Most parents and spouses of struggling readers are skeptical of reading programs that claim they will help their loved one overcome their reading problems. Because of the crucial nature of reading skills, it is usually a problem in which the solution has been earnestly sought. So, how can you know that Reading Horizons v5 will help your struggling reader? Aside from customer testimonials, one of the best ways to have confidence that something will work, is to know how it works.
In the following video one of Reading Horizons Account Managers, Joey Maxfield, discusses how the Reading Horizons method works:
Aside from the method, there are three aspects of the Reading Horizons program that make it an effective solution for reading problems:
1. Caters to Individual’s Needs
Reading Horizons v5 requires that users pass of the skills and lessons throughout the program. If the user does not meet the passing requirement the program will require that they review their problem areas before proceeding with the program. The skill checks at the end of each lesson assure that users will only review the material that is challenging for them, and not the entire lesson.
2. Phonics Based
Most struggling readers have a difficulty for one of two reasons: they received poor instruction when developing their reading skills, or because they struggle with a learning disability (such as dyslexia).
Because Reading Horizons v5 is phonics based it helps remediate both of these problems. Phonics consists of all of the sounds of the English language and helps those that received poor instruction in the past to learn and understand the foundational building blocks of reading the English language.
Phonics is beneficial for dyslexics and individuals with reading disabilities because it helps them learn to break words up so they can sound out larger words. This is a substantial help to these individuals because the wiring of their brain favors the uptake of information as a whole, rather than breaking apart a visual symbol (like a word) into smaller pieces. Their tendency to look at things as a whole is usually what prevents them from excelling with reading. By helping these individuals learn to break apart words when reading they are able to improve their reading skills.
3. Provides Interactive Practice
Reading Horizons engages users on a visual, auditory, and kinesthetic level. Users actively use the skills taught throughout the duration of the program. Because the program does not allow users to passively progress, the skills are continuously solidified and reinforced leading to the development of effective reading strategies.
To enter to win a FREE 1-year online subscription of Reading Horizons v5 software, respond to the following question in the comment section of this post:
What have you found to be effective or ineffective in helping your struggling reader?
(Only real answers will be entered into the drawing. A winner will be selected next Monday (11/1). You can comment on each of the 5 posts to be entered into the drawing 5 times.)
39 Comments
Jodi Turner
We were teaching our son with "K12" online school. They have a wonderful hands on phonics program that was working effectively with my son. However, my son was working slowly due to stuggles that he has. He then choose to go to public school, and we have seen little to no progress int he last 2 years.
tricia harr
We have consistently reviewed the letter sounds and patterns using computer programs and reading programs. Our son benefitted greatly with a tracking program and reads well now.
Angelle
Patience and an orton gillingham approach. My daughter does better learning to spell than read. She likes to write new words down to learn to read them.
Cheryl
I was not made aware of the remedial program this school used with my son, and the first workbook I bought for homeschooling hasn't worked well either. Since we're doing the free trial this week, I really think the online program is helping him to stay focused and it hold his attention much better.
Sherry Montini
My child has dyslexia and has a serious struggle with reading and academics. The school district has tried all sorts of programs that have not been effective. The programs tried are highly popular, but yet no productive results. A program with computer software for my child would be excellent. She loves the computer and that alone will catch her interest. If she were able to read, that would be a miracle.
Shannon
We tried other "phonics" programs but the logic of Reading Horizons has really helped our kids be better equipped to not only decode a word but also to spell. The explanations of rules and sounds just unlocked all the mystery and frustration of reading for the ones that struggled with it.
angelica
Although I recently found a-z learning and raz kids online it doesn't bebefit my struggling readers to decode the words. It only helps them read the words. They struggle day by day on how to break them down. I have tried tapes, phonics programs and games. None of seems to click.
Cindy Ward
Syllabication and stressing along with phonics rules have been very effective for my reader. I believe going back to good old phonics instruction which is what used to work back when I went to school (I hate to say in the 60's). It was very effective and I believe still is to this day. That's why I would love to try your program.
Kristie Zubko
V5 for 5 Days I have found that practice helps my son.
Kristi B.
Ineffective strategies: we tried several types of homeschool language arts programs(not tailored to struggling readers). We tried begging, pleading, even punishing when we thought it was just willfulness or laziness. Effective strategies: We had our children tested and discovered dyslexia. We enrolled them in a private academy for dyslexics. They were taught by OG trained teachers and they thrived! Sadly, the $9,000 per student per year tuition was too much for our family to bear and we returned to homeschooling. They have continued to thrive now that we know what they need and how to teach it!
Heather Stevenson
I teach adult students who have been pushed through the system, and who still cannot read even though they have a Grade 12! Will this program help them?
Nola Hiatt
It is important to teach with a bigger emphasis on the phonics rules. It seems to me that focusing too much time on the exceptions to the rules just makes students feel like everything is an exception. They are constantly trying to figure out exceptions instead of seeing that the majority of the time the words really are following the rules.
Pat Henderson
As a Reading Coach in a public school I have tried numerous programs to help our struggling readers. The most efffective programs are those that offer explicit instruction along with sufficient reading practice.
Sharon
We've tried many approaches with my struggling reader. One especially ineffective one was to "use the pictures or rest of the story to help figure out the word". She would normally come up with a word that made sense in the story, but was completely wrong compared to what was actually written.
Sheila Boutwell
I am tutoring an adult that desires help attacking multiple syllable words. Horizon V5 will give her the skills she needs to become a confident reader.
Sandra
V5 for 5 days We are using the All About Spelling program which uses an Orton Gillingham approach which we are finding helpful. Also we have done some of the Davis Dyslexia program which also helped us make significant gains.
Natilie Moore
Because our daughter's dyslexia is not consistent, as her teachers, we try to be consistent by making reading fun and relaxing. Helping her choose books that are interesting for her and reading to her in addition to having her read out loud to us has been helpful. Testing out different techniques has also been helpful, not giving up, being positive and remembering her self-esteem needs praise, praise,praise!
Jenny Steward
We've tried using colors to highlight the sound we're working on plus we keep going over difficult words on flash cards. Our son said one day,"Boy it's nice to actually know some of the words without thinking"!
Judy
I am working with my grandson who is a homeschooler and is dsylexic. Although we have tried one computer program that relied heavily on phonics and was advertized to help with dyslexia; we have not had that much success in progress. Judy
Robert A
It's very hard for most people who can't read because they had no one to help or assist them in the area of reading. to be effective reader, you might need assistant and if you do not have someone to assist then you can't be effective reader;there is no one out there to offer this kind of help:read for you , with you, and even correct your mistakes; so basically there is no effective any where to help.We have tried everything and had no good resort.
Cherie
Finding the right program for struggling readers is hard. Many schools try to address the problem as a whole instead of individualizing it.
T Williams
A lot of us learned to read by reading, reading, and more reading. That's how I learned. But when I started studying the teaching of reading; when I attended a Reading Horizons workshop, my eyes were opened. I realized I knew how to read, but didn't know why: things like 'a consonant at the end of a syllable makes the vowel sound short'; what 'schwa' is. You can get a kid to read, read, read, but he/she will always struggle if they don't know the rules; how to attack different words and, most importantly, the why behind the pronunciation of words.
Alisa
My own children do not struggle in reading, however, I have worked in their classrooms as a one-on-one reading tutor. I found out very quickly what things DON'T work, and discovered a few things that do work. They needed to go back to the very basics of direct phonics instruction. So many gaps were discovered. Also, reading DAILY is a must! My own children are at a charter school that uses the Spalding Method: The Writing Road to Reading. It is, likewise a very direct approach to teaching phonics. However, it is very complicated and overwhelming. Reading Horizons seems a little less daunting (and fun)! I wish all our schools, public/charter/private could tap into what Reading Horizons has to offer.
Janet
My daughter has a "cortical vision" impairment or "neurological vision" impairment and a result of a near drowning in a car accident when she was 17 months. What this means is that her vision impairment is not caused by a malfunction with her eyes, instead the impairment is due to malfunctioning in vision processing within her brain. In practical terms, this means that her vision is unreliable. Sometimes her vision works well, other times not at all. Scanning is very difficult because words move on the page and her eyes do not always track in a straight line. Also she has difficulty with letters crowding together. We have tried many different strategies with differing amounts of success. One was a program within our school system that was called "reading recovery". This program was very rigid and did not help very well at all. The teacher did not take into account that fatigue and vision were part of the problem. We have tried blocking out everything except the current line or word that is being rate with some success. She reads with either myself or my husband and we track where she is using our finger. This works better than having her track by herself, however it does not provide independence. We have tried using a line magnifier which sometimes helps but can be difficult to move from line to line on her own. We have had success using the color red, aph font from America print house for the blind, set at about 22 size font and increasing the inter-character spacing by 1 or 2 point and increasing the spacing between words and lines to two spaces rather than one. Reading and working on a computer where the font can be easily changed is a help, especially using a good LDC monitor. Placing a red plastic screen (or even a duotang folder) over a piece of paper can help. Using cream colored paper rather than white can help at times. Phonics and more phonics,followed by asking her what letters she sees can help. If you don't see all the letters it is really difficult to sound out a a word. Some of the really interesting things that happen with her reading is that she will make correct synonym substitutions for words such as large for big or others. So she was able to decode the original word or meaning but could not, for whatever magical reason in her brain recall the processed word. Small words seem to be more difficult than larger words, probably due to similar shapes or perhaps dyslexic type problems we are not certain but, of, for, from, and form are all mixed-up. Where as larger words like important, anniversary, ... are not. I am not certain if reading horizons allows for changes in font, color, size and spacing, but for some people, including my daughter, this would be a welcome addition. I would love to try this program to see if any more gains can be made.
Mark Peters
First the ineffective part is the feeling of being tied to a time schedule - which puts pressure on the student. As to effective, encouragement and allowing time to learn.
Joni Huff
Consistant patience.
Suzanne Rock-Stierle
V5 for 5 days! What a great program you have! Thank you so much for developing it! Suzanne
Margaret Lane
It is my grandson so I don't get the chance to work with him as he is in a different state, but his parents get frustrated trying to help him as they weren't meant to be teachers of young children as they don't have the patience it takes and so trying to help him only fails for all of them.
Anjii
I've been reading since I was 2, and it's always been one of my favorite things to do. I have an extensive collection of books in my home, for myself and for my kids, and want to do everything I can to make reading a lifetime enjoyment for them, rather than a frustrating chore. I'd love to try this program!
Anjii
I find that if he sits on my lap while we do computer based reading lessons/games, he is more able to focus, because I can help calm down his fidgeting, if I hold his hands or hug him.
Sheila Boutwell
I first get to know my students. After finding their interests, I gear the materials to what they enjoy. I use a variety of learning styles searching for the way they learn best. These are big steps toward teaching a struggling reader to become successful.
Jackie
We have had excellent success with teaching him one on one. We decided to homeschool because the schools were just pushing him through the grades with little to no expectation of him ever learning to read or write or become at grade level. We use a lot of explanations and a lot of visuals and hands on projects. We try to teach him through all of his senses. What hasnt worked for us is pushing and pushing and getting frustrated. The schools have not worked for use we tried many options and many different schools all with the same outcome. Traditional phonics does not work for dyslexia either. While reading different colored papers and a single line at a time rather than seeing the whole paragraph at once.
Teri H.
Lots of practice and lots of one on one teaching.
Ronna Baron
This program sounds like it can target phonics & decoding issues which are common to several of my LD students.
A. Jeffers
What I have found to be effective in working with my struggeling reader is going back to some of the basics of phonics. Usually there are gaps in the childs learning, so starting at a lower level, to ensure those gaps are addressed, is very helpful.
Kristin Farlow
Finding the right method to teach phonics properly has been a nightmare and an American in Scotland. Everything our son had barely learned was reversed and confused and shut down; so it is no wonder he would shut down on us at home with reading and language skills. I have liked seeing the proving of the word in your program; if we had had that method a few years ago, I believe our son wouldn't be struggling the way he is now.
Sally Andrews
A clear, systematic phonics programme is a must. Then regular and frequent (daily if possible), short sessions in which the child experiences success, however small.
Connie Costello
Phonics, phonics and phonics. Yes there are rules and exceptions but as long as she knows her sounds she will be able to figure out most of the words. My daughter is 9 and we are just now beginning blends and word families but we always go to the letters individual sounds. Her struggle is to see the middle sound in words (the vowels) so we are still working on the short sounds. The Leap books with the pen reader are great for her because she can read by "herself" without feeling the pressure of someone looking over her shoulder. Something I stuggle with is the inconsistency in what she knows one day compared to the next. She'll be able to figure out some words today but the same words tomorrow will be such a stuggle why is that?
Orange County Tutors
I won't repeat many of the comments above which I agree with, as far as our experience working one on one with struggling students. What I did want to add though is that success is a huge motivator. Knowing this, our tutors will often help to motivate a struggling student by giving them a lesson or task that may not teach them a whole lot, but which allows them to get a point for a completed task. This may happen at the beginning to give them a boost or later on if they are getting discouraged.