01
Words I Already Know
Build trust, find spoken strengths, hear the sounds inside words — zero pressure to read yet.
50 min
Materials: notebook or tablet · audio recorder (phone) · picture cards of the teen's interests · quiet space.
VAK
Warm-up (5 min) — "Tell me about your world"
Ask about something they love. Let them talk freely. This is the win: their words matter, and this space is safe.
VAK
A · Syllable clap (8 min)
Clap and tap the syllables of words from their interests. Words have a rhythm — a first step to breaking them apart, through sound and touch.
A
B · First & last sound detective (10 min)
Say a word slowly. "What's the first sound? The last?" Use only ears and mouths. Start with s, m, t, b and their own name.
VA
C · "I know that word" picture sort (12 min)
Sort interest pictures by syllable count. Confirms their oral vocabulary is a real asset — the words are already inside their head.
Check: Can they clap their own name's syllables and find the first sound of 3 words? Yes = ready.
Take-home: Start a spoken word bank — 3 words they chose and said aloud. Record them on the phone.
02
Sound → Symbol
Map the first sounds to their letters — physically, through touch — and write the first letters with the hand.
50 min
Materials: sandpaper/felt letters (s, a, t, p, n, i) · trays of sand or shaving cream · word bank · paper and pencil.
VK
Warm-up (5 min) — Review the word bank
Play back the 3 recorded words. Clap and say them together. Sky-write the first letter of one word in the air.
VK
A · Touch the letter (10 min)
Trace a sandpaper letter while saying its sound, again and again. Hand feels the shape, ear hears the sound, eye sees the form — all at once.
VK
B · Write it in sand (10 min)
Form each letter in sand or shaving cream while saying its sound. Then transfer to paper with a thick pencil. Mess is allowed; perfection is not the goal.
VA
C · Sound to letter with your own words (10 min)
Take the first letter of their own word-bank words. "Your word 'sun' starts with /s/. Here's the letter S." They've just written the first letter of words they chose.
Check: Can they write the correct letter for 3 taught sounds when you say them aloud?
Take-home: Send a tactile letter mat. Ask the teen to teach a caregiver how to trace one letter — teaching is the deepest learning.
03
Blending My Way
Blend sounds into whole words — and read the first real, decodable words, one letter at a time.
50 min
Materials: letter tiles or sound chips (s, a, t, p, n, i, c, g) · small whiteboard · picture cards · word bank.
A
Warm-up (5 min) — "What word am I?"
Say a word very slowly: "/c/ /a/ /t/". The teen claps it together: "cat!" This warms up the exact skill we'll use for reading.
VK
A · Slide the sounds together (12 min)
Place three tiles in a row. Say each sound as you touch it, then slide the tiles together while saying the whole word. Physical decoding.
VA
B · Read my first words (12 min)
The big moment: read first real words (at, cat, sit, tap, sun). Slow sound-by-sound, then faster. Print becomes theirs.
VK
C · Build it, write it, cover it (8 min)
Build a word with tiles, write it, cover it, spell it from memory. Uncover and check. End on a word they get right.
Check: Can they read 5 taught words independently? Accuracy over speed — fluency comes later, confidence now.
Take-home: A word-family flip book (-at, -it, -ap). Read it at home and add a favorite word to the bank.
04
I See Patterns
Spot word families, master the most common "heart words," and take the first steps toward reading smoothly.
50 min
Materials: word-family cards (color-coded) · a short decodable text (1–2 sentences) · highlighter · flip book.
VA
Warm-up (5 min) — Rapid family review
Hold up word-family cards one by one (-at, -it, -ap). Read them fast. Wakes up pattern recognition and sets a confident pace.
VK
A · Sort the word families (10 min)
Sort a mixed pile of words into families by ending sound, moving the cards into groups. Same color = same family. A huge decoding shortcut.
VA
B · Heart words (12 min)
Some common words (the, is, you, was, they) don't follow the rules — you know them "by heart." Show, read, trace, and heart the tricky part.
VA
C · Read it smoothly (12 min)
Read a short decodable sentence: echo (you read, they repeat), then choral (together), then independent. Each pass gets smoother.
Check: Can they read a 30-word decodable passage at ~80% accuracy, sounding out rather than guessing?
Take-home: A decodable reader paired with the same book as an audiobook, to read along by ear and eye.
05
My Words, My Story
Become a writer — by turning the teen's own spoken language into written words and sentences, with the teen as author.
50 min
Materials: voice-to-text app or recorder · paper and pencil · word bank and flip book · a personal notebook.
A
Warm-up (5 min) — Tell me a story
Prompt a one-sentence story about their day or favorite thing. Speak first, always. Writing begins as talking on paper.
AV
A · Dictation — I say, you show (12 min)
The teen says a sentence; you (or voice-to-text) write it exactly as spoken. They see their own speech become print. Separates thinking from mechanics.
VK
B · Write the words I know (12 min)
Write the words they can already read. Focus on letter formation and spacing. A few perfect words beat a messy page.
VA
C · I wrote it — now I read it (10 min)
Read their own sentence back. Because they wrote it from their own words, they can almost always read it — a self-reinforcing loop.
Check: Can they produce and read back one complete sentence of their own? Even "I like dogs" counts.
Take-home: A personal journal with voice-to-text. One sentence a day. It's theirs — no one grades or corrects it.
06
I Am a Reader
Bring it all together — read and write a personally meaningful piece, celebrate real growth, and plan the road ahead.
50 min
Materials: favorite decodable text · journal and word bank · blank "Reading Passport" sheet · growth certificate.
VA
Warm-up (5 min) — Read it like a pro
Reread the favorite decodable text. Watch how much smoother it is now. Point out the progress out loud — teens need to hear it.
VA
A · My reading passport (12 min)
Create a one-page passport: what they could do in Week 1, what they can do now, one thing they're proud of. A tangible record of growth.
VAK
B · Read it out loud (12 min)
Read a short, practiced piece aloud to a trusted partner. A moment of performance and pride, not pressure. Everyone claps.
VA
C · Name the next goal (10 min)
Choose one realistic next goal and write it down. Re-run the baseline and compare — the growth becomes undeniable.
Check & celebrate: Re-run baseline checks, document before/after, and present the signed growth certificate.
Handoff: Give the caregiver a note on what to practice, the tools to keep using, and the next goal. The habit doesn't end.