Curriculum for teaching children with dyslexia reading at home / homeschool - overcoming dyslexia

Do you need curriculum for teaching your child reading at home and are you helping your child overcome dyslexia? Teaching your child to read, whether he has dyslexia, or not, can be done inexpensively at home. If your child has dyslexia, or you suspect he does, you will want to use a program that follows the principles of Orton-Gillingham methodology. It would probably also help to read a couple of books about the special learning differences of children with dyslexia.

In the beginning, you will probably want to screen your child for current reading decoding ability and reading fluency level. You will want to access our Free Reading Assessments page to access reading tests available on the Internet at no charge to you.

Once your child has mastered basic reading skills, at a third grade level or higher, I have great news for you.. Your child may be exceptionally gifted at speed reading! Children with dyslexia are visual learners who can pick this skill more easily than other children.

If you desire simply to teach your child to read, and your child does not have any known issues with learning to read, I recommend the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" or the Explode the Code series.

If you've tried teaching your child to read, but your child does not seem to "get it" or re-decodes every word, even ones he's seen multiple times before, if he can't blend sounds together, or shows other signs of struggling with reading, there are any number of programs you can use to help your child at home without spending a lot of money. (continued below..)

Programs I recommend for home use:

Language Tool Kit & Manual, Grades K-5
By Paula D. Rome & Jean S. Osman / Educators Publishing Service

The Language Tool Kit teaches reading and spelling to students with specific language disability. Based on Orton-Gillingham principles, it is designed for use by a teacher or a parent. This set contains 163 cards (4" x 6") in a white cardboard box along with the 32 page manual. One group of cards has spelling units printed in large type on one side, with the common and rarer sound equivalents on the reverse side in small type. Key words and spelling patterns are also listed. The salmon-colored cards are for the teacher's reference, and the yellow cards are for extra practice with consonant blends. Grades K-5.

S.P.I.R.E (also by EPSbooks.com) is a great program as well. This program has a bit more beef to it, is easy to follow, easier to implement without much preparation, but also costs a bit more. Overall, any of the Dyslexia Programs offered by EPSbooks is a good choice.

Writing Road to Reading - WRTR is a comprehensive program which will help your child make great gains if you can follow the program diligently. I will tell you, the program is overwhelming at first glance, but after digging in and getting started, the program is not as difficult as it seems. This program is among the most comprehensive, inexpensive programs you can use.

Reading Reflex - Not my favorite, but easy to understand and easy to follow. The RR program has some shortcomings in that it does not teach ALL of the phonemes, but it does teach almost all of them. The ones that are missing can be easily covered on the side. Additionally, when I had difficulty with some program materials ordered through the company, they were less than considerate and helpful. Therefore, I suggest this program as one that is easy to follow.. it does have its merits, but it is far from my top choice.

Speed Reading 4 Kids - This is a program that is nothing short of amazing. You can't use it effectively until your child has learned to read at or above a third-grade level, but once your child has mastered basic reading skills, I highly recommend giving this program a try. Children with dyslexia, being visual learners, often do better than typical children in this program. Thus, teaching your child this skill will help them tremendously throughout life.

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Scripted, complete programs:

There are two programs I consider "complete" kits, which can be purchased for a couple hundred dollars. These two programs are designed to take a child from non-reader to reader, and provide everything you need.

Saxon Phonics - This is a robust and well-developed reading remediation program. It is also one of the less expensive programs that includes all materials, teachers guides and student books. No reading remediation program worth using can beat the value in this package! With the Saxon name behind the product, you can hardly go wrong.

Complete Saxon Phonics Intervention, Home Study Kit
Other Saxon Phonics Program products
Other Materials for Teaching A Child How-to Read
Reading Comprehension Resources at Christianbooks.com

LiPS from Lindamood-Bell - This is the same program used at the pricey Lindamood-Bell centers, and by many private organizations that teach reading. The kit is expensive, but the program is proven to work with most children who struggle. The program is rather involved, but if you can read and understand the instructions, or can afford to go to training offered by Lindamood-Bell Centers, it is a lot cheaper to do the program yourself. However, not all children respond well to their parent as their provider, so you'll want to be certain your child is willing to work with you before you spend the money on this kit.

PhonicsTutor Student Reader
By 4:20 Communications

This book is meant to accompany the Alpha Phonics CD-ROM, which can be ordered seperately. Phonics Tutor presents Alpha-Phonics combines the word family method of Alpha-Phonics with the Orton-Gillingham English phonograms. It is effective for teaching reading, spelling and phonics to early readers, learning disabled and precocious students, making it an ideal tool in the inclusion classroom. The phonics Tutor Student Reader provides controlled vocabulary stories- including tongue twisters, riddles, real-life and imaginary stories, a science experiment, and more; expanded, non-alphabetized word lists, including challenge words; instruction on phonics rules and grammar; and a Phonogram and Spelling Pattern Chart.

PhonicsTutor Teacher's Manual
By 4:20 Communications

This Teacher's Manual is meant to accompany the Phonics Tutorial CD-ROM, which can be purchased seperately. This program provides the word family method of Alpha-Phonics with the Orton-Gillingham English phonograms. This program is effective for teaching reading, spelling and phonics to early readers, learning disabled and precocious students, making it an ideal tool in the inclusion classroom. The Phonics Tutor Teacher's Manual provides snapshots of all presentation screens, lists all dictated sentences, divides curriculum in units with detailed goals, content, and directions. See in print everything that is taught orally to students.

Drill and Learning Software:

ClickN READ Phonics - Children who are learning to read English for the first time, those who are struggling with reading and children with learning disabilities should use the program. ClickN' READ Phonics represents the best in curriculum, the best in computer technology and the best in program design for ease of use. And best of all, kids love it! All other phonics products and programs are simply toys when compared to ClickN' READ Phonics. For homes, the cost is only $59.85 for a LIFETIME subscription for one child and just $19.95 for each additional child. All subscriptions come with a 60-day money back guarantee. Don't put your child's future on hold. Try ClickN READ Phonics in your Home Today!

Earobics is designed to teach a child with auditory processing issues to "tune in" to key sounds in words, to teach them the phonemes in relation to print, and to build concentration (specifically the ability to attend to sounds within words). For some kids, they can't "hear" (or recognize) the individual phonemes enough to be taught with a rules based program, so Earobics is a good place to begin.

Lexia Early Reading
Lexia Phonics Based Reading
Lexia Reading S.O.S. - This is the program we have chosen and have been sticking with. It has numerous different practice activities within 5 levels and has been instrumental in helping with basic spelling and reading abilities. The program is very thorough, beginning with basic vowel sounds, and progressing up through roots, prefixes, suffixes, and syllabication. This program is a great teaching tool when used on a daily basis.

Multisensory Reading, Spelling and Penmanship - "Multisensory reading, spelling and penmanship CD-ROM program builds an association between symbols and sounds in the English language through self-paced repetition. It utilizes the close association of visual, auditory and kinesthetic elements to help students improve their language skills."

Read, Write, & Type - "This 40-lesson adventure is a powerful tool for 6-8 year olds just learning to read, for children of other cultures learning to read and write in English, and for students of any age who are struggling to become successful readers and writers. Children learn phonics, reading, spelling, writing, vocabulary, punctuation, and even keyboarding. Children see, hear, speak, touch, and move their fingers as they play each new level in this multisensory program."

The Learning To Read Program - Offered by the "LD Coach", Bill Allen, the program has all of the 'right' multisensory elements--Auditory, Visual, Tactile, and Kinesthetic elements. However, it is my opinion this is an extremely expensive route to take in learning only the most common sight words. There are 268 sight words taught in the 13 books, at a cost of more than $500. Volume 1 covers just 15 words and the alphabet. This program is based upon the Davis Dyslexia method and "focal points" as discussed in the book, "The Gift Of Dyslexia".
I would recommend spending the small sum to get The Gift Of Dyslexia prior to investing in The Learning To Read Program. It is my personal opinion that the books alone will be an insufficient means for most children with LDs to learn to read, but the books could be good teaching tools for anyone willing to shell out the money, or for any child with dire difficulty learning the site words. If you were to use this program, I would highly recommend reading "The Gift Of Dyslexia" to fully understand the benefit of using the Learning To Read Program books.
Given that other programs are more comprehensive in their teaching of reading, I personally would recommend using programs that teach phonemes, sight words, decoding skills, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary in a progressive reading program designed to take the child to approximately a sixth grade reading level, rather than spending so much for a limited scope program. However, IF your child cannot learn sight words through other means, the Learning to Read Program might be what you need.

Downloadable Workbooks:

Phonics Plus, Book A (Levels K-1) - Downloadable from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ by entering ED429275 into the search box.

Phonics Plus, Book B: Short Vowel Patterns, Long Vowel Patterns - Downloadable from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ by entering ED429276 into the search box.

Phonics Plus, Book C: Grades 2-3 - Downloadable from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ by entering ED441218 into the search box.

Spell, Say, and Write--A Synthesis of the Phonics and Whole Word Systems: A Beginner's Workbook for School or Home Study - Downloadable from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ by entering ED370089 into the search box.

Homeschool Reading Programs for Dyslexia

Homeschool Reading
Programs for Dyslexia