Learning to read can be a struggle for some children and finding the right curriculum can sometimes take some time. Reading Unlocked is a great online learn to read program that we have had the opportunity to review over the past couple months.
We received a 12 month subscription to Reading Unlocked and we used it at least 3-4 times per week. It is suitable for children ages 4-8, but it can also be used to teach older children to learn to reador with children who have dyslexia.
Online Learn to Read Program
This online learn to read program was designed using the Orton-Gillinghmam method. The Orton–Gillingham is a teaching approach that is designed to help struggling readers by teaching the connections between letters and sounds.
Reading Unlocked uses “simplified phonics” to teach your child to blend sounds into words in 100 lessons. It starts by focusing on how letters are pronounced by using three letter words that have three sounds and builds up into four letter words and then to multisyllabic words.
There are also lots of auditory exercises, as this is an important step for learning to read with phonics. With just 10-15 minutes per day, this program will help to improve your child’s reading abilities.
You can easily use this program on your computer or on an iPad or other tablets and you have the choice of US or UK spelling.
How We Used Reading Unlocked
I was originally planning on using the program with my 7 year old to improve his reading but he didn’t seem to be as enthusiastic about it as my 4 year old. Therefore, we used it more with my 4 year old. We started with learning the alphabet, letter sounds and reading short words.
It is very easy to set the program at the appropriate level for your child by going into settings and choosing the level and lesson number.
During each lesson, your child will hear the sounds, write the letters and words, match words with pictures and at the end of each lesson, you, as the parent, will read a poem. Your child will then read one or two words that they have learned during the lesson as you read the poem to them.
Your child can see their progress through each daily lesson by dots that fill in as they complete each question. This helped my son see how many more questions he had to help focus his attention.
This program is very straight forward and easy to use. It can be worked on with too much adult assistance. However, I found that my son had a more successful and positive experience if I stayed next to him while he was proceeding through the lessons.
Our Recommendation
If you have a child learning to read, I recommend trying the free trial for Reading Unlocked. The simple and user friendly design makes it very easy for your child to proceed through the lessons without being distracted. Be sure to read other reviews of this curriculum from the Homeschool Review Crew.
