Customer Reviews

Reading Pathways: Simple Exercises to Improve Reading Fluency (Jossey-Bass Teacher)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have used Reading Pathways since its publication by Jossey-Bass, and I used its predecessor Pyramid since 2002, so I can honestly say I have considerable experience with this unique and effective method.

I have also taught her larger book, Phonics Pathways. These two books are the best materials available for helping children overcome dyslexia. They are very easy to teach and complement each other. They are self-contained and comprehensive.

Reading Pathways is so powerful that it can almost teach itself. Once I had a fourth grader who could only read on a third grade level and had failed the state reading test (TAKS) the previous year. I was very busy with some other students so I just handed him Reading Pathways, asking asked him to sit quietly and read it for himself. In less than three weeks he came to me and said, "Mr. Potter, I finished the book. It was really cool." Working alone with the book, he had advanced to independent fifth grader on my 1987 Riverside Reading Inventory! On the Miller Word Identification Assesssment for whole-word dyslexia, he reduced his phonics errors from 21 (out of 50 words) to only 5; and he could read all those words correctly when he spelled them, indicating that independent reading of the exercises had dramatically reduced his whole-dyslexia and significantly improve his fluency and comprehension. After seeing his progress, all the kids wanted to read Reading Pathways.

The exercises in the book increase eye span, develop eye tracking, and teach syllabication.

Be sure and see the sister book, Phonics Pathways: Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling

Don Potter, Odessa, TX

This is a great book for children. I purchased this book because I wanted to help my son (6 years)with his reading fluency and I must say it does work. Dolores G. Hiskes has some other books worthy of note, "Phonics Pathways" and "Reading Pyrmid". I actually recommended these books to my mother who is using it with my 10 year old nephew and she is seeing a big difference in his word pronounciation and his reading fluency (he has some speech difficulty).

I have just begun volunteer tutoring ESL. I've never done this before. Yesterday I had the first session with my student. After experimenting with a few other books, we tried Reading Pathways. My adult ESL student LOVES it! He was smiling from ear to ear as he began to see how the letters, sounds, and words came together. This is a young man who cannot write and spell even in his native language. After going through several pages, he looked up and told me, "I like this book, let's keep going."

Initially I was a bit nervous, not ever having tutored before, but armed with Reading Pathways, I am confident that we will make excellent progress in terms of reading, spelling, writing and also speaking. Thanks for this wonderful book!

I am a homeschooler of 4 kids. My first 3 kids learned reading with very few problems. My first child tested on college level at age 15. Then....came my youngest child....we did phonics programs one after another, year by year until the 5th grade! I was starting to believe that he was incapable of learning to read. I went to the library looking for anything that I have not tried before. I saw Reading Pathways, and I kid you not, the very first day he started to read. It was as if something snapped in his brain and all of the sudden he understood letters, sounds, words and sentences. He is a 6th grader and is now reading!!!I can't explain it so if you can please email me. All I can tell you is that this pyramid method really worked for him. He is now reading words like unsurpassable, formidable, and substantial. Small words that he used to struggle with is now readable to him. All I can say is God bless the author, my prayers have been answered.

As a homeschooler, I'm using this book with my 7yo to improve her fluency and eye tracking. We're on about page 60 now and I'm seeing definite improvement. I would recommend this book to others.

I do have one caveat. I do not understand why on earth the author/publisher would put a distracting illustration on a page meant for children with visual tracking issues. Dewey the bookworm is a CONSTANT distraction for her on every page. We put a sticky note over him, but it would be so much easier if he were not even on the page. Other than that, I think the book is a great help.

Phonics Pathways gives students a systematic and WONDERFUL consistent method to learn to read. Each page completed lays a foundation for the next section which guarantees success. I have taught school for 30 years and am a reading specialist. I have seen programs come and go and am convinced this program is the BEST PHONICS PROGRAM I've seen. It's a hidden jewel!

I teach in the resource room at my school and use your program with
grades K-7. My students range from IEP's to just struggling readers. I use both the Reading Pathways and Phonics Pathways books. I have seen HUGE success with my struggling kids; especially the younger ones. Parents are telling me over and over how much better their children are reading! Even the children are excitedly telling me "I can READ!" Needless to say, I am so thrilled at their success!

I just want you to know how much I love your program!! Even though I thought I had the training and resources I needed, I could tell I still wasn't reaching some of my students. So, I went searching and luckily found Reading and Phonics Pathways. I've had some training in Orton-Gillingham and I love Pathways so much better. I do incorporate a little of OG as well as some Morgan Dynamic Phonics, but your books are by far superior to them both. They make teaching and learning FUN!!

I have students begging me to do the pyramids. They can't wait to get
into my room and see what we'll be doing that day. Thank you, thank
you!

After using Phonics Pathways and seeing immediate results with my two children I decided to see if they would benefit from one of the excerses for reading fluency. Did they ever! They enjoyed the exercise, too. Reading Pathways is an entire book of those exercises for reading fluency, which, by the way, has also been tremendously successful at improving their overall reading skills. An excellent, excellent resource for teaching reading.

I bought this book after wearing out the library one. My 9 yr old needed practice with her reading fluency and this book did the trick. It's easy and a little fun reading the stories. Her eye tracking has improved so much in the last month since we've been reading this daily. We only spend 10 minutes a day with this book and I ask her comprehension questions after each story. Daily practice really helps boosts their self esteem.

Our daughter was a struggling reader, and her confidence was continuing to lessen each time she picked up a book. I took her out of public school to teach her myself, and I armed myself with Reading Pathways, Bob books, and Explode the Code. Wow! In three weeks, she has reached what the school would call "target reading level".
Initially, I was skeptical about this book because it seems too simple. My daughter easily grasped the phonics concept, so I thought this might just be busy work for her. However, it is amazing how much she needed the "eye training". This book really has helped her FOCUS on each phoneme, and therefore read each work correctly. At first she was sounding "choppy" since she was sounding out everything. Now, about 15 lessons into it, she is already reading fluently.
This book has gotten her excited to progress quickly. She always asks if she can move on to the next pyramid, and still enjoys reviewing earlier pyraminds. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to help a struggling reader improve their skills and confidence.