We ended up borrowing the phonics game, which helped, plus we did MCP plaid phonics and Pathway Readers for read aloud practice. He is doing great now.

[St. Theophan Academy]

It is a very unique way of teaching reading, I used to have a copy, never ended up using it with my kids. It teaches some symbols outside of the alphabet to teach phonetically, and for blends and 2 vowel combos, it connects letters. I decided it was just an added step - meaning the child has to learn the symbols they use, learn to read, then transition through to the end of the book into a normal alphabet. I have heard rave reviews, but it just seemed to add an element of confusion I did not want to deal with. I have to say, having experimented with it, Phonics Pathways, SWR etc, simpler seems to be better unless you have a child with certain learning issues. We are once again using ETC, and I plan to stick with it over and over, it just seems to be the most straightforward, get your kid reading series I have found.

[sadiegirl]

I had GREAT luck with it on son #1...he took off reading after working thru the book. Then with my son #2...no such luck and we ended up going with Phonics Pathway. I think it is really up to each individual learning style. I say give it a try if you can borrow it from someone. Good luck.

[GailV]

I got it from the public library, and my dd hated it to the extent that she wanted nothing to do with learning to read for several months after trying it. We had made it to lesson 4.

 

Others, though, love it.

 

On the bright side, the experience really helped me get over believing certain curriculum MUST work for our family since it worked for others. Now I realize that it's okay for us to like and use things that aren't popular, and dislike things that are popular.

[KarenNC]

My girlfriend had great luck with it with her son, but it totally bombed for us. We also tried Phonics Pathways with the same result. A mix of Explode the Code, Bob books, sight word flashcards and Dick and Jane books worked best for us.

 

Our library has both PP and 100 EZ Lessons, so it is worth a look to "try before you buy".

[5sweeties]

We had a great experience. A year ago neither my 6yo dd or my 5yo ds could read at all. (I chose to wait until I felt they were both ready to learn together, to start. I was looking for maturity from both of them.)

 

We went through all 100 lessons, only repeating 5 lessons, after our long Christmas break this winter. We finished the 100 lessons, mid to late January. They both read well now. We have chosen K12's 1st grade phonics program as our next step, and they are doing outstanding with this (imho) rigorous program. They already know much of the material and are terrific spellers. My ds, who is now 5.5, reads better than all of the children that he associates with, who are in public school. My dd, who is 6.5, reads at a solid second grade level, just like the program advertises. Ds, doesn't read as well as she does, most of which I blame on little boy wiggles and his lesser maturity level. He has a harder time remembering every single rule...but he does well. He can pull out any intro level Dr. Suess and read it slowly, but alone.

 

The switch to "regular" letters, in 100EZ, was not difficult for either of them. They both made the switch naturally, and we didn't see any struggles. Any word that they come across, which can be read phonetically, is no problem. We are now working on all the more advanced rules and such, with K12.

 

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to everyone, because of learning styles and specific goals, but it worked for us. The kids weren't bored. We didn't think it was too dry. They worked through it at a consistent pace. They read well, and our goals were accomplished.

 

:o)

[Marie in Oh]

but we were not one of them. Check it out at the library. Then nothing is lost and if you like it you can buy it.

[LadyAberlin]

We've only done up through lesson 6, but so far so good. I really would prefer to use Reading made easy. Its code is simpler. My ds4 dug his heels in though. He really was having issues with blending. 100 Ez lessons starts with a lot of blending and rhyming exercises which he needs. So I may try to some how transition into Reading Made Easy if it is possible. It is supposed to go a little further into phonics than 100 EZ Lessons. Cathy Duffy recommends moving into LLATL Red after reading Made Easy to finish up the phonics instruction. That is our goal.

[TracyR]

I say it depends on the child . You really need to find out wether it will work for you and your child first .

 

I bought 100 EZ lessons for my oldest when I began homeschooling . She started off great but we hit a brick wall and put it away , bringing out on occasion . It took a while for her because reading just didn't click with her . Even at 6.5 she was struggling . So in the meantime I went through a zillion different other programs and just none of them worked for her . By the time she turned 7 I brought 100 EZ lesson out just one more time in hopes that since she was older that it would finally click ( mind you we started when she was 4.5 and she was more then ready , I think just stubborn ) . And all of a sudden it clicked and we went through the whole thing with no problem . She had no problems being able to switch from the special letters that they use in the beginning . And here she is 10 and reading now a year above level . So really it did work . She just wasn't ready for some reason .

 

Child #2 - started her out with it at age 4.5 and she took off like crazy with it . At first I thought I was doing something wrong ! LOL. She wasn't fighting me on doing the lessons . she loved it . Now at age 8 she reads at a 3.5 grade level and reading just has always clicked with reading .

 

I am getting ready to do child #3 and will have to purchase a new 100 EZ lessons book because I lost ours when we moved . But I will be giving it a try with her as well .

 

I think its a great book to help those just starting to teach their child to read. It takes you step by step on how to do it .

Now if it will work for you I can't say because results may vary :>)

[Once]

I agree with the above post. It really depend on the child.

 

My Dd hated it and I felt very artifical doing it. We went with SWR. It is a bear to learn but once you "get it" you can use just the phongrams to teach all through the day whatever you are reading or writing.

 

I have heard others rave about 100 EL so it must work with one type of learner. Visual maybe....which my daughter is not. Sometimes you just have to try something if you are not sure and see if it works especially with the younger ones. Chalk it up as experience if it does not and try something else. It is inexpensive so the risk would be small.

 

HTH

[Tweed]

check it out at the library first. Some kids take to it and others do not. I used it with my first three children. My children were reading at an early age (4) but after a while, I realized that they were phonic weak. We went back and did a phonics program, OPGTTR, starting at about lesson 160, and I am so pleased with where they are now. When I start a reading program with my youngest, I will skip 100 Easy Lessons and start with a phonic program instead. :)

[Brenda in FL]

But each child went through it differently. However, neither had a problem with the symbols - the transition to regular type was not even an issue. Upon completion neither child needed further formal phonics instructions.

 

Child # 1 started between ages 4 - 5 and went right thru and hasn't stopped reading since!

 

Child #2 started at the same time, hit a wall early on - we stopped and picked it up a couple months later and she went thru lesson 70ish and got bored - we picked up Mcguffey Primer until she was ready to go back and finish 100 EZ lessons - she finished it during her kindergarten year. This child is not the book lover like child #1 and that's probably why it took her longer - she will read and does fine, she just won't pick up a book on her own time to read!

 

The book is not that expensive, may even be more economical than other learn to read programs.

 

It doesn't take much time on a daily basis.

 

Not too far in to it, the child can begin reading Bob books, which is a great boost for them.

 

We skipped the writing portion (per TWTM) and we only read the "story" one time thru instead of two (each lesson has a "story" with comprehension questions) Having to read it twice would have led to a revolt by both student and teacher!

 

We used a calendar and stickers to mark our progress. The reward at the end of the book was the child's own library card.

 

I would recommend it, but keep in mind - your timing may not be your child's timing, as other posters have shown.

[ABQmom]

I used it with first dd. She was not reading well when we finished lesson 100. The program does not include all phonograms, so imo it's not a complete program. My dd struggled with reading because it didn't teach everything.

 

That being said, I like the program for young readers. I start my dc out on 100 easy. They learn well how to sound out words from it. About lesson 60 or so, we have to move on to something more rigorous. We use OPGTR after that.

[Ohio12]

I would get them all from the library and see what you like, I liked Ordinary Parents Guide the best.

[Beth in Central TX]

We had the same mixed results in our homeschool. DS#2 did very well with 100EL; however, DS#3 did not. I ended up using OPGTR for him. DS#1 learned to read at ps using Saxon Phonics.

 

I really liked 100EL and thought it was easier to teach than OPGTR, but ultimately it's what works for the child that matters.

[TengoFive]

I've used it twice so far with the same results. The kids do great until about lesson 72. For them its not missing the lexicon, its actually throwing the letter names in there and introducing capital letters at about the same time. Anyway, both times we've gotten to that point and hit a brick wall. My oldest went almost a year after we stopped doing the book and it finally clicked and she was off. She went from being a non-reader to literally reading a 900 page book overnight. I credit 100 EZ lessons though, because it gave her the tools she needed her brain just needed to process it. She became a solid reader at age 6 and now at age 10 is reading on a high school level. With my son we went through the book the same way. I kept waiting for the light bulb to go off for him the way it did with my daughter, but it never did really. He's reading now though on an average level.

 

With my next child I used OPGTTR when she was 4 (same age I started the others at) and she took off. She never had that lag period between learning the rules and applying them. She's 6 now and I'd say she reads on about a 3rd grade level. It could be the kid, but I know I'm using OPGTTR next time around!