When Elana started the program in July of 2016, she was able to read short words, but couldn’t decode long but simple words. She loved stories and always enjoyed having me read to her, but constantly avoided reading herself and would only do so when strongly urged. Now, less than a year after we started, Elana’s reading (as well as her confidence in her ability to read) has tremendously improved – from a DRA reading level of 4 last summer to about 20 or 24. (Note that her reading level will be assessed at the end of the school year. I’m guessing her current level based on the books she can now read). She now picks up books from the library (often chapter books) she wants to read on her own.
We’re so glad to have stumbled upon the Easyread website when we were desperate to find a solution to Elana’s reading problem last summer. Elana and I still have a lot of work to do to improve her reading skills, but the task no longer seems as daunting as it did just a year ago.
Here’s what we liked about the program:
• The Trainer Text really worked!
• The Eyetracking exercises really worked too! Amazing that it made such a big difference after just 10 days!
• Elana absolutely LOVED the prizes! She can’t wait for the helicopter
• She really liked the games the first few months. The games really helped get her interested in the program and continue with it.
• She loved playing the extra game, Eggi.
Here’s a list of what she didn’t like as much:
• She wasn’t crazy about the Writing Lab. She couldn’t type yet (she’s only 7) and doing this exercise stressed her out. We ended up skipping it a lot.
• She really liked Type Race because it taught her to type. She was unhappy about Spell Race though when it started because she thought that she had to type fast to do well in it. At first, I was doing the typing as she spelled the words on paper. Then eventually I was able to convince her that speed was not important.
• Except for Mole Whacker, she didn’t like doing the games after a few months. They got too repetitive for her.
Overall, it was a really great experience! We always recommend Easyread whenever we hear of a child having reading difficulties.
Thank you so much!
J