The Sound Way

Schools and College Programmes

Designed for whole class participation and acceleration. A powerful tool put into the hands of teachers which effectively puts two teachers into every classroom!!  

A major phonics based literacy breakthrough programme that works quickly and effectively with all students; whilst simultaneously providing teachers with an invaluable inservice into the applying of Direct Instruction phonetic teaching to students of every age.

When applied according to the directions in the Teacher/Facilitator Manual, The Sound Way improves a classes overall reading and writing skills across the board on average 2 to 3 academic years in eight to ten weeks. Standardized pre and post testing of older students has evidenced improvements of up to 8 years (that’s eight school year grades) in reading ability and 6 years in spelling ability

There are Sound Way programmes to suit every age group in both primary and secondary schools. Both the Junior and the Senior Sound Way programmes are designed to be used with the whole class working together as one group - mainstream, advanced and remedial. There is absolutely no need for grouping or streaming the classes. The programmes have been designed to meet the needs of all students at the same time. Only in the most extreme of cases would it be necessary to run the programme with small groups; or one-to-one.

 The Sound Way has been created in accordance with the latest worldwide research into English literacy teaching. Each lesson is designed to sequentially develop, teach, give practice in and assist the students to learn and master the fundamental skills, of clear English speaking, writing, spelling and reading. Good comprehension skills naturally follow the mastery of these basic disciplines.

 The Sound Way is based upon a long proven method of phonetic teaching that first loads and programmes the brain with the 45 sounds that comprise English words (phonemes) and the 75 ways these sounds are represented in their written form on paper (phonograms). By integrating this knowledge with the rules of English spelling, The Sound Way is able to teach the spelling, writing and reading of words from their sounds - that is, phonetically! This highly structured method of “direct instruction” phonetic teaching causes and results in an opening, expansion and development of neural pathways within the brain; which in turn allows students greater access to other important pieces of stored information they may have need to access. "The lights come on",  as the saying goes, and students find themselves equipped with a new found independence and ability to successfully manage and resolve other issues in their lives by applying logic and reason to resolve these problem areas, which may have nothing whatsoever to do with English literacy!

Because approximately 93% of English words are phonetic and follow the rules of English spelling, The Sound Way is able to teach and develop this foundational body of knowledge in a logical, sequential and cumulative manner. Commencing with Lesson 1 and progressing through the thirty-six 40-minute face-to-face DVD lessons with the Senior Programme (fifty-three 40-minute lessons with the Junior Programme), The Sound Way provides students of every age with a clear and tangible understanding of the mechanics (workings) of the English language. Students actually learn the "how and why" behind the construction of most English words. This ability, once learned and practiced, can be applied immediately to almost any word in the English language.

Following each 40-minute video lessons is a 30-minute Workshop Book lesson. These give practice and further consolidation of the information taught in the videos to that point. The entire lesson is then completed with a 10-minute Sentence Construction Exercise  (clear instructions for which are provided in the Teacher/Facilitator Manual).

It should be pointed out that poor reading, writing and spelling skills are certainly not to be taken as indicators, nor seen to be a reflection of a person’s natural intelligence -  Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and Winston Churchill being prime examples of highly intelligent men with literacy problems in their younger years. Nevertheless, poor literacy skills do have an enormous social cost and are a major source of low self-esteem, poor self-image and a general lack of confidence in an individuals' life. Research has shown that when people do obtain success with their English literacy abiliy and skills; that this somehow directly confronts and addresses internal problem areas, and goes a long way to resolving currently presenting issues in their lives.

 The Sound Way programmes work powerfully for students of all ages and ability levels, including all elementary through high school students, adults in the workplace, ESL Students, learning-disabled and those with labels such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD,  and more.

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