At the Same Time As
The child begins the Picture Packets - Transition app at the same time as he or she begins the Writing Worksheets.
No Letter Lesson
Although the transition phrase cards contain both sounds and letters, no specific lesson associated with the letters is given to the child. The letter associations take place in the Writing Worksheets and Sightwords apps, and should the parent or teacher choose, in the Stamping app, as well.
Observe
Despite the lack of specific letter instruction accompanying Picture Packets - Transition, the parent or teacher will observe that when the child reads the transition phrases, the child often attempts to read the words in letters, as opposed to the words in sounds. The sounds above the letters are used by the child when the word they represent is not known. Children use the sounds to check the accuracy of their reading without having to ask a parent or teacher or anyone else a word they do not know.
Finishing Out the Run
It may seem like more should be said about teaching children how to read the letters in the transition phrases, because it is the transition level of the program that produces the most teacher and parent anxiety. The concern is that a child may not be able to make the switch from sounds to letters to become what the adult feels is a real reader. But the most difficult learning level has already past. It passed for each child when that child mastered the art of blending two and three sounds into words. The child who can read phrases comfortably and who is at the transition level has already cleared all the hurdles. The child now is merely finishing out the run.
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