Teach a Student to Read (TASTR) developed in response to the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons reading program. Unlike phonics programs that erroneously posit that sounds correlate with letters in an alphabetic writing system, TASTR strives to teach the English writing system as fully and accurately as possible.
TASTR approaches the teaching of reading through the tenet that the primary function of English spelling is to express meaning. The program begins with the expectation that the reading student knows the letters of the English alphabet and then teaches the graphemes of the English spelling system. The student learns about the graphemes, digraphs, and trigraphs that can spell sounds. But not all letters spell sounds. Some letters are markers. Other letters are zeroed. The single final nonsyllabic <e>, which is the lynchpin of the English spelling system, is introduced in the first lesson. A student must understand that not all letters spell sounds as soon as learning to read begins.
In addition to English graphemes, Teach a Student to Read also introduces word sums, prefixes, and suffixes. A word sum shows how a word is built. The student will learn the ways that prefixes and suffixes affect the spelling and pronunciation of words.
Teach a Student to Read additionally includes information about some of the most common verbs in English as well as information about nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. A brief tutorial for uncovering the history of a word, and thus an explanation of the spelling, is included in the introduction.
Teach a Student to Read is not a phonics program. TASTR presents English orthography as fully and accurately as possible, thus giving a new reader the information needed to read and understand the spelling of any English word.
The Teach a Student to Read reading program was written for use in a one-on-one setting (parent and child, teacher and student, tutor and student, speech-language pathologist (SLP) and student). However, the program could be modified for larger classroom use.
Most children learn to read between the ages of 6 and 7. Some children are ready at age 4 or 5. The recommended age range for Teach a Student to Read is therefore between the ages of 4 and 8. The reading program is also recommended for older students who have been failed by other reading programs, specifically phonics programs.
Purchase
All Teach a Student to Read and Teach a Student to Spell materials are available for purchase via Amazon.
The print version of Teach a Student to Read consists of two volumes. Volume 1 contains Lesson 1 to Lesson 58 (361 pages). Volume 2 contains Lesson 59 to Lesson 116 (395 pages).
The Kindle eBook version contains the entire text of the print version in a single electronic book.
The Reading Supplement contains the reading passages from the complete reading program in print form for use with the electronic version of the reading program. The Kindle version can be used alone, but the Reading Supplement offers new readers a physical book to hold and manipulate.
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Updates
The <igh> in height was erroneously identified as an etymological marker in an earlier version. The <e> is the etymological marker. The <igh> spells [ɑɪ]. The print and Kindle versions have been updated with a note.
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Worldwide Distribution
The Teach a Student to Read reading program is also available for purchase outside the United States.
Australia
Brazil
Canada
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
Spain
United Kingdom