Teresa's Support

November 13, 2010

This program was instrumental in giving me the tools I needed to teach my students to read.  I graduated from university with distinction and obtained a BEd and a BA, but was never taught how to teach reading.  When I started teaching I first created my own program and then followed  another program.   It was only after I used the Reading Roots program that I felt confident that my students had gained the skills they needed to become successful readers and writers.

The Reading Roots Literacy Ltd. Program is unique in a few ways.  Firstly, the letter formation and the letter sounds are integrated so that students are able to make the connection between the letter and the sound quickly and easily.  Secondly, the materials are relatively inexpensive.  All of the games, picture clues, and activities can be easily reproduced by the teacher and the readers are photocopied books that the students are able to keep and read at home.  This program is also unique in that it is a complete program that takes students from learning the letter sounds to independent reading and writing without missing the small steps in between.  Graphemes, blending, letter formation, sight words, spelling lists, oral reading tests and written reading evaluations are all included.  Another reason this program is one-of-a-kind is because of the evaluations.  At the end of each reader an oral and written evaluation provide information about graphemes, blending, sight words and reading comprehension.

My colleagues and I are passionate about the Reading Roots program, but so are the students and parents.  Students enjoy the stories in the readers and are excited to colour their own books and take them home to show their parents what they have learned.  Parents are thrilled at how quickly their children are learning and embrace the program as eagerly as the teachers when they see how their children have been taught that most important skill of learning to read.  I would recommend this program to all parents and teachers who want to ensure reading success.

Teresa Horsley,
Grade One Teacher