Who Will Benefit from Reading Roots?

Research and common sense tell us that the earlier we help at-risk students, the better.  If parents and teachers notice that a child is struggling in Kindergarten, intervention should begin immediately.  Even if their children are not struggling, parents may wish to ensure their child gets off to a good start and the Sprouts Program is ideal for this.  Children will develop phonemic awareness and alphabet familiarity and they will be ready for reading in Grade One.  The Sprouts Program has been developed for Kindergarten and Grade One classrooms, or for individual tutoring. 

The Roots Readers and supporting materials have been developed for Grade One and Two classrooms and are easily adapted for tutoring. By the middle of Grade One, parents and teachers should know if a child is struggling to learn to read.  Rather than waiting and hoping things will get better, intervention should be started as soon as possible.  Reading is an essential life skill and there is no time to lose!

Despite the best intentions of teachers and parents, some students may “slip through the cracks”. The most common reading problem is inability to sound out unknown words, and the Reading Roots program is ideal for helping students with this.  Grade Three students will benefit from a modified version on the Roots program.  There are some activities that will be too “easy” for them (for example, “cut and paste”), but many will be beneficial for them, especially the word connecting activities with the board and magnetic letters.  Students even older, who are very delayed in reading, will benefit from the Roots program. 

The hundreds of pictures and the controlled vocabulary make the Reading Roots programs ideal for English as a Second Language students. The vocabulary and phonics are introduced systematically. Through games and activities, ESL students get the practice and repetition that they need.