Why it Works

Why it Works

Anyone who can read will successfully coach their child, a relative, friend or neighbour to read fluently, using this one-to-one coaching method. The instructions for the coach are simple and jargon-free. It works because one-to-one is the way we learn to read.

The pictures for learning letter-sounds correspond to the shapes of the letters they represent, removing a big hurdle for the learner - for example a pan for ‘p’, a tree for ‘t’. Photographs are used, rather than drawings, because many people with dyslexia see letters as 3-dimensional objects.

Starting with this simple method for learning the sounds of individual letters (phonics) the learner will discover how to blend these sounds together, soon articulating whole words. Those words which don’t follow the rules are learned in groups of Look Write Say words.

Because the reading adventure is broken into tiny steps, the learner is encouraged from the outset with regular small successes. Each successful step is rewarded with a tick, building the learner’s confidence as well as enabling the coach to identify immediately where a reading problem lies. This also means that if the coach has to discontinue, another coach can take over seamlessly.

The coach is shown how to overcome problems and turn any small difficulty into an opportunity for fun and shared games. The learner’s fear of long words is removed through word sums and by a very simple method of breaking words into syllables, covering them up and revealing each word-part bit by bit. The reading material is designed to be fun, and the learner will soon develop the habit of reading for meaning.

Yes we can read will not show you how to coach writing or handwriting or spelling but, if you work through every part of this book together, your learner will become a fluent reader.

Yes we can read: one-to-one is the key!