My son, Shane is in first grade this year and we all know 1st grade is all about learning to read for the first time for many kids. Unfortunately, my son didn’t get off to good start in Kindergarten and totally lost interest in learning to read over the summer and fall. I realized he is going to need some help to pique his interest and get him onto the first-grade reading level by the end of the school year.
Hooked on Phonics is a learning system that offers an online only option as well as a mixture of digital and hard copy resources to help kids learn to read. The system advertises many families seeing their kids increase their reading ability by a whole grade level within a month. My son desperately needed some help to propel him forward. This system has been around for a number of years. I actually remember seeing advertisements on television back when I was a kid in the 1990s. I don’t personally know anyone who has used the system; however, I have heard of some teachers using the program in their classrooms. The methodology focuses on teaching kids to read phonetically and not totally relying too much on sight words and memorization.
I’m putting together my review of this product by month so you can see how I feel about the product over the first 6 months that he uses it, so you can get a real, honest review of the product and see our results.
Month 1 (February) – We signed up for Hooked on Phonics during the first week of this month. My son really likes being able to get screen time and use my Microsoft Chromebook, which is a hybrid, laptop and tablet in one. He can use it on his own, I just keep him signed in on the Chromebook, which makes it easy for him to pick up the table whenever he feels bored or wants do practice.
I can tell that Shane is enjoying the program. At the end of each lesson, there is a mini “book” or story for the child to reach which includes pictures for help. My son seems to like being able to read the end of lesson book and doesn’t want any help from me. So far, my opinion is that the program is organized well and is doing a good job of keeping him engaged, because often times, he wants to repeat a lesson or complete 2 lessons in one day. Each lesson is only about 15 minutes or so, very short and easy. I don’t exactly know how to the system knows where to begin for his age group, but we were required to enter his age as 6 and go from there. My son is a little behind for his grade level, but he seems to be doing well on these lessons, so I think it’s helping him efficiently “catch up”. Overall, I’m happy with the program for this month. The program gives you the option of just ordering one month for about $6.99 I think, so I only ordered the system for one month, but I will definitely continue for the next 12 months.
Month 2 – So, it’s month2. My son has been using the Hooked on Phonics System for about a month now. We have been having him work on reading some level 1 reader books when he isn’t using the system. We get these from the local library or at Five Below for about $2 each. It takes him a while to master a book, so one book lasts a few weeks. He’s not doing the program every day, probably about an average of every other day. I just don’t want him to get sick of it. I’m awaiting feedback from his teachers and the end of the year MAP testing before I really know where he is. I’m going to try to find an online test for him to use as well to get an idea of where he is as far as reading on his grade level.
Month 3 – It’s April, and we are at home on quarantine, which is amazing, however we are also still adjusting to home school. We have spent a lot of time just trying to find good spaces for my son to accomplish his school tasks as well as make time for Hooked on Phonics. We didn’t complete as many lessons as I would have liked, but I do feel that the lessons he did complete contributed to his improved understanding of blending sounds.
Month 4 – This month, I have seen a marked improvement in my son’s ability to read with more fluidity. Some family members have commented on his improvement and the school specialist that was working with him as adding some increased difficulty in the reading selections that she has chosen for him lately.
Month 5 – My son is been a little bit thrown off my the changes in the Hooked on Phonics app that we use on his Chromebook, we have had a hard time figuring out where he is even though the app stated that the upgrade would not make us “lose our place”. So, I had to really push him to try to work with app this month unfortunately. The new app does look great but seems a bit busier on the screens which concerned me as my son get distracted easily, however, he did mention that it looked updated.
Month 6 – We made it to the 6-month mark, my son is solidly reading level C and D books with little to no assistance. I am proud of him for sticking with the app. It wasn’t hard he loves the catchy songs and finally understands that he can read a word that he doesn’t know. I am thankful for Hooked on Phonics for getting him over the hump and getting to the other side of being totally frustrated with reading, it’s actually getting to be fun for him. Thank you, Hooked on Phonics.
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