An effective literacy program is one that addresses phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding skills, vocabulary, comprehension strategies, and writing. We begin with a series of assessments to determine the strengths and challenges of the reader, and the areas that require intervention.

To get the most out of the reading instruction, two sessions per week are recommended. The curriculum is created and structured based on your child’s needs and reading levels. We take into account your child’s interests, hobbies and create a program that is individualized. We can incorporate reading and writing assignments from other classes so that we are not adding additional work but rather we are integrating reading and writing skills using your child’s current curriculum.

Specific areas that can be addressed

Phonological Awareness:

The awareness of sound structures in words. These skills include being able to count the number of syllables in a words, and identifying rhyming words.

Phonemic Awareness:

The ability to detect and manipulate individual sounds in words, such as being able to identify the beginning or ending sound of a word, or change the sounds from one letter to another

Decoding Skills:

Decoding is the process of translating the printed word into sound, or saying the word to oneself.

Vocabulary Development:

Vocabulary development is an important to understanding what we read. It is best taught in the context of what students are reading in the classroom, rather than giving them a list of vocabulary words to learn each week. Word consciousness is a skill that we teach students so that they learn to identify unfamiliar words and look them up in the dictionary.

Fluency:

Fluency is the ability to read out loud effortlessly, without pausing, and using appropriate expression. When we read fluently, we can then focus on enjoying the material, and it allows us to understand what we are reading much easier.

Comprehension Strategies:

All of the previous skills do not mean anything if we cannot understand what we are reading. We teach a variety of strategies to help readers understand what they are reading. Comprehension strategies can be taught in the context of three stages; before, during, and after we read. At each stage, we can use specific strategies to help us make sure that we are understanding what we are reading.

Writing:

Reading and writing go hand in hand and have a reciprocal relationship. Reading can help strengthen writing skills and practicing writing skills can help improve reading. We can work on grammar, the use of language, and the mechanics of writing, it is also important that students explore their creativity and self-expression through the written word.