THE LITERACY PROGRAMME
Creation of the Literacy Programme
The initial concept of the Simplistikit (Reading and Spelling Made Simple) programme was created in 1967 by Mary Andrew.
Mary developed the resources for the many parents who wanted to help their children but didn’t know how. Her dedication included training both tutors and parents to work with underachieving students.
Over the next 30 years, Mary refined her techniques and developed an entire literacy programme that has helped many children in New Zealand and overseas.
The original well-known red manual, Reading and Spelling Made Simple, was first published in 1986. This, in combination with her other resources, has proven to be a valuable tool to help students of any age.
Since then, over 20,000 copies of her programme have been sold throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Revising the Resources
The step-by-step programme provides guidance for parents and teachers of underachieving children. It has also been successfully used in adult literacy, especially for those whose second language is English.
The original red manual has been carefully updated and reformatted into four separate books by Barbara Griffith and Darlene Mathieson. Together they have created an attractive, easy-to-use resource with many fun activities and colourful illustrations.
Additional resources have also been created to support and expand on the fundamentals of literacy.