Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
A Reading Program for Emerging Readers
We received 12 months of access to Reading Unlocked. We have been using it 3-4 times per week for several weeks. Reading Unlocked is an online learn to read program that helps your child learn how to read words through phonics, auditory and visual techniques.
I used Reading Unlocked with my 7-year-old daughter. I would describe her as an emerging reader. Each lesson takes about 10-15 minutes per day. The program was very easy to download. Reading Unlocked is also simple and straightforward to use.
The program gives you the choice of whether to have a British or American accent. I chose an American accent, however, I found that much of the program has a British accent. It was difficult for my daughter to distinguish certain words. It was necessary for me to sit with her and repeat the words, but even I had a difficult time understanding the words at times. There are also different names for some words. For example, British English calls a clothespin a peg. That was confusing for my daughter.
I did have an issue at one time where I accidentally lost my daughter’s place in the program. I was unable to find our place. After contacting customer service, they were very responsive and fixed my account promptly. It would be nice if the parent had more control over placing the child or skipping ahead or repeating lessons.
Overall Opinion of Reading Unlocked
The program uses both online activities and writing practice. My daughter resisted the written portion of the program. I was hoping that she would be able to work through the program independently, but because of the accent and the writing portion, I had to actively sit with her throughout the program.
I really liked the activity where the student is required to replace one letter to create a new word. For example, “Make dog into dot” This was an excellent exercise to assist with spelling.
Unfortunatley, the program did not work for my daughter, but I am sure it would work well for many families. The program has beautiful pictures and the lessons have the same format. There is also a poem to read together at the end of each lesson. The poems are usually funny or silly. We enjoyed the poems. However, my daughter is more of a hands-on learner. Reading Unlocked does have hands-on activities such as writing letters, words in the air and on paper.
Reading Unlocked works for many homeschool families. Read more reviews about Reading Unlocked from many other families who really enjoyed it.
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