Reading Horizons 4.1 Features

Reading Horizons version 4.1 features a user-friendly interface that allows for easy navigation of this secondary and adult reading software. Administrative features include tools for student management and options for customizing lessons for individual students.

Lesson Features

• A human voice soundtrack is used to present lessons, give instruction, reinforce correct responses, and provide immediate corrective feedback. The entire program is voice narrated, ensuring the success of all students, even non-readers.
• The multi-sensory instruction respects individual learning styles and provides ways to reach every learner.
• Students experience learning success in increments while receiving continuous positive reinforcement of previously learned skills.
• Nothing is assumed.
• Students are required to move through the lessons sequentially.
• Each lesson has the capability of providing extra exercises for students who are struggling with a specific concept.
• If a student is interrupted, lessons are bookmarked for completion at a later date.

Assessment Features

• Four interim tests, administered automatically by the program, ensure student understanding of concepts taught and monitor student progress.
• Interim Test Reports are available on demand and provide the instructor with a prescription for each student. The curriculum is automatically customized for students who exhibit an inadequate understanding of concepts.
• Automatically generated prescriptions specify which lessons need to be reviewed, thus ensuring students master the skills taught before they move on.
• User-friendly reports allow for complete tracking of each student.

Read more details about our assessments here: Tests and Assessments.

Administrative Features

• Pre- and post-tests determine grade level, sight-word competency, and ability to read nonsense words. An option is included to indicate which part of the word is misread.
• Includes a variety of reports, including automatically generated prescriptions from Interim Tests, group reports, time-on-task reports, and more.
• Where appropriate, individual lessons or tests may be overridden by the administrator.

ESL/ESOL Features

• Includes a Foreign Language Translation option that makes the program accessible to non-English-speakers. Languages include: Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Haitian-Creole.
• The Word Study activity in the Mastery, Drill, and Practice contains a written translation of the word for all non-Asian languages.
• English for Special Purposes databases help ESL/ESOL students reinforce phonetic skills and vocabulary development using words for specific categories or industries. Words are in English and an optional foreign language.
• ESL Say component shows pictures and full-motion video demonstrating tongue placement and proper pronunciation.

Other Features

• 30 multi-sensory, interactive lessons feature an earlier introduction of decoding skills than in Discover Intensive Phonics, allowing students to begin reading multi-syllabic words much sooner.
• Scientifically based.
• Self-paced. Some students may complete the course more rapidly than others due to the rate at which they learn.
• Mastery, Drill, and Practice (MDP) sessions, including 2,800 words, follow each lesson to help students internalize the skills learned in the lesson. Students phonetically decode each word and have the option of recording it and playing it back to compare their pronunciation with the narrator's. The instructor may select specific sections and completion percentages for each student to finish in MDP.