Pride Reading Program Review: Homeschool Curriculum for Struggling Readers

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Got a struggling reader at home? Check out this PRIDE Reading Program review and learn if this curriculum is a good fit for your child.

Not all subjects are created equal. There! I said it.

When it comes to teaching our children, some subjects really are more important than others. And one of those is reading.

Teaching your child to read, and read well, opens up so many other learning opportunities for your child. It’s the backbone for all future learning.

However, not every child picks up reading easily. Some need an extra bit of time and attention to help them really grasp the concepts.

If you think your child might fit into that category, then keep reading! I’m going to share all the details in this PRIDE Reading Program review about this homeschool reading curriculum designed especially for struggling readers.

Let’s dive in!

I was compensated for my time reviewing the PRIDE Reading Program: Level 1 and writing this post. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided.

What is PRIDE Reading Program?

PRIDE Reading Program is a homeschool curriculum designed to help children who are struggling with reading. It uses an approach that is especially helpful for children with dyslexia or other similar learning disabilities.

It’s a comprehensive program that covers all the essential components of reading, from phonemic awareness to fluency to comprehension. They even cover writing and spelling in their program.

Grade/Age Range

Rather than ages or grades, the PRIDE Reading Program uses a placement test to help you pick the right level for your child. They offer 6 different levels.

• PRIDE Beginning Letters & Sounds: Letter recognition and sounds.
• PRIDE Yellow Book Program Kit – Level 1: Short vowels, FLOSS spelling rules, consonant digraphs, blends, and sight words.
• PRIDE Orange Book Program Kit – Level 2: Long vowels, multisyllabic words, welded sounds, and sight words.
• PRIDE Red Book Program Kit – Level 3: Long “i” and “e” patterns, vowel digraphs, closed syllable rules, and suffix ed.
• PRIDE Purple Book Program Kit – Level 4: Vowel diphthongs, 3+ syllables, suffix es, and syllable c+le.
• PRIDE Blue Book Program Kit – Level 5: Open syllables, vowel diphthongs, silent letters, spelling rules, soft C & G, shwa sounds, and common suffixes and prefixes.

The right level for your child will depend on their current reading skills. If you’re unsure which level would work best for your child, head to their website and try the placement test.

It’s only a few questions, but will quickly let you know which program to use.

What’s included with your purchase

My son and I are using the PRIDE Reading Program: Level 1. On their website, it’s the yellow book.

When you purchase a kit it comes with:

• Student Workbook
• Access to the online Teaching Guide
• Sound cards
• Letter tiles
• Pride Activity Kit: Whiteboard, black and red dry-erase markers, whiteboard eraser, reading tracker, game dice, and PRIDE tote bag.

Everything is included when you purchase the kit. You also have the option to get a printed version of the Teaching Guide if you prefer.

If you wanted to use this program with more than 1 child or reuse it with a sibling, you can order extras of any of the materials or purchase them separately.

Price

The price for the PRIDE Reading Program: Level 1 is $144.85. That includes everything you need to use the program.

As I mentioned, you can purchase any of the materials separately. So if you already have some of the items at home you aren’t stuck buying the whole program.

You can also save 10% on your order with the coupon code TRYPRIDE if you order by May 30, 2023.

Head to their website to learn more about their current prices.

How the PRIDE Reading Program Works

To use the PRIDE Reading Program, you’ll first need to take the placement test to figure out which level your child needs. After you find the right program and order it, you’ll need to take their Training Course.

It’s designed to help you understand how to use the Orton-Gillingham approach and the curriculum. (It might seem like a hassle, but trust me, it helps a lot!)

After that, you’ll be ready to dive into the program. The Teaching Guide that comes with it tells you exactly what to do for each lesson.

They even tell you what to say to make sure that you’re presenting the lesson in the right way.

Each unit consists of:

• Sound cards review
• Blending drills
• Phonological awareness activities
• Sight word practice
• Reading
• Dictation
• Fluency practice

It might sound like a lot, but you don’t have to complete each unit in a day. With my son we would work through about half a unit a day depending on his attention span and interest level.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach

A big part of the PRIDE Reading Program is the Orton-Gillingham Approach. It’s named after Dr. Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham.

The approach is designed to help students with dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, speech and language deficits, and other reading disabilities. It’s meant to be used one-on-one or in small group settings.

The PRIDE Reading Program describes how the Orton-Gillingham approach is based on these 6 principles:

1. Structured: Concepts are taught in the exact same way with the same routine very time.
2. Sequential: Students master each skill before they move on to the next.
3. Cumulative: Lessons are built on previously learned information with constant review and reinforcement.
4. Explicit: Direct teaching of the rules and patterns of decoding and encoding.
5. Multisensory: Links are consistently made between the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile pathways.
6. Systematic Phonics: Begins with the most basic level of phonics and develops into the most advanced spelling rules and morphological concepts.

The Orton-Gillingham approach does a good job of helping children transition from simpler reading concepts to more advanced ones. This makes sure that they don’t get any gaps in their understanding or get lost when things move too quickly.

If you want to learn more about the Orton-Gillingham Approach, I recommend checking out the free course offered by the PRIDE Reading Program.

It shows you what the teaching method looks like in action and how it benefits students.

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Don’t want to read? Watch my review here!

What We Liked About the PRIDE Reading Program

I tried the PRIDE Reading Program out with my son, Tommy, who’s 5 years old. I wouldn’t label him a struggling reader yet, he’s too young, but one of his older sisters struggled a bit.

So when I heard about the PRIDE Reading Program, I was really excited to try it out. I want to make sure he has a really strong foundation for reading.

Here are some of our favorite things about the curriculum:

Hands-on learning approach

One of my favorite features of the PRIDE Reading Program is that it’s very hands-on for a reading curriculum. They use activities that involve actual physical movement to reinforce what they’re learning.

I feel like this worked really well for my son. One exercise involved sliding the hand down the arm to help him learn words that can’t be easily sounded out.

The exercise worked great for him and he was able to pick up those words very quickly.

Learning games

We also both really liked the learning games that were included at the end of each lesson. My son loves games, so getting to play one at the end of the lesson was a huge motivation for him.

He enjoyed it enough that he never even realized it was extra learning.

Dictation

One part of the PRIDE Reading Program that I haven’t seen too often in reading programs was the use of dictation. Frequently my son would practice writing out different words or sentences to help reinforce phonological awareness and spelling.

I liked this part of the program for a couple of reasons:

• It was more active: my son was doing more than passively reading. I feel like the writing helped reinforce the concepts.
• It worked on other important skills: my son got to practice his handwriting and a little bit of grammar thrown in too.
• He liked it: most importantly, this was one of his favorite parts of the lesson besides the games. He was always eager to take his turn at writing on the whiteboard, which made out lessons go much more smoothly.

Training Videos

Another part of the PRIDE Reading Program that I found helpful was the training videos. They helped give a really good idea of how to implement the program.

I got to watch examples of lessons being completed with a student which helped me feel confident I was doing them the right way when I sat down with my son.

Scripted lesson plans

The last thing I really liked about the PRIDE Reading program is that the lessons are fully scripted for you. Sometimes teaching your child to read can be a little overwhelming.

There are so many different ideas and suggestions out there, but when your child doesn’t “get it” right away it kind of leaves you left guessing what’s next.

Not only is everything scripted out to tell you exactly what to say as you teach your child, but they let you know at what point your child is ready to move on to the next lesson.

This was great because I never had to worry if I was rushing him through or if we should practice that lesson again. The curriculum lays everything out for you in detail.

Who Would the PRIDE Reading Program Be a Good Fit For?

While I think the PRIDE Reading Program is a fantastic curriculum, it’s definitely not for everyone. Here is who I think would get the most out of this program.

• Struggling readers – if you’re homeschooling a struggling reader, definitely check this program out. The Orton-Gillingham method is specifically designed to help children who struggle with more traditional methods of learning to read.
• Children with learning differences – if your child has dyslexia, auditory and visual procession disorder, speech deficits, or other learning differences this program is a good choice.
• Kinesthetic learners – if your child struggles to sit still and gets bored with more passive methods of learning to read, the PRIDE Reading Program is a good option.

Tips for Using PRIDE Reading Program

The PRIDE Reading Program isn’t your average reading program and I think that’s what makes it stand out. But even with the best curriculum, learning to read can be really challenging for some children.

Here are a few tips to help your lessons go more smoothly:

Plan enough time to work through the lessons with your child

This program is meant to be completed one-on-one with an adult. It can’t be used independently or in a group setting.

You’ll want to make sure you set aside enough time to sit somewhere quiet with your child where you can both focus and hear each other well.

Watch the training videos

Before you get started watch the training videos. At first, I was tempted to skip them, but don’t!

They give you lots of great details and information on how to use the curriculum correctly so your child gets the most benefit from the lessons.

Take your time

Don’t feel a lot of pressure to rush through the curriculum. I know how stressful it can be for you and your child when you’re worried about their reading skills.

Take a deep breath and just focus on learning at your child’s pace. Pushing through too hard or too fast won’t help them learn any quicker and can create a negative attitude around reading in general.

Don’t be afraid to repeat lessons

There is nothing wrong with spending more time practicing a lesson if your child isn’t ready to move on. The lessons are designed to build on each other and help your child master the skills they need to become a confident reader.

If you try to move on too soon, your child is likely to get frustrated and give up. So, if you need to repeat a lesson or two (or even three), go for it!

Always end on a good note

Make sure to end every lesson on a good note. Even if you guys barely made it through the lesson, find something fun or enjoyable to do at the end.

Ending the lesson on a good note will help create a positive attitude around learning to read, even if it’s challenging for them. This is important because you don’t want your child to associate reading with negativity.

A positive attitude and a willingness to try are half the battle in learning anything, especially when trying to learn something challenging.

FAQs About the PRIDE Reading Program

Still got some questions after reading through this PRIDE Reading Program review? Here are some FAQs that might help.

Do I have to follow every step of the program?

As a homeschool mom who strongly supports your decision to teach your child in the way that you think is best, my first answer is no, you don’t have to follow every step.

However, this is one of those curriculums where you’ll want to follow the steps of the program as close as you can. The curriculum is designed very specifically to help reinforce reading concepts in a way that helps children learn.

If you skip around too much, you risk missing out on key concepts that can really help your child succeed in learning to read.

How long does it take to get through a lesson?

The age of your child will determine how long they’ll spend on each lesson. Younger children, around ages 5-6 will probably work about 20 minutes on a lesson.

Children 6-8 should spend around 30 minutes and children 9 and older should spend around 45-60 minutes.

As always, take into consideration your own child and how long they can focus and engage in structured learning. Some children might need occasional breaks to get through the lesson.

How long does it take to finish the whole curriculum?

Each level of the program should take about 40-60 hours to get through. PRIDE Reading Program offers 6 different levels.

What level would be best for my child?

The level your child will need will depend on where they are at with their reading. PRIDE Reading Program offers a placement test to help make sure you get the right level of program for your child.

Take their placement test here to quickly find out what level they would need.

Conclusion to This Pride Reading Program Review

I hope this PRIDE Reading Program review has helped you decide if this reading curriculum would be a good fit for your family.

If you’re still undecided, I recommend trying out the free placement test and seeing what level your child would need. Then you can take a look at the lessons for that level and see if it seems like something that would work well for your family.

And don’t forget to use the coupon code TRYPRIDE for 10% off your order before May 30, 2023.

Have you tried the PRIDE Reading Program? What did you think? Let us know in the comments or email me at admin@atouchofhomeschooling.com.

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