Learning to Read

I have spent the previous two posts extolling the praises of the Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts Curriculum for learners who have moved from learning to read to reading to learn, but what about those who are still learning to read? What do we do with those learners here at Lotus Learning? We use a variety of materials at this stage, but our hands-down favorite language arts curriculum for the learning to read group is Logic of English’s Foundations Curriculum.

Foundations is an evidence-based comprehensive curriculum consisting of building phonemic awareness, systematic phonics instruction, phonics-based spelling, cursive handwriting instruction, composition exercises, building reading fluency, and reading comprehension exercises. 

The four levels of the Foundations curriculum are designed for learners aged four through seven to complete in two to three years. Each lesson engages learners in listening, speaking, handwriting, spelling, and reading activities that include games, skills practice, and workbook pages. Like most curricula, Foundations offers many supplementary materials, but at Lotus Learning, we like to keep things simple by using only the teacher’s manual, student workbook, readers, and phonogram cards. We encourage families to invest in the supplementary materials if they think they will use, enjoy, and benefit from them. 

Those familiar with other reading and English language arts curricula will notice that Foundations does not ask learners to memorize lists of sight words. As a systematic phonics program, Foundations is built on the premise that there are very few true sight words in English. By being taught every sound of every phonogram in an orderly manner, by the end of the program, learners can decode nearly any word they encounter. Just as learners can build and break down words for reading, they can do the same for spelling. Foundations eliminates the meaningless memorization and guessing strategies promoted in many mainstream curricula, ultimately resulting in more competent and confident readers and spellers. Not only are learners more fluent readers, but this fluency leads to greater comprehension as less energy is spent on decoding.

Learners who complete the Logic of English Foundations Curriculum are well prepared to begin the Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts Curriculum, most at the Island level with those needing more support now having the Poodle level as an option.