Phonics and Reading with McGuffey by LiteracySoft: A TOS Crew Review

Phonics and Reading with McGuffey by LiteracySoft  

From their website:

"The app is built from the source material of the most successful education textbook of all time, McGuffey's Eclectic Primer Revised Edition, which has taught tens of millions of students the joy of reading. All 52 lessons contain the proven step-by-step material your student needs to develop to the first grade reading level – guaranteed."

 

Cost - $19.99

 

The first 10 lessons of the PC version and the lite version of the app are available as well, to try out and see for yourself!  It is compatible with your PC, Mac, and Apple Devices.

The Bentz Test Laboratory has only recently begun to discover the joys of on-the-go App learning.  How did we survive before this amazing technology? 

My tester is a very excited-to-learn-to-read 5 year old. She is also has been gifted with some special learning needs - so, we are having to go slower and enjoy the journey a little more than we did with prior children. ( Phonics and Reading with McGuffey works well with Adult learners, Dyslexic readers & ESOL students as well as students of all levels & abilities). 

This app has been a wonderful addition to our reading journey.  We have it available with us while we are out-and-about.  I cannot tell you how much this has helped her reading!  We can pull it out while waiting, work on the lessons, and we do this frequently.  The convenience of having a full reading curriculum with you where ever you go is so valuable.

I was very impressed by the sheer volume of lessons.  This is well worth the price tag (I know it may seem a little spendy at first, but - it is worth every penny!)  This app includes:

• All 52 McGuffey Primer lessons
• All 44 letter sounds of English and their graphemes
• 60+ letter sound animations
• 400+ practice word vocabulary
• 9000+ nonsense word audio dictionary
 

My tester was easily able to pick up and work on each lesson.  The full color graphics are great, and the audio components are clear and easy to understand.  It begins simply with letter and sound recognition, and advances to a First Grade reading level.   The repetition is a key concept, and this app makes it fun with games like loading the letters on a truck to spell the word,  when loaded your truck moves off.  She loved it.  It's a tried and true method, in a brand new package.  (I'm sure my grandmother, who learned to read with the original books would have loved it too!)

I love the multi-sensory approach, touching the words as you read them.  She had automatic feedback and audio reinforcement, such a key to unlocking her special learning style!  I was amazed at how effective this app was for reinforcing and building her confidence level as well.

Up to 10 users are allowed on the app, so you can use it with more than one student.

The only down-side I can see to this app... I may never get my iPhone back!

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ABeCeDarian Company : A TOS Crew Review

ABeCeDarian Company

From their website:
"ABeCeDarian Reading Program, a research-based, explicit, comprehensive, multi-sensory decoding program."  Key features include:

Explicit, comprehensive, multisensory phonics instruction

Sound blending and segmenting explicitly taught and practiced

Letter/Sound correspondences taught in the context of reading and spelling words

Letter sounds taught before letter names

Code knowledge organized by sounds with engaging sorting activities

No rules!

Precise practice routines and error correction procedures

Integrated handwriting and spelling instruction

Expert oral reading fluency practice

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Student Workbook A1 - $12.25
Teacher Manual A1 - $28.50
Set of 10 Storybooks - $21.50

Don't miss the FREE Supplemental Materials  and Samples pages!  Placements tests available to help you find the right level.

ABeCeDarian is divided into 4 levels:

1. Level A: for students reading at kindergarten through mid-1st grade level
2. Level B: for students reading at mid-1st grade through 2nd grade level
3. Level C: for students reading at 3rd and 4th grade level
4. Level D: for students reading at 5th and 6th grade level

Bentz Test Laboratory chose our 5 year old, pre-reader for this product.  She has just begun mastering letter sounds, and is eager to learn to read.

However,  for the first time... Bentz Test Laboratory has encountered a "special needs" meets "learning to read" student.   This particular child, does not learn the same way as my other children.  She and I have quickly discovered that we are going to need to learn a new path together.

It must have been God's hand that sent us ABeCeDarian to test at this exact moment in time!  We were both getting frustrated at each other, and our lack of progress in this area.  We put our old program aside, and picked up ABeCeDarian - Book 1A. 

Right away, I fell in love with the Teacher's Manual.  The author, Michael Bend Ph.D., speaks like a real person!  He clearly explains what to expect, what your child needs to decode well and the strategies used in this program.  I found it easy to follow along in, and in no time - my tester and I were opening the Student Book to begin.

It was like a miracle!  The simple page, the multisensory approach (using letter tiles from the Free supplemental materials page), plus the repetition all added up to instant success for her.  SHE WAS READING! (and spelling correctly too)  This was a huge confidence builder for both of us!  Trust me, we have tried other methods - but, ended up with frustration and disappointment both for her and myself.

"Tap-and-say", "turtle-talk & people talk", and writing/spelling practice all gave us a language to speak to each other that made complete sense.   The lessons were short and to the point.  There isn't a lot of distracting illustrations.    The Teacher Manual offered additional games and variations to use with the lesson.  By the end of the third unit - she was reading sentences, and in the fourth unit she began with the storybooks!

I can not stress enough how effective this program has been.  A key is presenting the letters organized by their sounds rather than by the letter.  Additionally, the repetition leads to fluency and not just mastery.   The Teacher Manual is a "script"  for you so you can easily follow along with to successfully teach each lesson - step by step.  

One huge takeaway for me that has helped us  - "Always end on perfect performance".
So, when she had a 100% correct - we were done. 

One of the best moments in homeschooling for me, is when my child begins to really "read" - and I am right there to watch the transformation take place.  ABeCeDarian was right there with us smoothing out our path.

This is a great program, and you can't beat the affordable price!

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