Q: Why do the Right Track Reading programs work so well in helping children learn to read? What are some of the advantages of the Right Track Reading programs over some of the other phonics programs? All programs claim they will help my child learn to read, what specifically does your program offer.
A: Several elements contribute to the effectiveness of the Right Track Reading programs.
1) The Right Track Reading programs apply the science of proficient reading and use a direct systematic phonics approach. See the FAQ about Right Track Reading Lessons approved as a direct systematic phonics program. Direct systematic phonics has been shown by validated research to be the most effective method of teaching children how to read. See the articles: Direct Systematic Phonics Proven Effective and The Facts: Direct Systematic Phonics IS the Most Effective way to teach children to read. For additional background information see the article Overview of Teaching Children to Read: Why Reading is Difficult and What You Need to Do to Make Sure Your Child Learns to Read Proficiently.
2) The Right Track Reading programs directly teach all the skills necessary to develop proficient reading. Reading is complex and requires the mastery, integration and application of various subskills. The most effective way to ensure a student learns all necessary skills is to directly teach them. For more information see the article Skills Necessary for Proficient Reading: Explanation of Foundational Skills to Develop Phonologic Processing and Higher Level Skills to Advance to Proficient Reading. Also see the FAQ about why Right Track Reading directly teaches all the skills.
3) The direct/explicit instruction techniques teach your child or student exactly what he needs to know. Each skill is directly taught to the child. The explicit instruction prevents problems that occur simply because the child inadvertently misses an essential skill. Additional information is found in the article More About Direct Instruction Methods in Teaching Reading and Why children Often Fail to Learn with Indirect Instruction
4) Systematic presentation makes it easier for the child to learn and master the complexities of our language. The systematic format manages the complexities of English, minimizes confusion and helps the student learn. The carefully planned systematic presentation allows the student time to learn, practice and master skills and knowledge.
5) Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons use a variety of carefully targeted multi-sensory activities to help the student learn the skills necessary for proficient reading. These activities use multi-sensory processes to directly reinforce correct directional tracking, develop phonemic awareness, create a direct and automatic link between the printed letter(s) and the correct sound, teach smooth sound blending, and establish correct phonologic processing. The activities with the ‘sound tiles’ allow the student to physically manipulate and actually ‘see’ the accurate phonemic structure of our language. By design, these multi-sensory activities require correct phonologic processing of the print. These activities help your child or student develop the correct phonologic neural pathways necessary for proficient reading. See the FAQ on sound tiles for additional information.
6) The material is presented in a student friendly manner. See the FAQ below explaining ‘kid friendly’.
7) Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons are easy-to-use. The well organized format, clear instructions and straightforward presentation is user friendly. Someone teaching reading for the first time can easily pick up the program and successfully teach a child to read. Usability is one of the key features of the program. Additionally, if you have any questions about the program or helping your child or student achieve reading success you can contact Miscese Gagen.
Q: What do you mean by the material is presented in a ‘kid-friendly’ or ‘student-friendly’ manner?
This means all the explanations and activities in the lessons were not just tested on children and students but actually developed based on what worked with these students. This program evolved out the author’s experiences working with students. The author used these experiences along with her “mom” expertise and insight to adapt materials to make them not only effective but understandable and enjoyable. This program was developed from the bottom up. Elements of the program instruction were specifically created to effectively helping children learn. Several elements contribute to the ‘student friendly’ approach.
- The program maintains the K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple & Straightforward) approach. All skills are directly taught to the child in a straightforward manner. Unnecessary elements such as complex lists of rules, coding schemes and involved program procedures are avoided. The direct instruction focuses on the precise skill the student needs to acquire and eliminates ‘extra’ steps. Not only does this make it easier for the child to learn, this makes the reading instruction more effective and efficient. The author believes the student should spend their time learning essential reading skills, not learning a program. If the instructional program is too complex, the student is squanders time and mental energy learning unnecessary elements and intricate program procedures.
- Program instruction was specifically designed to help the child or student learn. By working with children, the author observed common difficulties and developed solutions to these frequent problems. When a student struggled, she made changes in her instruction to help the child learn. By maintaining the principle of “How can I teach this so he or she can learn” the author developed highly effective instruction techniques. For example, she came up with a technique to help a child avoid or overcome the common letter confusion with b,d, and p.
- Explanations and instructions are given to the child in a clear and understandable manner. The program avoids potentially confusing technical terminology that is meaningless to most students. The program uses understandable terms and clear explanations in all instruction such as “please write the buddy letters (or partner letters for older students) ‘sh’ while you say the /sh/ sound” instead of potentially confusing language such as “please encode the proper consonant digraph for the phoneme /sh/”. The clear instruction and understandable terms help the student learn.
- The lessons include a mix of activities to keep student interested and engaged. The lessons move from one activity to the next. The lessons move from sound introduction, to sound writing, to sound practice, to word making, and then to reading practice.
- The activities are enjoyable. Students especially enjoy the word making and sound changing games with the ‘sound tiles’. The program uses a mix of ‘fun games’ to help younger children learn their sounds. For example, the ‘sound memory’, ‘stack the sound’, ‘fishing for sounds’ are all fun ways to help young children practice the direct printed letter=sound relationship.
- Although the presentation is student friendly and students enjoy the activities, the author has found the strongest motivator is simply success. This is especially apparent in the students who struggle with their reading. Nothing motivates a student more than going from “I can’t read” to realizing “Not only can I do this, but I’m good at this”. The program teaches the student what he needs to know so he can succeed. This true success provides the necessary motivation and encouragement that causes the students to look forward to their ‘reading lessons’.
These questions were answered by Miscese Gagen a mother with a passion for teaching children to read proficiently by using effective methods. She is also a successful reading tutor and author of the reading instructional programs Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons. The purpose of this article is to empower parents and teachers with information on teaching children how to read. We CAN improve reading proficiency, one student at a time! More information is located at www.righttrackreading.com ~ Copyright 2004-2013 Miscese R. Gagen
