REWARDS Intermediate

[cillakat]

Hey Laurie et al,

I started using REWARDS Int with dd 9.5 just yesterday. Wow. Even one lesson really opened the multisyllabic door for her. It was amazing.

We're also doing multisyllabic words in Wilson and have been for maybe 9 lessons....she just wasn't getting it despite breaking them down and putting them together in a variety of ways, discussing syllabication/syllabification, circling vowels etc. She could encode, but couldn't decode (or wouldn't actually).

REWARDS really quickly gave her some new ideas and skills to use in breaking down words. She really enjoyed the lesson and commented afterward, during Wilson, that she could tell REWARDS helped a lot. I could *clearly* see it too.

For anyone considering it, just jump in. You must have the TM, which is expensive and the consumable workbook, which is cheap. Just do it. It's only 25 lessons. It's definitely not a standalone program....but is meant to supplement a reading program at the multisyllable level (not before). The child must be familiar with all letter names/sounds, all consonant blends, all short and long vowels..REWARDS jumps in right away with /ai/ and /ay/ and teaches them, in the first lesson, how to break down the word by identifying the vowel *sound*, underlining it, then scooping the syllable (so that each syllable has a vowel in it), then reading it and trying different syllable emphasis and vowel sounds (short or long if need be) "to make a real word".

LOVE it. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.

I'm ordering another one to use with my 7 yo....who's actualling getting it on her own, but this will speed up the process by explicitly teaching an overt strategy.

You can find it at Sopris West.

:)
K

[AngieW in Texas]

If Rewards Intermediate is too hard, Phonics for Reading is good preparation. Anita Archer is the author of this program at Curriculum Associates. I used it with my dd when she was younger. There is a sample lesson from each book on the website.

link to my review of Phonics for Reading:
http://www.thehomeschoollibrary.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1094

PfR only goes up to 3rd grade level, but it's great for kids who aren't quite ready for Rewards yet.

[elegantlion]

We are using REWARDS as well this year. It has been a breath of fresh air. My son's reading level has greatly increased. I was hesitant about the price as well, but I believe it is a worthwhile investment.

[Laurie4b]

I've found in tutoring that I can nearly always do REWARDS after Wilson Step 1 & 2 and often after just step 1 if they can blend (some kids can without a lot of practice and some really need to work on it). It does make a big difference fast and the kids can tell, too.

[cillakat]

I've found in tutoring that I can nearly always do REWARDS after Wilson Step 1 & 2 and often after just step 1 if they can blend (some kids can without a lot of practice and some really need to work on it). It does make a big difference fast and the kids can tell, too.

Can't they though? We did lesson two yesterday and she is *so* excited. I'm ordering a second workbook so that I can use this with dd7 as well.

I think we may have to keep working with Wilson....I don't think Rewards offers enough repetition for Alana to get what she needs overall, esp with encoding, but we'll definitlely be doing Wilson much faster now. I may even see if I can organize Wilson to match rewards ito how diphthongs are introduced so we can have some additional reinforcement.

:)
K

[Laurie4b]

I tried to do that once upon a time... :)

I have used the Wilson vowel combination tiles and run through some words practicing changing the vowel sound with some kids who were needing a bit more practice. braid, bray, brad, etc. Just informally.