What We Offer
Learner OrientationOur free, flagshipt adult reading program helps English-fluent adults who read below a 9th-grade level.
Testing: We use the Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT). This test tells us if someone needs sounds and phonics, or if they need fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Curriculum: Volunteer reading tutors use the Foundational Kit or Challenger Kit with their assigned learner. Our curriculum kits start with the first skill books from the Laubach Way to Reading or Challenger series from New Readers Press. Session maps, assignment cards and other supplies like flashcards, journals and pens are included in the kit.
Program Overview:
- Foundational Curriculum Kit (Lauback Way to Reading)
- Teaches foundational sounds, decoding of simple words, and reading basic paragraphs.
- Tailored for adults below a 4.0 on the Slosson Oral Reading Test.
- 4-level structured, phonics-based series.
- Step-by-step practice for those with little to no prior reading skills.
- Covers letter-sound relationships and a controlled vocabulary of 132 words.
- Challenger Curriculum Kit (Challenger Reading & Writing)
- Builds fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- For adults between a 4.0 and 8.9 on the Slosson Oral Reading Test.
- 8-level series builds reading confidence and writing skills.
- Emphasizes decoding, vocabulary, and writing skills in books 1–4.
- Shifts to reading to learn with higher-level readings and vocabulary in books 5–8.
How it Works: Pairs commit to 24 one-hour sessions at a Study Center. One-hour weekly sessions take place at one of over two dozen locations across Richland, Lexington and Aiken counties.