The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading Review

Reading Apps

With its affordable price tag, proven methodology, clear and scripted lessons, multisensory activities and strong review component, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a complete program that can make learning to read a much easier and less stressful experience for everyone involved. 

What We Like

Affordable
Compact
All in one reading instruction
Multisensory
Fully scripted and open and go
Integrates the use hands-on activities
Short, daily lessons
Lots of built-in review, repetition

But watch out for

Not a lot of illustrations or diagrams
Repetition can be a little much for some students
Not as much long reading practice as some other programs

What Is The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading?

Created by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington of the Well-Trained Mind, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is, much as the title would imply, a user-friendly program designed to help kids learn to read. 

It does so through the use of a single, scripted multi-year book or manual that contains helpful teaching tips and daily, multisensory lessons that are filled with explicit phonics instruction, continual review, and various games and activities.

What Ages Or Grades Is The Ordinary Parent’s Guide To Teaching Reading Intended For?

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is roughly intended for students from about Pre-K to grades 4 or so.

It covers the very fundamentals of phonics instruction (such as letter identification, short vowel sounds and consonants) all the way through more advanced concepts in reading, such as multisyllable words, long and unusual words and phrases, compound words, homographs and more. 

Unlike some other reading programs out there, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is skill-based.

Rather than being divided into a series of workbooks based on grade levels, the book is divided into 25 sections, each focused on a particular phonetic concept or rule. 

For example, section 1 begins with essential vowel sounds, while section 4 centers around two consonant blends and section 5 discusses consonant digraphs and so on.

This focus on skill can make The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading better suited to teaching younger students who are ready to read, whether they are “on level” or precocious learners, as parents are free to go at the pace of the child, rather than presumed grade-level ability. 

It also makes it a lot easier to use for older students who might be struggling with their reading, as they can freely use the book to work on the skills they need without being embarrassed by obvious references to lower grades or ages. 

On the downside, however, parents switching into The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading from another program might find it a little trickier when figuring out where to start. 

Without a placement test and without any grade indicators to go by, parents really need to be tuned in to where their students are at reading skill-wise. 

What’s Required To Teach The Program?

Compared to some other reading programs out there, such as Logic of English or All About Reading, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a pretty compact program that doesn’t really have a lot of books, readers, kits or other materials for parents to buy, store and keep track of. 

Instead, the bulk of the program is taught using an instructor’s guide, with students following along in their own, pared-down book.

In addition to these, the program makes use of flashcards and magnet tiles, and interested parents can pick up an optional audio companion (MP3 or CD) for early lessons that can help with pronunciation. 

Interestingly, previous editions of The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading were even more compact than this and didn’t really come with a student book. 

Although this did make the program a little more streamlined and affordable, as parents only had to buy one book for the program, it did mean that parents and students would have to frequently pass the instructor’s manual back and forth when looking at examples or reading exercises, which could get annoying over time.

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading Instructor’s Guide

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading Instructor’s Guide is a 500+ page, black and white book that contains just about everything a parent needs to teach the course and help their child learn to read.

It contains 231 phonics-based lessons, as well as various teaching tips, an FAQ of sorts, phonetic symbols, games and activity instructions and some ideas for remediating struggling older readers.

picture showing Ordinary parent's guide to teaching reading section for older students

The book also provides a relatively detailed outline of the underlying philosophy of the program, as well as ideas for how to conduct its lessons most effectively.

By and large, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is fairly text-heavy with no pictures, charts, diagrams or illustrations to speak of. 

While this doesn’t make the book the most exciting to look at, it does mean that the lessons are kept pretty focused with very little to distract either parent or student and it keeps things pretty concise…or at least as concise as can be when it comes to comprehensive reading instruction.

One thing parents should be aware of when it comes to the Instructor’s Guide, however, is that its lessons are fully scripted, providing both step by step lesson instructions and a complete dialogue that parents can follow.

screenshot showing scripting in Orginary parents guide to teaching reading lessons

Some homeschooling parents aren’t fans of this level of scripting, particularly more experienced parents who would prefer to put their own spin on teaching and those who would prefer to have more natural, spontaneous conversations with their child.

That said, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading’s scripting can be of great value to new homeschoolers, as well as those who are simply uncertain about their own ability to teach reading.

Student Book

The student book that accompanies The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a shorter (although at 300+ pages, still pretty substantial) book that allows students to follow along with their lessons without having to constantly peer over their parents’ shoulders.

Also printed in black and white, the student books are essentially pared-down versions of the lessons found in the Instructor’s Guide, containing only the essential letters, words, sentences and writing that students are expected to examine and/or work on directly. 

screenshot from ordinary parents guide to teaching reading student book

As with the Instructor’s Guide, there isn’t much in the way of illustrations, graphics or charts in the student book, which can make them a little more boring for students to look at and use. 

That said, it does make them far more distraction-free and straightforward compared to other student reading guides and workbooks out there.

Flashcards and magnet tiles

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading includes a good number of hands-on activities and exercises in its lessons and makes rather extensive use of word and letter cards, as well as magnetic alphabet tiles from time to time. 

There are no real specific brands or unique versions required for the program, and the lessons will accommodate just about any set that parents can find online, secondhand or even those they make themselves. 

The company does offer flashcards that parents can order from the Well-Trained Mind website in physical or PDF formats. 

The cards are sold in sets of 320 cards and are printed on an A4 sheet of fairly thick cardstock. 

Although parents will need to spend some time cutting the cards out themselves, the cards are pretty cheap (usually less than $10 for a set) and can be a fairly convenient option when added to a course bundle. 

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading Approach

Explicit and rules-based phonics instruction

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading uses an explicit, rules-based approach to teaching phonics. 

As opposed to more literature-based methods that might rely on exposing students to written material or even analytic approaches, where students are exposed to and deconstruct whole words, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading directly and clearly explains phonetic concepts and rules, starting with the very basics of letter sounds and progressively moving towards blending them into words.

example of explicit phonics instruction in the ordinary parents guide to teaching reading

As they go, students are taught various rules and strategies to follow, and are given direct examples for each concept to examine.

A section might contain a lesson about “i-consonant-e,” for example, where students are directly the long “I” sound in this format and are given examples such as rice, ice, mice, dice and so on.

For the most part, explicit and rules-based phonics instruction is often regarded as the more effective method of teaching kids to read, providing stronger outcomes compared to other methods.

Parents should be aware, however, that this kind of explicit, rules-based phonics might not be everyone’s cup of tea. 

Some homeschools may feel that this type of direct and explicit instruction can be a little too controlling or top down and may feel that it makes reading more of a chore for kids to endure than a joy.

Multisensory

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is also a multisensory reading program, similar to curricula such as Logic of English Foundations or All About Reading

During its lessons, students and parents maintain an active dialogue, repeat concepts and rules orally, read, point out or otherwise pantomime things from the book, use flashcards, work with magnet tiles, occasionally play games and more.

screenshot of in-lesson games in ordinary parents guide to teaching reading

Consequently, although as a whole in our opinion the program does lean towards auditory and visual learning a bit more, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading can be quite suitable for students with different learning preferences, such as tactile and kinesthetic learners. 

All in one, multi-year reading instruction

Interestingly, and unlike some other reading programs out there such as Explode the Code, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is centered around a single book that can be used by parents and students over several years, or as long as they need to develop a solid reading base. 

In other words, there are no grade-leveled books to purchase, which can make the program a lot more cost effective as they can spread the cost of its purchase across a few years of learning.

By keeping all its reading instruction in one book, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading can also make teaching multiple students and siblings a lot easier, as parents can teach a number of different skill levels using a single manual.

Finally, because it contains several years’ worth of reading instruction in one book, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading can actually be a great option for precocious learners and quick studies as they can more freely move at their own pace without parents having to worry about finding and buying the next level up.

That said, it is important to note that in order to be fully usable for students across several years and grades, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading mainly focuses on reading instruction and doesn’t really teach other language arts skills, such as reading comprehension, spelling, grammar mechanics, penmanship or writing. 

As a result, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading can’t be said to be a complete language arts program and parents will still need to pick up additional curricula to develop these skill sets. 

Continual Review

Finally, as a reading program The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading seems to be a strong believer in review and repetition, implementing a process of continuous review in its lessons that the authors dub “two review and one new.”

screenshot of lessons reminding parents to do review in ordinary parents guide to teaching reading

In other words,, in each lesson parents review concepts from a previous lesson that students are still not proficient with and then review the most recent lesson before introducing a new concept. 

Similarly, lessons in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading also tend to include a good deal of repetition, with students chanting sounds, words and rules alongside their parents in order to hammer home proper phonetic rules and relationships. 

example of repetition in ordinary parents guide to teaching reading

As a result of this review and repetition, students have a greater opportunity to refresh their knowledge and skill over time, something that can really benefit students who tend to develop skill and knowledge gaps over time if not given enough opportunity to practice previously learned concepts and material.

On the downside, of course, not every student benefits or is exactly a fan of constant review and repetition, and many, particularly those who tend to pick concepts up quickly, can become bored or even frustrated by it after a while. 

How It Works

As mentioned previously, there are 231 lessons in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading, which is divided into 25 sections, each covering a particular phonetic concept or skill.

Beginning with short-vowel and consonant sounds, these progress through silent letters, r-changed vowels, contractions and more before finally ending with homonyms, homophones and  homographs. 

The lessons themselves are designed to be quite short, usually only a couple pages long and generally requiring only around 10-30 minutes to go through (depending on the exact section and, of course, the student), and are intended to be used daily. 

The program is parent-led, with parents reading and introducing concepts to the student from their Instructor’s Guide and students following along in their book.

In general, each lesson follows a fairly consistent format. 

Parents start off by reviewing any concepts they may have marked as not yet mastered and by reviewing topics from a previous lesson. 

Following the initial lesson review, parents follow a pretty clear lesson script, carrying them through the introduction and explanation of a phonetic concept or rule, pointing out letters and combinations in the book, on cards or using magnetic tiles. 

example of in lesson instruction in the ordinary parents guide to teaching reading

At times, and especially when it comes to more challenging concepts, parents and students can even get a little more physically active, such as by using hand-motions to convey meaning.

They may even be asked to act out part of the lesson, for instance by having a student blow out imaginary candles to demonstrate the “wh” sound.

After the explicit instruction is complete, parents typically introduce examples of the concept from a bank, introducing them one at a time.

At times, especially in later lessons, students will be giving reading exercises, in the form of words, sentences, poems, and even stories. 

example of reading exercise in ordinary parents guide to teaching reading

These texts are usually pretty short, ranging from a few words or sentences to a couple paragraphs or stanzas at a time, and serve to provide immediate and in-lesson practice. 

At the end of each lesson, parents are offered an optional follow-up activity that is designed to reinforce the day’s learning in some way.

These follow-ups are pretty diverse and cover anything from a simple re-read of a passage to drawing and even going outside and finding examples of certain concepts being used in real life. 

Our thoughts on OPGTR lessons

Overall, we feel that The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a pretty straightforward reading program.

Its lessons are well scripted and user-friendly, containing clear and explicit directions and dialogues that parents, even those with little to no experience teaching reading, should be able to follow without much of an issue.

The lessons are kept fairly short, as well. 

Centered around one concept at a time (plus review) and with shorter readings and example lists, they tend to take around 10-30 minutes to complete and so should be fairly easy to slide into even busier schedules. 

Their short nature also means that they shouldn’t be too intimidating or challenging for wiggly students to sit through.

They are also intended to be done daily, which not only introduces a good amount of consistency and routine when it comes to learning to read (particularly given the consistent structure that the lessons follow), but it tends to keep knowledge fresh, particularly with The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading’s “two review and one new” lesson design.

More than the lesson length, we liked the fact that The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a multisensory program, complementing its written examples and learning with dialogues (auditory), physical demonstrations and pantomime (kinesthetic), card and magnet tile work (hands-on/tactile), and a variety of follow-up activities.

Not only does this make the program far more effective for students with different learning preferences, but studies have shown that such multisensory learning can improve memory recall and retention in the long run, making it a particularly effective way of learning.

Finally, we like the fact that the program is very self-contained and compact. 

More or less everything a parent needs to teach reading across the K-4 level is contained in this one book, including instruction and reading practice. 

As we’ve mentioned this makes the program very easy to use, organize and store and ideal for those working with several students of different ages. 

On the downside, while the books do contain ample reading practice, these tend to be quite short, generally words, sentences or a few short paragraphs. 

As a result, some parents may feel the need to add in longer form reading practice at certain points, and so may need to supplement the program with additional readers or even books.

Additionally, the lessons in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading include quite a bit of review and repetition, as we’ve mentioned. 

At times, for example, students may be asked to orally repeat or recite certain phonetic rules or concepts several times in a row.

While this can be very helpful to many students and can help them remember certain rules or ideas, some children, particularly those learn and absorb information quickly, may find the emphasis on repetition and revision a bit annoying at times. 

How Easy Is the Program To Use?

Although at well over 500 pages long, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading can look a little intimidating, it is actually surprisingly straightforward and easy to use.

Each lesson in the Instructor’s Guide is very well laid out and follows a clear, step-by-step pattern of instruction that is pretty easy to follow.

Further, the lessons are fully scripted. Not only do they tell parents exactly what to do and when to do it, but they also provide a complete, word-for-word dialogue that parents can read from. 

While perhaps not as necessary for more experienced homeschooling parents, who may  already have established an effective method of teaching with their student, this scripting can be very useful for new homeschoolers and those uncertain about their ability to teach reading.

In addition, the carefully laid out structure and guidance of the lessons combined with the full scripting means that parents won’t have to do a lot of prep work before each lesson, making The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading a pretty user-friendly and open and go curriculum. 

Parents should note, however, that although its lessons are fairly short, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading can be very parent-intensive, requiring frequent back and forth dialogues, oral repetition and a good amount of patience and attention from parents.  

Pros and Cons

Pros

Affordable

Generally speaking, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading Instructor’s Guide can be picked up for less than $40 and the student’s guide for less than $30 or so. 

Given that these form the core of the program and can be used over several years, we feel The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading can be considered to be quite affordable compared to many other reading programs out there.

Compact

Based largely off of an instructor’s manual and a student book, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a fairly compact homeschool reading program. 

Although it does make use of some flashcards and magnetic tiles, there aren’t any specific kits, workbooks, or worksheets for parents to worry about buying, storing or keeping track of. 

All in one reading instruction

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a complete phonics program that contains several years worth of reading instruction in a single book. 

This makes it both very cost effective for a single student studying in K-4, and makes it very helpful for parents of several students studying at once. 

Multisensory

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a multisensory reading program that blends dialogue, demonstrations, reading practice, games and activities and more into its lessons, allowing them to better help students with different learning styles, 

Scripted, open and go

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is also quite easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of prep work on the part of parents. 

Its fully scripted lessons tell parents exactly what to do, when to do it and how it should be done, and even provides them with a complete dialogue to help them teach more effectively. 

Short, daily lessons

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading’s lessons typically only take about 10-30 minutes daily, which means that they shouldn’t be too difficult for most students to sit through.

Lots of review

Lessons in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading contain a good deal of review and repetition, which means that students get a lot of opportunity to refresh their skills and properly encode new information into their memories.

Cons

Books can be text-heavy

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading doesn’t contain much in the way of charts, illustrations, diagrams or pictures and isn’t really the most exciting text to look at, either for parents or students. 

Repetition and review not for every student

While many students benefit from consistent review and repetition of phonetic rules, there is a lot of it in this program and not every student will appreciate it and may become bored or frustrated as a result. 

Not as much lengthy reading practice included as in some other programs

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading contains a good amount of reading practice inside the main text, largely in the form of sentences, poems and other short written pieces. 

While convenient, some parents may feel that students can benefit from longer form reading practice and may need to supplement the program with readers as a result.

Who Is The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading Ideal For?

Homeschools on a budget

As a complete reading program that costs well under $100 for several years worth of learning, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is very affordable and should easily fit even tighter homeschool budgets. 

New or uncertain parents teaching their kids to read

Being fully scripted and well-structured, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading doesn’t really require parents to do a lot of prep work before its lessons or to do any real improvisation during. 

As a result, it can be a very easy to use and a good solution to those uncertain about their own teaching skills, as well as those who are new to teaching altogether. 

Parents of multiple students working on reading

As The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading contains several years worth of reading instruction, a single instructor’s guide can very easily be used to teach several students of different ages at once. 

Students who need lots of review

Each lesson in the program contains two review components, which can be very beneficial for students who have a tendency to quickly forget what they’ve learned over time.

Students who learn best with auditory and visual exercises

Most lessons in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading are based around a back and forth dialogue, visual examples and even physical demonstrations (such as pantomimes) of phonetic concepts, making them ideal for auditory and visual learners. 

Students who have a hard time with long reading lessons

As lessons in the program generally take less than a half-hour to complete, they shouldn’t be too much trouble for most students to sit through while remaining focused. 

Who Is It Not Ideal For?

Students who don’t need or want lots of review or repetition

While repetition and review are often important components for retaining information, not every student necessarily needs or appreciates it and may find the amount of revision in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading to be a bit much.

Those who dislike direct and explicit reading instruction

Although direct and explicit phonics instruction is generally regarded as the most effective method of reading instruction, some parents and students may prefer a different approach to teaching reading.

Homeschools looking for a complete language arts program

The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is very focused on teaching students to read and doesn’t contain much in the way of writing, grammar mechanics, handwriting and other general language arts skills.

Price

Note: Prices correct as of writing. All prices in USD.

As we’ve mentioned, there isn’t really a lot that parents need to buy with this program, as it mainly consists of an Instructor’s Guide and Student Book. 

There are a couple optional items that parents can pick up to make things easier, as well, such as an audio companion and company-produced flashcards.

Physical copyPDF
Instructor’s Guide$33.95$28.95
Student Book$25.95$19.95
Bundle$54.90

Audio companion CD: $8.99

Audio companion MP3: $6.99 

Flashcards (printed): $7.95

Flashcards (PDF): $6.35

As always it is important to check for current pricing, as well as any deals or offers that might be in place. 

Or

Or

Is It Worth The Price?

Although The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is very affordable, it also can provide a lot of value to homeschooling parents. 

It is an all in one reading program, covering several years worth of phonics and reading instruction, from simple vowels to homographs, in a single book, making it very cost effective for parents looking for a single program they can use over time, parents of precocious students, and bigger homeschool families.

As a reading program, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide teaches explicit, rules based phonics and does so in a very easy to teach way, with fully scripted lessons and little required prep work. 

Finally, its lessons are short and to the point, making them easier on both parents and students, and they are pretty multisensory, involving dialogues, demonstrations and a variety of games and activities that can help keep kids engaged and learning.

Bottom Line

Teaching children to read is an important and rewarding, yet often intimidating, experience for parents. 

With its affordable price tag, proven methodology, clear and scripted lessons, multisensory activities and strong review component, The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a complete program that can make learning to read a much easier and less stressful experience for everyone involved. 

Picture of our author and editor Anne Miller

About the Author

Anne Miller is the editor of The Smarter Learning Guide and is a passionate advocate for education and educational technology. A mom of two, she majored in English Language and Literature and worked as a substitute teacher and tutor for several years. When not writing she continues to root for the Yankees and the Giants.