How to Use the Program

• A printer and US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) paper.
• A pencil, and optionally a whiteboard or dry-erase pocket.
• 15–25 minutes a day, four or five days a week.

Every unit follows the same rhythm, so learners always know what comes next:

1. Sound focus. Introduce the new sound or pattern. Say it, have the learner say it, and point to the letters that make it.
2. Blending practice. Sound out each word left to right, then say it whole. Do not let the learner guess from the picture or first letter.
3. Word lists and word work. Read the list twice — once slowly, once smoothly.
4. High-frequency words. A small number of words that must be learned by sight because they don't yet follow a taught pattern.
5. Decodable text. Sentences and short passages built only from what has been taught. This is where reading becomes real.
6. Review and mastery check. A short check at the end of the unit tells you whether to move on or to repeat.

Most units take between three and eight sessions. Move on when the learner can read the unit's decodable passage accurately and without long hesitation — not when the calendar says so. Repeating a unit is normal and is not a setback.

If a learner misses more than about one word in ten, the text is too hard right now. Step back one unit and rebuild.

The content is deliberately age-neutral: there are no babyish illustrations or cartoon mascots in the units, so an eleven-year-old or an adult can work through Unit 1 without embarrassment. Older learners usually move much faster through the early units — let them, but do not skip the mastery checks.

Print at 100% / "Actual size" rather than "Fit to page" so the handwriting guidelines stay the correct height. Single-sided printing works best for pages the learner will write on. You may print as many copies as you need for the learners covered by your licence.

See Where Should My Learner Begin? for a short placement guide.