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All About Reading is a multisensory, mastery-based program that starts with essential pre-reading skills and continues on to teach all five key components of reading. This complete program teaches phonics, decoding, fluency, and comprehension in a fun and engaging way. Suitable for all ages and learning styles!
Website: All About Reading
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(33 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: expensive
Grades Used: Level 1 and 2, Grade K
I have used Levels 1 and 2 this year and love how easy this program is to pick up and teach. My daughter has come a long way this year in reading. She loves the program and looks forward to it each day. The hands on activities are her favorite. I would prefer that there weren't so many activites that get cut into such tiny pieces but I think those might be the ones she likes best. After trying several reading programs I can honestly say that All About Reading is by far the best.
We are using all about reading level 2. My son loves it. He is always asking to get out the activities to just play with them. He loves reading the stories and will read them to anyone who will listen. I Iove how easy the lessons are. As a first time homeschooler I really wanted something that would walk me through the lessons. He's really learned the rules for reading so when he comes to a word he doesn't know he can use the rules we learned to sound it out. I can't wait to use the pre-readers level next year with our second child and move on the level 3 with my oldest.
Cons: more expensive than some programs, slower than some programs
Grades Used: First and Third
I am using the Level 2 All About Reading with my 1st and 3rd grader. My 3rd grader started with it at the beginning of the year. She is a challenged reader, who would probably test dyslexic. We have tried 2 phonics programs before this one (Hooked on Phonics and Abeka) and after years of struggle made very slow progress and a very frustrated student. Using this program, she has a much easier time and feels good about her reading. It is slower in its presentation of new sounds and blends and more expensive than the other 2 programs we tried, but since 1) it works and 2) it is fun, it is very worth it. Her sister is a good reader, who went through the first grade Hooked on Phonics easily, but she likes AAR2 MUCH better. She can go quickly through the exercises and doesn't need as much review but still loves using the tiles, writing on the dry erase board, doing the games, feeding her flashcards to the tissue box monster she made, and reading the fun stories. I think that this is a great program for students who read easily and for those who are challenged.
Cons: Price
Grades Used: Pre-Reading and Level 1
I cannot say enough great things about All About Reading. I did the full Pre-Reading program with my son, and even though he already knew his letters and letter sounds before we started, he was completely engaged the entire time. I originally thought using Ziggy would be silly and pointless, but my kids are IN LOVE WITH ZIGGY!! They beg for him to come out and 'help' with school. My son breezed through pre-reading and is now halfway through level 1. He even looked over my shoulder while we were doing level 1 and realized there was Ziggy activities we were not doing (the supplemental book) and begged for me to purchase the extra book so that we could do more!! The support I've received from AAR is great too--I contacted them when he was struggling getting through the Fluency Practice Sheets and they gave me so many ideas to use. He now has no problems with them at all. I tell every new homeschooling family how much we love the program and am very glad we chose it. My daughter is now using pre-reading and it is just as engaging the second time around and even though both kids are very different learners, it is successful with both!
Grades Used: Pre-K
My daughter just finished the pre-reading program. She started the program knowing her letter sounds, but unable to understand rhymes, count syllables, etc. She immediately was excited about the program (and Ziggy) and was always excited to do the lessons...she found them fun and refers to them as "playing Ziggy's games". I quickly saw significant improvement in her understanding of rhymes and her ability to name words that start with each letter. By the end of the program, she had an excellent pre-reading foundation, and is now sounding out words. We tried sounding out words before the pre-reading program and she just could not grasp the concept; now she can do it without any trouble. I recommend the pre-reading program without any hesitation, and I look forward to trying the next level of AAR!
Cons: Expensive
Grades Used: Level 1
I absolutely love this program. It is so easy to teach, just grab and go. It's not too easy for my son, but I can go at his pace. I do as much in one day as he can handle. There is a lot of review built in and fun little games that keep him interested. I said expensive was a con, but honestly it is worth every penny.
Cons: Too many little cut out games
Grades Used: 2nd
My daughter did not like reading and had only gotten frustrated with everything we had tried. She loved All About Reading, and her reading has taken off since we started using the program. She likes the stories and doesn't complain about doing her reading lessons, which is a nice change.
We finished level 2 and have moved onto level 3 already this year. I love that we've found something that she enjoys. My only criticism, and it's small, is that the majority of the activity book is little cut out pieces to games and such. While we like the games, a few go a long way. My daughter much prefers the pages where you get to write on the page or cut and then glue onto the page. I'd like to see more worksheets that remain intact in that way and a few less pieces.
Cons: none
Grades Used: K, 1, 2, 3
I had a struggling reader and had tried 3 different reading curriculum that had good reputations. Each time we would get to lesson 80 or so and my child would be in tears and still was not reading. In desperation I tried All About Reading. My child loved the curriculum. There were never tears. My daughter has been through level 3 now and her reading comprehension on the CAT test was a 6th grade level. She reads the Bible to us every night and loves to read chapter books. My younger daughter is now going through the program and it is working just as well with her (although she doesn't struggle with reading she enjoys the fun activities). I believe this is the absolute best curriculum on the market (and I have tried so many). I wish All About Learning Press made grammar and math curriculum too because their teacher's guides are the absolute best! We also use All About Spelling and will purchase All About Reading Level 4 when it comes out.