Instructions on how to use this page:

The items listed below will help you match the Sounds & Symbols Early Reading Program to the Reading First criteria. Use the information and sample wording within your grant application. You can highlight and then cut and paste the text and/or table directly into your grant application document, or download the .pdf file and use as a supporting document to the grant.

1. Product Information Link

View additional information about Sounds & Symbols through the online product page.

2. Sample Wording for Grant Application

The Sounds & Symbols Early Reading Program addresses all 5 building blocks of early reading development and also has a scientific research base to support its use in this proposal (See Appendix XX). These articles and studies include quantitative and qualitative research data. Some of the studies were part of the program validation process by the authors, but independent studies have also been conducted to replicate positive outcomes with Sounds & Symbols. These independent studies have also resulted in significant positive outcomes.

The Sounds & Symbols program has clear standards for progress while also allowing flexibility within its 40 lessons. The multi-modality program ties phonemic awareness skills to phonics skills and text comprehension skills as students listen to letters and sounds, anchor them with visual symbols on cards, and practice these sounds in the context of a story. Choral reading also improves reading fluency skills as repetition and familiarity with the themes and characters increases over time. Students are constantly engaged in this program, and their skills can be measured and taught objectively with each sound and story lesson combination.

3. Reading Component Correlation

Reading Component	Supported by Sounds & Symbols?	Explanation
Phonemic Awareness		Students are taught to discriminate sounds, determine sound positions by ear, segment, delete, substitute, and blend sounds; real alphabetic letters are used to represent sounds in most cases
Phonics		Each sound is represented visually when taught, and the features of the sound are connected with the sound in print. Explicit teaching and meta-skill training assists the development of the alphabetic principle in practice.
Fluency		Each story is read aloud repeatedly with the students and is also recorded on CD-ROM for playback in a listening center or at home with parents. Students practice choral reading individually and in groups, using a visual anchor in the storycards to build automaticity and comprehension.
Vocabulary		The context of each of the 40 stories offers embedded vocabulary building with a thematic approach. Much of the vocabulary is learned indirectly, which matches the Reading First research findings, but some is taught directly. Students use all four modalities to integrate vocabulary into their lexicons.
Text Comprehension		Activities, detailed questioning, and discussion in each S&S story forms the basis of understanding what has been read. Teaching phonics in the context of stories builds meta-skills that carry over into awareness of the text content itself.