Reading Horizons Sprints Miles Ahead With V5 Reading Program

April 6, 2010 - PRLog -- On April 1, 2010, Reading Horizons, a company engaged in producing an intensive reading program for struggling readers, announced the release of Reading Horizons v5 (version 5) software and instructor manuals.  Reading Horizons v5 is developed from 26 years of continuous research and product development for the independent use of adolescent and adult learners who read below grade level.

Reading Horizons v5 can be used as a teacher supplement or as a reading program for students to use independently.  The software allows learners to work at their own pace and assures they grasp key foundational skills before progressing to more difficult reading skills. Upon completing 40-60 hours of instruction, the average learner improves their reading by three grade levels.

A new addition to the program is the Reading Horizons v5 Library which provides over 225 reading passages in 15 different genres ranging from sports to technology.  This new feature was added in response to teacher feedback and as an effort to help students transfer Reading Horizons decoding skills into comprehension and fluency in reading.  Mike Feeney, Clearfield Job Corps Coordinator, expressed: “The Library you've added is fantastic. This is just the component we have needed to bridge the gap [for struggling readers].”

Reading Horizons v5 software also includes 68 interactive lessons that engage students in multi-sensory, Orton-Gillingham-based teaching strategies. "Our phonics product is grounded in Orton-Gillingham principles and practices," says Reading Horizons President Tyson Smith, "and the proof of our product's value is confirmed in the almost daily heart-to-heart feedback we receive from our field professionals and, most importantly, from student users."

One adult education teacher, Doraine Bingham, mentioned: “Steven, age 56, could not read. He was dyslexic and had never learned to read. We went through the Reading Horizons program and he learned the skills that helped him to read. It worked immediately.”

Reading Horizons dyslexia specialist, Shantell Berrett, has seen first hand the vitality of this program in helping those with dyslexia learn to read.  Berrett expressed how the new v5 program will help those with dyslexia by saying: "Reading Horizons v5 presents the same proven method necessary for those with dyslexia, but does so with seamless instruction and interaction. It will be easier for those with processing issues to understand and follow the program with high quality visual aids and positive audio clues that are indispensible. There is greater emphasis in v5 on the transfer of these skills to context reading, focusing on building vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. This will greater help these struggling students find success in reading.  It is truly amazing!"

For English Language Learners (ELL), the new Pronunciation Proficiency tool presents live footage of a mouth pronouncing each sound as well as animated tongue placements. Students equipped with a microphone can record themselves practicing each sound and can compare their pronunciation to that of the narrator’s.

In regards to the new v5 software, Sandy Hoffman, a trainer for Reading Horizons program exclaimed: “I love it.  I loved it before but the changes just blow me away!  It's everything that the teachers have been asking for and much more.”

For more information on how Reading Horizons v5 software can help educators assist students improve their reading skills visit: www.ReadingHorizons.com

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Founded in 1984, Reading Horizons has spent the last two decades developing and perfecting computer software based on the effective Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself (DIP) method first published in 1976. Reading Horizons originally produced only an elementary version of the software but soon became very aware of the need for a sequential, basic reading program for secondary and adult students. Reading Horizons applied for and was awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the federal Department of Education to develop the Discover Intensive Phonics software for non-reading adults. The result was Reading Horizons.