How much do you do in kindergarten?
If started in kindergarten, some teachers prefer to introduce only one sound a week and go through the first 30 lessons, Set 1. The minimum goal for kindergarten is to teach at least the consonant and short vowel sounds and make children comfortable with sounding out words. Nearly all children should be able to advance to the stage of reading words in context at varying degrees of first grade level and begin to write readable stories.
What do you do in first grade?
If most students had the program in kindergarten, in first grade they would start with a quick review of consonants and short vowels and then proceed with Lesson 31, Set 2. In addition to refining the independent word identification skills, recognizing letter sounds and blending, the primary goal for first grade is to concentrate on long vowels and variant vowels with emphasis on precise spellings, (such as ai, ay, a-e) in specific words when they write.
What about second grade and above?
Older students can benefit from review for spelling practice, especially concentrating on the longer words. New students should be tested to determine specific needs for letter sounds and blending with instruction or remediation as needed. The word lists in Ready Reading PLUS can be used for the review as well as for enrichment with other phonetic elements.
How much time do you spend on a lesson?
A lesson may be done in one day or spread out over several days. It can take as little as 15 minutes for the initial Auditory, Visual, and Word Blending activities, depending on the needs of the group. Storybooks take from ten to fifteen minutes to read and discuss. Expressive language activities allow as much time as needed for students to write stories. Coloring pictures takes whatever time a teacher normally allows. Review activities are optional but recommended. By introducing two sounds a week, or spending three to four days on a letter, it is possible to complete the book in a school year.
Where can the basal reader fit in?
The phonics lessons can be done concurrently with the basal reader instruction. It works best if the students work to Lesson 30, learning consonants and short vowels, before starting basal readers which require various word recognition skills. Students receiving Ready Reading instruction do not usually need the simple phonics instruction provided with the basals but would concentrate on the irregularly spelled nonphonetic sight vocabulary (such as of, said, etc.)
What is the link to whole language?
The Expressive Language portion of the lessons gives suggestions which utilize the experience of the students to stimulate discussions and emphasize writing. Besides the suggested activity, the words in the blending may bring out ideas for writing and other activities. For example, in the long I lessons, students can make “I” books about themselves or they can study “wild” things.
How does it help students who have learning problems?
Students such as those with mental handicaps, speech, or language problems, or learning disabilities have been found to benefit from the multi-sensory approach to learning letter sounds. Although EMH students may require more reinforcement activities than the average student, they can learn to identify words.
Can you teach to the whole class at once?
It actually works most efficiently to teach the whole class. Students learn to blend at different rates but, once they “hear” it, they work at similar rates to develop sight recognition and fluency. At the end of Lesson 26 or 30, after testing students, is a time for breaking into smaller groups, if desired. You can continue to teach new lessons to the whole group while the smaller groups concentrate on beginning basal readers or mastering consonant and short vowel sounds, depending on their levels of ability.
What makes students so successful with Ready Reading?
*The lessons have an organized, purposeful order for presentation of the letters and words. *The students have to learn only one new element in each lesson. The words in the Word Blending section and Storybooks contain only the letter sounds from previous lessons plus the one new letter sound being introduced. *In addition to studying words in isolation, students practice the phonetic words in the context of stories. *Students can depend on what they have learned previously to help them in the current lesson instead of being presented with many unfamiliar concepts and rules all at once. *Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic/Tactile input for learning each letter benefits all children, taking into account individual learning styles. *Students use both expressive and receptive language, since writing reinforces reading skills.