|
|
Where do I start my child in the Reading Made Simple phonics curriculum?
A young child who has never learned to read or write
Start at the beginning of Level 0 and progress through Level 1 using the Tom Stories reading books and either the FREE worksheets here or the Level 1 decodable packs (reading and spelling) for helpful additional support.
Read the Teaching Notes carefully before you begin.
Move naturally on from Level 0 into structured reading and spelling. (If reading starts to move ahead of spelling as you go, that's normal — see When reading moves faster than spelling on the How to Use RMS page.)
If your young child has special needs, plan to work more slowly, with plenty of repetition.
Alongside Level 0, you may find the Special Needs reading books and worksheets packs helpful, for both reading and spelling.
This programme isn't just for young beginners. It works equally well for older children and adults who need help — sometimes just with small adjustments to how the introduction is presented, or which supporting resources are used.
An older child or adult who struggles with reading
If your child has failed to make progress in reading — even with another phonics programme — use our simple placement test below to find the right starting point within Level 0 or Level 1. Alternatively, you can purchase the same in-depth diagnostic assessment I use with new pupils who come to me with reading difficulties.
I would personally always start here — even if the pupil goes on to Level 2 shortly afterwards (Level 2 can also be used for reading with an older pupil who has a fair amount of phonics knowledge but struggles because of gaps).
Be aware that older children and adults in this position are often embarrassed by their difficulties. Reassure them early on: this is nothing to do with intelligence — many highly able people have struggled to learn to read and spell (Thomas Edison among them). That said, it can still feel distressing, so be patient and encouraging. Help is at hand.
These pupils often do have some dyslexic tendencies or other learning difficulties — but not always. Sometimes a child has simply fallen behind at school, or needs a more systematic approach than they've had before.
Start at the beginning of Level 0 and progress through Level 1 using the Tom Stories reading books and either the FREE worksheets here or the Level 1 decodable packs (reading and spelling) for helpful additional support.
Read the Teaching Notes carefully before you begin.
Move naturally on from Level 0 into structured reading and spelling. (If reading starts to move ahead of spelling as you go, that's normal — see When reading moves faster than spelling on the How to Use RMS page.)
If your young child has special needs, plan to work more slowly, with plenty of repetition.
Alongside Level 0, you may find the Special Needs reading books and worksheets packs helpful, for both reading and spelling.
This programme isn't just for young beginners. It works equally well for older children and adults who need help — sometimes just with small adjustments to how the introduction is presented, or which supporting resources are used.
An older child or adult who struggles with reading
If your child has failed to make progress in reading — even with another phonics programme — use our simple placement test below to find the right starting point within Level 0 or Level 1. Alternatively, you can purchase the same in-depth diagnostic assessment I use with new pupils who come to me with reading difficulties.
I would personally always start here — even if the pupil goes on to Level 2 shortly afterwards (Level 2 can also be used for reading with an older pupil who has a fair amount of phonics knowledge but struggles because of gaps).
Be aware that older children and adults in this position are often embarrassed by their difficulties. Reassure them early on: this is nothing to do with intelligence — many highly able people have struggled to learn to read and spell (Thomas Edison among them). That said, it can still feel distressing, so be patient and encouraging. Help is at hand.
These pupils often do have some dyslexic tendencies or other learning difficulties — but not always. Sometimes a child has simply fallen behind at school, or needs a more systematic approach than they've had before.
Spelling
An older child or adult who can already read, but struggles with spelling and writing
If your child can already read but is struggling with spelling and writing, use our spelling placement guide to find the right starting point in the programme — whether that's Level 1's spelling-only stream, or Level 2 for a child with some phonics knowledge but gaps that need filling.
Use our placement test to determine whether your pupil should start on Level 1, 2 or 3.
If your child can already read but is struggling with spelling and writing, use our spelling placement guide to find the right starting point in the programme — whether that's Level 1's spelling-only stream, or Level 2 for a child with some phonics knowledge but gaps that need filling.
Use our placement test to determine whether your pupil should start on Level 1, 2 or 3.
How to test Reading:
You can use the instructions below for FREE to assess Level 0 skills. In the vast majority of cases, it is here that I find gaps in a child's ability to work with phonics, so I always start at this level, no matter how old the pupil, unless I have good evidence that the problem does not lie here.
However, if you have access to PowerPoint, then you may find my simple assessment kit to be as if I am there with you. This is the kit I use to assess pupils when they are referred to me for help. Full instructions are given, including how to interpret results, and it is easy to administer.
1) Start by checking that the child has a firm grasp of the sounds made by the letters of the alphabet. (Introductory stage)
If there are any sounds that are not secure, then start here and put them right, until the whole alphabet is secure. You don't have to follow the lesson plans which were written with young children in mind - just use letter cards to check which sounds are known, which are not known, and then work on the weak areas. Do utilise 'drill': older children/adults can still say 'Ay says a', Bee says b' as they go through the stack of letters. Perhaps play some games to help the pupil learn the letters s/he is unsure of. Make sure the pupil can clearly distinguish the difference between the vowels, as for some people they sound very similar.
Check that the child's pronunciation of the letter sounds is not interfering with his/her ability to hear a word after the pupil has sounded it out. This may entail re-teaching the initial sounds correctly.
2) Then use the CVC section to check that the pupil is hearing beginning, medial (middle ) and final sounds of words.
Give several words from each vowel sound to read and spell.
Stay on this section until this skill is secure. Use the worksheets. Play games. Pay particular attention to the vowels in the middle of the words. Again, make sure the pupil is clearly distinguishing between them.
If the pupil can read these nonsense words, then move on: (Nonsense words: make sure they are really sounding, rather than using memory.)
jip fop san deg nub
3) Do the same for the CVCC section, but don't worry about five or more sounds. This will come with practice anyway.
If the pupil can read and spell these nonsense words easily, then move on:
skop grum flin frap drut
If there are any confusions (e.g. tip/trip) give practice before moving on.
4) If these are all alright, then start testing through the 'Level 1'. Again, any problems here should be rectified by following the programme for that section before moving on.
Take a word list - start with 'ck'. If the problem is reading and spelling, then check that they can both read and spell all the words on the list. If it is just spelling, then just do spelling.
Reading: Ask the student to read the list. Mark errors discreetly; do not correct them.
Any errors should now be analysed.
3-10 errors: If there are many errors, then this is your starting point in the programme. Read the instructions at the start of the 'Moving on with phonics' Section and take one sound per week.
1-2 errors: If there are only one or two errors, then talk about them with your student, word by word to find out what s/he was thinking when they read the word. Maybe ask the pupil to have another go at that word.
Listen to the reply. What does it indicate? If you think the pupil does basically know the rule for that sound, then test the next sound, but I wouldn't go much further. If it becomes apparent that s/he has guessed, or hasn't seen the connection between the words (in this case that they all had the sound 'ck' in them following a short vowel (a vowel saying its sound, not its name), then I would start here and not test further. 'ck' is a very important first sound. You need to make sure your child has learned the rules before you move on, even if you miss out subsequent sounds.
0 errors: Move on to the next sound and test again in the same way. Analyse the errors as above. Only move on to test the next sound if there are no errors.
As soon as you reach a sound that the pupil stumbles on (at all), then start the programme at that point. Each stage must be secure. Any insecurities will only cause the whole 'edifice' to tumble sooner or later.
However, if you have access to PowerPoint, then you may find my simple assessment kit to be as if I am there with you. This is the kit I use to assess pupils when they are referred to me for help. Full instructions are given, including how to interpret results, and it is easy to administer.
1) Start by checking that the child has a firm grasp of the sounds made by the letters of the alphabet. (Introductory stage)
If there are any sounds that are not secure, then start here and put them right, until the whole alphabet is secure. You don't have to follow the lesson plans which were written with young children in mind - just use letter cards to check which sounds are known, which are not known, and then work on the weak areas. Do utilise 'drill': older children/adults can still say 'Ay says a', Bee says b' as they go through the stack of letters. Perhaps play some games to help the pupil learn the letters s/he is unsure of. Make sure the pupil can clearly distinguish the difference between the vowels, as for some people they sound very similar.
Check that the child's pronunciation of the letter sounds is not interfering with his/her ability to hear a word after the pupil has sounded it out. This may entail re-teaching the initial sounds correctly.
2) Then use the CVC section to check that the pupil is hearing beginning, medial (middle ) and final sounds of words.
Give several words from each vowel sound to read and spell.
Stay on this section until this skill is secure. Use the worksheets. Play games. Pay particular attention to the vowels in the middle of the words. Again, make sure the pupil is clearly distinguishing between them.
If the pupil can read these nonsense words, then move on: (Nonsense words: make sure they are really sounding, rather than using memory.)
jip fop san deg nub
3) Do the same for the CVCC section, but don't worry about five or more sounds. This will come with practice anyway.
If the pupil can read and spell these nonsense words easily, then move on:
skop grum flin frap drut
If there are any confusions (e.g. tip/trip) give practice before moving on.
4) If these are all alright, then start testing through the 'Level 1'. Again, any problems here should be rectified by following the programme for that section before moving on.
Take a word list - start with 'ck'. If the problem is reading and spelling, then check that they can both read and spell all the words on the list. If it is just spelling, then just do spelling.
Reading: Ask the student to read the list. Mark errors discreetly; do not correct them.
Any errors should now be analysed.
3-10 errors: If there are many errors, then this is your starting point in the programme. Read the instructions at the start of the 'Moving on with phonics' Section and take one sound per week.
1-2 errors: If there are only one or two errors, then talk about them with your student, word by word to find out what s/he was thinking when they read the word. Maybe ask the pupil to have another go at that word.
Listen to the reply. What does it indicate? If you think the pupil does basically know the rule for that sound, then test the next sound, but I wouldn't go much further. If it becomes apparent that s/he has guessed, or hasn't seen the connection between the words (in this case that they all had the sound 'ck' in them following a short vowel (a vowel saying its sound, not its name), then I would start here and not test further. 'ck' is a very important first sound. You need to make sure your child has learned the rules before you move on, even if you miss out subsequent sounds.
0 errors: Move on to the next sound and test again in the same way. Analyse the errors as above. Only move on to test the next sound if there are no errors.
As soon as you reach a sound that the pupil stumbles on (at all), then start the programme at that point. Each stage must be secure. Any insecurities will only cause the whole 'edifice' to tumble sooner or later.
Handwriting
If handwriting is a problem, then start to teach the individual letters. Try and get correct pencil hold and correct orientation of letters (although if the child has been holding the pencil incorrectly for more then a year, it will be useless trying to change the habit. Do the best you can to improve handwriting with the current hold, unless it will not work for the child at all). Always use lined paper. Always have the pupil sit at a table of the right height, so that the child's feet are on the floor. Balance is everything with handwriting.
Don't be afraid to do copy work, even with adults. It is a very valuable means of learning at any age - try it yourself and see!
See here for more help.
Don't be afraid to do copy work, even with adults. It is a very valuable means of learning at any age - try it yourself and see!
See here for more help.
