92 core topics
· approximately 22 hours of instruction
including spaced review
How the course runs
An adaptive diagnostic (up to
40 questions) places the student on the course's knowledge
graph - topics already known are credited, and instruction begins exactly
at the learning frontier. Every topic is taught with a worked-example
lesson and auto-graded practice; a topic is mastered at
75%+ and then maintained through spaced reviews on an
expanding schedule. Mixed checks follow every 6 lessons;
each unit ends with a 12-item quiz, and course-wide assessments appear at
25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% mastery. Prerequisite gaps below the course are detected and taught rather
than skipped, so completion certifies the whole tower, not just the top.
Core curriculum
Phonological & Phonemic Awareness
· 11 topics
Hearing Rhymes[E]
Tell when two words end with the same sound.
Finding the Word That Does Not Rhyme[E]
Pick the odd word out of a rhyming set.
Counting Syllables[E]
Break a word into its beats.
Hearing the First Sound[E]
Tell which sound a word starts with.
Hearing the Last Sound[E]
Tell which sound a word ends with.
Hearing the Middle Vowel Sound[E]
Find the vowel sound in the middle of a short word.
Blending Sounds into Words[M]
Push separate sounds together to make a word.
Breaking Words into Sounds[M]
Split a word into every separate sound.
Taking a Sound Away[M]
Say a word again with one sound removed.
Changing One Sound[M]
Swap one sound for another to make a new word.
Words That Begin Alike[E]
Group words by their beginning sound.
Phonics: Letters, Sounds & Short Vowels
· 6 topics
Capital and Lowercase Letters[E]
Match every capital letter to its lowercase partner.
Letter Sounds[E]
Say the sound each letter stands for.
Short Vowel Sounds[E]
Hear and write the five short vowel sounds.
Reading Short Words[M]
Sound out and read consonant-vowel-consonant words.
Spelling Short Words[M]
Write the letter for each sound you hear.
Word Families[E]
Read a whole set of words by learning one ending.
High-Frequency Words & Sight Vocabulary
· 3 topics
Recognizing High-Frequency Words[E]
Know the most common words on sight, instantly.
High-Frequency Words in Sentences[E]
Use common words correctly inside a real sentence.
Heart Words[E]
Learn the tricky part of words phonics will not crack.
Print Concepts & Early Comprehension
· 4 topics
How Books and Print Work[E]
Know the parts of a book and which way print goes.
Words in a Sentence[E]
Count the separate words in a written sentence.
Listening Comprehension[M]
Understand a story that is read out loud to you.
What Happened First, Next, Last[E]
Put the events of a story in the order they happened.
Sentence & Capitalization Basics
· 5 topics
What Makes a Sentence[E]
Tell a complete sentence from a group of words.
Naming Part and Telling Part[E]
Split a sentence into who it is about and what happens.
Capital Letters and End Marks[E]
Start every sentence with a capital and end it with a mark.
Choosing the Right End Mark[E]
Use a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
Capitalizing Names[E]
Capitalize names, places, days, months, and the word I.
Word Relationships: Synonyms, Antonyms & Categories
· 8 topics
Words That Go Together[M]
Spot the word that belongs with a group, and the word that does not.
Naming the Group[M]
Give a group of words the name that covers all of them.
Parts and Wholes[M]
Tell a piece of something from one kind of something.
Words That Mean Almost the Same[M]
Find a word that means nearly the same as another word.
Words That Mean the Opposite[M]
Find the word that means the opposite of another word.
How Two Words Go Together[H]
Name the relationship between a pair of words.
Some Words Are Stronger[M]
Put words with the same meaning in order of how strong they are.
Choosing the Word That Fits[H]
Choose the word whose strength matches what the sentence says.
Story Basics: Character, Setting & Events
· 8 topics
Who the Story Is About[E]
Name the characters in a story and say what one of them is like.
Where the Story Happens[M]
Name the place a story happens, and say why that place matters.
When the Story Happens[M]
Say what time of day, day of the week, or season a story happens in.
How a Character Feels[M]
Name a feeling a story shows through what a character does.
What a Character Wants[M]
Say what a character is trying to get or trying to do.
What Happens in the Story[M]
Pick out the things that happen, and which one matters most.
Why It Happened[M]
Explain why something in a story happened, using the story.
Character, Setting, or Event?[M]
Sort a piece of a story into character, setting, or event.
Nonfiction Basics: Topic & Key Details
· 7 topics
What the Whole Text Is About[M]
Say in a few words what a whole true text is about.
Key Details You Can Point To[M]
Find a fact the text really states, and point to where it says so.
Questions a Text Can Answer[M]
Tell which questions a text answers and which ones it never touches.
New Words in a True Text[M]
Work out what a new word means from the sentences around it.
Titles, Labels, and Captions[M]
Use the title, labels, captions, and contents page to find what you need.
Two Facts That Go Together[M]
Say how one fact in a text leads to another.
Which Fact Matters Most[M]
Choose the facts worth telling back and leave the rest out.
Kindergarten Reading Workshop
· 8 topics
The Answer Is Right There[M]
Find the words in the text that answer the question.
What the Whole Thing Is About[M]
Say what a whole text is about, not just what one part of it says.
Which Question Does It Answer?[M]
Tell which questions a text can answer and which ones it cannot.
First, Next, Last[M]
Put the events or the steps of a text in the order they happen.
Who, Where, and How They Feel[M]
Name who a story is about, where it happens, and how the people feel.
Saying Why It Happened[M]
Give the reason something happened, using what the text says.
A Word You Can Work Out[M]
Work out what a new word means from the sentences around it.
Alike and Different[H]
Tell how two things in a text are alike and how they are different.
Kindergarten Writing
· 8 topics
Draw It, Then Label It[E]
Write one naming word next to the part of your picture you mean.
Start by Naming It[M]
Write a first sentence that tells a reader what your writing is about.
Say Something New[M]
Add a sentence that tells your reader something they did not know.
Answer the Question Your Reader Asked[M]
Add the one detail that answers the question your reader asked.
First, Next, Last[M]
Tell the parts of what happened in the order they really happened.
Tell How It Felt[M]
End your story by saying how you felt about what happened.
Say What You Think[M]
Tell what you think about a book, not just what happens in it.
Tell Why You Think It[M]
Give one reason from the book for what you think about it.
Listening Comprehension (K-2)
· 8 topics
Who Did What?[M]
Hold on to who did which thing in something you only heard.
Where, When, and How Many[M]
Catch the small facts - where, when, how many, which one - by ear.
What Happened First[M]
Put spoken events in the order they really happened.
Doing Two Things in Order[M]
Follow a spoken direction that has two parts in it.
Did I Really Hear That?[M]
Tell what a speaker actually said from what you filled in yourself.
What the Whole Thing Was About[M]
Say what a spoken passage was about, not one true piece of it.
The Question Nobody Answered[H]
Notice what a speaker left out, so you know what to ask about.
The Word Somebody Leans On[H]
Hear which part of a sentence a speaker is correcting.
Reading in Science: Looking at the World (Grades K-1)
· 7 topics
What This Text Is About[E]
Say what a science text is mostly about.
Finding a Fact[E]
Point to a fact the science text actually gives.
A New Science Word[E]
Work out a science word from the sentence that gives it.
Putting Things in Groups[M]
Sort things by what the text says they are like.
Alike and Different[M]
Tell how two things in a science text are different.
What Happens First[M]
Follow the steps of a science process in order.
Saying Why It Happens[M]
Use the text to say why something happens.
Reading in Social Studies: People and Places (Grades K-1)
· 9 topics
What This Text Is About[E]
Say what a social studies text is mostly about.
Finding a Fact[E]
Point to a fact the text actually gives.
A New Word for a Place Thing[E]
Work out a social studies word from the sentence that gives it.
Where Things Are[E]
Use a text to say where something is.
Who Does What[M]
Sort people by the work they do.
What Came First[M]
Put the steps of a process in order.
Then and Now[M]
Tell how life long ago is different from life today.
The Reason Behind It[M]
Say the reason a text gives for a rule or a choice.
Which Reason Is Better[M]
Weigh two reasons and say which one really answers the question.