The Reading Lesson is a bestselling program that teaches young children
to read in 20 easy lessons. It is designed as a step-by-step course for
parents who want to teach their young children to read at home. The
teaching method is based on phonics and key-word recognition, and with
its innovative and guided approach, the 20 step-by-step lessons provide
an easy-to-follow recipe for teaching children to read. Developed by
pediatrician Michael Levin, the program has also been used successfully
for children with disabilities.
How do I use the Reading Lesson?
There are twenty lessons in this book. Each lesson takes about two weeks
to complete (with about 15 minutes of study per day). Before starting a
lesson, we suggest that you read the instructions for that lesson. Each
lesson begins with an introduction and a description of how to proceed.
For example, lesson two introduces the letters "m", "d", and "r". At the
beginning of the lesson, there is an introduction with some words of
advice and thoughts on how to go through the sounds of those letters and
how to read them in words.
Each lesson consists of words, exercises and short stories. When reading
the words, ask the child to tell you what the word means. Before you
read the story, read the title and talk a little bit about the content
of the story. Approximately 300 key words form the basis of reading
skills in this course. Each lesson introduces a set of key words. Your
child should learn them well before you proceed to the next lesson,
since these words are used in later lessons.
For many young readers (including children who are familiar with the
alphabet), the letters in words seem to melt together. The instructions
in Lesson One teach the child basic sound blending. The special
typography and font style the book uses will help your child to identify
and separate the letters she already knows. These bars, dots, and
special graphics are there as guides and are used to blend the sounds
into words. This process is called "sounding out". At first, blending is
difficult for most children. You will need to help the child but he will
get better at it with practice.
How fast should I go through the book?
The length and the pace of the daily lessons will vary with your child's
age and abilities. We suggest the following schedule: For children under
five, one page per day will suffice and maintain their concentration on
the lesson. For children between five and six, two to three pages per
day will be sufficient. For children over six, three or more pages per
day will be fine.
Children have a very short attention span. Try to keep each lesson under
fifteen minutes, and spend no more than five to seven minutes per page.
If your child is young, don't rush! Work at a leisurely and comfortable
pace. Remember: you have plenty of time to complete the course and, if
necessary, to go back and repeat the course before your child starts
reading instruction in school.
How old should my child be when we start the Reading Lesson?
The book is meant for children between the ages of 3 and 8. We do not
suggest that you try to teach a child under the age of three to read.
Contrary to some books that suggest that you can teach infants to read,
there is no proof that such a thing is possible. Children need certain
developmental skills before they can read. Flashing cards with letters
and words at a baby is a fun thing to do and makes us feel like good
parents, but it does not work!
The Reading Lesson is a totally developmentally appropriate course that
is easy to follow, and makes learning to read fun for parents and kids.
The book is an easy and cheap solution to teaching your children to read
at home, and has been a success with families all around the world. Give
it a try - you're sure to love it.