Teaching kids to read is an essential element of their curriculum in school. For parents and teachers who want their children to read efficiently, using phonics is one of the most effective methods to help kids master reading. With a solid foundation, the ability to read becomes easier, and when incorporated on a daily basis, becomes an essential life skill. Fortunately, The Literacy Project (TLP) offers a comprehensive instructional program, which ties in The New Phonics Game™ as a core learning tool, to improve both academic and attitudinal levels of students to help them perform better in English proficiency standards.
How It Works
Co-developed by The Regents of the University of California, The New Phonics Game™ works in alignment with Common Core and collaborative learning methods. The program runs for six-weeks, and is comprised of 30 one-hour sessions, five days a week during daytime instruction.
The program is administered by TLP’s Master Teachers, who are certified and reviewed as reading and language arts specialists. The program is also provided at “no cost” to both the school and at-risk students in the second grade.
The Literacy Project’s core learning tool, The New Phonics Game™, focuses on teaching specific skills to improve fundamental reading proficiency and phonetic awareness. It consists of 13 card games and board games modeled after popular children games like “Go Fish” and “Memory.” The games are aimed to help teach children the relationship between letters and sounds and develop the skills needed to read and write.
A Master Teacher conducts the program with up to six students in a group. With the help of visual materials and verbal coordination of sounds and words, Master Teachers are able to use the method of instruction to highlight aspect of the English structure. For example, one games requires using dice and set of Alphabet warm-up cards. Students take turns to pronounce the sound of the letter that appears on the card, where the student who says most correct number of sounds wins. A mix of similar games motivate students to participate in phonetic activities and improve their reading level.
All students are assessed for their reading skill level, and the measurable growth is determined using the California Basic Phonics Skills Test (BPST). A Longitudinal Study is conducted each year to measure the retention of acquired reading skills to ensure fundamental English proficiency.
Key Goals Of The Reading Program
The Literacy Project’s reading program focuses primarily on helping students to practice essential reading skills with an augmented experience in their classroom instruction. This is introduced in a unique and stimulating way, effectively extending the length of instruction to help students build to mastery of the English Language. The program aims to help children in every class do the following:
- Use proven methods to maximize the learning experience
- Increase self-confidence
- Promote learning in a fun, socially interactive environment
- Retain new reading skills to advance to comprehensive reading levels
- Access and enhance key phonic skills amongst struggling readers
- Lead to self-sufficiency and economic success.
This reading program utilizes The New Phonics Game™ to create a fun, socially interactive, lightly competitive and collaborative learning experience for students. Taught in all three learning modalities—auditory, visual and tactile—the program assures that no matter what a child’s learning style, the game is highly engaging, entertaining and effective. The Literacy Project (TLP) aims to use this program to bridge the literacy gap of emerging 2nd-graders and to remove the impediment of illiteracy and foster a life-long love of reading.