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Educators talk a lot about phonics skills--the ability to link letters and sounds (for example, knowing that the c in cat represents the "kuh" sound). Phonics is in the news, in the curriculum, in the front of your mind when you wonder if your child has the right start for reading. But there's another skill that needs to be in place before even basic phonics skills can develop. An essential skill for budding readers is the ability to distinguish sounds in words. It's called phonemic, or sound, awareness--the understanding that every spoken word is made up of individual sound parts (for example, there are three sounds in cat: kuh-a-t). This skill doesn't always come naturally--but our sound awareness resources can help you pinpoint the help your child needs, at any age. It's essential to discover sound awareness problems early and take steps quickly to help. Research supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and others shows that deficits in "phonemic [sound] awareness skills not only predict difficulties learning to read, but they also have a negative effect on reading acquisition." A child who doesn't have strong sound awareness is likely to have a very hard time trying to learn to read, and will probably not become a good reader. Our Reading Readiness Test and Guide were developed by a certified teacher who specializes in helping kids who have difficulty learning to read. What Can You Do? Request your free Reading Readiness Test and we'll send you a link to download a FREE sound awareness assessment for your child, appropriate for ages 4 and up. Your child doesn't need to be able to read to complete it--directions and responses are spoken, not read or written. Our test is easy to use and gives you results right away, so you can take action to help your child prepare for reading success. Just fill in this form to receive a link to your free Reading Readiness Test. You can find out quickly and easily whether your child needs to develop sound awareness skills to be ready for reading. Reading Readiness Guide
If your child's test shows that he or she is having trouble with sound awareness, you can order our Reading Readiness Guide, with proven activities for building sound awareness skills. Just take 5-10 minutes each day to complete one or two activities with your child. You'll see progress with continued practice--the guide includes a suggested sequence, and enough words, word pairs, and sentences (over 400 in all!) for ongoing practice and improvement. View a sample activity from the Reading Readiness Guide!For only $12, you'll receive:
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