This reading program was designed to provide a systematic and sequential presentation of the phonetic elements used in the English language. It follows an approach used widely in Montessori classroom in which the children spell the word depicted on the card with a moveable alphabet, a process that involves encoding or using the phonetic principle introduced to make a word. In the next step the child lays out all of the cards and matches the label cards, thereby decoding the phonetic information. Additional practice in decoding involves writing the words and reading words that follow the same phonetic principle in a booklet.

The Waseca Reading Program consists of card material that uses photo images to illustrate each word and large print that highlights the phonetic element used in the word. The frame around the picture and the highlighting are color-coded for nine different boxes. The boxes cover the following categories:

Red- basic three letter phonetic words isolating each short vowel sound
Orange- blends grouped with common letters to make beginning blends, then ending blends, then both.
Yellow- consonant digraphs like sh, ch, th, tch
Green- endings with –ng and –nk
Aqua- silent e rule as applied to each vowel
Blue- different phonograms used to make each long vowel sounds
Purple- various dipthongs such as r-controlled, oy, ow, aw
Pink- silent letters
Gold- less common rules such as soft consonants

The sequence of introduction is consistent with that of the Orton-Gillingham Method in its application for children with dyslexia. The seventh drawer is usually a review of the first six drawers.

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When a class is studying a continent and the people and animals that live there, these phonetic readers will allow every child, even those reading three letter words with short vowels, an opportunity to read about what they are studying. With a preparation of learning some basic sight words, the child reads the small booklet without pictures so that they can focus on decoding. Next, the child reads the same text again in the process of matching it to illustrations. Numbers on the back of the cards allow for self-checking. Masters for the booklets are included so that the final step involves the child reading the text for a third time, showing more confidence and demonstrating her comprehension by illustrating her own copy to take home. The color-coding follows the reading program and the introduction of phonetic elements is consistent with the sequence used there. A child on the blue box in the reading program should be able to read all of the booklets up to the blue level.

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These boards associate cursive letters with a stroke family. An outline of the letters etched onto the board allows the child to write the letter inside of the outline. A control of error is built in as they feel the chalk or marker when it hits the etched outline. Set includes stories to teach each stroke family to help the child remember the point of interest involved. A choice of white marker board or chalk board is given. Also includes masters for paper practice.

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The study of grammar in an elementary classroom has a definite impact on the children’s writing. As each part of speech is introduced, children become more aware, more descriptive and precise. You may even see an adverb!