The science of learning is transforming how we teach reading and writing. Our Saskatchewan curriculum assumes that reading and writing are skills we acquire in the same way as we learned to speak, understand language as a baby and walk. We thought that everyone learned in their own way and in their own time which meant that some children didn’t learn to read effectively because we assumed they would eventually pick it up. We know now that our brains aren’t wired to read or write because these are not survival skills. Because these are secondary skills, we don’t learn them simply by exposure. Some children require only a few repetitions to learn a new concept in reading. Other children may require 10, 20 or even 100. We all learn to read in the same way, some of us simply require more repetitions – the ease and the speed of learning is different for each individual. When children are struggling to learn to read, we need to respond by providing more instruction and more practice.
In 2024 I created these 9 booklets to provide this extra instruction and practice. Teachers are welcome to use them in their classes. Parents are welcome to use them at home. Tutors are welcome to use them to work with individual students who require more assistance.
The cover page of each booklet lists the sounds covered in the booklet and it will also contain sounds from previous booklets. Review is extremely important when learning to read.
If a student works their way through the 9 booklets, they will have learned and mastered all of the letter-sound combinations that are needed to read French. I suggest that booklets 1-6 should be mastered in Grade 1 (they can continue if there is time!) and booklets 7-9 be mastered in Grade 2. It’s essential that students not be guessing but master each new sound as they go. Writing the target letters will also help with mastery.
Decodable books have come out in the past few years which are a big improvement over the levelled books we used to rely on. Before reading a decodable book, it is important that a student has been taught all of the letters/sound combinations they will see in the book and they also need to know all of the vocabulary words. With these two pieces, a student can use decodable books. It’s okay if it takes several months of instruction (especially in Grade 1) before decodable books are read.
Vocabulary words used in the booklets
There are pictures of words that contain the target letter-sounds. This booklet lists the words in case you aren’t sure what the picture means.
The placement assessment is designed to help determine where a student should start if the booklets are being used for tutoring or additional small group instruction at school. Please contact me if you need assistance. At this point, I have not created videos to accompany the booklets but if there is a need for this support, I will do so. My email address is on the “About” page.
On apprend en français 