This phonics-based reading program with beautiful, decodable readers as the core of the plan utilizes a six-phase progression. This systematic approach allows children to feel success each step of the way, aiming to create fluent readers by age 7. The 72 lesson plans in the teacher guide correlate with 72 non-fiction readers (sold separately) which are 100 % decodable, allowing children to start reading real books by themselves very early on. Since each text contains only the phonemes (letter sounds) they’ve been taught… there is no word guessing! Non-fiction topics range from wildlife, earth science, the human world, and life science and are available in one large set or separate sets (listed below). Children will love practicing learned concepts and reading colorfully illustrated books when they’ve been given all the tools for sounding them out. This Teacher Book uses six levels of readers (linked below), which gradually increase in length and complexity, and slowly introduce high-frequency words as each phase progresses. The book is spiral-bound with labeled dividers, helping the teacher flip to the current level quickly. The front of the guide provides an overview, scope and sequence, progression of letters and sounds, brain-based background information, and a “getting started” section. With a 2-page spread for each lesson, there is one page of instruction and help for the teacher and one photocopiable activity page for the student. Activities use common school supplies such as scissors, glue, markers, and a pencil. The back of the book contains several pages of simple assessments for the teacher to check student understanding. The Teacher Book and correlated readers can be used alongside any of the Junior Learning Literacy materials to make a more complete phonics program. For example, there are workbooks created for each phase as well as activity cards, games, and magnetic letter boards.
The Teacher Book is designed for use with the following six levels of Junior Learning’s Decodable Fiction Readers. After one set of books is read, children move to the next phase of decodable readers. Set 2 Non-Fiction Phase 1, Phonemic Awareness- set of 12 (#020389); Set 2 Non-Fiction Phase 2, Letters- set of 12 (#020392); Set 2 Non-Fiction Phase 3, Phonics- set of 12 (#020401), Set 2 Non-Fiction Phase 4, Blends- set of 12 (#020414); Set 2 Non-Fiction Phase 5, Vowel Sounds-set of 12 (#020428); and Set 2 Non-Fiction Phase 6, Spelling- set of 12 (#020431). Alternately, you could purchase one large, boxed set containing all the set 2 fiction readers together, Set 2 Non-Fiction Boxed Set- set of 72 (#020433). 221 pgs, pb. ~Nancie