Q: Is there a difference between phonemic awareness skills and phonics skills?

A: YES! Phonemic awareness skills deal with the spoken language and are mainly auditory skills. Phonics skills deal with the printed and written language and are both auditory and visual. In phonemic awareness, students are being taught to hear and manipulate the sounds of language. In phonics, students are being taught which letters are associated with the sounds of the language. Both skills are crucial to reading mastery! These skills need to be combined, and it is my experience that this is best done during your word study time and not during your phonemic awareness time.

Q: It says the original curriculum (yellow book) is best used for 1st and 2nd grades. How can it be adapted for Kindergarten?

A: While the original version of the curriculum can be easily adapted for Kindergarten. The adapted Kindergarten scope and sequence of lesson can be found on page xi of the book's 3rd printing. Kindergarten teachers should still try to complete all skills in a lesson every day, but instead of doing all ten words for the day; they only do five a day. Therefore, Monday’s lesson will take two days, Tuesday's, two days, etc. If you have specific questions, please contact Dr. Heggerty. If you purchased an earlier printing which does not contain the Kindergarten scope and sequence, please e-mail Dr. Heggerty for a copy.

Q. What is the difference between the original curriculum (yellow book) and the kindergarten curriculum (blue book)?

A. The original version (yellow book), which is typically used in first and second grade classrooms, can easily be adapted for a kindergarten classroom by simply doing half of each lesson per day. As a result you will spend two weeks on each lesson, and you will cover through week 17.

The kindergarten version of these lessons (blue book) spends more time on each skill. The kindergarten curriculum covers all consonants, short vowels, digraphs, blends, and rime patterns. By comparison, the yellow book also goes into long vowels, R-controlled, special vowel sounds, and multisyllabic words.

Q: If we use the curriculum in Kindergarten, where should we start in 1st grade?

A. I suggest starting all over again with Lesson 1. In my professional experience, students need the repetition for mastery learning. The students seldom realize that these are the same words and skills used the previous year, and even if they do, there is no harm in repeating lessons.

Q: If we use the curriculum in Kindergarten and 1st grade, where do we begin in 2nd grade?

A: This depends on a few variables. If you have high mobility in your District, then I suggest you start at the beginning again. However, if you do not have high mobility, then you can quickly assess your students’ mastery of skills, and simply review the skill areas that appear to be weak. In addition, 2nd grade can choose to do these lessons with new students in a smaller group, if the majority of students show mastery after Kindergarten and 1st grade. Review is possible at any time during the year, if it appears that students are uncertain in sound discrimination or sound/letter association.

Q: Does the curriculum have to be done as a whole group?

A: No, it can be done whole group or small group. However, the research is clear that all students can benefit from being taught phonemic awareness skills. In my professional practice, I always suggest whole group, with small group follow-up on repeated skills or whole lessons for students who remain insecure after the whole group lesson, i.e. Title I groups, Learning Disabilities Resource, etc.

Q: Doesn’t the National Reading Panel report say that you should only focus on one or two skills at a time? Why do you do nine skills everyday in your lesson design?

A: Yes, the NPR report does say that. However, in my professional practice, I see the need for all nine skills to be taught daily. Why? First of all, the sooner they can do these skills the better chances they will have for success in reading. Secondly, in a typical classroom, there are students at all different levels of readiness. To withhold skills because teachers feel some of the slower students are not “ready” means that we are also withholding those same skills for students who are very ready. In my practice, I see all students capable of learning all of these skills beginning in Kindergarten. As a literacy teacher, each one of these skills has a specific correlation to a reading or writing task. Withholding any skill, means that some literacy task will be at a disadvantage. If you have specific questions, please contact Dr. Heggerty.

Q: Can I purchase the curriculum with a District Purchase Order?

A: Yes, purchase orders can be submitted directly online. If your organization is in Illinois, you MUST include your IL Tax Exempt number. Otherwise we will have to add sales tax to your purchase. Once you order is submitted, you will need to fax a copy of the approved purchase order to 708 366-9149. You can submit your PO order by following this link.

Q: Can I purchase this curriculum with a credit card?

A: Yes, we currently accept Visa or MasterCard. Your credit card order can be safely and securely placed online. If you are from Illinois and pay with a credit card, then sales tax WILL BE ADDED to your purchase. You CANNOT use the school district tax exempt number when paying with a personal credit card. You can submit your credit card purchase by following this link.

Q: Can I purchase this curriculum with a personal check?

A: Yes certainly, however, if you are from Illinois and want to pay with a personal check, then you MUST add in sales tax. Illinois tax regulations prohibit us from accepting a district tax exempt number for purchases that are not directly paid for with district funds. Orders paid with a personal check cannot be submitted online, as they must be prepaid. You can enter your order information on a printable order form by following this link.

Q: Do you work with individual schools and Districts?

A: Yes, I work with both individual schools and complete Districts. You can view a list of the available inservices by following this link.