How do I know where to start my students in the Sonday System?
If you are considering starting somewhere other than at the beginning, remember that determining where to start a student requires diagnostic expertise and it requires that the Instructor (teacher, parent) know language structure well enough to recognize gaps in the continuum and have the ability to intervene with corrective strategies. A Helper who isn’t trained in structured, systematic phonics may not receive the cues given by the learner or may not be able to intervene. The best thing to do is start at the very beginning of the system. For the Sonday System, the Instructor should go through Pre-Reading levels to verify that the learner can successfully manage the skills practiced. Move as rapidly as possible but as slowly as necessary. It is easy to assume that prereading skills are in place when the student is old enough for those skills to be in place. Don’t make that assumption. Missing a piece or two in the continuum of language may undermine the whole effort. The Sonday System
