There is a real literacy crisis in our society. Students are reading below grade level across the board. Working parents are short on time and are counting on schools for their kids’ education, but time is limited at school, too. Furthermore, the US National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results make it clear – young learners need more support at home than ever.
Few resources on the market are up to the job. They’re either built on methods (like “whole word”) that don’t work, or they’re just not exciting for kids. Research on the science of reading proves that systematically teaching phonics skills works best, but it’s challenging to hold most students’ attention with traditional material. When kids lose interest, they don’t learn.