Dog on a Log Reading Program

The curriculum includes two free instructional books and assessment tools to guide parents in implementation.

Includes two free books: 'Teaching a Struggling Reader: One Mom's Experience with Dyslexia' and 'How to Use Decodable Books to Teach Reading,' plus the Dog On a Log Quick Assessment Tool

The program provides systematic, explicit phonics instruction based on Orton-Gillingham methodology, teaching 44 phonemes in structured sequence.

Based on Orton-Gillingham methodology with systematic teaching of 44 phonemes, starting with auditory skills, then 5 short vowels and 21 consonants, progressing through increasingly complex phonetic concepts

The curriculum uses complete decodable books rather than excerpts, with three distinct series progressing from simple stories to chapter books.

The program includes complete books in the Pup Books, Let's Go! Books, and Chapter Books series, with each step containing multiple complete stories that can be purchased individually or as collections

The curriculum focuses primarily on phonetic decoding skills rather than systematic domain knowledge building across subject areas.

The review emphasizes phonetic concepts, sight words, and decoding skills but does not mention content-area knowledge building or systematic exposure to history, science, or cultural knowledge

The curriculum includes basic handwriting instruction but lacks comprehensive writing development across genres.

Brookes provides tips on teaching handwriting and states children should learn to write as they learn to read, with traceable letter cards provided, but no mention of structured composition or writing process instruction

The program carefully controls text complexity through decodable progression, though this may limit exposure to rich, complex texts.

Books progress systematically from simple decodable texts (Let's Go! Books start with about 50 words) to chapter books (over 250 words), but emphasis is on decodability rather than text complexity

The program requires direct parent teaching throughout, though instructional guidance becomes less explicit after the Pup Books series.

Parents teach throughout the program with explicit instruction in Pup Books, but Let's Go! and Chapter Books have no instruction within the books themselves and teacher instructions become 'a bit vague'

The curriculum includes some review elements through games and flashcards but lacks systematic retrieval practice.

Free printables include gameboards, flashcards, and card games, and parents can move at whatever speed works with review and reteaching as needed

The program includes sight word instruction but lacks comprehensive vocabulary development strategies beyond basic word recognition.

Each step introduces new sight words (e.g., step five adds 'come, egg, walk, talk, pull'), but the review does not mention explicit vocabulary instruction, morphological analysis, or deep word knowledge building