answering questions about curriculum

[Kuovonne]

Something has been bothering me.

 

I really liked the textbook that I used to teach my daughter to read. So, when someone has questions about it, I like to repond, in part because it isn't a popular program, so there aren't lots of other people chiming in on it.

 

Now my daughter reads very well for her age. I don't know if it's due to the textbook I used, or if she simply has a nack for decoding words, or a combination of both.

 

Is it fair for me to say how much I liked the textbook when people ask about it? If my daughter really has a nack for decoding words, am I missleading people by praising the textbook? Should I qualify my experience with the textbook by saying that my daughter's results probably aren't typical? Would it be more ethical to simply not reply to the question at all?

[specialmama]

There's nothing unethical about sharing your experiences, provided you do convey the whole picture. If you liked the book, then say so... but also say that your daughter may have a skill-set that helps her read well. You are entitled to your opinions sista, it's called free speech. :001_smile: What I find UNethical, is the holding back of what you consider valuable information when someone may benefit from it. That book could be the answer to someone's prayers.

[Jen500]

There's nothing unethical about sharing your experiences, provided you do convey the whole picture. If you liked the book, then say so... but also say that your daughter may have a skill-set that helps her read well. You are entitled to your opinions sista, it's called free speech. :001_smile: What I find UNethical, is the holding back of what you consider valuable information when someone may benefit from it. That book could be the answer to someone's prayers.

 

:iagree:

And I would include what you specifically liked about the book and why.

[Caroline]

Something has been bothering me.

 

I really liked the textbook that I used to teach my daughter to read. So, when someone has questions about it, I like to repond, in part because it isn't a popular program, so there aren't lots of other people chiming in on it.

 

Now my daughter reads very well for her age. I don't know if it's due to the textbook I used, or if she simply has a nack for decoding words, or a combination of both.

 

Is it fair for me to say how much I liked the textbook when people ask about it? If my daughter really has a nack for decoding words, am I missleading people by praising the textbook? Should I qualify my experience with the textbook by saying that my daughter's results probably aren't typical? Would it be more ethical to simply not reply to the question at all?

 

And now I am wondering what this textbook is...

[Country Girl]

And now I am wondering what this textbook is...

 

:iagree: Me too!

[Mandamom]

Definitely, I have frequently found it useful to hear why people don't like programs as much as why they do like programs because what one doesn't like about a program might be what we are looking for.

 

So, speak up :)

[Kuovonne]

Okay, I used "The Reading Lesson" to teach my daughter to read. It comes up occassionally, but not nearly as often as 100EZ Lessons, OPGTTR, SWR, AAS, Phonics Pathways, Reading Made Easy, etc.

 

Here's what I liked about it that sets it apart from the other programs:

 

The pages are uncluttered. There were a few small pictures or one big picture per page. All the text the student sees is text for the student to read.

 

The program is open and go. Just open the book and start reading. No flashcards, no chalkboard/whiteboard. No pre-reading instructions. No looking for readers. No games to setup or put away.

 

The book uses a special typography to indicate what vowel sound to use and letters that work together, like "th" "sh" and "ch." But the special typography is faint and doesn't obscure the normal letter shape.

 

The student had to actually figure out each word. The pictures were few enough that they couldn't be used to guess the words. In general, words weren't listed with all the same ending sound. We did a totally new page each day, so the student couldn't memorize the text.

 

The book includes sentences and full stories for the student to read from almost the beginning. The stories were cute for a young reader. I didn't need to find separate readers.

 

The text starts very large, and gradually gets smaller.

 

There is no handwriting.

 

Here's some qualifications:

My daughter learned her letters from "The Letter Factory" and "Pocket Snails: Letter Adventure" videos before starting the book. That is, she could easily recognize the 26 letters of the alphabet (uppercase and lowercase) and knew their first sounds.

 

My daughter could already blend sounds together before starting the book. This blending work was done informally and orally.

Edited March 29, 2009 by Kuovonne

[Caroline]

Thank you. It sounds great. I am going to look into it.

[~Jenn~]

Sounds like a neat program, thanks for sharing!

 

I do think it's fair to give both the resources you used as well as your daughter credit for her progress in reading. Success is almost always going to be a combination of what you use along with your child, their learning style, personality, etc...

[FO4UR]

I had to google it. If I had the moola, I'd be tempted to get it:thumbup1:

 

It looks like a good program! Did you just use the book or do you need the CD's and stuff?

[Kuovonne]

Hi Paula,

 

I just used the book. I got it from Amazon for less than twenty dollars.

[specialmama]

That does look (and sound) like a great program! Thank you for sharing!

[Scuff]

Sounds exactly like what I wanted. If I had another child to teach reading to, I'd buy it now! I like simple and to the point.

[Storm Bay]

That reading book would have been perfect for my 10 yo. While I like PP and how it works, there was too much stuff on each page. I'm past that stage now, but, yes, feel free to mention it. If you save that description you just wrote, you could just cut and paste it into a reply.

[Kuovonne]

Thanks y'all for letting me know that I'm safe discussing the reading textbook without misleading people because of my daughter's advanced reading ability.

 

A local mom commented on how well my daughter reads and then asked me what I used with her so that she could teach her own child. I told the mom, but the back of my mind was wondering if I was unintentionally setting her up with unrealistic expectations. (I don't mean to disparage her or her child, or to sound snotty, but statistically it's unlikely that he'll read at my daughter's level when he is her age.)

[Caroline]

I just wanted to thank you for your suggestion. It arrived today, and my dd wanted to start immediately. But I told her I needed a day to figure things out.

[ssexton]

We used and loved The Reading Lesson, too! It was the book that helped my 5 year old son learn to blend, and my 3.5 year old dd learned to read by watching over his shoulder! But, she's always been determined to keep up with him. :lol:

 

I will say that for some reason we didn't finish the book. We moved on to something else about part way through. I'm not certain why, but I think it was because my kids plateaued, and in my inexperience, I scrambled to try the next "great" thing.

 

I'm getting ready to start using The Reading Lesson with my youngest. I highly recommend it for someone working with a young child. BTW, we only used the book, but I've heard good things about the CDs.

 

Shannon

[lotsofpumpkins]

Although this book isn't mentioned much, I believe it's one of the recommendations with the HOD programs, so it's not totally unheard of!

 

I think most homeschoolers realize that what works for one child may not work for another, so I wouldn't worry about sharing your experiences with different programs. It's not like you are promising it will work for them. You're just sharing what worked for your child.