THE PROGRAM

LEVELA AND B (IN ONE VOLUME)

Level A introduces the foundation skills involved in LITERACY. It is these skills which many "failing" students have not developed and consequently further skills are not learned due to an incomplete or poor foundation. The program covers the auditory, visual and memory skills required for early reading and writing. The manual includes a 10 week programmeand all the resources to reach Level A, but the teachers can use aspects of this level with target groups of students.

This level also contains a handwriting programme which will support children to develop fluent handwriting and help to eliminate reversals of letters. This is the "Ant Story". Teachers have reported that it "works like magic" in the avoidance and correction of reversal problems.

Level B introduces the sound, name, symbol relationship. This is sequenced in a very specific order based on speech and hearing development and the way letters are constructed.

The programme contains constant review of work already studied (hence the programme should be followe din order). It builds the child's knowledge of single letters, their placements in words and the written form. It is based on a three day learning cycle for each letter with acytivities, ideas and photocopyable worksheets. 

Then follows:

Level C,D,E,F (in one volume)
Level G,H,I,J (in one volume)
Level K,L,M,N (in one volume)
Level O,P,Q,R,S (in one volume)
Level T,U,V,W,X (in one volume)

These levels work with a carefully sequenced, developmental set of words, working with the words within the context of language. Words/knowledge/strategies are introduced through a four day cycle. The same structure is used throughout all levles in such a way the the students readily learn and follow routines.

Organization of the programme - level C to X

From level C up the programme runs like a guided reading programme for 20 mins (at least 4 days per week). The children are grouped by spelling ability and then taught for one lesson per week. The other 3 days the group works collaboratively on the day 2, 3 and 4 activities in the workbooks.

• Day 1: teaching sessions. 
  The group studies the new word list and:
  • Identifies the spelling pattern
  • Explores the meanings of the words
  • Studies the words morphology, verb families, comparatives, synonyms etc.
• Day 2: the group works collaboaratively on the "Day 2" activity from the workbooks. This sheet explores the meanings of the words in the text  
• Day 3: the group works collaboaratively on the "Day 2" activity which focuses on word study. This includes exploring verb groupings, superlatives, comparatives, opposites, homonyms and homophones, morphemic grouping with suffixes and prefixes. This supports children to develop the understanding of how words are formed and in turn how meanings are changed.
• Day 4: is "tournament day" where all the newly learned skills are put into practice using the day 4  activity in the workbooks. Alternatively, there are ideas for "tournament day" in the level books. 
  
  
  

  Group	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Day 8	Day 9	Day 10	etc
  1	Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	Day 4 Activity	Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	Day 4 Activity	Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	etc
  2		Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	Day 4 Activity	Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	Day 4 Activity	Day 1 Activity	etc
  3			Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	Day 4 Activity	Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	Day 4 Activity	etc
  4				Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	Day 4 Activity	Day 1 Activity	Day 2 Activity	Day 3 Activity	etc

  
  TRAINING
  
  Louise Dempsey is available to provide Smart Words training in your school or to a cluster of schools. To find out more please click here to contact Louise.