Hooked on Phonics

I would not spend the money on Hooked on Phonics. It’s very expensive and usually doesn’t help kids with LD — just kids who need some extra phonics practice (which they could easily get other ways). The game is not “fun” for children who struggle with reading. It’s so expensive because of their advertising costs on tv — not because it’s especially good.What I would suggest instead is spending about $16 on the book “Reading Reflex” by Carmen & Geoffrey McGuiness, which is available at most bookstores and Amazon. It tells a parent exactly how to teach decoding skills to a child, and the approach usually works easily and rather quickly even with an LD child, so that the child experiences success. The methodology is called Phono-Graphix. The book explains the underlying philosophy of the approach (which is research-based) as well as giving very explicit instructions in how to do the lessons. This approach is a *huge* improvement over traditional phonics instruction!Mary: I am a parent of a 1st grade student. I suspect that my child could
: benefit from phonics instruction, but the schools uses guided
: reading and I’m not sure if phonics is much of a component of that
: program. Anyway, I always see those commercials on TV and wonder
: if it would be worth buying. My child is currently, being
: monitored and may be tested for L.D. or special ed services under
: the Other Health Impaired label due to ADD. She is currently
: severely ADD and also recieves support in speech and OT. Thanks
: for your help.

We have been experiencing great results with our 8 yo son using Reading Reflex. Within 2 months he has gone from not wanting to read to reading aloud to himself and attempting to sound the words out. He has realized the quicker he blends the sounds the faster the word comes to him. We are using the Oxford Reading Tree as his base reading scheme. The stories are captivating for a child and I would highly recommend it.Anyway, I was told that success with reading reflex is a good indicator that a LD child will cope (and benefit from) PACE and then MasterTheCode. Would you or other parents be able to advise me on this?Thanks

: If your child is reading well, comprehending well, let him practice reading by reading, you don’t need another program. Reading is based on skills and code knowledge and needs to practice his new skills. Remember, these are new skills and will take, in some instances, time to develop.

Can you point me to where I could find more info on the Oxford Reading Tree? Are these books?I have a 7yr old and we too have had alot of success with reading reflex. She still has some phonological processing difficulties - blending and segmenting -but she is getting there and I know that she KNOWS how to read and the mechanics of reading. The sounds just don’t always comes together.We’ve been using the Scholastic Home Phonics Reading program readers - you get 3 new books every month and it includes a workbook, and audio tape. As well as tips on the sounds you work on that month. Activities you can do at home and suggested books from library etc.I’m considering PACE and MTC as well - to get the rough edges out. We practice and practice, but I feel like she may still need something a little more intense? I’m going to wait until she is a little older tho - see where we end up in 6mo.

I would give a cautious “yes” to your question, based on our experience. Our dd picked up basic decoding very quickly at age 8-1/2 using Reading Reflex. Her reading fluency was extremely dysfunctional, however, and we found she had severe developmental delays. She was in vision therapy for 6 months, which corrected the vision delays but didn’t do much for her reading fluency. We did PACE at that point, and saw dramatic improvements in reading. In her case, I think the gains were due at least in part to the program’s training of many fine visual processing skills that she had never picked up because of her severe congenital astigmatism and the resulting undiagnosed developmental vision delays.We did not do MTC following PACE, as it was not available at the time. After a rest of several months we put dd through a PG-intensive to give her advanced decoding skills.It’s really hard to predict results for any particular child. The PACE provider we used had put about 30 children through the program and said that it seemed that the children who made the most dramatic improvements were those who — aside from doing the homework conscientiously — scored above age level on the “reasoning” section of the pre-tests. This was the case with our dd. It may be that her quick progress with Reading Reflex was a reflection of her somewhat above-average intelligence. Our provider (a child psychologist) thought that these children might be better able to generalize and apply their gains from the PACE exercises to everyday life.Anyway, that was our experience. Our approach of Reading Reflex, vision therapy, PACE, and a PG-intensive brought our daughter from a reading level of preschool to fluent 4th/5th grade level in 18 months. I just got her IOWA test scores and her reading scores are in the “high” range for her grade level. I should, perhaps, mention that PACE helped in other areas besides reading. We saw significant improvements in ability to remember math facts, ability to count money, and ability to tell time. Reading was the most dramatic of all the changes, though.Hope this helps your decision-making.Mary
: We have been experiencing great results with our 8 yo son using
: Reading Reflex. Within 2 months he has gone from not wanting to
: read to reading aloud to himself and attempting to sound the words
: out. He has realized the quicker he blends the sounds the faster
: the word comes to him. We are using the Oxford Reading Tree as his
: base reading scheme. The stories are captivating for a child and I
: would highly recommend it.: Anyway, I was told that success with reading reflex is a good
: indicator that a LD child will cope (and benefit from) PACE and
: then MasterTheCode. Would you or other parents be able to advise
: me on this?: Thanks

Thanks Mary. I found your advice to be well balanced and will help me make the right choices. I have oredered the video and test kit. I’ll let you know how things develop.Kindest regardsJeromeI would give a cautious “yes” to your question, based on
: our experience. Our dd picked up basic decoding very quickly at
: age 8-1/2 using Reading Reflex. Her reading fluency was extremely
: dysfunctional, however, and we found she had severe developmental
: delays. She was in vision therapy for 6 months, which corrected
: the vision delays but didn’t do much for her reading fluency. We
: did PACE at that point, and saw dramatic improvements in reading.
: In her case, I think the gains were due at least in part to the
: program’s training of many fine visual processing skills that she
: had never picked up because of her severe congenital astigmatism
: and the resulting undiagnosed developmental vision delays.: We did not do MTC following PACE, as it was not available at the
: time. After a rest of several months we put dd through a
: PG-intensive to give her advanced decoding skills.: It’s really hard to predict results for any particular child. The
: PACE provider we used had put about 30 children through the
: program and said that it seemed that the children who made the
: most dramatic improvements were those who — aside from doing the
: homework conscientiously — scored above age level on the
: “reasoning” section of the pre-tests. This was the case
: with our dd. It may be that her quick progress with Reading Reflex
: was a reflection of her somewhat above-average intelligence. Our
: provider (a child psychologist) thought that these children might
: be better able to generalize and apply their gains from the PACE
: exercises to everyday life.: Anyway, that was our experience. Our approach of Reading Reflex,
: vision therapy, PACE, and a PG-intensive brought our daughter from
: a reading level of preschool to fluent 4th/5th grade level in 18
: months. I just got her IOWA test scores and her reading scores are
: in the “high” range for her grade level. I should,
: perhaps, mention that PACE helped in other areas besides reading.
: We saw significant improvements in ability to remember math facts,
: ability to count money, and ability to tell time. Reading was the
: most dramatic of all the changes, though.: Hope this helps your decision-making.: Mary

Dea Check out the following website. www.oup.co.uk/oxed/primary/ort. What a difference these books have made to Ryan’s reading enjoyment. Even his 10yo sister sits in because she enjoys the story lines so much. Have a look at the tree and see where abouts your daughter’s reading level is. If you like I could fax you sections from the level Ryan is at now (Owls Stages Six and Seven). That might help you judge the right starting level. Ryan started at stage three and I have found it important not to skip stages as new words are introduced at each level and then gradually reinforced in each group of stories.Of course there are other reading schemes available like the Ladybird series which I tried before ORT, however ORT captured Ryan imagination and that made all the difference. I only wished we had found ort much earlier.Wishing you every success.Jerome: Can you point me to where I could find more info on the Oxford
: Reading Tree? Are these books?: I have a 7yr old and we too have had alot of success with reading
: reflex. She still has some phonological processing difficulties -
: blending and segmenting -but she is getting there and I know that
: she KNOWS how to read and the mechanics of reading. The sounds
: just don’t always comes together.: We’ve been using the Scholastic Home Phonics Reading program readers
: - you get 3 new books every month and it includes a workbook, and
: audio tape. As well as tips on the sounds you work on that month.
: Activities you can do at home and suggested books from library
: etc.: I’m considering PACE and MTC as well - to get the rough edges out. We
: practice and practice, but I feel like she may still need
: something a little more intense? I’m going to wait until she is a
: little older tho - see where we end up in 6mo.

Can you get these in the United States? I went to the U.S. site and then couldn’t find them.: Dea Check out the following website. www.oup.co.uk/oxed/primary/ort.
: What a difference these books have made to Ryan’s reading
: enjoyment. Even his 10yo sister sits in because she enjoys the
: story lines so much. Have a look at the tree and see where abouts
: your daughter’s reading level is. If you like I could fax you
: sections from the level Ryan is at now (Owls Stages Six and
: Seven). That might help you judge the right starting level. Ryan
: started at stage three and I have found it important not to skip
: stages as new words are introduced at each level and then
: gradually reinforced in each group of stories.: Of course there are other reading schemes available like the Ladybird
: series which I tried before ORT, however ORT captured Ryan
: imagination and that made all the difference. I only wished we had
: found ort much earlier.: Wishing you every success.: Jerome

Beth,At the moment I am living in Singapore. I also found ORT books were not available at mainstore distributors. I contacted OUP who gave me the name and contact number of their distributor here in Singapore. I was able to collect two full seies the following day.kindest regards: Can you get these in the United States? I went to the U.S. site and
: then couldn’t find them.

I went to the ORT site jerome gave today, and found listed sets of six books, apparently able to be ordered. I didn’t go any further today due to lack of funds and no pressing needs, but they did seem to be there. Go back to the site and try clicking either on a reading level (I explored level 1 a bit; there seem to be three sets of six books each) or on “catalogue”. If you still don’t get anywhere, email me and I’ll investigate further for you. If that fails, I have book-buying/selling contacts in the UK who could get a set for you and mail them for a shipping and handling fee.