The Reading Lesson: Teach Your Child to Read in 20 Easy Lessons Volume 1

By Charan Langton and Michael Levin

Book Overview

Teach your child to read -- in just 20 lessons, 15 minutes a day.

The Reading Lesson is the simple, at-home program that has helped more than 200,000 families turn restless preschoolers and kindergartners into confident young readers. And here's the part that surprises parents most: you don't need any special training, and it won't take over your life. Fifteen unhurried minutes a day (less than a bedtime story ) is all it takes.

You don't have to know how to teach reading. The book does the teaching for you. Every word you need to say is printed right on the page, so you simply sit beside your child and follow along. No prep, no planning, no stress -- just a few easy minutes that slip into the day you already have.

And the payoff is real. While other kids are still learning their letters, yours will be sounding out words and reading little stories, walking into the classroom already ahead. From the very first lesson, your child won't just learn letters; they'll feel the thrill of "I can do this " That early win is what keeps them coming back lesson after lesson and what gives you the confidence that you've got this.

Why parents choose The Reading Lesson

Most reading programs are long, intimidating, or hard to follow. This one was built for real parents and real attention spans:

● 20 lessons, not 100. A clear, finishable path from first sounds to a second-grade reading level.
● Uncluttered pages designed to delight young children and hold their focus.
● Your part is spelled out. You always know exactly what to say and do -- no lesson planning, no prep.
● A proven phonics method with simple sound guides that make "sounding out" finally click -- even tricky pairs like b and d.
● Just 15 minutes a day. Gentle, low-pressure, and designed to stop before your child gets bored.

What a lesson actually looks like

As often as you choose, you'll sit down with your child for ten to fifteen minutes. Each lesson introduces a few new letters and a small set of key words, then puts them right to work in short stories your child can actually read. Special sound bars under the letters guide your child through blending -- the moment when separate sounds snap together into a word. For little ones, two or three pages a day is plenty; older children can do a bit more. There's no rush. The whole program is built so you can stop the moment attention fades and pick up again tomorrow.

While you might worry you'll "do it wrong", you can't This is the part that surprises families most: you don't need to know how to teach reading. The book carries the lesson -- your job is simply to sit beside your child, follow the page, and celebrate the wins. If a lesson feels too fast, you slow down. If your child isn't quite ready, you set it aside for a few weeks and come back. It's forgiving by design, and impossible to fall behind on.

The science behind the program

Developed by pediatrician and child psychiatrist Michael Levin, MD, The Reading Lesson is rooted in the phonics-first approach at the heart of the science of reading, with key-word recognition added to build real fluency. It's developmentally appropriate for ages 3 to 8 and has been used successfully with early readers and children who learn differently.

What to expect

Throughout the program, your child is always reading, not just memorizing. Every new letter and word is used immediately in a real little story. Roughly 300 key words form the backbone of the course, building steadily from single sounds to full sentences. Finish the program and your child will read at approximately a second-grade level.

Frequently asked questions
● What age is this for? Ages 3 to 8 -- pre-K through early elementary. We don't recommend trying to teach reading before age three.
● How long does it take? About 15 minutes a day. At this pace, most families move through a lesson every week or two at a comfortable pace.
● Do I need anything else? No. Everything you need is in the book - no extra software or practice books required.
● My child already knows some letters, is that a problem? Not at all. The early lessons turn letter knowledge into actual reading, which is where most kids get stuck.

Keep the momentum going

The Reading Lesson is the cornerstone of a complete early-learning series. When your child is ready for more, the companion Word Book, handwriting, and early-math titles carry the same simple, parent-friendly approach forward.

Give your child the confidence that comes from reading early. Start Lesson One today

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0913063029
• ISBN13: 9780913063026
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Mountcastle Company
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 2.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.3" x 10.7"

Customer Reviews

Wish I’d gotten this sooner

I am thrilled to have come upon this treasure. This was one of five different books relating to how to teach my child to read. The others were just so much work to even understand. This one simple. I appreciate simple. This one also works, what’s not to love?

Systematic, incremental phonics based reading instruction and practice. Excellent!

I use this to tutor children who are struggling to read. The pages are uncluttered, the print is large, and students can be reading sentences in the very first lesson. They love it! There is regular review of sounds and words arranged indifferent ways: random, word families (rhyming), phrases, stories, etc. Plus there are matching exercises, printing practice pages, and coloring opportunities.

best book in teaching my son to learn to read phonetically, not be sight. love it, and recommend it feted to other parents.

Just plain great book!

I am now teaching my fourth child to read. I used the "100 Lesson" book with the first one, the "Phonics Pathways" with the second one and "the Reading Lesson" with last two. If you are reading this to try to decide on which book to purchase, this one - The Reading Lesson - in my opinion is right on the mark for younger children. The lessons are teeny-tiny and easy for younger child. The CD-ROM really helps because it is so wonderfully entertaining for the child but very goal-oriented.Phonics Pathways book should be used only for an older child or one who had difficulties learning to read. It is just too much for a young child. It uses a lot of rhyming pharases and that in my opinion in not the best way to learn to read. Words in reading do not often rhyme. Rhyming also encouraes guessing. The pages of Phonics Pathways are jam packed with words and "stuff". On one page I counted over 200 words! All of these words new to the child. No wonder my son hated looking at this book. Definitely not for a younger child. The 100 Lessons book is good BUT this book - The Reading Lesson - is better. One of the complaints I had with "100 Lessons" book is that when you look at a page, it is 80% instructions for the parent and only just a few words for the child to read, except when reading stories when there is too much on the page for the child to read. The "100 Lessons" book lacks balance in my opinion. I noticed that one of the reviewers said that they liked the "100 Lesson" book, however this reviewer from what she says never saw the this book, only the web site. How can you give a book 3 stars after just seeing the website! Strange!!! I think if you see how the Reading Lesson book is arranged, you won't want to buy the 100 Lessons book. (I bought the book at Borders never having read any of these reviews!)This book is a gem. Easy to use, and a pleasure and hands down best of the lot of books designed to teach children to read.

How I taught my 2 and a half year old to read.

I have taught three children to read trying various methods at different stages in their development. After researching & almost one thousand dollars on reading programs I finally settled on "Teach Your Child to Read in 20 Easy Lessons" for my two year old son. My research has led me to several conclusions, among which are: * Different types of reading programs may work better at different stages in your child's development. For example, "How to Teach Your Baby to Read" by Glenn & Janet Doman, works best for children under two. * If your child is approximately 4 years or older and DOES NOT HAVE ANY LETTER RECOGNITION, then a program like "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons" may work best. * Hooked on phonics may work well for children over the age of six who already have some reading skills, but are having problems. * Bob First (Scholastic) books are good for kids 4 and up. Younger kids may have problems with the Bob First books because the print is too small. * Do NOT teach the alphabet to kids under 3 years old. They will learn to read more easily if instead, starting with lower case letters, you first teach the sounds a letter makes. They can easily pick up the names of the letters once they are well into their reading program. The first lesson in the 20 Easy Lessons book starts by introducing your child to the sounds made by five of the most commonly used letters in the 500 most commonly used words of the English language. Whereas the book recommends spending up to 5 minutes on one page, I only spent about 15 seconds per session and two sessions per day, for a total of 30 seconds per day. Just long enough to point out the letters and say the sounds. The first couple of times (I introduce any new concept) I do not ask my child to repeat anything. The next couple of sessions, I asked my child to repeat after me while I pointed to the letters. After another couple of sessions, your child will be saying the letter sounds as you point to the letters. After a few days, we were going through half a page a day, and repeating each page two or three times. After a month of this, you will be able to cover one page at a time (instead of half pages). Every so often, the book has a worksheet that may not be developmentally appropriate for your child (e.g., matching letter sounds to a picture of an animal that starts with the same sound). Skip these worksheets if your child is too young. My child is on lesson 7 and can easily read sentences like "Pam got a fish in the pet shop. The cat wants the fish, but the cat can not swim." He is able to read words that he doesn't know by sounding them out. I few more tips to consider. * Do not teach your child if either of you are in a bad mood, hungry, or distracted in any way. * Get rid of all distractions during a lesson (e.g., T.V., radio, ringing phones, talking people, etc.) * Teach your child every day, including weekends. * Make the lessons short. Start with 10 to 15 seconds per sessi

A READING PROGRAM WELL WORTH THE MONEY

I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking to give their child a head start in reading. I purchased the book along with the CD-ROM for my 5 yr. old daughter. She enjoys the reading lesson so much that she reminds me daily, "it's time for the reading lesson". Before purchasing the reading lesson I downloaded the first two lessons (free) from thereadinglesson.com website and my daughter was thrilled that she knew how to read. Prior to the reading lesson my daughter had trouble remembering words and letter sounds. But just after a few lessons she would remember words and sounds easily. We read 3-4 pages a day for maybe 15 minutes. It's been about a month and a half and my daughter is now on lesson eight and reading (words in lesson eight) with minimal help. She also just had her interview for kindergarten and her teacher was amazed at how much she knew. Each lesson begins with brief instructions and tips on reading. I would suggest purchasing the book along with the CD-ROM (not only because it's fun) but the child would learn the correct way to sound out letters. The program is so simple with amazing results!

The Reading Lesson

My grandson Luke, age 6, started to learn how to read this past year in kindergarten. I wanted to help him increase his skills over the summer and found "The Reading Lesson" on the internet. There were 2 chapters to download to see if you would like the book. I tried them out on Luke and he loved them. We are now on Chapter 5 and Luke's skills have skyrocketed! We also got the companion CD. I use this as his reward for finishing a chapter. The CD reinforces what you learn in the book. It is very pleasing to a child, with easy to understand word exercises and games. One of Luke's favorites is the fishing boat game on the CD. This book is an excellent tool for very early readers or a great companion for beginning school readers. If your child is ready to read, this book is a must! It has everything you need to help your child learn to read. I also think this book would be excellent for teaching adults to read. Can't say enough about the book. GREAT!

The Reading Lesson - Excellent Tool for Guided Reading

Hello. I am a second grade teacher and I would like to share my experience with this reading program, The Reading Lesson. The Reading Lesson is an excellent way to supplement any primary grade reading program. It carefully covers all necessary phonics, thus guiding the beginning student in phenomic awareness and reinforcing the letter-sound relationships to remedial readers. Because it is easy for first and second graders to use and they enjoy it (The children in my class love this program) they can work on it independently, I use it during center time. I like the way the program uses a finger to help the student "read through" the words. I do this in my guided reading groups so the reinforcement in a computer program is very helpful. Even if there are no computers in your classroom the workbooks are well thought out, organized by sounds, and the letters are big. Another great part about this program is that it contains almost all of the sight words we teach in the primary grades, so even students who know sounds can use it to practice their sight words. Basically, I am very pleased with this product and it has added a lot to my reading program. I have seen big improvments in my student's reading and know The Reading Program is the reason for some of this success.