Reading & Spelling Pure & Simple First Grade A-Z Part 3

  Originally targeting students 3rd grade and up and used as an intervention program with ADD/ADHD, dyslexic, autistic and ELL/ESL students, this program is equally effective with young, beginning students. Instruction is found in the Manual, and workbooks are available for additional reinforcement. The 90 lessons in the manual use a consistent four-step process: read, discuss word meanings, spell, and mark the chart. A no-nonsense presentation without distracting graphics means these lessons will work as well with remedial and ELL/ESL students as they will with young students.

The non-consumable manual provides ready-to-go lessons (detailed instructional sequences on left-hand pages with reading material for the student on the right-hand pages). Designed for one-on-one instruction, it can be used by itself or coupled with grade level workbooks for review and practice activities. Students can move at their own pace through four units; reading words from the first lesson. Unit 1 - Short-Vowel Words; Unit 2 - Long-Vowel Words and |ü|; Unit 3 - More Vowel and Consonant Variations; and Unit 4 - Putting it All Together. Includes a system for documenting student achievement. 275 pgs, spiral-bound.

Each new concept and new pattern are introduced, learned, practiced, and reviewed. Additional support and information included as an appendix: ideas for the classroom, basic terms, index of letters/sounds, pronunciation guide, an index that shows when particular words are introduced, and reproducible completion charts and records.

  The consumable Workbooks are grade specific in the lower grades but can be used sequentially in the upper grades or with remedial or ELL/ESL students. There is some overlap in lesson coverage between the workbooks with lessons covered at different grade levels having similar, but age-appropriate activities (font size and line size differs as well as number of examples). Workbook page counts vary. pb.

  This program, used either with or without the workbooks, is straight-forward, well-constructed, easy to use, and comprehensive. I think the emphasis on sound patterns greatly increases its effectiveness. Students are immediately encouraged by their ability to read, understand, and spell a growing vocabulary of words. The lack of graphics or illustrations limits the tendency to guess at words. Use of the workbooks allows extra practice and a broader language arts skills base (modern method handwriting instruction/practice, sentence writing, alphabetizing, and dictionary use). ~ Janice

Learning the alphabet is fun and easy with this set of workbooks. Teachers will be stunned at the reading, spelling, and comprehension skills (capitalization, simple sentence formation, ending punctuation, practice of good penmanship) built into their students when they use these simple lessons. Each lesson is set up in the same format, introducing letters one at a time. Students will be able to read, spell, and comprehend hundreds of words upon completion of all four workbooks. Each lesson also includes a fun illustration for students to color to help them remember the letter sound being featured. These workbooks are unique because they focus on the alphabet letters and their sounds, removing the tendency to guess. Special education students (those with dyslexia, dysgraphia, or sensory processing issues) have benefited immeasurably from using our curriculum, as have children on the autism spectrum and ESL, and ELL students whose first language is Spanish, Burmese, Vietnamese, or another foreign language. The textbook has been very successfully used in Tier 2 (Response to Intervention) programs. Classroom teachers are delighted when they realize that accomplished students enjoy and benefit from the lessons as much as those who struggle.