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? re: Rewards by Sopris or ABeCeDarian? (which one and what do I need for each)?


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I am really confused. I was going to move into Rewards (by Sopris). We are just finishing up Recipe for Reading and my son needs to continue to have reading instruction, struggles with multi syllable words and fluency. Then in searching on this forum, I realized that ABeCeDarian may be a good fit as well. . . it is said to take kids beyond 5th/6th grade reading.

 

I would love thoughts and opinions.

 

Recipe for Reading is said to get a child to about 3rd/4th grade reading level!

 

If you recommend one of the above (or something else, what exactly do I need to purchase? For example, do I need the training for rewards or can I do without it?

 

Thank you!

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Jodi - I have used both. Without question, REWARDS worked the best. It was quick and painless and just made sense. My son jumped up a few grade levels in reading by the time he was done. I remember the time he read a page aloud in REWARDS - it was probably around the 20th lesson. He read it flawlessly. He finished and we both quickly turned to each other with that jaw-opened-wide look. I'll never forget it.

 

You will need the student book and the teacher's guide for REWARDS. I started with REWARDS Intermediate. I believe that has 25 lessons. REWARDS Secondary has 21 or so.

 

Best of luck to you!

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You can see samples of both. I registered at Sopris to see a sample of Rewards Intermediate recently, and it looked great.

 

I have used Abecedarian Level B and really liked it, but I am leaning towards Rewards Intermediate when my son is ready.

 

I have an idea that I would do Rewards Intermediate and then look back at Abecedarian Level C and see if I wanted him to do it afterward. (Or maybe look again at Abecedarian Level D if I thought he would not need Level c after doing Rewards.)

 

I am looking for this summer. I have only seen samples at this point.

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http://www.soprislea...ch?cmsid=Sopris I think this link will work -- I google "fcrr Rewards" if not.

 

I am not re-reading now, but I have read before, and iirc it said: the child should read at a solid 2nd-grade level (aka know "advanced phonics" stuff like ea, ai, oa, be able to read almost any one-syllable word accurately, be somewhat fluent at 2nd grade level).

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Thank you that is very helpful and I am realizing it appears that you do either intermediate or secondary and then move into "plus" if desired. It looks awesome. And I believe my son will be ready in just a few weeks which is exciting!!!!

 

I may look at ABeCedarian again after rewards if I think it is necessary :) Great idea!

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Also, someone mentioned on the other thread, that the sample of Rewards Intermediate you see, is one of the later lessons. So -- I think it looks pretty within reach to my son, but also, the reading passage seems advanced for him content-wise. But, she said that this reading passage is one of the most advanced in the program, and that is starts with sentences instead of a passage in earlier lessons. (If I recall.)

 

And Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I don't know, our problem with REWARDS (like many programs we try) is that it just didn't increase the fluency that much. I love the techniques, but ds just doesn't apply them well without prompting or at all automatically. He just bails on multi-syllable words in context. The REWARDS strategies worked great for us in isolation, but it didn't help that much with overall fluency. One look at the longer passages and he freaked, so I think it depends on your learner and their issues too. Our issues are more fluency than decoding/phonics.

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I don't know, our problem with REWARDS (like many programs we try) is that it just didn't increase the fluency that much. I love the techniques, but ds just doesn't apply them well without prompting or at all automatically. He just bails on multi-syllable words in context. The REWARDS strategies worked great for us in isolation, but it didn't help that much with overall fluency. One look at the longer passages and he freaked, so I think it depends on your learner and their issues too. Our issues are more fluency than decoding/phonics.

 

SO how do you fix that? Just curious in case it doesn't work for my ds. SO many curriculum choices haven't worked well. What has worked well -- LiPs, PIcture Me Reading, and Recipe for Reading!

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Thank you Lisa! Are you saying you did Rewards intermediate 1st and then Rewards Secondary ? For some reason, I was thinking it was one or another depending on your child's age!!

 

How do I know for sure if my son is actually ready for Rewards?

 

Sorry about the confusion. It is one or the other, but I ended up doing half of Secondary also. I really didn't need to, though.

 

FYI, I also had ds read phonogram cards daily and read through Webster's Speller with a notched card. Not sure if that had much effect, but I wanted to let you know.

 

I can't seem to find the info on their site, but I think Intermediate was for 3rd/4th graders and Secondary was for 5th/6th and up. This is for interest's sake. If your child reads at a 3rd grade level, he should be ready.

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SO how do you fix that? Just curious in case it doesn't work for my ds. SO many curriculum choices haven't worked well. What has worked well -- LiPs, PIcture Me Reading, and Recipe for Reading!

 

I don't know. We haven't been able to fix it yet. Right now we are just working on echo reading for fluency and reading along with audiobooks. I'm debating continuing on with Megawords as well, but mostly I think it is just going to be an uphill battle with a lot of practice and work.

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There are things recommended to target fluency.

 

I am working on fluency now (not moving ahead in decoding) with my son. We are not doing a package curriculum, but I looked very closely at oneminutereader. I like it but didn't get it (yet). Two programs recommended a lot are Great Leaps and Read Naturally. Also Reading Assistant I think.

 

I have also read some about fluency. If you search "fluency" on Amazon, I have looked at that book. I have looked at the fluency section on readingrockets.org.

 

It is hard. My son is having trouble with phrasing right now (knowing where to pause) and I have found some ways to practice it, but it is taking practice.

 

He is reading at a good speed for his current level, but he does not sound good, and with phrasing, he can be confused if he doesn't get it.

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Reading Assistant was a total bust for us. Ds spent the entire time making crazy noises into the "spy microphone" and read through all the material in about 3 months. There was just not enough material at his level (grade 3-5) to make it worth it. All the fluency programs I've looked at have timed drills. That alone would freak ds out so badly he would read even slower than normal. The neuropsych recommended echo reading, so that is what we're sticking with. I don't know how to get over the text on a page issue though, that is actually a bigger problem than fluency. Once he starts, he is usually fine, he just psychs himself out about the size and amount of text on a page!!

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