Overview

• The Library icon can be found on the top menu bar when you are logged on as a tutor.
• This is a resource for tutors, and so students do not have access to it.
• This is where you can find all the support materials to use in a Units of Sound lesson.
• Documents are in pdf format so that you can print however many you need, as you need them.
• Over time, we expect to be adding to the resources stored here, so have another look in it from time to time.

Units of Sound Books

The Units of Sound Books contain the content of the Reading programme, excluding the Quiz Questions. They provide a useful overview of the programme and can be used for more detailed 1:1 work with a student if needed.
The Book page numbers match the page numbers in the online programme.

Content

• Units of Sound and Word Blocks
• Check Words
• Check Sounds
• Sentences & Passages
• Reading Check – ‘A’ pages

What are the Books for?

• For a more detailed check on a specific page covering sounds the student had difficulty with in the Reading Check.
• For 1:1 revision purposes in relation to a student’s needs.
• For an overview of the content to see how the structure builds.

Units of Sound Book Stage 1
Units of Sound Book Stage 2
Units of Sound Book Stage 3

This document and video guides the tutor on the steps to getting the student using Units of Sound in the most effective way:

Guide to Getting a Student Started on Units of Sound

Getting a Student Started video

Overview

• The Good Practice Checklists set out the steps the student should be taking in order to use Units of Sound effectively.
• There are four checklists, one each for Reading, Spelling, Memory, Dictation.
• You should expect to use them more than once with each student, so you may find it useful to print a set for each student and keep it in the student’s file.

  Click here for Screen Tutor

Practice

• The tutor uses the checklists to make sure the student is working on the activities correctly – it is then that the tutor can leave the student to work independently.
• If students are following Good Practice they should make good rates of progress with Units of Sound.
• Use the Checklists as a diagnostic tool to pinpoint why a student is not progressing as well as expected .
• Go back to the Checklists to see if all the steps are being followed.
• The cumulative effect of several omissions of steps from the Checklists can make a difference to progress rates.
• For students with more severe literacy difficulties, the Checklists can make the difference between success and failure.
• They are also useful for parents who are working independently with their own child or in conjunction with a school.
• After using a checklist whilst observing a student, talk to the student about any un-ticked items.
• The student should have a better understanding why certain actions contribute to active learning.
• The tutor should feel confident that the student is engaged with Units of Sound and the processes involved in using it.

Click to download Good Practice Checklist

Resources

• An explanation can be found in Help section 09 Writing Activities.
• The complete set of Writing Activities is stored in the Library as a pdf.
• Print as many copies as you need for use with your students.

Click here to download the Writing Activities document

• There is an audio / visual Screen Tutor on every Units of Sound screen giving clear instructions on how to work through the activity on that screen.
• Screen tutors are intended to be used by both students and tutors as needed.
• Individually they can accessed from the icon on the menu bar, but can also be found in here in Help under the subject headings.

Stage Completion Certificates for Students

• There are pdf student certificates for completing stages 1, 2 and 3 of the skills areas, Reading, Spelling, Memory and Dictation.
• There is a certificate for students who have worked on Units of Sound Plus.
• They can be printed and given to students marking progress.
• There is a powerpoint (ppt) version for tutors working remotely with a student, so that name/date can be typed before sending.

Reading Certificates (all Stages)

Reading pdf     
Reading ppt

Spelling Certificates

Spelling pdf       
Spelling ppt

Memory Certificates

Memory pdf
Memory ppt

Dictation Certificates

Dictation pdf 
Dictation ppt

Units of Sound Plus

UofS Plus certificate

The Options Explored document helps tutors new to Units of Sound make the best use of Options for their students. It includes information on logins, Placement, Overlap and AutoRoute.

Click here for the Options Explored document

The UofS sequence map is an overview of the Reading program content for each stage. It is useful if the tutor wants to see at a glance which Units of Sound have been covered and which activities each page includes.

The map shows:

• page number and Units of Sound
• pages that have Check Words
• pages that have Check Sounds
• pages that have Sentences
• pages that have Passages
• pages that have Quiz Questions
• when the Reading Check sets occur.

Click here for the UK Sequence Map

Managing the Learning Environment checklist talks you through all the things you need to consider to set up your Units of Sound classroom.

Managing the Learning Environment

The Overview is an ‘at a glance’ view of a student’s work completed so far in all four skills areas. It is accessed from the Register by clicking on the student name and then Overview in the menu tab.

The following document is a guide to the Overview, which can be useful for parents/guardians of students:
Overview Guide

The Measuring Reading Fluency materials use the Units of Sound Reading Check set passages to measure reading fluency progress.

A Reading Fluency check should be carried out at least as frequently as a Reading Check and fits nicely between Reading Checks.
Always use the Reading Fluency set that is at least one behind the latest Reading Check completed. So for example, if the last Reading Check was stage 1 set 6, the tutor would do Reading Fluency set 5.

See the Tutor’s Guide for detailed instructions and the Measuring Reading Fluency video for an overview.

Reading Fluency Materials:

Tutor’s Guide 
Measuring Reading Fluency Overview Video

Tutor sheets:

• Passages Stage 1
  Passages Stage 2 
  Passages Stage 3
• Records pdf
  Records ppt

Student sheets:

• Passages Stage 1
  Passages Stage 2
  Passages Stage 3
• Records pdf
  Records ppt

Introduction

Units of Sound PLUS videos are an easy to use series of seven ‘drill’ videos that will enhance your Units of Sound sessions and broaden the range of students who can benefit from the program. They add further support for students who are working at the beginning of Stage One, or for those not quite ready for cvc reading. The videos provide the ‘drills’ to bridge the gap between insecure letter-sound correspondence and cvc reading.
Everything you need to know about how to use the Units of Sound PLUS videos is in the document and video guides below.

Materials Overview

Picture, Sound, Letter (PSL) videos: A series of four videos taking the student from naming alphabet pictures to giving the sound at the beginning of the picture and linking it with the name of the letter – thus learning all the alphabet names and sounds.

Word endings (WE) videos: A series of three videos allowing the student to develop skills in reading common two letter word endings before moving on to the more usual cvc words. The word endings are given in vowel order, consonant order and shuffled to further develop automaticity.

Units of Sound PLUS Guide
PSL Video Guide
WE Video Guide

PLUS Videos:
1 PSL picture
2 PSL picture – sound
3 PSL picture – sound – letter
4 PSL shuffled
5 WE vowel order
6 WE consonant order
7 WE shuffled

There is a UofS Plus certificate of completion available for students who have worked on some or all of the Units of Sound Plus videos.