Using the 3-Step System, it is not necessary to isolate prefixes and suffixes from a base word for decoding.  When affixes are thought of as part of the base word, Read Quick decodes precisely, making the entire system easier to learn and teach.  IT JUST MAKES SENSE  to teach the whole word, rather than teach the base word, all the affixes and their meanings separately.  Teaching this 3-Step application of the whole word is accurate without removing affixes; clearly superior for teaching decoding and vocabulary, a fact we have encountered for over 30 years and the reason our students have been successful.  We also discovered the longer the word, the more reliable and accurate the system in controlling the word.

Read Quick 3-Step System replaces the need to use unreliable syllables. The application of syllables has proven to be the cause of student confusion, frustration and failure for 60-70% of our student population in the U.S., impacting their lives for academic success and employment.  The results are more devastating and magnified for special needs and ESL learners.  This problem could easily be corrected by dropping traditional reading methods, historically taught in reading, and using alternate processes known to be successful.  This fact alone should guide districts and schools to examine other reading alternatives.

WHY DOES THE READ QUICK 3-STEP SYSTEM WORK SO EFFICIENTLY ?

The entire system is almost as easy as learning the alphabet...A statement based on fact and 30 years experience.  We knew the system worked when 4 year old "preschool" age students, in group instruction, were fluently reading and understanding stories at the first, second, and third grade levels after 0NLY 5 months.  They could also apply the system to decode and pronounce words from high school texts.  The simplicy of application also helps to make special needs learners successful for decoding words.

Read Quick 3-Step System:

• Is applicable to a wide range of student needs, based of their learning styles, dictated by vision, hearing and brain dominance;

• Provides special needs students consistency and accuracy for initial learning, memory and application.  All she simple 3-Step System may be repeated daily, during oral warm-up, in less than 15 minutes;

• Lessons are ALL AGE APPROPRIATE.  Read Quick  is a decoding system, not a reading program and ANY READING MATERIAL  (text books, magazines, novels, newspapers, etc.) may be used to decode unknown words, preventing adult users the embarrassment of reading from elementary texts.  

• Provides wall charts, flash cards, games, student bookmarkers, short stories and practice words from reading packets taken from the Teacher's Guide, to be used in all subject areas requiring decoding of words;

• Student Bookmarker is a 3"x 8" laminated card containing the entire 3-Step System as a constant reference for all students to carry, as needed.

• Offers a simple system, easy to teach and explain to younger and special needs students.  It is common practice for grade 1-2 students in public schools to teach the system to younger siblings at home. 

  • According to standardized tests,  kindergarten and first grade students learned and used the 3-Step System as the single decoding method and scored in the first through fourth grade reading level. 

• Should be used in all subject areas, (i.e., science, history, and technical journals) requiring a workable decoding system for all ages;

• Allows user to read and unlock all unknown English words, in context, that are typically years above students' basic reading skill level; 

• Allows students to be "pulled" upward, not leveled when using a reading text, short story or novel.  Teachers should not place an artificial ceiling on reading materials. 

• Motivates student by allowing them to read mature reading material while practicing decoding, vocabulary and critical reading skills in context.  Consistently using reading materials 2-4 years above students' actual reading level, while reading orally, works exceptionally well with special needs, remedial and ESL students.

• Allows instructor to use direct teaching method, as well as, silent reading activities.

• Promotes student interaction when reading orally and discussing quality questions, developing skills in text analysis while providing a much needed student to student  social interaction.

• The most rapid and accurate decoding and spelling system available in America.  

• Reading and speech skills are taught simultaneously, further enhancing the over-all language skills because Combinations are speech perfect and used by speech teachers to supplement their formal speech program.

• Teachers' Guide contains several pages of single letter (alphabet) speech lessons and several pages for speech instruction using 47 Combinations.  Software can be used for speech sounds.

• Provides emotional security for students that have been through remedial lessons and still cannot read with fluency or comprehension.  They face any reading or writing task with uncertainty based on past failures and soon become reluctant to try. 

• Motivates student's learning -  System is organized with simple rules and procedures that are reliable, consistent and easily applied. 

• Memory for letter cluster sounds and spellings are improved because Combinations do not change.  The same sounds associated to letters are consistent and repeated throughout the process; required for most special needs and ESL learners to internalize. (See Sources for Combinations - below.)

The opportunities to teach the Combinations are almost endless.  Nearly every word contains one or more Combination and any printed material is a reading text.  Students are literally surrounded by the 3-Step System in their daily studies and at home.  Combinations are effectively taught as isolated clusters having correct speech sounds with consistent spelling. 

Examine this compelling recommendation from the National Panel on Reading, requested by the federal government.  Entire Research Report is located at the National Institute for Literacy website.     www.nifl.gov

• "Teach each sound-spelling correspondence explicitly.  Not all phonic instructional methods are equally effective.  Tell the children explicitly what single sound a given letter or letter combination makes is more effective in preventing reading problems than encouraging the child to figure out the sounds for letters by giving clues.  Many children have difficulty figuring out the individual sound-spelling correspondence if they hear them only in the context of words and word parts."

• "Teach frequent, highly regular sound-spelling relationships systematically.  Only a few sound-spelling relationships are necessary to read.  The most effective instructional programs teach children to read successfully with only 40-50 sound-spelling relationships.  Writing can require a few more, about 70 sound spelling relationships.  The chart is not taken from any particular program but represents the 48 most popular letter-phoneme relationships."

Both recommendations describe the 3-Step System precisely as do other 'Panel' recommendations.  Click here for Research.

Different teaching techniques using flashcards, games, writing assignments, visualization lessons, peer tutoring, learning centers and other practices are recommended and encouraged.

A productive teaching method involves the speech teacher teaming with a classroom teacher during any reading session.  Speech teacher could make corrections and diagnose problems by teaching reading to a group using the 3-Step System or sitting with a teacher or tutor.  Title I, special needs, and ESL teachers have found this approach to be significant in the language development of students in both English and subject matter classes.

Right brain and left brain students process language differently and require different applications for short-term and long-term memory development.  Using the Gestalt method, all mental processes for learning and mastery are accessed and reinforced daily on as-need basis for both right brain and left brain students, by-passing the methodical process using phonics and syllables.

Read Quick has achieved remarkable success with a wide range of disabilities because it teaches to the basic processing needs of so many learners; both right brain and left brain.  

• Tourette's Syndrome

• Learning Disability

• Traumatic Brain Damage

• Emotionally Disturbed

• Dyslexia-Clinically Diagnosed

• ADD/ADHD Medically Diagnosed

• Visually Impaired

• Visual Tracking - Left to Right

• Hearing Impaired

• Mild to Severe Epilepsy

• Bipolar Symptoms

• School Truancy

• Emotional Stress due to School Failure

Teaching how to decode 90-96% of all words in context while reading has been identified by specialists as the most rapid and permanent method for all learners to master this ability.  Students are able to make the decoding process rapid and accurate while reading orally by applying the 3-Step System.  This is a unique and important feature for all learners, especially remedial, special needs and ESL students.

Software lessons are age appropriate providing the remedial readers with basic skills required for reading progress regardless of age or ability.  Students are motivated to read as a result of their immediate decoding successes which improve their classroom behavior and effort.  Older students and adults do not feel they are doing elementary lessons as the software does not use any primary language or graphics.  

(See pages from  Read Quick  lessons - Click Here)  

VISUAL TRACKING

Approximately 80-90% of all special needs and remedial students are handicapped by a visual problem which is correctable in 60-90 days with 3- 4,  15 minute lessons a week.  During and after initial lessons are completed, remedial reading lessons to develop basic decoding skills are critical.  These statistics have held for over 50 years as compiled by optometric groups, reading specialists and psychologists.  Left undetected and not treated, the student is confined to reading failure, limiting their full potential as adults while encountering frustration and failure in high school.  When treated and provided a proper intervention reading program, many special needs students may rapidly gain in decoding and comprehension skills.  In the meantime, they suffer from their inability to read and comprehend grade level tests leading to school failure and an inferior self-concept which leads to acquiring and practicing antisocial behavior and an 'assumed disability' attitude.  (Vision tracking lessons and tests are available from our website.  (See Dreikurs, Maintaining Sanity in the Classroom.)

Visual tracking is the movement of both eyes together across a line of print from margin to margin.  Visual tracking is not visual acuity, where near and far vision needs to focus for a clear image.  A simple flicking of one or both eyes when tracking or changing eye direction can reduce the ability of the reader to comprehend and memorize the material by as much as 90%. 

Approximately 30-40% of the general population has a reading problem caused by visual tracking.  Many individual difficulties go undetected and this group continues with reading dysfunction as adults; however, many learn to compensate in a number of way to overcome their visual problems.  Others experience serious emotional problems from academic frustration in school and social discrimination for employment and income.   Adult dysfunctional readers almost always respond favorably to visual training as they relate reading to career potential.   (Article on Visual Tracking - PDF - Click Here.)

Symptoms of visual tracking handicap:

• Homework involving reading, especially studying for test, requires 3-4 hours when students with normal visual tracking may only require an hour or less.

• Student reads 1-3 pages in textbook and cannot recall what was read, even on the last page they read. Schools and parents identify this type of student as having a "poor short term memory" or a "poor student."

• Student reads 5-10 minutes and stops .

• Student complains of being tired at home and school.

• Assignment is boring.

• Student hates school and avoids school work.

• Student gets angry at parents for making them study.

• Student is identified by teachers as having behavioral problems.

• Student is referred for remedial classes or special education, especially for reading and spelling.

• Student is often identified as dyslexic when problem is visual.

• Students always functions below grade expectancy in reading tests

All visual exercises and lessons have been used and recommended by behavioral optometrists and/or through resources such as the Bernell Behavioral Optometric Supply (www.bernell.com) and the Optometric Extension Program (www.oepf.org).

The simple format and clarity of the 3-Step System for students, teachers, tutors and parents cannot be emphasized enough.  Students receive consistent reinforcement of the system providing a precise application of each skill which helps students repeat sounds and spelling for developing long term memory, dramatically accelerating the over-all learning curve; a requirement for most remedial, special needs and ESL learners to develop and maintain reading expectancy.

Educators should never avoid the challenge to dialog and teach skills that others have said are beyond the ability of special needs, ESL, and remedial students.

Above all, Read Quick's accuracy and simplicity provide teachers and parents numerous opportunities to 'encourage' students in place of 'praising' students which have negative consequences.  This subtle difference is an important concept for teaching special needs, remedial and ESL learners for internalizing their motivation for a long term effort.

Dominance of the hand, leg, vision, hearing and brain results in 35 learning profiles as described by Dr. Hannaford in her book, Dominance Factor.  Many profiles have importance for learning different subjects; best methods for teaching a student; mental processing and physical movement restrictions under stress, etc.  For reading, spelling and language development, we are concerned with brain, hearing, vision and hand dominance.  See the PDF download on:   Explanation of Logic, Right Brain, & Kinesthetic Learners and How ESL Learners Benefit - Click Here.

Dyslexic students have a condition that is not necessarily found in all right brain learners.  Read the Research by Doctors Shaywitz and Shaywitz at Yale School of Medicine  (on the Home page)  that offers hope for dyslexic students and the use of the Read Quick  3-Step System.