Reading is an essential and rewarding lifelong skill, but unlike learning to speak, learning to read is not natural.

The process of encoding (writing the letter code for the sounds of spoken English) and decoding (reading the letter code) needs to be explicitly taught.

Start with the alphabetic principle:

1. Sounds are represented by letters

2. Sounds can be spelled with 1 to 4 letters:
   ‘s’ (sit), ‘sh’ (sheep), ‘igh’ (high), ‘augh’ (taught)

3. Sounds (phonemes) can be spelled in different ways:
   /a/ can be spelled ai, ay, a_e, a (rain, play, ate, apron)

4. Spellings (graphemes) can be pronounced in different ways:
   like ‘ow’ in cow or snow (/ow/ or /ō/)

Learn the sounds (phonemes) and their corresponding letter(s) (graphemes), moving systematically from simple to complex.

Blend sounds into words. Segment words into sounds. Connect spellings to meanings.

Writing, spelling and phonemic awareness are as integral to reading as decoding. Integrate all parts together.

For some, learning to read seems effortless, while others need lots of practice, but 95% of people can be taught to read.

Happiness is reading books you can read.

Our goal is prevention, not intervention. We’re not waiting to see if your kids will struggle, we’re setting them up for success.

you can read