The Reading Game (Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

My six-year-old has finally learned all of his letters and is starting to sound out a few words. He is an active boy and had not really wanted to take the time to sit and learn how to read. Therefore, I was excited to try out The Reading Game, 2nd Edition by Allsaid & Duun, LLC.

I am always on the lookout for fun games and activities that can supplement our normal curriculum and make learning a bit more fun. Since my son has been resistant to learning to read, I was grateful for the opportunity to try this game and see if he enjoyed it.

Overview and Game Description

The premise of The Reading Game, 2nd Edition is that through this game your child can be reading their first book in just a week. This is a pretty lofty goal, so I was interested in seeing how well it worked.

The game starts with a simple memory match game using ten cards (five words) at a time. The child memorizes the words as you play the memory matching game and then moves on to the next ten cards. Once the child has learned two sets of cards, they are able to read sentences off of a larger picture card.

The child continues to learn more words in a similar fashion and once they reach thirty words they are able to read the corresponding picture book. The game includes six story books and the matching word cards for each of those books.

Our Experience

Once a child has successfully completed the entire game, they should have a reading vocabulary of 180 words, most of which are high frequency or Dolch sight words. The game is fairly open and go and requires very little prep on the part of the parent. I was even able to have my thirteen-year-old daughter help my son on the days that I was busy.

We played this game with my son 3-4 times a week over the course of about the last month. He loved the game and enjoyed the matching component. He was able to learn the first several sets of words and was so excited to be able to read the sentences. He even made sure to read them to his dad and grandparents.

However, he is not quite finished with the first level, and so still unable to read the first book. I am sure that some students who are quick to memorize will be able to read the book with-in the first week, but I would expect that many students would take longer than a week to get through the first level.

He does continue to ask to play the game and I see the progress that he is making, so we will continue to use the game. There is no phonics included in the basic game, but there are some instructions on including basic phonics once your child has mastered the words included in the game.

Conclusions

While some families may find it suitable for standalone reading instruction, I think this game fits in best as a supplement. It is a great way to learn the sight words and to increase reading confidence, but I would pair it with a solid phonics program.

Overall, we did not see the rapid results of reading in one week, but we did find this product to be an enjoyable game that increased reading fluency. Do you want a copy of the Reading Game for yourself?  Head over to the Homeschool Review Crew Blog to enter the giveaway! The Crew will be giving away FIVE games.  Not sure yet if the game is for you?  Read more of the crew reviews, then enter the giveaway!”