How to teach a child to read

Reading Programs

Name	Comments
The Reading Lesson By Michael Levin M.D. Charan Langton Book with CD	Multimedia learn to read program that is especially designed for younger children ages 3-7. Numerous awards by Parents First and Discovery Channel. Download the free lessons and see what a first class reading program should be. To top it all off, our book is the only one that comes with a fantastic animated software, video and other supplementary items that make The Reading Lesson a fun course for your young child.
Phonics Pathways by Dolores G. Hiskes 340 page book, $32.95	A fine basic approach to learning to read. Appropriate for school age children. Should work well for kids 7 and older, but possibly not for young kids ages 3 to 6. The younger children may find the pages intimidating. If your child is already reading but is having difficulties, give this book a try. It can help build on basic reading skills.
AlphaPhonics by Samuel L. Blumenfeld $29.95	Straight forward phonics instruction. The book is mostly list of words. Does not have stories or pictures which may make it difficult to use with younger kids. But good as a supplement to Reading Lesson or for an older child who is having trouble with reading.
The Writing Road to Reading Romalda Bishop Spalding with Walter Spalding 280 page book, $17.95	This is an old book still going strong. It may have been good thirty years ago when there was not much else around. But there are so many other better books out there now that buying this book is a waste of money. Child unfriendly, too much lecturing and theory, no pictures, no stories, nothing to make the idea of reading interesting to a child.
Teach your child to read in 100 Easy Lessons By by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, Elaine Bruner, Siegfried Engleman	A very popular book. A true advance in the art of teaching children to read. This book was our inspiration in doing The Reading Lesson which is based on the very same principles. In practical use, this book presents a few problems. First, I did not like the scripting that is given for each lesson. My children never gave the response that the book anticipates. Also both my children were intimidated by all that small text on the page. I also found the flow of instruction uneven. The book uses phonics in a heavy-handed way as if exceptions to phonics do not exist. The stories are too long for younger children. There are no clear goals and no feeling that the child is making progress since the lessons just sort of melt into each other. Most younger children will find the first few lessons tedious. Then it gets easier. I think we have improved on the shortcomings of this fine approach. If you have seen this book or are using it, I think you will find The Reading Lesson more friendly and developmentally appropriate for your child. Even if you already own this book, give The Reading Lesson a try. Put them side by side, and let your child decide!