Success Stories - Primary

"This highly effective program quickly improved our students' literacy levels through integrating clear and explicit phonic teaching with the rules of English spelling.

As a teacher I found it easy to use due to the clarity with which the video tutor explains and clearly lays out each step along the way using a direct instructional approach. Within a few lessons students had become familiar with the lesson routine, became comfortable with teachers' high expectations, and remained focused and on their toes as they learnt.

The efficacy of the program comes down to Craig's use of repetition to reinforce the different sounds and letter combinations. Students quickly learn these sounds; which increases their spelling ability and allows them to comprehend unsighted words more swiftly; aiding the reading process. One particularly pleasing outcome was how the students were no longer intimidated by larger and longer words because they had learnt how to break these words down into individual syllables. I found much success in motivating students participation by encouraging healthy competition during their 'Check-Ups' and daily quizzes.

I set a high standard of handwriting and challenged my students to see who else in this particular group could increase their reading age by 4 years. I found this worked as a great motivator with all my students.

I highly recommend this powerful program as a tool for you to use. It will rapidly increase your students' literacy skills and is a great program to use during the first term of any teaching year because it sets students up for academic success."

"My class has just completed our term of the The Sound Way program. I have noticed a change in these children that is nothing short of miraculous. For most, they have gone from being not only a group of strugglers, but a class of children who were mostly anti-education and completely shut down! Our school had set up this special class this year as a trial project; not only to try to turn them around, but also to give the rest of the year level a break from their extreme apathy and dejection (on the whole). Our goal was to do as much as we could to lift them out of this, as well as try to get their learning back on track. Many factors have contributed to why these children had ended up this way. Children are now finishing their work, they are proud of their efforts, they are getting good results on tests for the first time in their lives. Nothing is too hard now, they believe that they are capable of anything, and they are! I've so enjoyed running this programme and I've got so much pleasure out of seeing the huge improvement in these lovely, happy, excited (formerly dejected and overwhelmed) children. I have never felt the thrill of success like I have this year. It really HAS made such a difference to the children and to me and my teaching style and focus."

"The implementation of The Sound Way program has truly transformed the reading, writing and spelling abilities of students school wide. Teachers have embraced the programme wholeheartedly, with the support and commitment of students and parents alike. As literacy coordinator, I was able to participate within all lessons from Prep - Grade 6 and the achievements documented were truly amazing. Gains as much as 5 years 6 months were recorded in Grade 5/6 students in reading, while gains of 4 years 6 months were made in spelling. Within Prep grades gains of 3 years were made in spelling and reading in eleven weeks."

"The value of this program lies in its impact on children at all stages of spelling / reading development. By this I mean that:

For the children who are really struggling, the program provides a solid framework and structure by which they are able to develop their basic skills.

For the average child, the program offers the opportunity of developing greater understanding of the building blocks of the language, thus allowing them to explore and develop with greater insight and confidence.

For the outstanding student, there is the opportunity to question, dissect and more fully understand the finer intricacies of our language, thus allowing the individual to experiment with word-building and usage in a confident manner.

The Sound Way to Spelling, Writing and Reading program offers a pathway to success for students of all abilities who choose to work at improving their skills in reading, writing and spelling.

Craig, below are the results of the pre and post testing conducted with my class using the Slosson Sort-R Word Recognition Test and the South Australian Spelling Age Test.

You can clearly see the across the class improvement in one term with both word recognition and spelling."

"I have introduced The Sound Way program, at two demographically different schools, achieving the same most pleasing results at both.

It is my opinion that the vast majority of children need a significant amount of structure if they are to learn and master high level literacy skills. The Sound Way program provides this structure with its controlled, step by step approach. The best results are not dependant upon the level of teaching experience of the teacher but rather the level of active participation the teacher demonstrates during the program's presentation. Teachers who "sit and watch' tend to achieve lesser results.

• + Many Children who participate in the program achieve results which even astound themselves.
• + Of significant benefit is the improved writing and presentation of the children's bookwork.
• + This rapid development clearly impacts on the levels of self confidence and self esteem displayed by most of the children.
• + I highly recommend this program to all other schools!"