Frequent Questions on teaching children to read and right track reading lessons

Frequently Asked Questions

The frequently asked questions (FAQ) are organized into three sections:

I. Questions about the Right Track Reading Lessons or Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons programs: Most of these are questions specific to the content of the Right Track Reading Lessons Programs.

II. General questions about teaching children to read, helping students develop necessary skills to become skilled readers and effective reading instruction: These questions are related to reading issues and skills. Many address specific reading problems students may face. Answers are informational in nature and often link to resources you can use to help your student.

III. Other: These questions relate to website and other issues

If you have any other questions, please contact Miscese Gagen.

Right Track Reading

Effective Tools to Achieve Reading Success

SECTION I : Questions about the Right Track Reading Lessons or Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons programs

· Can you give me a description of the Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons Programs? I need a better idea of program content and what my child should be able to read upon completing the program.

· I keep hearing effective reading programs need to be direct or explicit systematic phonics. There are so many ‘phonics’ programs out there. How do I know Right Track Reading programs actually meet the requirements for an effective program?

· Which program should I use, Right Track Reading Lessons or Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons? My child is __ years old and in __ grade. Which program should I use?

· Why do the Right Track Reading programs work so well in helping children learn to read? What are some of the advantages of the Right Track Reading programs over some of the other phonics programs? All programs claim they will help my child learn to read, what specifically does your program offer?

· What do you mean by the material is presented in a ‘kid-friendly’ or ‘student-friendly’ manner?

· How can I teach my child to read? I’ve never taught anyone to read before and don’t even know where to start. I’m worried I will not be able to teach my child. This will be my first experience helping a student learn to read; I’m not sure how to proceed. Will I be able to teach my child with this program?

· I have a parent volunteer who has time to work with some of my students who are struggling with reading. I would like to utilize her services; however, I do not have time to provide training. Could parent volunteers use this program? Can this program be used by volunteers or resource aides?

· How long will it take for my child to complete this program? What sort of time commitment does the program require for me to teach my child to read? How long does it take to teach a child to read?

· Can I use the Right Track Reading Lessons program with my child who is struggling with reading? Can the program be used to improve reading skills in students who are having difficulty reading?

· Why does your program teach each and every little step? Do I really need to actually teach my child to follow from left to right when she reads?

· The lessons include lots of lists of words for reading. Isn’t it better to have students read real stories than to just read words? Why do the programs use word lists?

· What are ‘sound tiles’? Can you give me more information about the sound tiles? How do I make the ‘sound tiles’ used in the Right Track Reading lessons?

· At what age should I begin to teach my child how to read with a phonics program? At what age or grade level can I start teaching my child with the Right Track Reading Lessons program?

· How much does the program cost? What is the total cost of this program?

· Can I use the program for more than one child?

· Can the program be used in a school situation?

SECTION II: General Questions About Teaching Children to Read, Helping Students Develop Necessary Skills to Become Skilled Readers and Effective Reading Instruction (Includes questions related to specific reading problems students may face.)

· What skills does my child need to acquire to learn to read proficiently? Do you have a list of the skills students need to develop to become skilled readers?

· My child is bright, so why is he having problems learning to read? Why is reading so hard for my daughter? She just seems to not get it. Why does my child struggle learning how to read? Why is reading so difficult for some students?

· My first grader seems to be having trouble learning to read. Do I need to do anything or should I just wait and see if he picks it up when he gets a little older? My child is 7 and still not reading; do I need to do anything to help him? If a student is not acquiring reading skills, do I need to take action?

· My 1st grader is not learning to read. Because of his difficulty reading, the school would like for him to repeat 1st grade next year. Socially and maturity wise he is ready to move on. Should he repeat 1st grade just to improve his reading skills?

· My daughter knows her sounds by themselves but when she goes to read the words she can’t seem to put them together into the word. How can I get her to quit separating the sounds and learn to put them together to read the word smoothly? What do you do with students who do not get a "click" on blending? We are getting reports from the field that the kids that get blending are doing great but there are some kids who do not get it. These kids can look at cat, say /k/ . . . /a/ . . . /t/ . . . but they can't take the last (crucial) step of blending the sounds together to make the consolidated word. They know the letter-sound correspondences but are not getting the blending. How can you help students learn to smoothly blend sounds together?

· How should I teach my child her sounds? How can I help my son learn the sounds for the letters? What is the most effective way to teach the phonemic code? What is the complete phonemic code? Why is it important for students to learn phonics?

· I was told I need to have my child read decodable text. What is decodable text? Why should beginning readers read decodable text? How do I find decodable text for my beginning reader?

· My 4th grader is making quite a few mistakes when he reads. I think he needs some instruction but he is above the beginning level. What can I do to help him without starting over or making him think he needs a ‘baby’ program?

· My child is reading very well for her age. However, she needs to begin moving from the easier books to more complex books. Is there a way I can help her advance the higher level skills? How can I help my students make the transition from easy reading material to higher demands and complexities they begin to face in 3rd and 4th grade? Although many of my students can read the easy material they struggle with multisyllable words and lack the necessary comprehension skills. How can I help students make the shift from ‘learning how to read’ to ‘reading to learn’?

· How can I help my child better understand what he is reading? What are suggestions for helping students improve reading comprehension? How can parents help their children improve reading comprehension?

· My son often will read a word perfectly, yet, he doesn’t know what it means. What do I need to do? How can parents help their children expand their vocabulary knowledge? How can I help my students expand their vocabulary knowledge?

· What does reading fluency mean? How can I help my child learn to read fluently? What are suggestions for helping students become fluent readers? How can parents help their children improve reading fluency?

· Do I need to start teaching my preschooler how to read?

· What is phonemic awareness? How can I help my child develop phonologic awareness?

· How can I help my child learn to spell?

SECTION III: Other Questions (website, contact information)

· How can I contact you? What is your phone number?

· If you have questions not addressed on this FAQ page

Additional information, articles and resources on teaching students to read proficiently are located on the Free Reading Information page of the Right Track Reading website.

If you have any questions, please e-mail Miscese Gagen.

The tools to achieve reading success, one student at a time!