way2homeschool
- Reviewed on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
- Grades Used: Age 4
- Dates used: 2010-present
I have examined many "teach your child to read" programs and this one has been my favorite. No "fluff" and it covers everything. The lessons are scripted which helps to get a feel for how the interaction between you and your child should ideally go, but you quickly grasp the concept and don't have to rely on reading everything word for word. While this book does not rely on the benefit of learning sight words (a few are introduced now and again), I appreciate the importance that is placed on giving a child a strong phonics foundation. I started my little ones with the Preschool Prep Company videos and books before using OPGTTR so they already had their letter recognition down as well as a wide variety of sight words.
I found the use of the capital "i" as "I" confused my kids at first but a few times correcting the mix-up was all that was needed. I find it ironic that it is a complaint on many reviews but the font used in this review actually displays the capital "i" the same way.
My son has not liked reading the sentences and short stories included in each lesson. I stopped having him read from the book altogether, and just use magnetic letters and my written words on a separate sheet of paper.
I don't think there is just one perfectly right program to teach your child to read. I think you could find fault in just about all of them depending on your teaching style as well as your child's learning style, and so on. This program, however, seems easy to adapt to fit your individual needs as well as your child's. And the author gives plenty of tips and insight in the back of the book.
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kaybee
- Reviewed on Friday, May 25, 2012
- Grades Used: K/1st
- Dates used: 2011-2012
We have been using OPGTR since last July. I really like the systematic way that it teaches kids to read. Sometimes it can be a lot to retain, all of the things covered in past lessons (we're currently around 160ish), but now that his reading skills are such that he can read books, we just read a book a day to work on fluency and review.
Also, my son did not do well just reading out of the book on this - I write the sentences on a whiteboard and he underlines each word as he reads it. He's more of a kinesthetic learner, and having a task per word helps him focus better. When, at the beginning, we just read out of the book, it was met with tears. This has taken that away completely.
It still isn't his favorite, BUT he does well with it and we will be finishing it up through our next school year. :)
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foreverfamily
- Reviewed on Monday, February 8, 2010
- Grades Used: PreK - K
- Dates used: 2009
I liked this book but my son did not. It is a complete curriculum for teaching a child to read. They gave suggestions for incorporating all the senses. My 5yo boy, who loves to sing, was surprisingly resistant to the songs. The homemade flashcards were not received much better. We've moved on several times. We're currently using Hooked On Phonics with mostly good results.
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JP
- Reviewed on Tuesday, September 22, 2009
- Grades Used: K, 1st
- Dates used: 2009, 2011-2012
My older son could already read basic words when we started this book, so we skipped ahead to begin at his level. So I did not use this book to actually "teach" my child to read. But, the short, straightforward lessons are useful to me in continuing his reading skills. Each concept is presented clearly and concisely, with a few examples for your child to read. It does not provide actual stories that a child will need to practice reading. We really like it, however, and our reading lesson is over in about 5-10 minutes. Then my son can practice his reading with a book from the library on a subject that he is really interested in.
I think boys with short attention spans would fit very well with this type of lesson.
UPDATE:
Since I have started teaching my younger son to read with lesson one, we have had to break up some lessons into smaller chunks in order to keep the lessons short and happy. We are now up to lesson 40 and he is doing well. Each child is different and learns at a different pace, which was certainly true for the two readers I have had so far. In addition I have used Delightful Reading, which is also painstakingly slow for my younger son. We use a bit of both now just to change things up a bit once in awhile.
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