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Develop critical beginning reading skills with this series of onscreen and paperback book series

The Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters series is an effective means for developing beginning readers’ word knowledge and comprehension is exposure to text. For students with significant reading difficulties, meaningful reading experiences should happen throughout the day and with a variety of texts. Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters offers topic-specific sets that combine Enrichment, Transitional and Conventional text types to provide the right support for different skill areas: print conventions, oral language development, alphabetic principle and phonological awareness.

The books are carefully written and edited to match the interests and issues of the older beginning reader. The content and graphics are mature and take into account the barriers (language, syntax, vocabulary, etc.) that would make text difficult to read or understand independently for a beginning reader. Beyond the carefully-written text, each book is offered in multiple representations to provide an added layer of support and accessibility. This unique combination of supports allows teachers to cultivate the right environment for successful beginning reading experiences.

The Literacy Starters range was developed in collaboration with Karen Erickson, Ph.D., Caroline Ramsey Musselwhite, CCC-SLP, Ed.D. and Jerry Stemach, CCC-SLP to meet the unique needs of students with significant disabilities who are steadily moving toward early conventional reading.

Benefits for Teachers

• Provide curriculum-tied content
  
• Maximise investment and time by meeting content, literacy, and life-skills requirements
  
• Create student profiles and targeted reading plans with the Intervention planning tool

Benefits for Students

• Develop positive attitudes toward reading
  
• Systematically build core reading skills and strategies
  
• Read more and engage in reading for longer periods
  
• Build background knowledge and core vocabulary necessary to be successful readers
  
• Track books they’ve read and monitor their progress
  
• Actively participate in group discussions and develop social relationships with peers

See more details on the benefits of Curriculum Reading, High-interest Reading and Functional Reading

Features

• Age-appropriate and engaging materials
  
• Literature that fits into the curriculum at an appropriate readability level
  
• Designed with Universal Design for Learning
  
  • Computer Books with high quality human narration, animation and rich photographs
    
  • Paperback Books – 28cm x 21.6cm, 16-32 pages printed in colour
  
  
• Three Considerate Text Types Develop Critical Beginning Reading Skills
  
  • Enrichment text – Intended to be read to beginning readers to develop oral language and background knowledge
    
  • Transitional text – Intended to be read with beginning readers to support students’ vocabulary and oral language understanding
    
  • Conventional text – Intended to be read independently by beginning readers so they can decode and understand unfamiliar text written at their level. This level of text promotes word-reading accuracy, automaticity and fluency as students practise repeated reading.
  
  
• Considerate Supports Ensure Longer Engagement
  
  • Professional narration models fluent reading and keeps students engaged for longer periods of time
    
  • Vocabulary cards reinforce and keep new vocabulary and sight words active for students
    
  • Considerate photographs illustrate text and enhance meaning
  
  
• Teachers Target Beginning Reading Skill Development

  By using a combination of the three types of text, teachers focus reading instruction in four areas

  • Oral language – increase comprehension
  • Print conventions – leading to independent reading
  • Alphabetic principle – improves word identification
  • Phonological awareness

  An Intervention Planning Tool is provided to determine each student’s reading profile and targets a reading plan that fits individual student needs.

Click here to download/view Don Johnston’s Beginning Literacy Framework (PDF file opens in a new window)

How to Implement Into Your Classroom

Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters provides teachers with different avenues to reach a variety of very beginning readers throughout the day, right in the classroom.

• Project computer books on a monitor for small group instruction to address students with similar skills
  
• Use the read to me, read with me and read by myself versions to provide different levels of practice
  
• Integrate the colourful paperback books into students’ day for peer and independent reading

“My students have been so motivated to read the Early Literacy Starters books. The topics, realistic pictures and use of high frequency words help them to be confident and engaged readers.” Assistive Technology Facilitator/SLP, Shaumburg, IL, USA

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• MEville to WEville with Literacy Starters Program
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• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters Workshop
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Civil War - States and Slavery
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Continents and Countries - Africa
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Deserts - Surviving in Sun and Sand
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Early Settlers - Changes and Challenges
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Families - Rights and Responsibilities
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Fish - Living in Schools
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Insects - Necessity or Nuisance
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Jobs - Work to Live and Learn
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Life Cycles - Birth and Beyond
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Life Skills - Fun and Functional
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Mark Twain - Tall Tales and Trouble
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Plants - Science and Surroundings
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Recycling - Cash in the Trash
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Solar System - Surprises in Space
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Sports - Safety and Success
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: The Week - Seven Days and Counting
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Volcanoes - Force and Fury
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Weather - Wild and Wonderful
• Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters: Yearbook - Friends and Feelings