Teaching reading at home, What works best?? What is your opinion about this program please?

[sun-flower]

Hello there,

 

Is there a good program that is really effective at teaching reading at home? a simple, yet comprehensive program I mean? Something that when you finish it, you won't need to go for another one!

 

Thank you so much, and sorry if my English was not so perfect.

 

 

[sun-flower]

Edited by OP

[Five More Minutes]

 

 

He says that your child will be able to read after several weeks (by working with him/her 10 minutes a day).

 

I would be pretty cautious of any claims to have a child reading in a few weeks. That may very well be the case (one of mine did), but the timing is very dependent on the child's developmental stage and capacity as well as instructional approaches. My one daughter took a *lot*  longer to be comfortable reading.

 

There are a number of reading programs recommended here. Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is one. There are also the programs All About Reading and Logic of English .

 

I successfully used Jolly Phonics and All About Spelling to teach my girls to read, and the best piece of advice I have from that experience is to just do a little bit every day and keep at it.

 

(Editing to add: for young children, I spent about 5 minutes a day on reading; we gradually increased the length of reading time to 10 or 15 minutes.)

[Gil]

Note: I didn't watch the video.

There are a ton of programs to teach reading and most of them can be done at home. I taught my kids to read when they were young (2-4 years old) and yeah, I would wager that most small children can be taught to read at home and that lessons would take between 5-15 minutes a day. I think longer than that and it might not work. I personally feel--for no scientific reason, just a gut feeling validated by my own experience--that its best to work with small children in short but constant lessons (ie doing a lesson or practice or review every.single.day) but there are people who only have sessions 2x a week and it works for them too.

 

I suggest you read on the PreK and K forum here, there is plenty I'm sure in the General and K-8 boards of this forum also about teaching kids to read. Also keep in mind that you have to consider your individual child... I don't teach the "average child" I teach **my** child so I do what I know is best for that kid  Don't be afraid to change what you are doing if it isn't working.

[WahM]

For us, Reading Lessons Through Liturature has become my favorite program for teaching reading followed closely by Writing Road to Reading, but if you prefer a different method Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading is great as well.

[Jess4879]

There are lots of programs out there.  We use AAR and really, really like it.  It's scripted and very easy to use.  It depends what you are looking for though.  Reading Pathways is another good one I don't think has been mentioned yet.

[sun-flower]

I would be pretty cautious of any claims to have a child reading in a few weeks. That may very well be the case (one of mine did), but the timing is very dependent on the child's developmental stage and capacity as well as instructional approaches. My one daughter took a *lot*  longer to be comfortable reading.

 

There are a number of reading programs recommended here. Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is one. There are also the programs All About Reading and Logic of English .

 

I successfully used Jolly Phonics and All About Spelling to teach my girls to read, and the best piece of advice I have from that experience is to just do a little bit every day and keep at it.

 

(Editing to add: for young children, I spent about 5 minutes a day on reading; we gradually increased the length of reading time to 10 or 15 minutes.)

 

Thank you for your comment Five More Minutes,

 

By several week I meant 12! I noticed that the program will be finished in 12 weeks. Of course I don't believe that it is possible to teach a child to read in just "a few" weeks.

 

Thanks for the links as well. I mentioned that link in my post #2 because they had testimonials/success stories at their website and at the channel. 

 

Five More Minutes, Why some of these programs are really expensive when compared to what I mentioned? Just because they are physical products or because they are really effective? 

 

Thanks

[MrsWeasley]

Progressive Phonics is free for cost of printing, and it's worked wonderfully for my middle child.

[Five More Minutes]

Thank you for your comment Five More Minutes,

 

By several week I meant 12! I noticed that the program will be finished in 12 weeks. Of course I don't believe that it is possible to teach a child to read in just "a few" weeks.

 

Thanks for the links as well. I mentioned that link in my post #2 because they had testimonials/success stories at their website and at the channel. 

 

Five More Minutes, Why some of these programs are really expensive when compared to what I mentioned? Just because they are physical products or because they are really effective? 

 

Thanks

 

:001_smile:  I didn't watch the video to check how many weeks were claimed; I'm just personally suspicious of *any* claims to have a child reading in a set time. It just varies so much -- my own two children demonstrated that for me.

 

As for the price of programs, I can't comment on the reasons for the cost. (OPGTR is pretty inexpensive, though!) I actually didn't use any of the ones I linked to! AAR wasn't available at the time; I didn't know about LOE or OPGTR, but learned about them after I had taught my own children to read with a comparatively expensive program. I wished I had known about these different options, and knew that if I were doing it over, I would have done what you are doing now, and researched the options more carefully.

 

It may be that in the video clip you shared you've found a reputable program that will meet your teaching style and your kids' learning styles, in which case, great!

[ElizabethB]

I have been remediation reading for 21 years. The less sight words, the fewer remedial students. Also, some programs that look good and seem to use few sight words have implementation problems that can cause problems in some students. For example, the phonics in My Father's World is sound, but the set pace of moving though it and the way the stories are talked about before being read can cause students to start guessing at the words, especially in the story portion. The phonics is Alphaphonics is good, although it only goes to a first grade level, but some children start guessing from the word families, in that case you should use the words across instead of down or switch to another program.

 

The two programs that I have not yet had a remedial student from and both teach to a fourth grade level are Phonics Pathways and Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading. (I have remediated hundreds of children.)

 

The pace of the program needs to be flexible. My daughter was reading almost anything by the end of K. With years of experience and using the exact same methods, my son was slightly behind grade level until last year and can only now read almost anything.

 

My favorite is Webster's Speller, it teaches phonics to a 12th grade level. But, it is a it more difficult to use. It is free to print and use.

[ErinE]

.

Edited February 19, 2018 by ErinE

[ScoutTN]

Phonics Pathways.

One book, inexpensive, non- consumable, big print,can be done sitting on the sofa together.

 

Do it without the writing element.

Reading skills should not be tied to writing skills. The two often develop at very different paces.

[desertflower]

For what it's worth, I love phonics pathways ($20). It's companion is reading pathways ($20?).

 

You may want to consider your chikd's learning style. For example, all about reading and logic of english are for kinesthetic learners. My child is a kinesthetic learner, so he would do some jumping jacks or run in place, etc while we did PP. He's at a point where he's just reading from various readers now. (and we are not done with PP) I do plan on completing it.

 

Hth.

[desertflower]

Fyi, some libraries have the phonics pathways book.

[AimeeM]

All children are different. If you read the boards, you will notice SO many different choices. For example, we didn't care for Phonics Pathways at all, but I know several that it worked well for. 

We're using Dancing Bears, which is a UK program, for DS5, and I like it a lot. I've also tried PAL (Primary Art of Language - Reading), Phonics Pathways, and a couple others... before we found our "happy spot". 

DS2 will be using Memoria Press' phonics probably, though.

 

[sun-flower]

Note: I didn't watch the video.

There are a ton of programs to teach reading and most of them can be done at home. I taught my kids to read when they were young (2-4 years old) and yeah, I would wager that most small children can be taught to read at home and that lessons would take between 5-15 minutes a day. I think longer than that and it might not work. I personally feel--for no scientific reason, just a gut feeling validated by my own experience--that its best to work with small children in short but constant lessons (ie doing a lesson or practice or review every.single.day) but there are people who only have sessions 2x a week and it works for them too.

 

I suggest you read on the PreK and K forum here, there is plenty I'm sure in the General and K-8 boards of this forum also about teaching kids to read. Also keep in mind that you have to consider your individual child... I don't teach the "average child" I teach **my** child so I do what I know is best for that kid  Don't be afraid to change what you are doing if it isn't working.

 

Thank you for your comment Gil,

 

By saying "Something that when you finish it, you won't need to go for another one!" I was referring to the time and economic issues! It is much more better to find a working program at the first point at least for the time and economic reasons.

[sun-flower]

For us, Reading Lessons Through Liturature has become my favorite program for teaching reading followed closely by Writing Road to Reading, but if you prefer a different method Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading is great as well.

 

Thank you for your comment WahM:)

[sun-flower]

There are lots of programs out there.  We use AAR and really, really like it.  It's scripted and very easy to use.  It depends what you are looking for though.  Reading Pathways is another good one I don't think has been mentioned yet.

 

Isn't it a bit pricey? 

How long it takes for AAR to be finished?

 

Thanks

[sun-flower]

:001_smile:  I didn't watch the video to check how many weeks were claimed; I'm just personally suspicious of *any* claims to have a child reading in a set time. It just varies so much -- my own two children demonstrated that for me.

 

As for the price of programs, I can't comment on the reasons for the cost. (OPGTR is pretty inexpensive, though!) I actually didn't use any of the ones I linked to! AAR wasn't available at the time; I didn't know about LOE or OPGTR, but learned about them after I had taught my own children to read with a comparatively expensive program. I wished I had known about these different options, and knew that if I were doing it over, I would have done what you are doing now, and researched the options more carefully.

 

It may be that in the video clip you shared you've found a reputable program that will meet your teaching style and your kids' learning styles, in which case, great!

 

Thank you for your replies Five More Minutes,

 

The Program I added its link in my post #2 has testimonial videos & includes MP3 Audios, Nursery Rhymes, Common Sight Words and Consultations (the premium version includes videos and workshop), that's why I like it. the price for the program seems good also for such amount of contents (maybe because it is all a digital/downloadable product?). The problem here is that nobody is going to take a look at it and give me some points:(. Do you think that I should start another thread asking just this specific request?

[sun-flower]

I have been remediation reading for 21 years. The less sight words, the fewer remedial students. Also, some programs that look good and seem to use few sight words have implementation problems that can cause problems in some students. For example, the phonics in My Father's World is sound, but the set pace of moving though it and the way the stories are talked about before being read can cause students to start guessing at the words, especially in the story portion. The phonics is Alphaphonics is good, although it only goes to a first grade level, but some children start guessing from the word families, in that case you should use the words across instead of down or switch to another program.

 

The two programs that I have not yet had a remedial student from and both teach to a fourth grade level are Phonics Pathways and Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading. (I have remediated hundreds of children.)

 

The pace of the program needs to be flexible. My daughter was reading almost anything by the end of K. With years of experience and using the exact same methods, my son was slightly behind grade level until last year and can only now read almost anything.

 

My favorite is Webster's Speller, it teaches phonics to a 12th grade level. But, it is a it more difficult to use. It is free to print and use.

 

Thank you Elizabeth for your comment, 

The MP3 audios in the program I added its link here are great for somebody who English is not its first language! So as an expert, can you please let me know your opinion about that video and what he says in it (he believes that phonics reading is one of the best methods to teach reading to children)? 

 

Thank you so much.

[sun-flower]

I used OPGTR as a guide, but didn't use it as described in the instructions. I personally think the best phonics program is one that gets done on a consistent basis.

 

Twelve weeks sounds aggressive to me. My oldest son was reading and understanding Harry Potter in kindergarten. He required little phonics instruction after K. My oldest daughter was not reading after kindergarten, but made huge leaps in first and second grade. She's now at a level higher than a similar-age relative who was reading in K. Same family, similar intelligences, different experiences.

 

I've spoken to numerous reading instructors; young children have a wide range of reading ability that tends to converge as they get older. Many reading learning disorders aren't diagnosed until around the age 8 for a reason.

 

Thank you ErinE,

 

Please can you take a look at their testimonials (in their website) and let me know your opinion?

 

Thank you.

[Five More Minutes]

nm

[mommysanders]

We are in the middle of Ordinary Parent's Guide To Teaching Reading, and I definitely recommend it! It's simple, easy and quick. We do a lesson 5 days a week (we break on the weekend), and they're short lessons. Like others have said, I think consistency and short sessions is key. I also like that this program is so simple, unlike some other box sets that have way too many products and it gets complicated.

 

Also, before we started Ordinary Parent's Guide To Teaching Reading we did The Letter Factory DVD from leap frog. My son picked up letter names and sounds so easily by watching it! I usually played it for him when I needed time to cook dinner etc.

[ElizabethB]

Thank you for your replies Five More Minutes,

 

The Program I added its link in my post #2 has testimonial videos & includes MP3 Audios, Nursery Rhymes, Common Sight Words and Consultations (the premium version includes videos and workshop), that's why I like it. the price for the program seems good also for such amount of contents (maybe because it is all a digital/downloadable product?). The problem here is that nobody is going to take a look at it and give me some points:(. Do you think that I should start another thread asking just this specific request?

It is hard to tell just looking at something. Some look good but turn out bad when you actually use it or see how they teach.

 

Phonics is the best way to teach as they say, but then they also have sight words. I would be concerned about those unless they teach those phonetically, all but 5 of the commonly taught 220 sight words can be taught with phonics.

 

When I first started tutoring, the schools mainly used whole word methods, 100% sight words, and there with reading problems with about 60% of the students.

 

Now with a mix of sight words and phonics, there is about a 30% failure rate.

 

Schools that use good phonics methods with few sight words (typically a dozen or less) and homeschoolers that use a good phonics program like Phonics Pathways has a failure rate more like 1% and those students generally have an underlying speech or language or vision problem.

 

There are very good free programs out there, and cheap effective things like Phonics Pathways. If you watch through my online phonics lessons, you will be better able to teach using a normal program. Don Potter also has a free program called Through the Phonics Barrier that includes free audio. It is good but it moves at a very fast pace, some students need more repetition.

[OneStepAtATime]

OP, you seem frustrated.  I understand.  You want solid answers about that program.  It seems workable for you and you want good advice on using it.  I notice you removed the link.  Please don't feel that you needed to do that.  It may take time to get responses from someone that has used that program.  There are many people on this board and they check in at different times and not always daily or even weekly.  Those that have responded have not used the program so they won't be able to give a difinitive answer, just share some annecdotal info on their own personal experiences with teaching  a child to read.  They aren't blowing you off.  Just sharing the knowledge they do have.

 

Unfortunately, just viewing the testimonials posted on that site will not necessarily be terribly accurate since the company would almost certainly not post any testimonials that were negative.  ElizabethB gave you some useful things to consider so hopefully that will help you make a decision.  I'd say also wait for further responses in case someone has actually used the program you linked but since the link has been removed future posters won't know what to look at.  Yes, you might want to retitle your thread (you don't need to start a new one, really) and ask specifically about that program.  Just hit edit on your original post and relink the thread.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:   I hope you find the answers you seek.  Best wishes.

[Jess4879]

Isn't it a bit pricey? 

How long it takes for AAR to be finished?

 

Thanks

 

I honestly don't find it that pricey, but we've been able to use it for multiple kids, so that makes a difference too.  There are 5 levels of AAR.  We spent a year on Pre-1, then got through a level and a bit each year.  This year we finished level 3 and will also finish level 4.  You move at the child's rate, so your pace may be slower or faster. 

 

What I like about it -- it's well laid out, there are reminders for parents (which are very useful, especially if English isn't your first language), review is built in, it teaches so many "extras" - like rhyming, comprehension, literary elements, etc. 

[UmMusa]

when my daughter was about 4yrs old I bought the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD due to overwhelming recommendations from this site.  She watched (and loved) that for a few weeks.  Of course she had access to letter puzzles, and other print material.

 

Then, I would point out to her some easy words and put my finger under them to show her that letters make words. 

 

Later, I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons doing one lesson per day or as wanted (she was still 4 at that time so I was just experimenting to see if she was open to it, which she was).

 

As we began KG last fall I made sure to increase the lessons so that we were doing one a day or at least 4 times a week because repetition is important.  I used some BOB Books in addition to 100EZ Lessons and she did really well with that as her introduction.

 

Now I'm getting the early readers from the library, and she can work through most of those.

[BatmansWife]

I really like Reading Made Easy.  

 

 

[HS Mom in NC]

Phonics Pathways and the accompanying pyramid book.

[sun-flower]

OP, you seem frustrated.  I understand.  You want solid answers about that program.  It seems workable for you and you want good advice on using it.  I notice you removed the link.  Please don't feel that you needed to do that.  It may take time to get responses from someone that has used that program.  There are many people on this board and they check in at different times and not always daily or even weekly.  Those that have responded have not used the program so they won't be able to give a difinitive answer, just share some annecdotal info on their own personal experiences with teaching  a child to read.  They aren't blowing you off.  Just sharing the knowledge they do have.

 

Unfortunately, just viewing the testimonials posted on that site will not necessarily be terribly accurate since the company would almost certainly not post any testimonials that were negative.  ElizabethB gave you some useful things to consider so hopefully that will help you make a decision.  I'd say also wait for further responses in case someone has actually used the program you linked but since the link has been removed future posters won't know what to look at.  Yes, you might want to retitle your thread (you don't need to start a new one, really) and ask specifically about that program.  Just hit edit on your original post and relink the thread.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:   I hope you find the answers you seek.  Best wishes.

 

 

Thank you so much OneStepAtATime,

 

I will send you a PM now.

[sun-flower]

Thank you so much all for your great info and helps. 

 

[Ottakee]

I See Sam.....structured phonics readers that takes the child from K-3rd grade reading.  www.iseesam.com or www.3rsplus.com.  They aren't fancy and the only additional thing you might need is a 3x5 card to make a notched card when working on blending.  you can make letter tiles if you want but not needed.

[mathmarm]

Hi sun-flower! Welcome to the forums :).

 

It so happens that I have watched that video before and I watched the

again just to be sure that I remembered it correctly. Personally I'm not impressed by the program that the video describes because the program is very expensive for what seems like a cobbled together scam. I'm not saying that it is a scam, but it seems like one.

 

Watch the video again and think about this: while it outlines some simple principles to teach your kid to read--

• use phonics
• work a little bit daily
• be actively invovled in your childs reading lessons

 

And the video talked about the "bonus" components of its program (bonuses include: stories for level 1 and level 2 of their program, some alphabet sound MP3s, a "sight words" supplement, nursery rhymes, and 12 weeks of support*) but the real kicker is this: they never say what their program is! That video is about 20 minutes long and they showed video clips of their kids reading, text-testimonials from who knows where and cited some research about the importance of reading in the early grades and what it correlates to in later grades, but they never said WHAT their super special program is or how it does what it does.

 

So...is it an eBook, an interactive software, a hardcopy text, a workbook, a manual of learning activities? What??? Is the program all digital or is there the option to get them to send you a physical product. Frankly, that video led me to believe that that particular company is NOT to be trusted--basically, they are selling you generic resources that you can put together on your own for free and there are many tremendous resources online for learning to read that are free and very high quality--believe me, I've looked. Personally I think that you would be better off by reading widely on these forums for a couple of days and then asking more specific questions about a particular program that catches your eye, then research that program and if you feel comfortable with it, then buy it. Lord knows you will get more than 12 weeks support from these boards! But really? Learning to read doesn't have to be expensive. I wouldn't want to spend more than $30 bucks on a reading program that will take my kid through ALL of the basics.

 

 

I would suggest that you read around on these forums a little more and even watch more videos of young kids reading on YouTube--some kids do learn to read very, very well using sight word methods as young babies despite what they claim. They mentioned leaving a baby for hours in front of TV--doesn't seem like a good idea and that is NOT recommended by any of the digital reading products that I'm familiar with. Despite what they would have you believe theirs is not the only program that can help small kids learn to read.

 

Larry Sanger taught his son to read when he was very young using phonetically ranked home made Flash Cards based on the scope and sequence of lessons in a book called "Why Johnny Can't Read". You can read more of Sangers thoughts on his website. Sangers flashcards and videos are avaiable for free online. He is the creator of Reading Bear so if you want a digital option that you can use with your child for free--look into it.

[kiwik]

I only watched the clips of their kids. The clips were after eleven weeks of instruction and they were doing well. But you couldn't stop at that point and say they could read rather you would need to continue instruction for a year or two. You woukd have to get another programme at that point or cobble something together.