Rating: 
Summary: DISTAR doesn't work
Review: After 6 months of DISTAR my 8 year old still is reading at a beginning first grade level. This is a child with an IQ of 140! DISTAR's orthographic method does not account for the different way phonemes can be represented. It is slow slow slow and he loses focus and attention. Try Phono-Graphix instead. This program has little research and the results don't impress me. Read up more before you spend your money. I'm returing my book today!
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Experience!
Review: I had a wonderful time working with my four-year-old using this book. The lessons were simple to teach and very logical. They truly took only 15-20 minutes each. She learned very thoroughly how to sound out words. My daughter enjoyed learning to write her letters as well. And she loved to go back and "teach" me the lessons. A year later, 6 months after finishing the 100 lessons, she entered kindergarten and could already read. Her reading skills continued to increase since she had a strong phonics foundation.
Rating:
Summary: This book gets kids a strong start in reading and phonics
Review: I wasn't to sure about this book when I saw it in catalogs. I thought that with a title like that it was just a gimmick, but with the price I thought I would try it. I have taught two of my children to read with the book. They enjoy that within just a few lessons they can read words. We tend to go through the book slower than recommended, sometimes repeating lessons. My 8 year old daughter is now reading at a high school level, after using this book in Kindergarten and First Grade, then some other phonics reinforcement books.
One suggestion if you buy it - take it to a copy or print shop and have it spiral bound (cost @[money]), the pages tend to come apart from the spine after a few uses; plus this allows the book to lay flat.
Rating:
Summary: Efficacious!
Review: My three year old daughter learned to read with this book. She has since breezed through McGuffy's First and Second Readers. She reads bedtime stories to herself and to her one year old brother. I cannot recommend this book more highly. If you want to teach your child to read, buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: If there were no other reading programs available, the 100 lessons would be OK. Alas, it is too cumbersome, too clumsy. With all the advances in publishing and software technology this primitive and tedious book should be retired. After buying the 100 lessons and trying to use it, I went back to see parents' reviews. It's hard to believe that any parent can finish the book. Someone on the web suggested the Reading Lesson with CD-rom and I bought it. My son and I like it a lot better.
Rating: 
Summary: Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons
Review: Amazingly it works. But because of the phonetic alphabet, transferrability to standard text is rough. Would recommend this book for children in crowded classrooms; those who need one-on-one attention; those who have difficulty sitting still & working in the classroom environment. Have patience -- children get restless & it may be a daily struggle to engage your child. In the end it's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Works, but lessons aren't always "easy"
Review: After using this with my eldest child, I did not use it with my other children. Yes, she was reading very well *before* the 100th lesson, but starting at about lesson 60, the lessons became long and difficult. Also, it does not lay a good foundation for spelling. My eldest child struggled for years with spelling because of the poor foundation laid by this book. And isn't that one of the purposes of a phonics program--to teach spelling as well as reading? Do *not* use this book to remediate an older child: the introduction clearly states that this program is only for those who have had *no* prior reading instruction. Once you look at the lessons you will see why. A modified alphabet is used, which would be confusing to a child who had already been exposed to our regular alphabet. On the plus side, lessons are fully scripted, meaning it tells you exactly what to say and when to say it. This is a huge benefit for inexperienced parents. Also, children find the stories and pictures very entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: A Teacher Says....This book is THE BEST!
Review: As a former elementary school teacher, I taught in a district where only Whole Language was used. Please excuse me while I roll my eyes for a moment. Put DOWN everything else, put DOWN the sight word cards, put DOWN the expensive programs... and pick UP this book! My kindergarten aged son is reading on a second grade level, and he has been reading since he was three years old because of this program! Yes, it starts slowly. Other reviewers have commented that they were bored. HELLO! This isn't for you! Success breeds success. The book starts slowly, the child feels successful, and that breeds a confidence. This book is a must for any parent who is at all insecure about how to teach reading. The lessons are scripted. If you can read, you can teach your child to read using this book. The lessons are short to take little attention spans into account. There are no expensive programs to buy. All you need is this book and some patience as your child turns into a confident reader. This book gets my HIGHEST recommendation!
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this one!
Review: I've home educated for 10yrs now and found this the easiest and most affordable to begin the process of reading. It covers Language Arts completely. ( Phonic intro, letter formation for writing, listening skills, punctuation, as well as decoding)Add a pencil and a piece of paper and your all set. My older kids have all had fun "helping out" by sitting with a younger one and "doing a lesson". What a joy to snuggle-up and be the one to open the door to the wonderful world of being a reader.
Rating:
Summary: It works! But, my daughter found it a tad boring.
Review: We live in the world of bright colored books with gimmicks. It's sometimes hard for little ones to get into a book that focus's on actually teaching something. First off, this book worked for us. We only modified the directions slightly. And, each lesson is short. My daughter was bored with some of the stories. They were a bit absurd,especially early on. Past lesson 50, the book really shines. The book starts by introducing a sound- A, R, M. Each sound is practiced until they have a good grasp of it. It progresses from letters to blends, and beyond. It doesn't do much with irregular pronounciations; we worked on those seperately. Overall, I'd recommend it, however don't expect your child to plead with you to work in the book!
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