Concerned about The Reading Lesson

[Mwisnasky]

I just started going through all the materials for LHFHG. My 5yo DD and I will be starting next week. I decided to go with the Reading Lesson for phonics based on the simplicity and PDF handwriting workbook. After looking through the book, I have a few concerns.
Right off the bat, they say the short vowel sound for A is "a as in alligator". I don't know if it just me, but I definitely don't pronounce the A in alligator is same way I say A as in apple.
My bigger concern is they teach kids to read using symbols over, around, and under the letters to represent the correct sound. So the letter c in cent looks different than the letter c in cow. I avoided using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons because they took that approach. I'm sure many kids have learned to read with this type of method, but to me it seems like a crutch. It doesn't seem like my daughter will be able to read normal books or words without the cheats. She is already reading simple words and few sight words. The only positive I see is that it does have the potential to get them reading more complex words quicker.

I guess I am wanting to hear success/failure stories to try to sell me on this program before I decide to send it back.

Mary

[bethelmommy]

We finished up TRL a few months back and I have it packed away, but I'm pretty sure all those "helps" disappear as you progress through the lessons. Definitely by the end the stories are smaller font with regular punctuation and no extra symbols. If you look through the rest of the program, you will see how it ends up. We loved TRL! Both of my kids did well. My 7 year old is finishing the Emerging Readers and will be starting DITHR this fall. He loves to read in his free time. My 5 yr. old is just starting the Emerging Readers and the transition has been a breeze thanks to TRL. I actually had another reading program that I started at the same time as TRL trying to decide which one to use. My kids groaned every time I pulled out the other program, but they loved TRL. We dropped the other one after the first few weeks and just did TRL along with some BOB books for extra practice. I now have great memories of teaching my oldest two to read .

[Mwisnasky]

Thanks! These are things I am wanting to hear because I really don't want to send the book back, order something else, and postpone starting school!

[lucsch]

Our phonics program taught that there are 3 different "short" sounds to the letter 'a'.

I felt the same way about the 100 Easy Lessons. I bought it once, and someone gave me a copy. I never could bring myself to try it. You may like the Spalding method better. However, I am sure Carrie's selections are excellent.

[rayjenl]

Hi Mary,
I wanted to share with you my experience with The Reading Lesson. This would be my second time around with the program, my first with my daughter then my son both whom were 5 yo when they started. What I liked about it, is how the reading stories are built into the chapters, which thrilled the kids because they were 'reading' so soon. For the symbols, they never were a crutch for my kids. The program is constantly reviewing what they learned, part of that review you'll notice in your book around the middle, they start to drop off the symbols. The book also will start easing up on the line under the words, encouraging the kids to pronounce the word without pointing at it.
With my daughter who is now eight, she finished the reading lesson and moved right into the emerging readers for her 1st grade hear. Whenever she came across an unfamilier word like 'clever', if she pronounced it 'slever', I would say 'now that didn't sound right' she would jump right into the correct word. When that word would come up again, she got it right the first time. She's consistently been reading about one grade level ahead.
My son is currently on chapter seventeen, he is moving along about the same pace as his sister did. The reading program doesn't seem to be holding him back in any areas.
For my two little girls, I plan on using the program with them too. It really is a neat program, that progresses quickly without the kids really catching on how quick they are learning to read.
I also liked how they threw in the everyday sight words like: would, could should. It really has a nice mix of everything.
So I guess you could say the program was really a success for us

Jennifer

[Kims]

I say the a in alligator the same as apple.
Oh and my 8yo learned with 100ez lessons and he never had problems with the symbols or different letters. They do go away as that program progressed.

[Gwenny]

Don't worry about the helps with the letters. I've used 100 Easy Lessons on 6 of my children (the others I didn't have to teach or they are non-readers still) and it works great. I'm using TRL for the first time so I can't comment on it yet, but the helps don't worry me, I like them. I only switched because I can quote 100 Easy Lessons in my sleep and I wanted a change and I usually like everything Carrie picks.

Enjoy it! Btw, I also pronounce 'a' the same in alligator and apple.

[RestInHim]

The 'a' is the same in apple and alligator.

As one of the previous posters mentioned, the 'helps' do go away during the program. Certain things (including hard and soft phonograms) can be very tricky for kids, so a little visual reminder to help them along until they're more comfortable with the word is okay. They won't need it forever

We are in lesson two with my just-turned-4 DS and he is doing fantastic with it. It just clicked for him this week that the letter sounds, when put together, made words! Now he's trying to read everything!

Hope that helps! I think The Reading Lesson is great. I used another program to teach my daughter to read a couple of years ago, and I much prefer the Reading Lesson!

[Motherjoy]

I used Phonics Pathways with my oldest, and it taught me so much about the various sounds and phonetic rules. I use TRL with my three middle boys, but I'm glad I have the background with Phonics Pathways. I'm able to use what I learned through that with the little ones. Phonics Pathways is a good resource, but it wasn't quite as easy to use as The Reading Lesson.

When a is followed by l or n, the sound changes slighty because of how you have to move your mouth into the /l/ or /n/ sound. Also, phonics programs can account for the many dialects and pronunciations of sounds and words that we have in the US. Just keep that in mind when you teach your daughter and you won't get quite so frustrated.

[nena3927]

I am currently using TRL with my oldest 2 children ages 5 and almost 4 and they are doing very well! I had checked out Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons from our library and my son would literally cry after the second week when I would pulled it out. TRL is very easy to teach and like someone else already said, the child begins reading very quickly before they even realize they are doing so. My dc LOVE doing their lesson everyday. We are only in the middle of lesson 4 right now but they are definitely retaining what they are learning because when I read them a story at bedtime, they will point to a word in whatever book I'm reading and say the word. So we are already reading together even outside of doing TRL. I know different things work for different children but TRL has worked great in our home and I plan to continue it with my younger ds as well. HTH

[MelInKansas]

I have used The Reading Lesson and really liked it. But I do see some deficiency in that you don't really learn the "rules" and so my DD who is 6 and finished TRL a little while ago, doesn't really know WHY or in what cases those letters make the different sounds. It's true that she can figure out eventually what word it is, just because she is reading books with words she already knows, so she sounds it out, figures out that it doesn't turn into a word she knows, and goes back and sounds it out with a different sound. Some children are probably better with seeing a pattern over and over and then intuitively understanding when that pattern reappears. I feel, as the teacher, that it's sometimes a problem that I myself don't really understand the phonemes and why things have different sounds at different times, because I have read and heard from others that in fact it is possible to learn all the rules, some of them are just more obscure. It would be nice if I could explain to her or at least emphasize the rules when she comes across one that gives her trouble.

Then on the other hand, some kids would probably get really bogged down with "rules" and would not enjoy learning reading that way, thereby not wanting to do it. TRL is quick and easy and fun, it encourages the kids in their progress. It is also easier to use with younger children. My daughter is a rule person, she likes to know rules, so she would probably like the ones that focus more on phonemes.

I don't think the helps are a crutch, they are a useful tool.

[Mwisnasky]

I love love love this message board. So great to know I have help!

MelinKansas you hit the nail on the head. I know that young children can process complex concepts without having to know all the details, but it bothered me that they weren't seeming to be learning these rules at any point.

The book says "Your child will learn these rules in due course as part of the school curriculum. We do not even teach the difference between vowels and consonants. As you will see, your child can learn to read just as we'll without knowing any of these rules"

At what point in HOD, does a child learn the phonics rules like "i before e"

That being said we are going to go ahead with the program and I think Lucy will learn to read with ease! I just worry about holes in her education.

[MelInKansas]

I guess they are different strategies in learning, and I am still trying to wrap my head around them. I learned to read at a very young age, taught by my father, and I am a good phonetic reader (and speller) without having learned phonics and rules. Instead I just did so much reading, and was able to recognize the patterns that exist, even more obscure ones. It was pure repetition. I think this is what the HOD/Charlotte Mason philosophy is using for reading and spelling. Some people use Explode the Code for more "rules based" lessons and a little bit of filling in for kids who don't seem to get it just by repeating.

Maybe not every child learns best this way. And maybe not every parent is comfortable with this method, though again I enjoy it much more than I would enjoy teaching by rules, and my oldest is a very good reader and a reasonable speller (though it still bothers me that she has a lot of trouble trying to spell words that she is familiar with but haven't been on a spelling list). Also I think The Reading Lesson and the spelling method used by HOD take a lot less time in your school day. Though you could use other programs and just do it more slowly. I think the proof is in the results, and for a lot of children this method does work very well. You would have to recognize when it is not working and be able to try different methods. Or recognize when your child just isn't ready for it.

As to when do they learn rules, my understanding is they really don't learn rules. The spelling lists they go through establish patterns, like silent e at the end, different vowel structures, and teach sight words also that don't really follow any rules (or at least not common rules). Then there's dictation which is sentences and paragraphs the child has to write down after hearing them. I think if rules are needed you are on your own to teach them. But I don't think there are "holes" in the education, it is complete, again it's just teaching by a different method than what most of us are used to.