Sample a Reading Skill

Preview some of the skills that are taught in the Reading Horizons at Home and Intensive Phonics at Home software. Discover what sets us apart as an effective, and easy-to-use reading program for struggling readers of all ages.

Because the skills build on previously-learned skills, you will see the unique markings that have been taught to help students learn how to break down words. The marking legend will help you to understand what each mark means.

Markings Legend

	An x beneath a letter is used to mark it as a vowel.
	A horizontal line over a vowel is used when a vowel has a long sound.
	An arc above a vowel is used when a vowel has a short sound.
	A "guardian star" is used to mark consonants that immediately follow vowels.
	An arc is used to join 2 or 3 letters together to form a blend.
	A vertical line through a letter is used to signify that it is silent.

Teaching Reading Terminology

Most people are unfamiliar with some of the terminology used in teaching reading. Below is a list of commonly-used key words and their definitions.

• Consonant: the letters of the alphabet that are not vowels.
• Vowel: the letters of the alphabet that can say both their name and their sound; every word must have one (a, e, o, u, i, and sometimes y).
• Blends: two consonants that stand together but still keep their individual sounds; must be able to come at the first of a word: plant, trip.
• Diphthongs: two vowels together that create a new sound: like ou in out, oi in oil.
• Digraphs: two consonants that stand together that create a new sound: ch in chip, sh in shop.
• Decoding: reading; breaking a whole word down into parts.
• Encoding: spelling; placing letters/sounds together to form words.
• Long vowel: the sound of the vowel in which the vowel says its name: ā in ape, ē in eel, ī in ice, ō in oak, ū in use.
• Short vowel: the short sound of the vowel: ă as in cat, ĕ in beg, ŏ in dog, ŭ in fun, ĭ in win.
• Phonemes: the sounds that letters make.
• Graphemes: the letters that represent the written language.
• Phonics: understanding that there is a predictable relationship between the phonemes (sounds) with the graphemes (letters) that represent them.
• Phonemic awareness: understanding that the sounds of spoken language work together to make words.
• Multi-sensory: being taught in a way that provides experiences using visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), kinesthetic (body movement), and tactile (touching).
• Systematic: one skill building upon another; works in an order that makes sense.
• Explicit: explained clearly and in detail.