Reading Made Easy vs. The Reading Lesson

[Mom4Him]

I have a couple of questions about the reading programs suggested in LHFHG...
Is there one that seems to work better than the other?
Reading Made Easy appears to be more work for the parent... is this true (in writing out note cards, etc.)?
How do children transition into reading without all the "extra" marks...dotted letters, circles, lines, etc.?
I can't seem to find a list of lesson plans for The Reading Lesson book, so I'm having a hard time knowing exactly what they cover... but the lessons seem very easy to do with my children, from what I can see online??
Do you get the same results despite the method?
When your child finishes with either of these programs, are they ready to be "emergent readers"... or is there a different program you need to do in between?
Thanks for your help! I would love to hear from anyone who really likes either of these programs, or if you've had experiences with them both!!

[erdrmom]

We just finished up LHFHG and Reading Made Easy. I don't remember exactly why I chose RME over The Reading Lesson, but that's what we did.

RME was actually pretty easy. There is a lot of note card making, but it is pretty easy for the parent, you just read from the book. I made the notecards as part of the lesson. I would write them and say the letter as I wrote them. About halfway through, once we were well into the copywork part, I stopped doing the notecards for the sentences. It seemed to frustrate my dd more than help.

As far as the transistion to reading without the helps, that seemed to be seamless as well. I was a bit concerned about that too when we started, but by the end, my dd was reading my part of the page, as well as her part of the page. She had a little trouble at first reading her easy readers, but now she's reading like crazy.

Building the "sight word worms" was fun and it's a visual reminder of how many words they can read.

Hope this helps some.

[Mom2Monkeys]

I'm using RME and really love it! I started off doing the notecards in a few lessons, but stopped when I got the workbooks. Without the notecards, there's no work on my part-- open and go! The we do some worksheets orally and some written. We haven't done the copywork b/c he's not ready for the writing, but I plan to add it soon (it's in the workbook with an illustrated copysheet for them to copy the sentence under the original).

The weird fonts are great help when starting out, and they are weaned off of it by the end. Once you finish, you go to the emerging readers. RME has daily lessons whereas TRL has 20 lessons and you just do a certain number of pages a day based on dc's age and how fast they can go through. I'm not sure how it's set up or if you stop mid-lesson or if they are divided up into obvious segments or ??? I'm sure someone else will have that info, but I know that in my house, RME is all we'll use! I've tried several others and this is the one working the best and the easiest for me.

[LeAnna]

We used The Reading Lesson and there was no work for me, the teacher. It was very uncluttered, and you just do a few pages a day depending on age... no cards to make. We used started it with our 5.5 at the time and finished it this year. She will be using the Emerging Readers this fall. I love it, because we don't have all those years of phonics like they do in "public school". We simply learn to read and build upon that with more reading. Making them stronger and stronger.
I have another one going through the Reading Lesson. She is almost half way through. We will continue through the summer with that, and see if she is ready for the Emerging Readers in the fall.
The cd that comes with the Reading Lesson is fun too. We do the lesson in the book, and then once in a while use the cd for reinforcement. Works great, and fun for the kids!

LeAnna

[jenntracy]

Not to throw another choice in there, but we use Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. it works for us. we don't have to make any cards. Rainbow Resource gives a good description of it and it is comparable to the other reading programs you were asking about

Jenn

[Mom4Him]

Thank-you so much everyone, your information is very helpful!
Does anyone have a list of what they cover in The Reading Lesson (or know where I can find one)??
Do you use readers to go along with either of these programs?
Thanks again!

[krismoose]

We've just started The Reading Lesson and it's working really well for us so far. The 20 lessons cover, starting with short vowels and hard consonants:
1 c,o,s,a,t
2 m,d,r
3 g, e, th
4 n, i, f
5 u, b,n
6 e, ee, ea, l,p
7 a, sh, w
8 i, st
9 ar, k
10 er, ir, ur
11 y, oo
12 a, ai, ay, wh
13 o, oa, ow
14 ch, j, u
15 v, y
16 x, z
17 qu, ing
18 ou, ow, th
19 ew, igh
20 c, g, ph

There are stories in the book for each lesson -no specific readers. We'll be able to use the Bob books easily with the lessons, I think, and whatever other early phonics readers we can find. We don't have the CD, but the website has more stories and "movies" that coincide with later lessons.
HTH!

[funkmomma71]

Here's another plug for RME... I really liked using it this year with my dd and she started reading out of real books, not just phonetically-controlled readers, a few months ago. She really liked cuddling up on the couch to do our lesson and by the end was doing the lesson much input from me, though I did have to slow her down so that I could explain the rules being introduced. We did the notecards for about half the book, I really think they helped to cement the lesson being taught, but after awhile they more burdensome than helpful. With that in mind, I would still highly recommend RME, there are a lot of built-in enhancements to each lesson that it makes great for many learning styles. Like anything with your child's education you are free to leave out things that don't work for your dc and still have a great reading program. Blessings!

[SoaringEagle]

We're using The Reading Lesson and love how it's open and go. No prep needed. That's why I chose TRL instead of RME, even though RME looks good too. Just didn't want to have to do any prep work.

[Carrie]

Mom4Him,

I'll paste a response I typed for another thread that may help you too:

As far as phonics goes, it can be tough to decide between The Reading Lesson and Reading Made Easy as they both do a good job of covering phonics instruction and do it in a manageable way for both mom and child. Often when choosing a phonics program, the available time the parent has to devote to phonics and the teaching style of the parent has as much to do with finding "the right phonics choice" as your kiddo's learning style. This is true because if the parent does not get the phonics teaching done in the day-to-day, the child isn't getting the phonics he/she needs to be a successful reader.

So, in looking at the two programs you must first of all weigh which one you will consistently get done in the day-to-day. Phonics is one of those subjects that requires consistency for kiddos to get over the reading hump. You can dabble in teaching it for awhile (I always do) but at some point there does need to be the daily, consistent "let's finish phonics" push. It sounds to me like you're in the gear up to finish phonics stage, so then the thought of which program will really get done daily, makes a big difference.

Next, it's good to weigh how much time you have to devote to phonics. This will also impact which programs fits best.

Then, it's good to weigh whether or not you'd like a written component to the program.

Last, it's important to weigh what your child will find motivating and what you will look forward to teaching each day.

Reading Made Easy takes 30 minutes a day or less 3 times a week, with review of the word cards on the off days twice a week. The Reading Lesson takes 15 minutes daily of reading and then another 15 min. or so on the computer (if you use that component).

Reading Made Easy has the option of a new written component. The Reading Lesson would require you to add your own written component if you desire to have that part.

Reading Made Easy has word building cards, a sight word worm, some telling from a picture and dictation. These do take some preparation. The Reading Lesson is a very no-nonsense, cuddle on the couch and read type program. It includes the option of a solid computer CD that reinforces the learning.

The two programs approach phonics very differently and will feel very different in their presentation. Often moms can tell pretty quickly which one fits their style best. And, if one doesn't happen to be "it" for them once they get going, then they often find the other program fits beautifully.

The good news is that you are choosing from two excellent choices!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Mom4Him]

Thank-you everyone for all of your help in showing the differences between these two programs... it seems like they both work wonderfully- it's just a matter of finding what works best for your family. Thank-you, Kristen, for typing out that list for me- it was so very helpful! Now it's time to think & pray!!
Jessica