Review: The Reading Lesson Book

Although our daughter was a precocious reader—beginning her journey just a month shy of her third birthday—I am committed to providing her with every available resource to refine her literacy. While All About Reading remains our primary curriculum, I was curious to see if The Reading Lesson could offer a unique supplementary perspective. This substantial volume is comprised of twenty lessons, each prefaced by a dedicated teacher’s guide that clarifies specific phonetic pronunciations. I particularly appreciated the introductory section that distinguishes between letters, words, and sentences; it’s a foundational concept that many programs overlook, assuming the child already understands the structural hierarchy of a page.

The curriculum utilizes a "blending" approach, starting with two-letter combinations before graduating to full words. I was quite surprised to encounter the "th" digraph as early as Lesson Three. The book takes an unorthodox approach to high-frequency words like "the"; rather than treating it as a sight word, it suggests the "e" is silent and should be skipped during sounding out. As a resident of Texas, this gave me pause. We certainly don't drop the "e" in our daily speech! I encountered a similar frustration with the treatment of the "ck" sound, where the book labels the "k" as silent rather than teaching it as a cohesive phoneme. To me, this risks overcomplicating the "silent letter" rule for a young student.

In a similar vein, the book encourages sounding out words like "am" and "an." While this aligns with the Queen’s English favored by our relatives in London, here in the Lone Star State, our dialect shifts those sounds significantly. To avoid confusion, I simply pivot and teach these as sight words. This is a minor logistical adjustment that doesn't inhibit the overall learning process, but it is a reminder that even the best curricula occasionally require a bit of local "translation" to fit a regional accent. It’s an easy fix for any parent who is comfortable modifying a lesson on the fly.

One of the more innovative features of The Reading Lesson is the inclusion of "correct sentence" exercises. These tasks require the student to identify spelling errors, which is a fantastic way to introduce the concept of proofreading and orthographic awareness early on. The book also provides a solid introduction to compound words, maintaining a pace that is rigorous yet manageable. However, because some lessons are quite lengthy, I recommend moving at your child’s specific speed to prevent "reading fatigue." The curriculum is comprehensive, covering a vast amount of territory in just twenty chapters.

Ultimately, while I still find All About Reading to be the superior fit for our specific needs, The Reading Lesson is a very respectable contender that I would certainly recommend as a supplementary or standalone tool. For those looking for a digital component, the back of the book points toward a downloadable program on their website designed to mirror the text. While we haven't explored the software yet, it could be a game-changer for a more tech-oriented student. I’m curious to know—do you prefer a "rules-heavy" phonetic approach, or do you find yourself teaching more sight words to accommodate your local dialect? Let us know in the comments!