Statistics show us that despite our best efforts, many students are functionally illiterate. It is no longer acceptable to legitimize this problem by labeling these students as “unteachable.” President Bush’s policy, "No Child Left Behind", echoes these sentiments loudly and clearly. Educators can appreciate how difficult it is to find a reading program that is phonics based but does not require all the memorization rules required in teaching syllable types and syllabication patterns, not to mention phonemes such as diphthongs.

The Stevenson Language Skills program, authored by Nancy Stevenson, is structured. The program utilizes multisensory, phonics-based methods, which develop phonemic awareness, and it uses mnemonic clues in unusual ways to help students with reading difficulties retain information and master word-attack skills. Brain-friendly techniques, including mnemonics, imaging, chaining, rhyming, humor, and novelty, are used to concurrently teach the skills of reading, spelling, penmanship, comprehension, and more. This program addresses such common learning problems as phonological processing deficits, attention deficits, blending difficulties, sequencing confusion, and organizational difficulties. The unique sequencing of skills ensures that even previously unsuccessful readers will enjoy early success. Although written for elementary students, this program has helped many middle school special education students as well. This is a true resource in meeting the challenge of educating all children.

Stevenson Reading Beginning Level
Grade Levels: K–2 or 3+ Remedially
Length: 4 - 5 Hours (Depending on the desired level of interaction between instructor and teaching staff)

The Beginning Level contains fifty-four lessons of instruction for the teacher as well as stories, sentences, and word lists for the student. In these lessons, students progress in learning letter sounds and shapes to mastering a 500-word vocabulary. The lessons focus on specific language units presented in a unique sequence. The skills addressed include reading, spelling, vocabulary building, penmanship, comprehension, and grammar. This direct instruction program uses memory aids (mnemonics) to help students read and spell vowel patterns correctly. Multiple brain-friendly strategies help students overcome learning problems.

Stevenson Reading Basic Level and Beyond
Grade Levels: K–2 or 3+ Remedially
Length: 4 - 5 Hours (Depending on the desired level of interaction between instructor and teaching staff)
Prerequisite: Knowledge of Beginning Level

The Basic Level and beyond contains directives for teaching the reading of numerous word groups that cover dozens of different vowel patterns. It also teaches many other language skills such as answering questions in complete sentences, identifying parts of speech, capitalization, and punctuation. This direct instruction program utilizes memory aids (mnemonics) to help students read and spell vowel patterns correctly. Students internalize a unique system to attack multisyllabic words in a systematic manner that does not require knowledge of syllable types or syllabication rules. Special sections help teachers who have not used the first level of the program.

Stevenson Grammar
Grade Levels: 5–7 or 6–10 Remedially
Length: 4 Hours

Are you tired of spending too much of your language period on grammar instead of on writing? Tired of students who do not remember the parts of speech from year to year? Tired of reading students’ sentences that barely contain a subject and verb? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then learn a brain-friendly strategy that ensures retention through its systematic approach. Other programs teach the parts of speech in isolation from one another. For example, nouns are taught every September and are rarely revisited until the following September. The Stevenson Grammar program continuously reinforces prior lessons. For example, the program identifies nouns throughout the entire year. In addition, the order in which the parts of speech are addressed is arranged to provide the student with a process-of-elimination approach. For example, it is much easier to find the subject of a sentence when the prepositional phrases are eliminated first. Gone is the notion that alternative strategies were written for learning disabled children only. In this day of differentiation and "No Child Left Behind", this program is invaluable. Stevenson Grammar can be used in conjunction with the Stevenson Reading program or as a companion piece to any English text.