For Parents
Here’s how easy it is to use the Open Reading Program
1. Watch
Watch and participate with each Fletcher’s Place episode.
2. Play
Use the Game Book to play games and do activities for that episode with your child.
3. Learn
Experience the magic of your child making connections and learning to read.
Tips For Parents
1. Watch the episodes with your children
The more they watch, the quicker your children will learn the skills.
2. Play the games with your children
The more fun you have with the games, the more excited children get about learning to read. Try them all or use the ones your children like best. Embrace your mistakes 🙂 You’re not expected to be a trained reading teacher. Your child will love to see you make mistakes; it actually helps them enjoy learning (especially if they get to correct you)!
3. Keep the Episode Overviews
In the Game Book there are Episode Overviews for you to tear out and keep handy as quick reference guides.
4. Fill a bucket with materials
Some games need supplies
- Pen, colored pencils or crayons
- Glue stick
- A ball, beanbag or crumpled paper
- Two buckets, cartons or pots
For parents
- Scissors
- Stapler
- 10 envelopes for game pieces
- A wrapped prize to put at the end of each treasure hunt (a trinket, snack or coin)
5. Superpowers of this program
The following strategies make an enormous difference.
- Practice one skill at a time
- As seen on the episodes, so children feel successful from the start
- Always call letters by their common sound, not letter names.
- This cuts learning time in half and cuts out the confusion if a child tries to sound out a word using letter names. They will learn letter names in Episode 10. Tip: We provide a Sound Guide on each Episode Overview page as a reminder of a letter’s common sound. The common sound is underlined in the example word.
- Use the sound movements to help children quickly learn and remember the letter sounds and shapes.
- They also help them spell words and blend letter sounds to read words. Children are physically active learners so give it a shot-it works. Note: These sound movements have been revolutionary in helping all children learn to read. They are open source to all curriculum developers to advance the entire industry of learn-to-read solutions.
Methodology How Open Reading Teaches Reading
The core idea behind Open Reading is that children learn best through play that includes games and moving their body. Reluctant and struggling readers especially benefit from this unique approach, because traditional programs haven’t worked for them.
Step 1
Pre-reading skills
We start with pre-reading skills. Understanding the words first/last, left-to-right, before/after, and in-between, and learning the skills of recognizing first and last sounds are important skills for early readers.
Step 2
Attach sounds to motions
We help them remember individual letter sounds by connecting them to a hand movement like making the arc shape of the lower case letter n over the nose.
Step 3
Attach sounds and motions to letter shapes
We help them connect the sounds and movements they’ve learned to the letters' shapes.
We contrast the movements for similar shapes.
Step 4
Connect sounds to create words
We help them blend sounds together smoothly to sound out words. We help them attach meaning and show understanding of words through actions.
Step 5
Sound out words in your mind
We teach them to slide their finger to the end of a whole word before reading it aloud. This creates a picture of the letters in their mind. Cover the word as they do the sound movements and add meaning.
Step 6
Connect words to create phrases
We help them read whole phrases aloud, connecting words together by sliding their finger under the text.
