A Home Start in Reading (Grades K-3)
by Ruth Beechick

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Book Reviews of A Home Start in Reading (Grades K-3)

Book Review: All a person needs to know about teaching someone to read
Summary: 5 Stars

In this little booklet Beechick tells you all you need to know to teach your child to read. Her writing is concise and she doesn't waste time, space, or add to confusion by repeating herself. The language of the book is very simple and easy to understand, making this a fast read. Her method is laid out very simply and directly. Beechick feels that a parent can take this information and use homemade flashcards to teach a child to read. If you choose her method, you will spend less than $10, maybe even less than $5 total to teach your child to read, mostly due to the inexpensive price of this booklet and the inexpensive blank flash cards that you will use to make your own flashcards.

Beechick also gives instructions for doing your own testing to assess your child's independent reading level and their reading comprehension level. With this fast and easy method you can quickly tell if a book you select from a library or bookstore is below, at, or above your child's reading ability level. This little test is so easy that you can teach a very young child to give themself a test while standing in a library or store with the questionable book in hand. I love this idea, as it does not make the parent reliant on finding lists of books graded by ability level; the child can select books with subjects they are interested in reading about, and see if they are capable of reading them. In this manner the child can select books that they can read easily for relaxing practice or select books that give some challenge to help build their reading ability in a gradual way.

If you have already begun to read about how to teach a child to read and are feeling confused and overwhelmed, then take the time now to read this book. If you have also purchased some curriculum and feel it isn't a good fit with your child and you may be panicking, now is the time to read this book! That is the place I was at when I found out about this booklet, bought it and read it. I felt as if the heavy fog of conflicting reading instruction theory and opinion was instantly lifted. In this booklet Beechick lays out the basics of teaching a child to read in a systematic method, step by step. Teaching reading is portrayed as completely do-able for any person to follow. No degree in education or reading instruction is needed to help a child learn to read.

Beechick doesn't get into debating theory about whole language, sight-reading, vs. phonetic reading methods. She doesn't get into the history of reading instruction in America nor does she state statistics of good or bad literacy rates. She just tells the reader how easy it is to teach reading. She also explains how to tell if a child is ready to read or not.

Finding this same information in another source is not easy; I have not yet found it anywhere else. I have been reading about how to teach a child to read, in homeschooling magazines, books, and in online articles for three years, and never have I found such a wonderful resource until I found this booklet. Many of the articles and books about teaching a child to read are about theory, followed by the author is laying out their own opinion and argument for following their preferred way. Many of the reading curriculum programs tell the parent what to do, but not why. Without understanding the basic steps of learning to read with the phonetic method, if you want to buy a packaged curriculum, it is difficult to make an informed choice. Beechick makes it clear you may teach a child to read using homemade materials but she also says if you want to buy a program, go ahead and do so!

This book is perfect for homeschooling parents who are responsible for teaching their child to read. However it is also equally useful for any parent if the parent is interested in teaching their child to read outside of school, or to help the child read while the child is learning to read in school. If a child is having trouble learning to read in school, this booklet provides information that can help the parent work with the child at home. The steps in the booklet can be dipped into here and there where extra help is needed. All a parent needs to know to tutor their child in how to read is provided here.

This booklet is available alone or together with her booklets on language arts and math, which is called "The Three R's". Beechick's information on language arts and math are equally high quality and I recommend those also.

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