Overview of Rainglen Reading Tutor Methodology and Progression.

Rainglen Reading is a complete reading tutor. It is designed to enable the beginning reader to work from the ground up, learn the building blocks to reading, and advance all the way through to reading successfully entirely on their own.

Major Features

1. The program acts as a professional tutor and students are able to work independently.
2. Progress is recorded as students work and viewable on the Rainglen website at anytime by the teacher or parent.
3. Progression is entirely sequential. For example, they are never asked to read a word for which they do not know the individual sounds. Another example, they are never asked to read a sentence or story unless they have already learned how to read every word in it.
4. A tremendous amount of innovation has gone into teaching students how to read each new word. The most important component of reading a new word, is to prompt the student to click on the letters that correspond to the sounds in the word. Through this method of using known phonics to read new words, students soon learn to recognize them quickly. You will be amazed at how a non-reader will encounter their first stories and read them with ease.
5. Every effort is made to convey word meaning, not just how to read the word, making this a highly valuable tool for second language learners including adults.

The program is presented in two parts...

Part 1 - Prerequisites

The first part of the program teaches all letter sounds including long vowel sounds, as well as consonant digraphs (sh, th, wh, ch, ph). These are memorized as a prerequisite to reading their first word as they occur very commonly. First the student is assessed to determine areas of mastery. Next unknown letters and digraphs are taught through presentation and practice games. The student is then re-tested for mastery. Once all letter sounds and digraphs are learned the reading part begins.

Part 2 - Reading

In the second part of the program, the student is taught to read through a series of stories and expository text. Prior to reading each new story, the student works through various phases to prepare himself.

Review Phase

A review of a selection of already learned letters and phonics.

A review of a selection of already learned words (only appears after they have already learned some words).

A review of a selection of reading rules they have already learned.

New Material Phase

If a phonic will be encountered for the first time in the new story, then it is presented here, complete with a practice session.

If a reading rule (such as adding s to plural nouns) is to be encountered in the new story, then it is presented here, complete with a practice session.

All new words (words they have not encountered in previous stories) will be taught here. They will be challenged to find the sounds in the words that are clues to its pronunciation. They will then practice reading these new words.

Reading Phase

After successfully completing the previous phases, the student is considered well prepared to tackle the reading selection. They will be presented with the story in multiple pages. Many of the pages require a response from the student, usually selecting a word to complete a sentence, which ensures that the student is reading the selection and comprehending it as well. The contents of each story range from the humorous to the practical and include science and social science content.

After successfully completing each reading selection, the phase cycle begins again, starting with review, continuing with the presentation and mastery of new material, and culminating in the reading of a new, and slightly more advanced reading selection.

Feedback and Reward

Throughout the program the student is rewarded continually with positive verbal feedback for correct answers. They are also treated to flashy graphics and sound effects when completing lessons. As an added incentive, students earn points and when they reach 50 points, they are able to click on a 'play' button that lets them create a scene. Points are used up while they are in the scene, and they will soon have to continue their lesson in order to earn more points.

For the parent/teacher, all progress is recorded and viewable when logged in to their rainglen.com account. All letter sounds mastered are displayed as well as phonics that have been learned and all words that they have learned to read. At any time, a report can be generated and printed that provides a snapshot of each student's progress.