Anyone heard or used Reading Horizons?

[In2why]

Has anyone used Reading Horizons, Intensive Phonics program?

 

It was mentioned to me as an excellent Orton Gillingham reading program. It seems a bit pricey, but is a complete program with nothing more to buy.

 

I saw that Mary Pride loved it, but other than that I can't find actual reviews by people who homeschool, other than on their site. They do have a homeschool option.

http://athome.readinghorizons.com/index.aspx

[H_Household]

We are using the home program by Reading Horizons. We love it. It was just what I was looking for. My 2nd grader and K5 boys are both using it.

My 2nd grader struggles with reading not because of him but I think more from me bouncing around programs. I started him with AAS and realized how much I liked O-G Phonics programs. I decided to give DIP a try as I could return it if I didn't like it......not the case at all. It's kinda pricey but you get so much and can use it for 2-3 years.

I bought both the print and computer materials as a set. It has 2 teacher manuals, 1 manual (games, worksheets, tests,etc), CD-rom that has the worksheets and great info on how to do the program, classroom charts, flip charts, set of books and the Computer program which correlates with the print lessons and has some fun games on it.

I do the lesson on the white board with them individually, have them complete worksheets, read the stories and then do the computer program as review. The program has a way of teaching the phonics rules where the kids learn to mark the words. It's great for visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners as you are seeing the markings, saying the sounds and writing/marking words on the board. Then my kids get the review and enjoy the time on the computer.

For example - My K5 son so far has learned 8 consonants and 2 vowels. Then they take these letters to make slides and basic words from these 10 letters. He will keep developing more letters and basic words. My 2nd grader has worked through 4 of the 5 phonics rules (2 short vowels, long vowels, silent e). He's made real progress this year. I expect that using this program from the beginning will mean that my K5 son will be farther than his brother at the same time. Wish I had found this program earlier.

The program is very easy to use after you get a feel for it going through all the information that they give you. You also get an online informational program to help you teach it.

All in all....a great program! Any questions, just ask.

Good luck choosing!

[In2why]

I am so glad to see someone using it. I signed up for the 30 day free trial, but that is for the computer program only. I had to sign up as a school.

 

Looking at the different options to buy I see there is the complete program which it sounds like you have and then the software program which include the worksheets and books. But not the 2 teachers manuals. Do you find that you need the teachers manuals? Or can I glean that info from the webinars online? The difference in price is over $100, for an already pricey program.

 

I also wonder about the books that come with the program. Do they have the markings, or are they just readers? My concern is how do the kids transistion to reading regular books that do not have the marks once they learn to read with this program? I guess any reading program would have that concern for me.

Thank you so much for answering.

[H_Household]

http://athome.readinghorizons.com/store/ages-4-9.aspx

Here is the link to the program I bought. I purchased the software and instructional material package.....saw on the side that they have a coupon code "ReadToday" for 25% off.

My opinion about what to buy.....well it is completely up to you. I like having both but you could do without one or the other. I would go by what your child needs. If they can work more independently and enjoy the computer....the computer program explains the lessons and they work through the marking process by clicking where they need to put the markings. Also, the stories that are in the books are also read on the computer program. By the way, the computer program does have a place to see how they did each lesson. However, If you did the computer program only....the program would go much faster and might not include everything that is in the program. There are some lessons in the print that don't have a computer lesson.

The teacher materials are great for us as we work through the lessons on the white board, do worksheets and play games. It helps me to know what they are learning and how they are doing. We work through the lessons for several days making the information stick.

Let's see if I can give you an example of how they mark things.....

Rule #1 - The vowel is short because it has a guardian consonant.

u*

met

x

So from above(it won't post the markings in the correct spots but you get the idea!)....you mark below the vowel with an x. Then you mark the guardian consonant with a star and then you mark the vowel above with the short vowel mark.

Yesterday was a fun day for my 2nd grader.....he was doing a lesson about how C says /s/ before e & i with a rainbow s above the word. Then we went to do All About Spelling....had the same thing in it. Great reinforcement!

From your questions:

1. The online webinar is helpful to understand the program but I'm not sure you can teach it from there. The program is not complicated but involved.

2. The reading books that come with the program use the words that follow what they have learned. They do NOT have the markings so the kids never read stories with the markings.....you can talk about them if they come across a word that they find difficult.

The program would last you for probably 3 years if you do the print program. Here is what it covers: The program goes from learning letters...blends....short vowels...long vowels....five phonetic skills....suffixes....diphthongs....digraphs....special vowels....jobs of y....decoding skills....syllables....extra skills like schwa, prefix, suffix, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, heteronyms, palidronmes letter doubles...etc. As you can see....it's more than just learning a few skills.

I wish is wasn't so expensive but I also feel that I got a really indepth program that will work for years that all 3 of my children can use to learn to read.

Any more questions....feel free to ask!