The following Frequently Asked Questions and answers are provided for your convenience:
Q: I want to work with a child who has reading difficulties, what materials do I need?
Answer: Each situation is different. However, in most instances, a tutor needs The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set, which progresses to a sixth grade reading level. The Complete Set includes: an ABC Look At Me Reading! Learning Packet and The Christian Literacy Series. The contents of the ABC Look At Me Reading! Learning Packet are discussed in the next Question/Answer. The reading material covered in the Learning Packet is essential for every reader to master. The Christian Literacy Series includes the basic reading textbook entitled The Christian Literacy Series: The Light Is Coming, a Tutor Handbook (including placement testing), and the Reading Is Fun Activity Book for lesson reinforcement exercises. Students dealing with educational obstacles such as ADHD, dyslexia, and others will likely benefit from the red print on yellow background technique used in The Christian Literacy Series: The Light Is Coming. If you would like to discuss your specific situation, feel free to e-mail us by clicking ASK DR. LITERACY or call us during normal business hours.
- Q: How can The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set be used with both adults and children?
Answer: Dr. William E. Kofmehl, Jr., the author of The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set, originally developed the text in 1975 for use with adults who could not read. It has proven highly successful for that purpose. Over thirty years ago, Dr. Kofmehl’s wife, Linda, made use of The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set to teach their three-year-old daughter (Jennie) to read. Jennie is hearing impaired and her parents prayed that opening up the world of print would help compensate for the partial closing of the world of sound. Jennie Kofmehl, now Jennie Ebner, is today a certified English teacher who has written many of the Christian Literacy materials designed for children. She is also a full-time mom with two adopted children who have benefited from The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set. The reason The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set works with children is that it starts at “zero” and makes use of a limited vocabulary as it builds a student’s reading ability. Children are very interested in the “mysterious adult world” that exists around them. Reading stories that talk about events in that world are definitely not boring to them. Adults, on the other hand, usually dislike using materials obviously designed for young children. In recent years, Christian Literacy has added special supplementary materials (and programs) specifically aimed at our growing child audience and their parent “tutors.”
Q: I will be working with a child who hasn’t learned to read yet, what materials do I need?
Answer: The ABC Look At Me Reading! Learning Packet is geared specifically toward individuals just learning how to read. This packet will allow tutors to teach the English alphabet, 40 most common English words, and simple sentence structure in a smooth, sequential, and systematic process. Every reader needs to master the material found in this packet in order to have the building blocks of success for reading. The Learning Packet includes: ABC Look At Me Reading! textbook, ABC Look At Me I'm An Author! textbook, and 80 Word Cards and Picture Cards. Currently, for extra reinforcement, there is an optional set of Bible Word Picture Cards with directions to accompany the Learning Packet. Upon completion of the Learning Packet, the student will be able to read forty stories in the Bible Stories for New Readers books, which use calligraphy and line drawings. You may then choose to use The Christian Literacy Series to continue the student’s progress.
Q: What is a “Christian Literacy Program?”
Answer: A Christian Literacy Program teaches students to read so that they can read God’s Word and everything else in print. Such a program makes use of our Bible-content basic reading materials and provides the tutor with a built-in opportunity to witness to the student every step of the way. Christian Literacy Associates has been offering such programs to the churches since 1975.
Q: What materials does Christian Literacy Associates offer?
Answer: The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set takes students (if necessary) from “absolute zero,” never having seen a letter of the English alphabet, to a sixth grade reading level. Included with the Complete Set are: the ABC Look At Me Reading! Learning Packet (also available separately) and The Christian Literacy Series. The Christian Literacy Series (also available separately) includes: the basic reading textbook entitled The Christian Literacy Series: The Light Is Coming, a Tutor Handbook (including placement testing), and the Reading Is Fun Activity Book, which has lesson reinforcement exercises. Other publications include the Summer Reading Camp Curriculum Guide and Handbook with DVD, My Reading and Writing Journal, and Bible Stories For New Readers. To view or order materials click the following link: View or Order Materials
Q: Is The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set for adults or children? Most literacy programs I have seen only work with adults and, outside of the schools, very little of a concrete nature is done for children without a very high cost attached.
Answer: The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set will work with almost anyone who needs to learn to read or improve their reading skills, progressing to a sixth grade level. This includes adults and children of average intelligence, special needs students, the mentally challenged, adults in prison, those in drug rehab centers, and individuals seeking to learn English.
Q: I want to help a friend learn to read, but I am not a teacher. What are the requirements to be a Christian Literacy tutor?
Answer: The key to a Christian Literacy Program is The Christian Literacy Series Complete Set in the hands of a dedicated volunteer tutor. Such a tutor does not have to be a trained educator, or even a high school graduate. A tutor must, however, be a good reader, have patience, want to teach someone to read, be willing to make use of Bible-content materials, and participate in a short (four-hour) training program. A Tutor Training DVD is also available to assist a volunteer to properly use Christian Literacy materials if attending a workshop is not possible. Some of our most successful tutors have not graduated from high school. Their patience and love for their students allowed them to open God’s Word to those who could not read it for themselves.
Q: I am a retired elementary school teacher. I am very concerned for the children I see in our Sunday School classes who have reading problems. Some are in danger of failing a grade. Is there something that I can do for them using your Christian Literacy materials?
Answer: Many of our tutors are educators. Their prior experience and training has made it easier for them to start Christian Literacy Programs in their congregations, work with some of the “difficult cases,” and serve as the first level of help for a volunteer tutor in their “literacy center.” Summer Reading Camps and After-school Programs depend on such dedicated individuals to handle the small group component and administrative duties and classroom style activities involved. It is important to emphasize, however, that it is not necessary to be a teacher to effectively use any Christian Literacy materials as they are professionally designed for use by non-professionals.