100 EZ Lessons or All About Reading?

[JulieA97]

I am looking at things to start with my almost 4 year old to work on this summer.  We have the 100 EZ Lessons book and have done the first 3 lessons-very slowly.  He is interested and loves to play the say it slow/say it fast game.  I am watching for signs that he is not ready and know we may need to put it away at some point if he loses interest, we are not pushing him.  He knows both capital and lowercase letters and their letter sounds.  We generally skip the part where they write the letters as we are doing HWOT for those skills.  In looking ahead though, I am not sure what to do.

 

If we do the majority of the 100 EZ lessons, however long it takes, what do we do afterwards?  What level of reading would he be and what is the next level of phonics/reading?

 

Should we just use 100 EZ lessons for review and get AAR?  He tests into Level 1.

 

Or some combination of the above?

[RootAnn]

Each of my kids has been at a different reading level when we finish with 100EL. If you search the board, you'll find a multitude of posts on 100EL, what to use after, and how some (many?) of the people who use it find that their kid doesn't need to "finish" it as their reading takes off around lesson 80 or so. (We haven't necessarily had the same experience, but I've read other people have.) We go into a spelling program that is phonics-based after finishing 100EL. I also still have my kids read aloud to me daily as I find it extremely important to keep working on that skill as they get older.

 

I have no advice on what you should use as every kid is a bit different. If 100EL works well for your kid, it is an inexpensive choice -- especially as you already have it. Some people find they need something different, something more, or whatever. 

[HS Mom in NC]

100EZL is a love it or hate it reading curriculum for most people.  It makes it at the top of many most hated and most loved lists.  No one can predict who will or won't like it.

 

I hate it. 

 

 

[Brianna]

I love the simplicity of books more like 100EZ lessons. I used it for my oldest. About half way through we jumped into Sonlight grade 1 readers, so never finished it. I use The Reading Lesson book now which is pretty similar and my kids love coloring the pictures as they go :)

[blondeviolin]

At almost 4, if he's not asking/demanding it, I wouldn't do either.

[Miss Tick]

With my younger I folded in the free books from Progressive Phonics. Which also stretched it out and added nice variety.

[TracyP]

At not even 4, I'm going to go with blondeviolin. I would do nothing unless it is by the child's request. That said...

 

After 100 EZL, we move to ETC 3 and Pathway Readers. That has been a smooth transition for 4 of my kids now; the 5th is still in 100EZL. For one, we made that transition at lesson 67 in 100EZL when he was just turned 4. For another, we switched after he went through all 100 lessons at almost 7 years old.

 

[SFM]

I hate 100 Easy Lessons, HATED IT. I went to Phonics Pathways and my DD reads the All About Reading books for supplements. :) HTH.

[HS Mom in NC]

I did Homestart in Reading by Ruth Beechick so my older two could learn to read with real books.

 

I did Phonics Pathways with my youngest because I was swamped in every aspect of my life and needed curriculum. I liked PP because it was thorough, simple and breathtakingly efficient. I used the accompanying pyramid books. I think readers can help or delay real progress.  Some early on are helpful, most people spend too long in them before switching to real books.

Along with phonics and readers children my kids start Latin and Greek word roots.  I kept it simple.  I gave them about 10 a week to match up in a simple memory type game.  I did a lot of review then transitioned to more than just matching.

 

Most children under 6 are not ready to read.  Unless one is begging daily and takes to it like a duck to water, I don't suggest starting phonics with preschoolers even though there's a lot of social and cultural pressure to start early.

 

I understand a younger kid wants to do "school" with the older kids just because they're doing it. People like to feel included.  You can make "assignments" out of coloring pages and cheap colorful workbooky type things that the youngest can scribble on while the older do writing assignments, you can have building blocks and little toys out for the youngest while the older use math manipulatives, the young one can sit in on read alouds while all the kids listening can play with quiet toys, etc.

 

[JulieA97]

Thanks everyone.  He will be 4 next month and asks to do his "sound book" all the time-he goes looking for it too if I say not now.  He is an only so its not a problem of keeping him busy but since he is asking to do it all the time we will probably continue unless we hit a point where he seems stuck and not ready.  Actually I got this book from the library to try it before buying about 6 months ago and he clearly let me know he wasn't ready (closing the book after I opened it and saying The End :D  were pretty clear indicators lol) so we shelved it.  I have no problem shelving it again if needed.  He picked up letters and letter sounds when he was 2 very very quickly without us even really working on it. 

 

So far I like 100 EL but will definately keep the other programs listed in mind in case we grow to hate it :)  It looks like after we finish it or no longer need it, we would move to spelling?  Thinking WAY ahead here but I like to plan.

[Kessepha]

I am looking at things to start with my almost 4 year old to work on this summer.  We have the 100 EZ Lessons book and have done the first 3 lessons-very slowly.  He is interested and loves to play the say it slow/say it fast game.  I am watching for signs that he is not ready and know we may need to put it away at some point if he loses interest, we are not pushing him.  He knows both capital and lowercase letters and their letter sounds.  We generally skip the part where they write the letters as we are doing HWOT for those skills.  In looking ahead though, I am not sure what to do.

 

If we do the majority of the 100 EZ lessons, however long it takes, what do we do afterwards?  What level of reading would he be and what is the next level of phonics/reading?

 

Should we just use 100 EZ lessons for review and get AAR?  He tests into Level 1.

 

Or some combination of the above?

 

I did EZ Lessons with my three.  The first was an early reader, possibly borderline hyperlexic.  He read well by age 5 and was straight into regular children's books from there.  The second was a little slower, read well by age 6 but also needed a little supplementation with tactile letters (sandpaper letters... he still learns by using his hands and probably has a future in electronics engineering) and also went straight into regular children's books.  My third was in the middle, learned by age six but likes to move around so he read half the lessons upside-down hanging off the sofa, etc.  Straight into children's books in first grade for him, too. 

 

The back of EZ lessons has some suggestions for what books to pick up next, but really, my kids just read anything they found after EZ lessons.  No problem.  The program does bog down and get boring as all heck about 2/3 of the way through.  I don't know if that's a developmental thing as they get to read longer passages or a problem with the program.  We wore out our book, and I think if I had a fourth child I might have been tempted to try Phonics Museum just because it looks pretty.

 

Happy reading!

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

I love love love 100 EZ lessons.  Used it with all three kids.  The last two switched to his Funnix program on the computer.  I used AAS after they were reading from EZ Lessons.  

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

Oh, my oldest started 100EZ at 3 years 9 months and took 9 months to go through it.  The didn't do it until 5.  The last started at 4 years 9 months.  I started them when they were ready.

[Nart]

If you have 100EZ I would try it out because it is so inexpensive. I started my first when he was exactly 4 years old in 100EZ and he did great. I remember going back and reviewing some lessons when I thought they were going too fast so he wouldn't get discouraged (I think we went from lesson 30 back to 10, then onto 50 and back to 30). Then when we got to lesson 75 or so it became a slog and I remember ripping apart fruit leather and putting it on each period in the story to motivate him. We did a lesson everyday (7 days a week) and he got a small prize after every lesson. I was worried because he had some hearing and speech issues that I knew might make reading really difficult for him, so I will be the first to admit that I pushed him. He finished the book 200 days later and really could read beginning books. We followed it up with Funnix 2 and Phonics Pathways then Dancing Bears C. By 5 1/2 he was a really good reader. My second child I tried 100EZ at age 3, 3 1/2, 4, 4 1/2, and 5 and he hated it. We never got past lesson 15. So we did AAR level 1 and finished it but it seemed like he didn't really learn to read even simple words. Somehow he could read the simple stories and the fluency sheets but it never transfered to other books. Then AAR 2 ramped up too quickly - the stories are really long for a beginning reader in the level 2 books. He just turned 6 and is in Dancing Bears B and is only now reading simple sentences. I have the idea that once he does learn to read he will end up being a better reader than his brother because he has an amazing vocabulary and always makes really good observations and inferences when he listens to read aloud books.  I video taped my eldest as he progressed through 100EZ, and it has been neat to look back to see how he progressed. So if you can try to videotape him learning to read. 

[HS Mom in NC]

See, 100 EZL makes the lists every time:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/544555-what-curriculum-does-it-seem-everyone-lovesbut-didnt-work-for-you/?p=6229061

[Jackie]

100EZL is a love it or hate it reading curriculum for most people. It makes it at the top of many most hated and most loved lists. No one can predict who will or won't like it.

 

I hate it.

This exactly. Every time the subject of learning to read comes up, 100EZ is the most divisive program. It is inexpensive and you already have it, so I see no reason to dump it without even getting into it. Just keep AAR or other programs in your mind in case 100EZ doesn't click for you.

 

Someone once posted to start with low intensity (and cheap/free) materials such as Bob Books or Progressive Phonics, which tend to work well for kids who are natural readers. If those don't work, try a medium-intensity program like 100EZ or OPGTR. If that doesn't work, go for the full-fledged (and more expensive) currics like AAR. This advice makes sense to me.

[Jackie]

So far I like 100 EL but will definately keep the other programs listed in mind in case we grow to hate it :) It looks like after we finish it or no longer need it, we would move to spelling? Thinking WAY ahead here but I like to plan.

I have an early reader. We started 100EZ, but Bob Books ended up working better for her. After finishing Bob, we moved to regular library books for reading practice and fluency. At DD's request (she's still quite young) we started AAS when she was reading well at about an end of first grade level. She wanted a break from it after level 2, so we're on a spelling hiatus now.

[reign]

My three children all finished 100ezl at completely different reading levels. One was reading Magic Tree House and another was still sounding out the easiest of books. My oldest was in the middle. All three moved on to OPGTR. Of the two that finished they were still at different levels but much closer.