SUNSET -- Third-grader Angie Rogers used four words to build a sentence.
By learning and using one word at a time, the 8-year-old girl's reading has improved dramatically, said Kathy Warnick, special-education resource teacher at Doxey Elementary.
Angie really likes the "Little Books," because "they're funny," she said flashing a big smile.
"Little Books," are sold by the Academic Success for All Readers company, based in Logan.
The reading program is just one of several devices the Davis School District uses to help students learn to read, said Sallie Plummer, the district's elementary mild/moderate teacher specialist.
What Plummer likes about the "Little Books" is the sequenced teaching method, which makes it easy for teachers to teach reading.
What Angie likes about the program is she can read better now than when she started third grade.
And so can her classmate Savanah Taylor.
The two girls spent some time using word strips to create sentences and then read a book, called "The Mask," which uses the words they learned.
Warnick said all of the books in the program start with words used frequently in the English language. She always starts with a word game to help her students build up their reading fluency and vocabulary.
Warnick said the program helps the children read, but it also is affordable, which means if a book is lost or destroyed, she can easily replace it.
Warnick likes the program so much, she bought a set to help her grandsons learn to read.
Patti Haning, special-education coordinator for Davis School District, said the program has helped even students who in the past had difficulty learning to read find success in reading.
Lee Cannon, communications director for Academic Success for All Readers, said Davis School District "has been an incredible asset with our program. They use it in so many different settings, such as in the mild-to-moderate special-education program, as well as in the general education program."
The books are simple enough that even parents can use them at home to teach their children to read, Cannon said.
The program was developed by Alan Hofmeister, Haning said.
"He's just incredible," Haning said.
"We've been like his guinea pigs," Plummer said.
Hofmeister would send samples of his work to Davis School District and ask for feedback on the program, Plummer said.
Plummer said students receive instant feedback on how they are progressing, which gives the students confidence.
Now the program has expanded throughout the country and also is being used in third-world countries to teach children to read, Cannon said.
The company formed a nonprofit organization, Loving through Literacy, which donates books and reading materials to places like Liberia, Cannon said.
"Our goal is to change one child at a time through one book at a time," Cannon said.
For more information about "Little Books," go to www.iseesam.com.
For more information about "Loving Through Literacy," go to www.lovingthroughliteracy.com.
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