- I downloaded and printed the skill cards for each level from the American Reading Co. website to use a diagnostic tool. I started with the power words from the easy level (Green=Kindergarden) and he missed 2 words. Progressing to 1-Blue (1st Grade) he got nearly all the one syllable words but missed 20/25 two syllable words (e.g., planet, petal, center, inches, bottle, butter, faking, biking, chimed, invite, suppose, clover, draining, crayon, beagle, degree, coaster, argue, hooded, willow, powder). There are a total of 125 words on this page and we went through them all. Some of these words I think he missed for lack of a point of reference (he never heard them before, had no idea what they meant); others he knew but could not form the words by reading.
- I’ve tried to teach him “chunking” and this helps but I’m thinking that there must be a defined, methodical strategy for teaching/learning this technique, and any advise or resources you have on this would be appreciated!
- He has an amazing memory. Words he learned in the first book we read together on week #1 (the Star Wars book) he recalled with ease week #2 (spaceship, rebel, and a few others).