Ben is thoroughly enjoying Easyread. We rarely have to prompt him to do his lesson, in fact it is usually him prompting us!
Although you say that you would’nt normally see an improvement in normal reading at this stage, we have see an improvement. He is still guessing but when we indicate that he has read a word incorrectly he will immediately stop to decode the word. I have seen small signs of him starting to flick through the different sounds a letter or group of letters may make, eliminating the wrong ones until he finds the correct word. This has only happened a couple of times but is definitely new and I am sure a result of his Easyread learning.
Most importantly, Ben’s confidence with reading has improved significantly. He will now choose to read in situations where he would never have done so previously – silly things like the cereal box or posters we pass in the street – but still reading. Previously he would frequently nag us to read messages on his DS games. Now he reads them himself and often asks what words mean which is also new. He chooses to read books to us at bedtime rather than insisting we read to him.
So all in all, we are delighted with Easyread and so is Ben. The only person who isn’t is his sister who is a fantastic reader and feels a little left out! Thank you so much.
-Karen