Freddy has Learned to Read with Everybody Learns

Our free trial of the Lexia Core 5 reading program from Everybody Learns has sadly come to an end. In the three months that Freddy has been using it, he has averaged about 100 minutes a week online. I have been kept regularly updated on his progress and he has been rewarded with certificates for completing the levels, that he has proudly taken in to show his class teacher.

When Freddy started the program he was not making good progress with his reading. A combination of being a summer born baby, having difficulty with his eyesight and generally being a reluctant learner meant that by the end of reception he had not reached the first level of attainment and had emerging skills only.

This was not a true representation of the smart, bright, eloquent, curious and thoughtful child that my son is. 

Having access to this program allowed me to support my son's learning, reinforcing the phonics sessions he was doing at school.  The progress made on his skills was really noticeable. Even his class teacher remarked on the fact that it seemed to be coming together for Freddy. Consequently, he has virtually caught up to his peers and is holding his own, rather than lagging behind. This is a huge relief to me.

By the end of his trial Freddy could read sentences, recognise sight words and use phonics to decode and write words independently. He also showed a good understanding of vocabulary and comprehension.

I was so impressed by his progress. The course helped build new skills and consolidated them with plenty of practice, moving on only when the skill had been mastered. This complemented what he was doing at school and helped build his confidence. The fun animations unlocked as a reward for completing the levels kept Freddy fully engaged and enjoying the learning process.

As Freddy approaches the Government's Year 1 phonics test, I hope the extra work he has done at home will help him get through it, so he can start Year 2 in a good position, and not from behind.

Here are my previous posts featuring the Everybody Learns Lexia workbooks and online reading course:

http://insidethewendyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/everybody-learns-lexia-reading-and.html
http://insidethewendyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/helping-freddy-to-catch-up-at-school.html
http://insidethewendyhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/everybody-learns-freddys-progress.html

Find out more about this reading course at: www.everybodylearns.co.uk. You can also let your child complete a free reading quiz and receive the test results via email with advice on improving your child's progress.

Everybody Learns - Freddy's Progress

Freddy has been trialing the Lexia Reading Core 5 home reading course.  Doing a minimum of twenty minutes three times a week, is proving just about right for him. He remains a bit reluctant, until he actually starts a session, and then he really enjoys the word games.  He has powered through levels 3 and 4 and  is currently half way through the fifth level.  Every time he completes a level he gets a certificate, which he proudly takes to school to show his teacher! 

In addition to the certificates, I get a fortnightly progress update, giving the time spent on the program, his present position against chronological age expectations, his catch up rate and the time expected to complete the course.  I am delighted to see the rate that he is now catching up to his peers. The support team are there to also offer advice and give ideas on how to further encourage the child to maximize the impact of the reading course.

Each level has a different fun theme from the rainforest to the Scottish cliffs, and has characters that help make the games fun. The content of the levels gets more advanced as the child progresses and the format of each section changes to make it more of a challenge. If a mistake is made, the child is taken back to consolidate their knowledge before moving on. At the end of each game, the child is rewarded by a fun animation.

Children learn to recognise and spell high frequency sight words; recognise, blend and segment phonics in words; learn sequencing of stories and learn vocabulary.  The progress of the games in the levels is clearly displayed, giving the child the incentive to keep going.

Freddy is definitely getting to grips with recognising the beginning, medial and end sounds of words. This has improved his ability to read lots of different words.  He is still a reluctant reader when faced with a physical book, but I'm sure he will make the connection between what he is doing online and actually being able to read independently.  I think a lot of his reluctance is down to confidence after his difficult first year at school because of his eyesight. The home reading course is definitely making him more interested in reading words, so it'll just be a matter of time before that translates into reading stories for his own entertainment.

I am delighted that Freddy has been moved up a group in the phonics lessons he does at school and his teacher has reported an improvement. Fingers crossed, all this extra work will help him make the leap and he will soon be a confident and fluent reader.

everybodylearns.co.uk

Everybody Learns - Lexia Reading and Writing Workbooks

Lexia Reading and Writing workbooks are a part of a programme designed by primary and special needs teachers.  They make a progressive scheme of work based on the acquisition of phonic knowledge and are structured to provide repetition and revision of exercises to aid a child's learning. They include black and white line drawings that younger children can enjoy colouring in and the engaging tone of the books encourages children to learn.

I was sent a set of Lexia Reading and Writing Books for Young Children Levels 1-4.  Freddy is in Year One and remains a bit of a reluctant learner.  He has been hindered by his eye problems, and has been playing catch up since September but is at last making some progress.  So this set of workbooks is a perfect resource to use at home in order to help his progression.

The eight workbooks include pages dedicated to the learning of phonics, vocabulary and reading. Dotted letters allow little hands to trace letters using the correct formation before they go on to write lower and upper case letters independently.  Beginning with writing initial letters of CVC words, children build up to writing full words and then sentences. Children get to say, see and write the words and sentences, consolidating their knowledge and leading them towards being independent and confident readers and writers.

Freddy, although still not enthusiastic about learning to read and write, is enjoying having a chance to work through this comprehensive program that compliments what he learns at school.  It is reassuring for me as a parent to know I can help him at this important time, when he is struggling with the basics.

Freddy is bright and articulate but the penny is quite late in dropping when it comes to literacy! Knowing that he will be tested in year one, and that this result may affect how he is regarded academically in the future, makes me question the whole education system in how it fails to treat each child as an individual. I'm grateful that his school and his class teacher do what they can to give each child a more holistic education, but with policy being what it is, I feel that I have a responsibility to help my son do the best he can.  It's good to know that there are such comprehensive programmes on the market.

The eight pack of workbooks of 45-49 pages includes two books for each level, progressing to being able to write and spell two syllable words and read multi-page stories and do comprehension questions.

The books go alongside the Lexia Home Reading Course which is a subscription based reading program  for children.

The books are £24.99 for the set of eight books.  Find out more at  everybodylearns.co.uk.