This online course is designed to prepare reading coaches in the strategies and techniques deployed in the Startup Reading Long Vowels Course.

This course introduces students to a reading strategy designed to help them identify the long vowel sound in words. Identifying vowel sounds is the most pressing challenge in the early stages of reading.

The lessons begin with a review of the consonant sounds, which students practiced in Book 1. Letter Names and Sounds. In Lesson 1, students are guided through a step-by-step process to determine whether a letter in a word is a vowel or a consonant. This is an essential step for students to transition from identifying letters to reading words.

Now the fun begins! During this course, students will learn reading strategies that enable them to read a story at the conclusion of each section.  Lesson 2 starts start by introducing the Reading Code, the first strategy to recognize the sound of the vowels. As students read long vowel words in each lesson, they also advance their knowledge of consonant sounds.

Throughout the workbook, students write long vowel accent marks before reading the words to provide a visual understanding of the vowel sound. Students learn that if the vowel is a long vowel, it says its name. Examples of words with long vowel sounds are the I in kite, the A in gate, and the E in leaf.  The words in each lesson have been carefully chosen to allow students to practice their understanding of long vowel sounds in reading phrases, short stories, and various activities, such as Read and Draw and Identify the Drawing.

This course will provide you, the reading coach, with knowledge and the underlying strategy to review a student’s workbook after completing a lesson, have the student read the words, phrases, or sentences taught during the lesson.  With your support and knowledge of using the prompts, students will read words they have already practiced and decode new words in the context of sentences.

An essential element of your coaching relationship will be acknowledging the student’s effort to learn the reading strategy and apply the reading code.  We will cover specific prompts and responses when a student hesitates in reading a word and how you can refer to a specific component in the reading strategy to help the student read the word.

This course provides a video lesson for each page in the workbook. As the parent, you may participate with your child or request to schedule an online reading session with a Reading Pal, who will guide your child through the lesson.