Welcome to Questions and Answers about:

Who created LiteraSee Concepts?

Mica Drummond received her IMSLEC (International Multi-Sensory Language Education Council) certification in 2014 at a Children’s Dyslexia Center after a year-long training and teaching practicum. Since then, she has taught and learned from many children who struggle to read and spell. 

Before training, she received a B.S. in nursing and later became the designer and manager for a family-owned business. She became interested in dyslexia when she discovered it was the reason her intelligent children struggled to read. With her newfound passion for helping children reach their educational potential, a science-based education background, a natural talent for design, and years of experience creating lesson plans and teaching the Orton-Gillingham method, she had all the resources to create LiteraSee Concepts Illustrated.

What makes Literasee different than other Orton-Gillingham programs?

LiteraSee Concepts follows the same O-G (Orton-Gillingham) teaching methodology used in Wilson and Barton’s reading programs. We teach language-based, multi-sensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, prescriptive (flexible), and diagnostic (individualized) lessons. While being true to our O-G foundations, our goal was to uncomplicate the teaching process and add engaging visual teaching aids.

1. LiteraSee’s lessons begin at the phonological level and go beyond phonics. Because comprehension is the goal, reading, spelling, writing, grammar, syllable knowledge, word part meanings (morphology), fluency, comprehension, and word origins also play essential roles in learning to read. These skills begin in level one; they are cumulative, increasing in difficulty and focus with each level.
2. LiteraSee does not need to be scripted. Once you know the basic steps of a lesson, teaching is simplified and structured. This may sound monotonous, but every lesson is new, each child has specific needs, and LiteraSee gives you the tools to interject fun and engaging games and activities.
3. Free how-to-teach videos show you the steps of a LiteraSee lesson and provide some helpful teaching tips.
4. LiteraSee is priced more affordably than most literacy programs to reach more children in need. Everything in the Complete Teaching set is available by level, and the teaching tools are sold separately, so you buy only what you need.
5. Expensive Orton-Gillingham training is not necessary or mandatory; however, it is highly beneficial to educate yourself on the science of reading and dyslexia. For invaluable information, webinars, and free resources, go to International Dyslexia Association’s website at https://dyslexiaida.org.
6. The lessons include many  insights and helpful hints to help you teacher with a greater understanding of fundamental concepts.
7. Simplified concept explanations and literary terms give you confidence as you explicitly teach the concepts.
8. LiteraSee is flexible. Spend as much or as little time as required to teach at your student’s pace. While the lesson progresses logically, older students beginning at level one may have advanced questions or need specific help at a particular time. It is fine to jump ahead if you do not hold them responsible for words with concepts they have not learned.

SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

Does LiteraSee’s curriculum use a typical O-G scope and sequence?

Orton-Gillingham is a science-based teaching methodology that teaches children to read with multisensory techniques and a systematic and structured approach. We teach Orton-Gillingham literacy concepts in a continuum from simple and common to more rare, sophisticated, and technical words. LiteraSee's scope resembles the Children’s Dyslexia Centers'; however, the sequence, lesson plans, and all supporting materials are unique to LiteraSee Concepts Illustrated. 

READING MATERIALS

Do your products include decodable passages?

We use leveled and decodable sentences in the lesson plans.
LiteraSee includes free and fabulous links to decodable passages/stories. 

While they may be only 90% decodable, we do our best. If your student struggles with a word containing a concept you haven’t taught, do not make them sound it out. Students are only responsible for words that sound out, include learned concepts, or are known sight words. 

Parents should also read side-by-side at home with above-level, high-interest books to increase a child’s vocabulary, background knowledge, and love of reading.

Does LiteraSee offer books for fluency and comprehension?

There are many excellent resources available at no cost, so we include their links to give you everything you need to teach your student or child to read with fluency and comprehension. 

ASSESSMENTS

Does LiteraSee include assessments?
Before beginning the program, use the free Dibles assessment to test a student’s phonemic awareness and phonetics knowledge. Regardless of your findings, all students of any age will begin with a letter and sound knowledge before starting Level One. You will assess progress daily through thorough and ongoing reviews. At the end of each level, there is a comprehensive word list to “test” the student’s concept knowledge and review before advancing to the next level.

FLUENCY

How does LiteraSee Concepts teach fluency?

The LiteraSee program contains timed fluency drills for rapidly naming colors, letters, shapes, and words. There are also fluency activities for letter confusion and reading phrases. While these timed activities may help with specific issues, fluency requires modeling, rereading several times, and reading with expression (porosity) to gain comprehension.

COMPREHENSION

Are comprehension strategies discussed?

Yes, a list of strategies is included at the end of the teaching instructions. Here are some key strategies: teaching background knowledge, rereading sentences, grouping words in a sentence, looking up unfamiliar words, making a movie (visualize), and questioning comprehension.

HANDWRITING

Does Literasee teach handwriting?

Yes, we teach handwriting because writing helps kids develop reading circuitry in their brains and is a proven method to help retain long-term memory.

In the Phonics Download, there are explicit instructions for lowercase letter formation. It is best to begin with lowercase because it is more commonly used. Uppercase letter formation will be necessary when starting to write sentences and names.

THIS IS A WONDERFUL FREE TEACHING RESOURCE for upper case letters.

http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/manuscript/alphabets/index.htm

Does LiteraSee have lessons for cursive handwriting?

No, but here is a link for free cursive writing instruction. http://www.k12reader.com/subject/composition/handwriting/cursive-handwriting/

VOCABULARY WORDS

Does LiteraSee have vocabulary lists?

 We offer a mix of familiar and rare words whenever possible; however, it is surprising how many students need the definitions of seemingly simple words. Always check to ensure your student understands the reading list words and can put them in a sentence. Because vocabulary is language-based and writing definitions takes too much time from the lesson, we write unfamiliar words on a list and discuss the meaning at least once a week or until learned.

HOMOPHONES

How many homophone pairs are included?

The lesson contains thirty-one homophones, including a visual aid for spelling their, there, and they're. I always discuss/question the student as other homophones arise throughout any lesson. There are separate lessons on homographs and homonyms,

SIGHT WORDS

How are sight words integrated?

There is a list of sight words in the Teaching Tools for each level. It is shorter than one might expect because we teach many nonphonetic spellings in the lessons. E.g., -dge, -tch, -cle, etc.

Who can teach with LiteraSee Concepts?

Homeschool parents, tutors, and trained/untrained teachers all use LiteraSee Concepts, so the ability to teach is highly individualized. As you probably ​know, most literacy teachers need to gain specific knowledge to teach reading, so a background in teaching is not a prerequisite, nor do you need special training. 

You will learn how to teach the concepts with user-friendly lesson plans, explicit concept explanations, insights, and the How To Teach a LiteraSee Lesson video. The lessons follow a predictable pattern, but the amount of review and practice with quizzes or games will vary at each lesson depending on your student’s needs. With vivid LiteraSee visual aids and a joyful attitude, children will love to learn and become more confident readers and spellers.

To teach any Orton-Gillingham program, you need four skills: 

1. The ability to read and comprehend simple instructions.
2. Good phonemic awareness (the ability to identify & manipulate individual sounds in words).
3. The patience and grit to review often and thoroughly.
4. An abundance of common sense to assess a student’s progress and customize your teaching plan.  

While a sense of humor is not necessary, it is scientifically proven to improve student outcomes and brings joy to your teaching. 

Like all new skills, getting into a rhythm and routine will take time and practice.

 What age should I start lessons?

Generally, one would start with phonemic awareness activities, then phonics instruction in Pre-K and K. When these skills are nearly mastered for most of the letters, it would be appropriate to start Level One, which introduces the blending of individual sounds into three-letter (CVC) words. Children may be ready for Level One by age six. Your student may need daily phonemic awareness practice until it is no longer necessary. 

Recommendations to start younger students

​For your new readers, it is best to focus on phonemic awareness activities (identifying and manipulating sounds) followed by phonics lessons (connecting letters to sounds). This is done before starting structured lessons. If your child is doing well identifying commonly used letters and blending their sounds into three-letter (CVC) words, it is time to start Level One. Please make sure to teach clean letter sounds. E.g., /b/ not /ba/, /c/ not /ca/, /t/ not /ta/, /r/ not /er/, etc. This will avoid blending sounds such as big --> /ba /i /ga/ or rat --> /er /a/ t/. The act of writing has scientific cognitive benefits, so beginning phonics is a perfect time to teach proper letter formation, pencil grip, and paper placement (parallel with the arm).

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Recommendations to start students in the third grade and up
Older students may have underlying phonemic awareness and phonics issues. Every child has different struggles, so assessing their needs and customizing your teaching is imperative. To ensure a solid foundation, start with LEVEL ONE and practice phonemic awareness activities before each lesson if needed. Knowledge of syllable types will help students spell multi-syllabic words. While older children may think the beginning lessons are juvenile, they can quickly move through the foundational concepts and gain confidence. I guarantee they will learn valuable lessons in level one, such as when to use a |c-| or |k-| or |-ck| in a word's initial and ending positions.

Please remember that this program is designed to help students of ANY AGE and varying degrees of cognitive differences. Please modify and add activities as needed for your student.

Are there teaching instructions or a teacher’s manual?

Yes, LiteraSee includes illustrated text and step-by-step video instructions containing images of the resources used. The sequence of activities is the same for every lesson, with slight variations depending on the lesson type – phonics, literacy concepts, syllable types/division, or morphology. 

Are the concept cards necessary to teach the lessons?
Necessary? No, but they are incredibly beneficial to both you and your student. The colorful concept cards act as a visual reminder of the concepts learned when posted in sight. Not only do they give you and your student an accessible way to review, but they also build the student’s pride with each card added.

Any tips for teaching virtually?

It is relatively easy to teach virtually once you learn how to use Zoom or any other platform. 

• Share the screen so you can both can make markings. 

• Use a document camera so the student can see demonstrations on your desk. 

• Prepare/upload relevant files and pages so everything will be there when needed.

•Use virtual blending card drills and phoneme blocks (free on demand). 

•When ordering games, please request the virtual gameboard.  

How do I know which teaching tool to use and when to use it?

At the appropriate time, a lesson will prompt you to use a particular tool to help you practice the concept, learn a spelling strategy, or begin teaching the English language origins. The list below shows the level to start; the plus sign signifies that you may use that tool up to level five or until it is no longer needed.

Level 1+ LiteraSee’s Phonogram Card Deck

Level 1+ Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Activities

Level 1+ Writing sentences to essays

Level 1 The Frog Pond Blending Game

Level 1+ Which Is It? Game for Spelling Choices 

Level 2+ English Language Origins Infographics

Level 2+ Vowel Team Storyboards

How should I organize my teaching resources?
Place each level of the lesson plans in individual binders. You will need three -1 1/2” and two – 2” binders.

You may also want to place phonemic awareness/phonics, writing sentences to essays, reading passages/decodable stories, and teaching resources such as extra templates, checklists, and visual aids in one large or four separate 1” binders. 

How should I plan and keep track of the lesson?

The five-day weekly planner template helps you keep track of lessons needing a review, new concepts to teach, and notes about the day’s lesson. There is also a more detailed daily lesson plan template.

How do you keep track of a student’s work?

Post each concept card on tri-fold boards or walls so students can see their progress and have a visual reminder of concepts learned. 

A student’s binder or folder should include the following:

• The dictation part of every lesson
•  Lesson plan template with notes
• A list of their vocabulary words
• The sight word checklist 
• Checklists of the lessons taught 
• Spellings of sounds they've learned on the phoneme checklist
• Timings for fluency