The First Steps to Reading for Adults is a 20-week course (requiring a 5 days a week commitment) designed specifically for illiterate adults.

Similar to the other books in the series, this Multisensory Reading Program is systematic, structured, multisensory and uses a range of memory strategies to maximise learning and most importantly adheres to the ‘science of reading’ principles.

The program begins by systematically introducing the basic sound represented by each of the letters of the alphabet and then progresses to more complex phonemes and their common graphic form using a multisensory format. Students who have a good knowledge of the sounds of the alphabet and can segment and blend, could start at Unit 8.

These concepts are then applied to:

  • A rapid decoding activity (to encourage recognition within other letter strings),
  • Vocabulary development
  • An oral reading activity (containing the vocabulary learned in isolation along with the introduction of frequently used words which the student does not have the current knowledge to decode independently)
  • A comprehension activity linked to the oral reading and vocabulary
  • A word building activity
  • A chunking activity containing the focus grapheme(s) which teaches students how to break words into smaller units to reduce the load on working memory.
  • A phonological processing activity as this is a skill that underpins reading and spelling.

The program has been designed so that each section complements and reinforces the other sections. Once a concept has been introduced, it continues to be used throughout the program.

Unit 1

a-apple, p-pig, n-nut,
c-cat, t-tent

+the

Unit 2

e-egg, v-vase, y-yoyo,
s-snake, b-ball

+I, you

Unit 3

i-insect, w-water, l-lollipop, z-zip, k-king

+said, they

Unit 4

o-orange, f-feather,
d-dog, x-box, g-goat

+to, come

Unit 5

u-umbrella, h-horse,
r-road, j-jellybean, m-mountain

+here, put

Unit 6

q-queen & consolidation

+was, are, there

Unit 7

Letter names

Unit 8

Split digraphs – a-e cake, e-e Pete, i-e kite, o-e bone, u-e flute/cube

+of, one, want

Unit 9

sh-ship, ch-chick, th-three/brother

+because, new, do

Unit 10

‘r’ controlled vowels
ar-car, er-flower, ir-girl, or-fork, ur-church

+can’t, could, some

Unit 11

ng-ring, all-ball, ck-duck, ed-/d/-fanned,
/t/-jumped, /əd/-painted

+where, your, were

Unit 12

ai-rain, a-e cake, ay-tray

+what, know, four

Unit 13

ee-tree, ea-leaf, e-e Pete, ie-briefcase

+people, two, walk

Unit 14

ow-bow, oa-boat, o-e bone

+other, their, many

Unit 15

oo-book, moon

+who, any, work

Unit 16

y-sky, sunny, pyramid

+year, great, through

Unit 17

ow-cow, ou-house

+pull, water, minute

Unit 18

oy-boy, oi-coin

+ask, should, answer

Unit 19

ce-centipede, cy-cycle, ci-circus

+would, might, does

Unit 20

ge-orange, gi-giant,
gy-gym

+don’t, talk, though

Click on the images below to find out more about the program and to view sample pages.

Click on the images to purchase.