Reading Head Start Review

Reading Head Start is an award-winning, parent-approved program designed to help children learn how to read using a proven method that focuses on understanding the individual letters and sounds of the English language. But how is that different from what is currently being taught in schools? Everything. The traditional method that has resulted in more than 25 million US children being unable to read at a proficient level focuses largely on memorization (sight words). This includes memorization of letter shapes and word shapes. The only problem with this method is that there are a plethora of letters and word shapes that look the exact same but that have entirely different sounds – think: buy, boy, bay.

With Reading Head Start, the program teaches children how to understand the individual letters and sounds, and how they change when paired or subtracted from other letters. For example, how bit turns into bite when the ‘e’ is added. It’s a proven method that can also be used to reduce dyslexia in children, and everything you need to start the process is right here waiting for you.

What is Reading Head Start?

Reading is, inarguably, one of the most essential skills in life. However, approximately 25 million children in the US and over 250 million children worldwide do not read at a proficient level.

Reading Head Start is the ultimate reading program, designed to teach children between the ages of 1 and 9 how to read and how to improve their reading by up to five times better than children their age. It’s a comprehensive program that uses a unique, proven method that consists of teaching children the individual sounds and letters of the English language, instead of focusing on the memorization of sight words and shapes. So, instead of a child identifying and confusing bat, hut, and lot as similar word shapes, they are able to identify the individual sounds of each letter to read the words properly. Reading Head Start provides you with all the materials needed for adults and children to learn the method. This includes:

1. Lesson Plans
2. Printables
3. 200 Reading Lessons
4. Decodable Passages
5. Read-A-Longs
6. Worksheets
7. Picture Cards
8. Letter Cards
9. Letter Formations
10. Sound Out Cards
11. Irregular Word Cards
12. Advanced Phonics Cards

Reading Head Start is digital, meaning you receive immediate access to all of this as soon as you purchase. The content can also be downloaded onto your smartphone, tablet or computer (or your children’s tablets) for easy, convenient learning on-the-go. This also means you don’t have to lug around 200+ lesson plans and activities, as everything gets stored digitally. You can print off the tools, lesson plans and worksheets as needed or use the entire system online. Pull up a chair, sign your little one in and they’re ready to go. The program is also based on a proven method, is award-winning and backed by a money-back guarantee.

Who Created Reading Head Start?

The author of Reading Head Start is Sarah Shepard, an English teacher with over 14 years of experience. But it wasn’t her teaching career that brought about this program. Instead, it was when Sarah had her own children and discovered the difficulties they were experiencing when using the traditional learning structure for reading. This inspired her to use her English and teaching background to find an approach that was better suited for children and supported with scientific data, and that’s precisely what you get with this program.

Overview of the Reading Head Start Program

Reading Head Start is a comprehensive program that teaches children how to read and improve their reading up to five times their peers by using a fun, engaging approach that focuses on the individual sounds of the English language. This award-winning system comes with all the materials needed for adults to learn the method and for children to start using it. This includes 200 detailed lesson plans, fun worksheets, follow-along videos, eBooks and reading passages, printable tools such as flash cards, sound cards and visual cards, and the list goes on.

It’s designed to keep children engaged and excited about learning how to read, while also making the entire process significantly easier for them to understand. There are a variety of lessons that are separated into four levels for gradual learning.

Here’s a more detailed look at what you can expect from the different components:

Lessons Plans

The program comes with detailed, step-by-step lesson plans that consist of four stages. Each level is designed to help you teach your child how to gradually develop necessary skills that will help them learn/improve their reading. As you can see from the examples below, there are grade-level recommendations that can help you determine which lesson plans are needed for the individual child. These lesson plans are also in sequence, with level 1 creating the foundation for level 2 and so on and so forth, so it’s important to follow them properly. For example, the lessons start with individual letters and sounds and then, they move onto letter pairings and how the sound changes when letters are added or subtracted from a word, and so on and so forth. The lessons are also broken down with the activity type, activity from, group size, length, materials needed, goal, items and step-by-step instructions. 

Examples

• Level 1 Examples
  1. Counting Words in a Sentence (Grade K – 1)
  2. Blending Syllables Name Game (Grade K)
  3. Segmenting Syllables Name Game (Grade K – 1)
  4. Identifying and Generating Rhyming Words, Body Part Game (Grade K)
  5. Introduce First, Middle and Last (Grade K – 1) 
  6. Introduce Sound Segmenting Accuracy (Grade K)
• Level 2 Examples
  1. Introduce Letters (Grade K)
  2. Phoneme Substitution with Letters: Sat, Mat, Rat, Bat, Bad, Bag, Big, Beg, etc. (Grade K)
• Level 3 Examples
  1. Sounding Out Accuracy (Grade K, 1, 2)
  2. Word-Form Recognition Accuracy (Grade K)
  3. Irregular Word Fluency (Grade K, 1, 2, 3)
• Level 4 Examples
  1. Introduce Au, Aw, Al, Igh, etc. (Grade K, 1, 2)
  2. Letter Combination Fluency: Th… Igh (Grade K, 1, 2)
  3. VCe Rule Fluency (Grade K, 1, 2)
  4. Irregular Word Fluency: Your… Where (Grade K, 1, 2, 3)
  5. Introduce Multiple Irregular Words: Show, Small, Large, Even, Here, Why (Grade K, 1, 2, 3)

Printables and Tools

1. Downloadable Picture Cards
2. Downloadable Letter Cards
3. Letter Formation: Teacher’s Guide
4. Downloadable Sound Out Cards
5. Irregular Word Cards
6. Advanced Phonics Cards

The program also comes with a variety of different tools you can use to enhance the learning experience. This includes printable flash cards that help children learn different words, picture cards for visual learners, teacher’s guides, audio sound cards, and much more. All of these tools are designed to make it easier and enjoyable for the child to learn how to read.

Read-A-Long Video Course

• The Cat on the Mat + Worksheet
• Dan and His Cap + Worksheet
• Dan and a Van + Worksheet
• Pet in a Jet + Worksheet

This section of the program provides you with read-along courses. They’re designed to have the child watch the video and then read along with focus on each word. You also receive reading comprehension worksheets that go along with these videos to further allow the child to engage and learn.

Decodable Books

• 50 Downloadable Books

This is where you will find 50 short easy passages your child can use to practice their reading based on the words they learned from using this program. These miniature passages can be downloaded and saved right onto you or your children’s tablet. 

Worksheets

One of the many advantages of Reading Head Start is that the program comes with pre-made worksheets you can use to help your child learn new things. These worksheets are designed to make the process fun and enjoyable, and they come in a variety of colorful, themed, age-appropriate content to keep the child engaged.

The Verdict

Advantages of the Program

• Aims to get your child interested in reading and improving their skills
• The program is award-winning and uses a proven method to teach children how to read
• Various materials included, such as worksheets, lesson plans and activities, that make it easy to teach the method to children
• Focuses on the development of reading skills
• Can be used by children aged 1 to 9
• Requires as little as 15 minutes a day, three days a week
• The Digital version makes it easy to learn-on-the-go
• The method is super simple and fun for kids of all ages
• Backed by a 60 Day money-back guarantee

Disadvantages of the Program

Reading Head Start is a digital program, which comes with an abundance of benefits including easy and convenient access right on your tech devices anytime and anywhere for learning on-the-go. However, this also means that a physical package of the lesson plans doesn’t get mailed out to you. Instead, you can store them on your smartphone, tablet or computer, or use an alternative mentioned below.

Conclusion

Reading Head Start is an online program designed to teach children how to read and improve their reading using a unique system that focuses on understanding the individual sounds of the English letters and language, instead of memorization. It’s an award-winning program that is proven to work and have the ability to improve reading up to five times the expected reading level for children their age. The entire system is digital and designed to be a fun learning experience for both the adults teaching it and the children using it. And in addition to being proven, the program is backed by a 60 Day Money Back Guarantee so you can try it out risk-free and see how your child(ren) resonate with the approach.

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