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Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is a complete, step-by-step program that shows parents simply and clearly how to teach their children to read. Twenty minutes a day is all you need, and within 100 teaching days your child will be reading on a solid second-grade reading level. It's a sensible, easy-to-follow, and enjoyable way to help your child gain the essential skills of reading. The entire program is contained in one volume.
Website: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
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(25 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: Not colorful
Grades Used: PreK5
My daughter started showing signs of reading readiness after watching her sister become proficient at reading (public school), so I asked her if she wanted me to teach her to read. She did. I picked up a used copy of this book on the recommendation of an experienced homeschool mom who had used it successfully with several of her children. When I first looked through the book after reading the parent section I thought it was going to be kind of a drag—no color and lots of funky symbols used to help children learn the sounds gave me pause. I went ahead with it anyway since it is a classic go to for many homeschooling families. I’m glad I did! My daughter just loves working in this book. She tells people that it’s her “very special book for reading lessons.” She is happy to do lessons from it each day and will ask for it if we haven’t done it yet by the afternoon. She has gotten to the point where she can read small words she encounters out in her daily life, and we are just around halfway done. I have found this book to be an effective, inexpensive resource for teaching my child to read and will save it for my youngest.
Cons: Negative motivation language and big, floppy book
Grades Used: preschool
I used this method with all five of my now grown sons and for my older grandaughter and am coaching a daughter-in-law to use it. The book fell apart after the second child and was hard for little hands to hold, so I made cards of the phonemes and used them as flash cards. And rewrote the stories too. I did not use the negative motivation "bet you can't" language used in the book since I wanted to teach in a positive manner. And I also did not do writing with the reading lesson. Kept them short-- ten minutes or less and did much more repetition after the first time through with my oldest son. With rereading the stories until they came easily-- maybe another two to three times, readling a small group of 3-5 stories each day, by the time the kids got to about lesson 75, they were reading other things. No reading program is going to be exciting, but this one is silly and with extra repetition, is always easy for the kids.
Cons: Kids need self discipline; parents need patience
Grades Used: PK
I’m on my third child with this book. Every thing in the title is true except for “Easy”. The last 40 lessons are hard (or long) every time.
My middle child needed a lot of extra help and patience learning. I added soon card and a spell to reading game for him. My oldest and youngest took to it easier, but they are both more verbally inclined.
All of my children did this as part of my homeschool pre-school. 2 will finish at age 4, one at 5. All read well above grade level and have a love of reading that I expect to last a lifetime. One child could read independently before kindergarten and the second child by mid-term of his K year.
My kids go to public school for elementary where the other students learn to read horribly boring text by sight words. “Teach Your Child to Read...” is so much less boring than the drivel the school sends for homework in K and 1st grades. My kids are good readers and we skip the homework. I think my kids would hate reading if I let them learn using our schools method and texts.
Even though it isn’t easy and requires discipline on the child’s part and patience from the parent, I find this book a treasure that I’m very grateful for!
Cons: It's boring.
Grades Used: K
It's been almost a month and my 5 year old can read a decent amount of words. It is honestly a struggle though. She has a serious case of ants in the pants, so it's extremely hard for her to pay attention. She seems to respond better if I write out the lesson in colorful markers or sometimes I write it out on the driveway in colorful chalk. Then it's just a matter of getting her to take a few seconds here and there to look and sound out words. We are usually done within 10 min- if I can get her undivided attention. With patience, we will get through it and she will do well. Be prepared to spice it up a bit for your own though.
Cons: Stories are somewhat lame
Grades Used: Pre K - 1
I used this book with all three of my children, between the ages of three and six. (My oldest couldn't wait to learn to read at three years old, otherwise, I would recommend waiting until they are ready.) This curriculum is easy to use, has a strong phonics base and is effective. Each lesson is broken up into reading/phonics instruction, reading comprehension and penmanship. Because I used another curriculum for penmanship, I used this book strictly for the reading and comprehension. Each of my children were reading at a solid second grade level after completion, and transitioned easily to the McGuffey Readers that I used for follow up. All of my children (ages 18, 11 and 7) enjoy reading. My two oldest are voracious readers, and have not had any problems, even with advanced literature. My youngest (7) reads nicely from his McGuffey Reader, which uses a wide vocabulary. It is very easy to use, as it is scripted for the parent. You can literally pick it up and use it once you have read the introduction at the beginning of the book. The only thing you need to prepare for each lesson is to cover up the picture until they have completed the story and you are ready to move on to the comprehension questions. The only downside to this book is that the stories are kind of lame, for the parent anyway! My kids thought they were silly, though, and seemed to enjoy them. After going through the book three times, I was glad to be done with it, but that's just me! Overall, I highly recommend this curriculum, and found it to be a good fit for our family. (Note: I also used Riggs Institute phonogram cards after completion to cover any of the rare blends that were not in the book.)
Cons: not for advanced students?
Grades Used: K
This program might not work for everyone but it was perfect for our last child. When he was ready (and I tried it when he was 5 and no go) we whipped through the lessons. LOVED the scripted format with him sitting on the couch beside me. It really does teach them to read and in the beginning you don't see how it will work, even for the reluctant learner. But it DID.
Cons: A bit tedious for the child
Grades Used: 1
This book was just what my son needed to start reading. I was nervous that he was starting first grade unable to read, but this program helped him move along really fast. He was soo ready, while other phonics programs were going too slow for him and he just wanted to read! There was some slight confusion with some long vowels being introduced early when a supplemental program I was using only used short vowels, but he seemed to work it out pretty quickly.
Cons: can get boring
Grades Used: k
If you're nervous about teaching your child to read and the task is daunting, then 100 Lessons is an excellent resource. The book is scripted, which takes away the stress of wondering if you're doing it right. And, although it can get boring for the kids as there is no color or flashy pages, I actually found this to work in our favor as my daughter got used to simple formats and responds well to my own homemade worksheets. It was also good for her to see that sometimes we have to work hard and press through to gain the benefits. There was great satisfaction from both of us when she finished the book and was reading far better than other kids her age and older.
Cons: not complete LA book
Grades Used: k
I used this with all three of my children. It lays a very good foundation for sounding out words and getting children, even from different learning styles, to a second grade reading level in a few months. After this, you need to teach children the rules of spelling, but the reading part will come easily. With my global learning daughter, I needed to offer more support in the process by sounding words out and having her repeat what I did. You may need to adapt it for your child, but the beauty is that adapting is not difficult. Just make sure your child is ready to learn to read, and don't jump the gun because some children were able to do this process at age three. My children were 5 (girls) or 6 (son) before I used this.
Cons: still looking for one
Grades Used: 1st- 2nd
I give this book a high rating, because now that my youngest is 16, this is one curriculum they have had fond memories of using!It is one book I am saving for using with grandchildren.
Several other reviewers are accurate in their descriptions of how 100 Lessons works. When my girls were finished with the lesson, there were several stacks of library books and a set of Pathway readers to choose from. We also used Samuel Blumenfield's Alpha Phonics for extra phonics instruction.
I think a huge key to using this book and any curriculum, is waiting until your child is ready to learn. 2 of my girls were 6, the other, 7 1/2. My youngest was 3/4 of the way through the book, when she began reading simple readers. (I don't think she ever finished 100 Easy Lessons.)
Today, they are all avid readers and do very well when reading aloud.I have always felt 100 Easy Lessons took the "mystery" out of learning to read and gave them a good foundation.
Cons: it's not amazingly fun but face it learning to read is hard work, at least in our family. I have found that it is more fun to teach , it to 2 children together even if the second child isn't quite ready.
Grades Used: all, we are late bloomers
I recomend this book mostly for ease of use and cost!
Cons: a little dry
Grades Used: Pre-K, K, 2nd
I love 100 Easy Lessons, because it works!
I have used it with two of my children who were struggling to read, one of whom came out of the public school after undergoing intense sight reading instruction.
I also loaned it to a friend whose child had fallen below grade level in reading in her 2nd grade public school class. Her mom tutored her with 100 Easy Lessons over one summer. When school started up again, the reading specialist sent home a note saying that she was amazed at the progress she saw, and that her daughter was now easily reading above her grade level.
Grades Used: K,1ST
I USED THIS BOOK FOR MY DAUGHTER THAT WAS STUGGLING WITH LEARNING TO READ AND WITH THE REPETION IN THE BOOK SHE LEARNED TO READ SUCCESSFULLY AND FELT VERY PROUD OF HERSELF FOR HER ACCOMPLISHMENT.
Cons: not interesting,
Grades Used: k, 1st
3 kids, it worked for first born daughter. She did not need to go to the end of the book, (thank goodness) but was off and running about 2/3 way through. Son came next and did not click with him. Tried next daughter and it helped a bit.
Cons: boring,
Grades Used: K4-5
I tried this book with two of my children and neither one of them liked it. I like the fact that they practice handwriting on the sound that they learned for that lesson. I lent the book out and haven't missed it through three other children learning to read.
Cons: silly stories, but my children loved reading them
Grades Used: PreK-1st
I have found a need to always test each child for a true readiness to learn reading. If they are not ready after a few lessons of testing, we come back and start again at a later date. No matter what, I have found the initial excitement wears off after several lessons and it is work to press through until they regain the excitement of really reading which does not take long when you consider it is only 100 lessons.
Scripted lessons give consistent results. Children learn to hear and speak individual sounds of words which is actually vitally important to reading and spelling. They also learn to blend correctly and hear the sounds and then say them "fast" to pronounce the word sounded out right from the beginning. They learn to rhyme. I always play the sounding out "game" in the car while we are in the early part of the book. It really helps reinforce what they are learning and passes the time profitably.
Each lesson ends with sounds writing which gives a hands on element to the lessons. We always do this with a dry erase lap board which has beginner writing lines on one side. We got it a walmart years ago.
Both my daughters are above grade level readers with excellent expression. This is the evaluation of our homeschool overseer, and observation of many friends. My son is just beginning the book this year and doing well.
Phonics Pathways is an excellent follow up to this book for more nitty gritty phonics "rules".
Grades Used: Pre-K to K
I started this with both my sons in pre-k and quit each time because they were not ready. We finally made it through with my oldest who is now in 3rd grade and a great reader. My current Kindergartner and I have taken a break from it with plans to return. It is just moving too fast for him. He cannot make it through one lesson in the 20 minute time limit. We tried to break it into 2 20 minutes sessions, but he was still struggling. I do plan to return to it when I think he is ready. I think the book is a great start to phonics. The boys do love the pictures and funny stories.
Cons: not very fun, slow for some students
Grades Used: prek,K
I have used this for my three oldest kids. Each child is different. My oldest did great with it and was reading by lesson 50. We breezed through it. My 2nd we started it about three times and then I just gave up using it with her. I think it helped her a little bit get how to sound out words but she pretty much taught herself. My third, we are using it now. This is about the 3rd time we stated it but she loves it now. I stated when she was 4 like my other 2 but she got bored and didn'tlike it. now she is 5 and she loves doing it. She is very excited to be reading stories. Sometimes though if it gets long or if she is getting a little bored or has worked really hard we split the lesson in two and do the story reading the next day. That makes the lessons not too long. The directions say that it should only take 20 min but sometimes it takes uslonger so splitting it is good for us.
Cons: hard to find distar system materials to go to the next level
my child has dyslexia.I was desperate,everything else I tried failed.I felt the price was hefty for 1 book on our buget but decided to try it anyway.My heart sank when I received it because I thought there was no way it would work but IT DID!
Cons: moves slowly, boring
Grades Used: PreK-1st
This did not work for my son, after the first 10 lessons he was hopelessly bored and didn't want to learn to read! The illustrations are funny but it moves too slowly.
Cons: not fun, very boring and repetative
Grades Used: k
We tried this because it was cheep and everyone recommended it. But it just wasn't fun. Neither my son nor I enjoyed it one bit, so it didn't last. But that doesn't mean it wont work for you because many of my friends have used it successfully with their kids.
Grades Used: N/A
Although it has been quite a few years since I used this curriculum, I keep the book for my grandkids. When I wasn't homeschooling my children, I was using other programs to add to their education. When my son was in "pre-1st", the public school told me he wasn't learning to read. I taught my son to read in this book within two months time of working on it daily. It is thorough and complete in my estimation of teaching the sounds of each letter and starting where a child can make sense of their reading right away. It reminds me of how I was taught phonics in the 60s. This truly is a phonics program and works easily and well.
I have a kinesthetic learner, and he did not like this book. Everyone I knew told me this book was very easy to use and worked. Each time I tried it with my son, he would say "not again". He got bored very easily with this book. I think it is basically for visual and auditory learners, definitely not kinesthetic!
Grades Used: Kindergarten
Wish I had used this with my older child, too. It has been amazing watching my younger son learn to read!
Cons: it teaches Phonetically at first
Grades Used: First Grade (currently)
I actually JUST wrote about this on my website and blog!
It actually misspells things at first (meaning writing the words (and the Alphabet!) as they sound, not as they are really written) and then switches over to the correct method. I didn't have much interest or want of using this type of curriculum since I am a firm believer of learning the correct way since the beginning, but as of now, we are only on lesson 12; and she has improved at least about 60% if I'd have to scale it for you in 2 weeks and only in about 20 minutes a day!!
The book uses incorrect spelling that uses sounds that are read such as "mmmmm"for M, instead of saying M it's called MMMMM.
The "letter” ssssssss (make the sssss sound) for S and so on. This altered orthography is a modified form of the standard long and short sounds of the alphabet.
I found this system very, very useful right away, even after the first 3 lessons! She learns what sounds the letters make and make together after learning what each letter sounds like individually, this way she is learning to read the word through sounds instead of guessing (which she is slowly getting out of the habit of doing) what the word really is or associating it with a picture. It is the fundamentals of letter sounds that helps her to learn to read correctly so I'm hoping it continues to go well and I can get her out of that 'guessing' the word.