All About Reading
I like that it is an open and go curriculum that is strong with phonics. It has letter tiles for tactile learning and several different games. It has readers that only cover what has been taught in lessons and builds confidence in the student. I enjoy all the different ideas and games in the back of the teacher manual to help struggling readers too. Fluency and comprehension is also built into the curriculum. All the materials can be used for siblings if you save the student workbook pages. We use the program for 2 months of the summer 4 days a week. When the children are in CHA we work on it Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Lessons can be broken up easily to go at a child's pace. https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-reading/
-Sarah Peña
Explode The Code
I like how it breaks the lessons down into smaller sound units, incorporates spelling, continually reinforces and practices what they have already learned, and my children think the pictures and sentences are funny. We use the workbooks and do one lesson a week during the school year- three or four pages on Tuesday, two or three pages on Thursday, and whatever is left in the chapter on Friday. I also like that they have "1/2" books for when we need some extra practice, which we usually end up doing over the summer. I don't bother buying the teacher's guides, I think the student books are self-explanatory. http://www.explodethecode.com/01_overview/
-Tracey Willet
Tracey Tutor
Stephanie Tracey developed a reading, spelling, and writing curriculum when her daughter was a struggling reader. She created a fully researched and phonics-based system which has hands-on learning at its core. I have used the early reader level with my kids from Kindergarten and beyond, and have found the unique "Tracey Tapper" method to be instrumental in my kids learning phonics concepts that aids them in sounding out words and gives them confidence to tackle reading any book they choose. The website is not fantastic, but it is legit. Here's the link to level that I recommend for Kindergarten students at CHA: https://www.traceytutor.com/blue-early-reader.php
Let me know if you want to see the “Tracey Tapper” in action!
- Galadriel Simons
Some families used Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, and Elaine Bruner, Abeka Language Arts, and Scholastic Phonics and said they worked well with their children. Others used Modern Curriculum Press and The Good and the Beautiful, but didn’t love them. The best part is, you get to choose the curriculum that works best for you and your child! It is so fun to see a whole new world open up when your child starts learning how to read!
This is part of the Board Bits: Tips, Tricks, and Hacks series. Is there a question about CHA or homeschool that you would like answered? Submit inquiries to Tracey at tracey.willet@classicalcha.org