1
You do not have to prepare lesson plans for any of the lessons in this book. The planning has already been done for you. The teaching protocol, consisting of four steps, is the same for all 90 lessons.
2
Every lesson has a brief set of instructions, never more than one page long. Included are teaching tips, insights about learners, and explanations about our teaching method. Your effectiveness as an instructor will be enhanced by your knowing the reasons we approach the teaching of reading as we do. Rest assured that our method is thoughtfully designed, systematic, sequential, and research-based. We try to explain fundamental reading concepts succinctly, giving you the information you need to help your student be successful. (The aim of the support material is to equip you to be an effective reading instructor, not necessarily to be a scholar.)
3
There are some excellent teaching tips in the Pre-Unit! (You have the option of skipping the Pre-Unit if your student already knows the alphabet letters and their basic sounds.) If you will not be using the Pre-Unit, we encourage you to thumb through this section to capture the instructional nuggets. For example, the overview contains a sample dialog for teaching a letter sound. In Lesson B, we suggest a way you can help a distracted student gain focus. We also explain how to use a No. 2 pencil to control lesson flow and give your student positive, non-verbal feedback. There is also a note about why it is important for you to monitor your student’s eye movement.
More teaching tips are interspersed throughout the book. The first 23 lessons are especially so endowed. Take a few minutes to scan these pages before you begin teaching your first lesson. You will gain a sense of how the program flows. Practical and easy-to-implement ideas for the classroom teacher are provided on the Ideas for the Classroom page.
4
Signposts are provided on all of the instruction pages to guide you. You will see headings like these:
NEW CONCEPT LEARN
NEW PATTERN PRACTICE
INTRODUCE REVIEW
Just follow these markers. The lessons are progressive, meaning knowledge of reading and spelling patterns will build. Review exercises are presented frequently to help your student achieve mastery. Feel free to share some of the background information from the instruction pages with your student. Use your judgment in deciding what to mention.
5
This reading program has no speed limits! Please do not rush through the lessons. DO STAY on a lesson for as long as it takes for your student to become highly proficient. (You even have the option of doing a “go back” and starting over if you think it wise.) Proceed at a pace that enables your student to excel.
The next several pages provide a bird’s-eye view of the curriculum and will help you get ready to teach the lessons.