All About Reading Curriculum Review

We’ve been using the All About Reading program for FOUR YEARS (whaaa??!), so I thought I would share our experience. My oldest has just started Level 4, the final level of the program, after beginning with Prereading all those years ago. (It FLEW BY!) We’ve now experienced every level of the program, so here are my thoughts:

I initially decided to try this curriculum based on my excessive researching (#librarianproblems). Guys, they have a ONE YEAR return policy— you can literally use it for a year and decide it’s not for you and return it! How amazing is that?! Anyhow, we have never used that policy, as you can tell by the fact that I’m here singing its praises as an affiliate. I only became an affiliate because I LOVE the program. BUT, I know that it’s not for every family and feel so confident recommending it with that assurance of getting your precious homeschooling budget dollars back if it’s not a good fit for your kiddo.

I’m not a reading specialist, so I am sharing my experience rather than research on the pedagogy of the program. If you’d like to learn about the Orton-Gillingham approach which AAR uses, you can get a free 14-page ebook here.

I love how thorough this program is! I feel confident that when my kids graduate from this program, they have an incredibly solid foundation for reading– fluency, decoding, AND comprehension. The journey to get to that point is so well laid out for both the student and the teacher (in this case, the mom 🙂 ).

Hopefully this post will help you determine if All About Reading is a good fit for your teaching style and your child’s learning style. I’ll start at the beginning 😉

PREREADING

I have used prereading twice– once with my firstborn when he turned 3, and more recently with my second-born when he turned 5. (Different kids, different teacher, that’s me 😉 If you’re anything like me, you might like to read this article about identifying reading readiness.) I loved the prereading program both times because I knew that my child would start formal lessons with a solid foundation: letters and their sounds, syllables, blending, word boundaries, rhyming, beginning/ending sounds. One of my kids loved the little crafts each day; the other rolled his eyes and we skipped them. Flexibility! Aside from the letter crafts, the activities are interactive and my kids really found them to be fun! This is a gentle start when your child is asking for lessons, or you need something so they can “do school” like their older siblings! Just enough structure but short and sweet! Here’s the direct link to the prereading landing page. 

Ziggy the Zebra became a beloved member of our homeschool from the start. Although I’m a librarian, puppets have never been my thing. Ziggy helped me see the value for engagement! He’s used throughout the Prereading program along with the optional game supplement, up next:

ZIGGY GAMES SUPPLEMENT– Phonogram & Sight Word Practice

Ziggy Games is officially intended to be a supplement to Level 1 (with mention of the games as additional practice in the Level 1 teacher guide), but I have used this for Gameschooling Day when my older guy was in level 3 and my younger in prereading. They’re pretty adaptable, with the exception of one or two of the games. In total, there are 9 file folder games that are designed to be extra practice with phonograms and/or sight words. There is a bit of prep work initially– cutting out game pieces and assembling the file folders. I did this all at once while watching TV and it was done, ready to be pulled out of the closet. Now that I have a brand new Level 1 student, we use these about once a week as a gameschool day and it’s a welcome treat! Here’s the direct link for Ziggy games. 

Their resources section also has a section of free games that can be used with any reading program, and certainly to supplement AAR levels 1-4. You can find those here, and I’ve also shared a link to 5 free file folder games at the end of this post! 

LEVELS 1-4

Lessons in the All About Reading levels 1-4 are one of two types: “new concepts” lessons and “read a story” lessons. The vast majority of the time, the lesson types alternate every other lesson. Each day you are encouraged to review phonogram and word cards.

On new concept days you use magnetic tiles on a whiteboard, OR you may use the tiles app (pictured above). We bought the letter tiles app when it was released and ditched the whiteboard. This honestly removed my only real complaint with the program– keeping track of all those little tiles! It’s nice that there’s an option as I can see some kids being distracted by the tablet and preferring physical tiles to move. Here is a 2 minute video of how the letter tiles are used to teach reading in a sample lesson clip! This is a great peek into “new concepts” lessons. (The teacher’s manual is wonderful and equips you with all you need to know to teach!)

And, here is a video demonstrating the letter tiles app.

On new concept lessons, you’ll also have some sort of activity/game to complete to work with the skill (pictured below).

On story days, those new concepts are practiced by reading a story; vocabulary and comprehension skills are also part of these lessons. Practice sheets are included that feature the words and phrases that will be seen in the story. Students can practice reading through these so that when they crack open the story, they are reading with greater fluency. (My kids always balked at these practice sheets, so we would more likely re-read the story several times, often on successive days, or “for Daddy” or “for Grandma.” They were much prouder to show off their skills in this way.)

Good To Know:

• Each level has prep work– cutting out and organizing game pieces, perforating flash cards. I have typically done this once a week while watching TV or listening to an audiobook. It’s not a big time commitment, but it is something to keep in mind. Once you have a student go through it, you’re set. Nothing more to prep. There aren’t any “extras” to gather or prepare, except for the crafts in the Prereading level which requires some pretty basic craft supplies (paint, construction paper and the like).
• Lessons are scripted and include thorough teaching notes. For me, it feels like having a mentor teacher beside me.

• Lessons are short- or you can easily split them up. I don’t want reading to be a chore for my kids, but of course it requires perseverance. I shoot for that sweet spot when they’re engaged but not fatigued. For pre-reading and level 1, that’s somewhere in the 10-15 minute range. In levels 2-4 as stamina increases, we spend somewhere around 20 minutes per day. The curriculum welcomes you to take several days, or even a week, to complete a lesson. Because this is a mastery based curriculum, you want to settle into a lesson before moving on. (They suggest as an idea to set a timer for 20 minutes and stop there!)
• The short story readers (hard cover bound books required for lessons) are lovely! My kids really enjoy the stories and the illustrations. When we level up, I allow my kids to look through the readers to get excited for the reading they’ll be doing. They always, without fail, get lost in those illustrations and just can’t wait to dig in! They are such engaging little books! You could certainly purchase these a la carte for any growing reader!

Here are some interior shots at each level. Note- I’ve been using AAR since before there were color editions. So, in level 1 &2 photos below you’ll see the old black & white version, and the others are newer color editions which are standard in the program now.

Links below will send you to the site where you can get a “look inside” preview of two complete chapters from different parts of the books.

 

 

Level 1: three books- Run, Bug, Run! (221 pgs);  The Runt Pig (251 pgs); Cobweb the Cat (211 pgs)

 

 

Level 2: two books- Queen Bee (233 pgs) and What Am I? (211 pgs)

 

 

 

 

 

Level 3: two books- Chasing Henry (207 pgs) and Shipwreck! (219 pgs)

 

 

 

 

Level 4: two books- Heirloom Antics (243 pgs) and The Voyage (233 pgs)

 

 

 

• Their resources page has lots of FREE games for teaching reading! Click “activities” or scroll down and you’ll see them listed! 

Like, this collection of 5 file folder games to practice phonograms:

I hope this post gave you a good picture of what All About Reading is all about 🙂 We’ve been so happy with this program! As I mentioned, I am an affiliate. I have paid for all of my own curriculum through the years, but as an affiliate I receive a small commission if you purchase through my links.

Good luck with your curriculum search! Please connect with me in the comments below or on my Instagram or Facebook accounts.