Rating: 
Summary: Teach Anybody to Read!
Review: I am primary elementary school teacher and have been using this in my classroom for years. The test at the beginning of the book is very helpful to finding out what the specific problem is (blending, segmenting, auditory processing, etc.) The book's introduction changed the way I thought about reading (i.e. using letter names instead of sounds can confuse slower learners--"my name is Kathy, but you can call me Elizabeth") I would definitely use this method to teach my own children someday.
Rating: 
Summary: This book frustrates me!
Review: I am using this book to teach my children to read. We have had great success with my son so far, and I am just beginning with my daughter.So why does it frustrate me? The first part of the book, which explains the theory, makes a lot of sense to me. The pre-test is fine, and the first chapter was fun for my son to do. It was well-written and pretty easy to follow. I did NOT enjoy making copies of my pages, cutting up the small squares and trying to keep up with them. But I still was not frustrated. It is in the section, Teaching the Advanced Code, that I think things really begin to break down. I think their theory still works. But the layout of this section, which is supposed to tell me how to teach the theory, is terrible. The authors have you flipping back and forth to find instructions on one page, word lists to use with those instructions on another page (much further away). And the sequence of the lessons is difficult to discern. (In a book that is telling you how to teach, it should be very clear what to do and when to do it.) This may be because of the typestyle and type size of the instructions. How can I explain this better? For example, you are given instructions for a particular type of lesson-- generic lesson if you will. Following this are the word lists that you use for that lesson. But, you do not proceed in this order. You do the generic lesson with the first word list, then flip back to the second generic lesson, then perhaps to the word list following the first generic lesson, or perhaps a second set of lists following the generic lesson. Even this makes it sound more organized than it is, because it is not consistent from sound to sound. How do you know where to go next? In smaller, italized type outside the word list, are those instructions. So when you finish generic lesson one, using the proper word list, you look at the bottom of the word list to see where to go next. Do they include a page number to make it easier? No. Others have talked about the stories and there is no argument there, either! They are not endearing, well-written, or even clear. Sometimes their ONLY value is the words that are used. And the drawings are no better. In my copy of the book, two sounds are left off of the consonant chart: 'w' and 'th.' I noticed this as I tried to pin down everything we were going to be working on. I ordered the audio tape from ReadAmerica and compared the chart with the audio key. Finally, I am annoyed that the authors did not include any type of recordkeeping help. With well over one hundred lessons (maybe it is closer to two hundred -- I'm not finished yet) to do with each child (and in the early stage especially, the repetition of lessons for mastery), to not include any recordkeeping help is a major flaw. In fact, I suspect that those who use this method -- especially the advanced code section -- do not try to follow what the books says. In other words, I don't think the authors tested the advanced code section of the book to see how well it worked, in terms of layout and clarity for the instructor. It almost appears that they ran out of time or steam halfway through the book. I have spent a fair amount of time creating my own recordkeeping chart that also lays out the sequence of lessons. This should have been done by the authors. I am also intrigued by the spat between them and Dianne McGuinness. The authors go to great length to disassociate their method from her method, especially on their website. And it has been noted that the authors do "go on" a bit about how great this new system is. Ah well, marketing! Given all that I have said, it is important to note that I still recommend this book to others. It is that strong in some ways. I can only hope that the authors will consider a revision for an even better product.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New in this Book
Review: I bought this book largely on the strength of the glowing reviews it received at Amazon, so I'd like to add my comments so other potential purchasers don't get the wrong impression about the book. There is nothing new here, except the lingo developed by the authors to make you think they have developed a revolutionary approach to teaching reading. All they've done is take the old phonics --which I recognize is "new" to a lot of people who are only familiar with the "look-say" method of teaching reading -- and given it new vocabulary, e.g. "phono-graphix" (read "phonetic"), "sound picture" (read "phoneme"), "auditory processing" (read "reading" or "sounding out") and my personal favorite, "mapping", which simply means "writing". Besides the unnecessary and confusing renaming of standard phonics terms, the book includes some very unfortunate errors which got me to wondering exactly what the "decades" of research behind this book actually meant. One of the most glaring problems lies in the word list for the "sound picture | ", which includes "thug, "with", "bath" and "math" interspersed with "the", "then", and "that". Is it possible that the authors don't recognized that the | in "bath" is pronounced differently than the | in "the"? There was no explanation to the parent/teacher nor to the student as to the differences in these phonemes, nor when one or the other is used. As my six year-old began to read this word list with all the same | sound, I found myself backpedalling in my instructions, saying, "Oops! Sometimes | is pronounced this way and sometimes it is pronounced another way!" I felt his confused eyes upon me as he tried to figure out how to guess which way it should be pronounced for each word on the list. In the same vein, there was no explanation as to when a final "s" should be pronounced "ss" ("yes") and when it should have the "z" sound ("as"). In a list of so-called "made-up" words (some of which were made-up --"glot", "bot"-- and some of which were not --"sot", "got") appeared the word "tis", which my child proceeded happily to pronounce "tiss", and frankly, I didn't know if I should correct him or not! Obviously, if the word is a "made-up" word, there is no way to tell how to pronounce it. On the other hand, if you read the word as a "real" word (which it is: "'tis the season to be jolly") then the correct pronunciation becomes clear. In the end, I corrected him. I found the games difficult to use: cutting out all those little letters, of which there were often two or three times more than you needed, got old, and they kept sliding out of the envelopes in storage. Plus, you couldn't always tell one letter from another: "n" upsidedown looks like "u", "d" upsidedown becomes "p", etc. Finally, the strictly phonetic stories are so very stupid as to be nonsensical, and actually hindered my child from being able to read them. The pictures (also very stupid) were necessary in making any sense at all out of the stories, and once you start to teach a child to depend on the illustrations to figure out the meaning of the words, you are on the road to producing a bad reader. Believe it or not, I am not saying you should not buy this book. I am glad that it has helped some parents,teachers and students. And who knows, it might be just the thing for you. But the Explode the Code series by Educator's Publishing Service is probably better, as are any number of phonics-based programs, and I would recommend Why Johnny Can't Read by Flesch as the most useful, understandable review of phonics, with progressive word lists which will get most students reading quickly. This is the old standby I used to teach my first child to read, and I think I made a mistake in ever trying the "new" approach.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for teacher reading AND SPELLING
Review: I discovered Phono-Graphix through Reading Reflex and have sense then become certified in the method. I use it with my students at school and work with private clients as well. I love the program and feel it is the best possible way to teach a child to read and spell. I disagree with the reviewer who says that Diane McGuinness's Allographs is a good supplement to Reading Reflex. My students found it very confusing and I feel it goes against the principles set out in Reading Reflex. The best supplement to Reading Reflex is the 'parenTeacher Magazine', a free publication written by the authors of Reading Reflex - Carmen & Geoffrey McGuinness. I also recommend frequent doses of the website readamerica.com where you can get advise on how to help your child or students in your class from the authors and from other parents and teachers. Tiffany, Alabama teacher
Rating:
Summary: New Paperback Essentially Identical to Hardback
Review: I entered the May 12 review, below, and just wanted Amazon.com readers to know that, although a notation was added that says "this text refers to out of print or unavailable edition," this new paperback is essentially identical to the spiral-bound version I reviewed. It's an excellent program for struggling readers, and the only product I found on the market that has ALL of these features: It (1) is based on decades of research on reading; (2) targets critical reading skills (phonemic awareness skills) AND knowledge of sound-letter correspondences (often called phonics knowledge); (3) provides quick diagnostic tests for initial and ongoing evaluations; (4) is designed for fast results; (5) offers on-line support; and (6) is used by professionals but is also packaged in a book for parents. Most importantly, it works--and quickly--as evidenced not just by my success story reported below, but also by the authors' published research and countless stories posted their internet bulletin board from teachers, parents, and tutors here and in the U.K.
Rating:
Summary: A few bugs, but...the best!
Review: I have several small problems with the program myself, however it's the best thing I've seen so far and I'll keep using it. I recommend it highly as an inexpensive, effective, and quick program. I found found it extremely successful with my own children and my tutoring clients. The results I've seen are much like what Carmen and Geoff report. I like their spelling program too, BTW. I must agree with Tony that have never met more unimaginative and uninteresting stories in my life. Not all, just a few. However...the stories in the Parent Support books are actually interesting, mildly imaginative and very much what the children relate to. Maybe in further editions of Reading Reflex, they'll change their stories. We can hope. At the same time, practice in the sounds is what is important and it is assumed that you are reading other "real" books too. There are a few other things about the program I don't appreciate. I don't like the way they break up the words like all, tall and wall (since they've already stated that a plain a can say 'a' as in father and two l's can say that sound. (hmm... hard to explain in type) and the 'th' thing (it makes two separate sounds) bothered me too. I just taught them as 2 separate sounds with the same sound picture. Similar things have already been taught, so it isn't a big jump. I do especially like the way they print the very beginner stories with the sounds that are more than one letter bolded and squashed together (coded text). It sure helps beginners read more quickly and gives them practice in reading more than one letter at a time, and encouragement to continue. I didn't find the chapter on multi-syllable as clear as maybe it could be. It took me a while to understand it enough to explain it to the kids, but I agree that it is something totally skipped in other programs Overall, I think Reading Reflex is an excellent program and I just make the changes I want when I'm doing it. I don't think there's a perfect program out there, but this one has an excellent approach, fantastic diagnostics and a few less 'bugs' than any I've seen. I hope Carmen and Geoff would be open to hearing some constructive critisism from those who truly appreciate their work and I hope in a few years they would put out a new-improved book (Ultra-Reading Reflex!) with a few of these issues addressed.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the "code to the English Language." It works!
Review: I have used the Phono-Graphix method with several children. It has not failed to give them the tools for decoding. It works for all ages. Because it teaches reading from the sound to the symbol, it all makes sense to the children. The progression of teaching (from simple to complex) makes it especially effective. I recommend it highly. It is not phonics (phonics teaches from the symbol to the sound, reversing the code). Phono-Graphix works in about one-tenth the time as phonics and teaches the entire code. Phonics teaches about half.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: I have worked with learning disabled kids and have a child of my own with learning disabilities and this method worked so well for both! It has clear exact lessons that my child loved! And i followed it and got quick results! In weeks my child had improved dramatically! Many many thanks to the authors for the help we needed!
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I just want to say thank you to the authors of this book! My son (2nd grade) and daughter (1st grade) were having troubles with their reading and coding and thanks to this book they are right on track. it is a bit confusing when it gets chapter 5 and the stories are not the best but all in all thsi book is a blessing!!
Rating:
Summary: The best book to teach your child to read
Review: I used this for my 4 year old daughter, she started from knowing only the letter sounds, to reading words like happiness,remembered,downstream, in less than a year. This is no easy feat for a child who speaks only a little English. Our native language is Filipino. The lessons are fun and engaging even for a wiggly with short attention span child like my daughter. In school, Kat's classmates are still learning letter sounds. And there's tremendous support from the authors, Carmen and Geoffrey and all the wonderful people at readamerica.
|
|---|
