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The initial concept of the Simplistikit (Reading and Spelling Made Simple) programme was created in 1967 by Mary Andrew. This 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, 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. 30 Years Of Passion 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. Mary's passion for literacy and determination to empower these children led her to create the programme. "Many of these students would otherwise have fallen through the cracks in the New Zealand education system." Mary's original book 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. ​ The Sight Words Cards have also been completely revised with brand-new, original illustrations. They are now in full-colour and a joy to use with your learner. Additional resources have been, and will continue to be, created to support and expand on the fundamentals of literacy.

Mary Andrew created a fresh method of teaching to get parents and children to learn words together. When Mary Andrew first started teaching in Morrinsville in the mid-60s she was deeply concerned to find that one-in-ten children had a reading age far below that of their classmates. As well, those same children also had spelling difficulties. It wasn't the fault of current teaching methods, Mrs Andrew discovered. The large class sizes meant that teachers had little time for individual tuition with strugglers. At first, Mrs Andrew wondered why the parents didn't help. She found out that they simply didn't know how. Creating The Programme So she set about creating a new method of teaching reading and spelling that could be used at home or in the classroom. The programme uses a step-by-step guide to the basic sounds of letters and combinations of letters, such as 'ce' as in fence, 'tion' as in action, and so on. The learner is shown a picture on the back of a card, and then asked to read the word and pronounce the sound made by each letter group. Memorising key words lets the reading flow, and means that patterns of sounds can be recalled for spelling or reading. Mrs Andrew did not promote her system as an alternative to the reading and spelling methods used in schools but as a support for these methods, yet she was criticised by the New Zealand Education Department. She was undeterred. "I am outside the department; I'm 59 and can jolly well say what I like." During her 30-year fight against illiteracy, Mary Andrew sold 20,000 copies of her programme material. The kit contains a copy of her book Reading and Spelling Made Simple, an alphabet letter case, sight word cards, a parents' video guide and teacher manual. Mrs Andrew put in $50,000 of her money to get it published because she felt the need was so urgent. Today the Mary Andrew Literacy Training Trust is financed by sales of the programme, through its website www.SimplyReading.com Mrs Andrew was a late starter in the teaching field, attending training college in Hamilton when the youngest of her three children was at school. A spell as a librarian at Morrinsville College had instilled an appetite for teaching and encouraging a love of reading in children. Her plan to teach parents and children together came when she realised how much parents already taught their children. "Of course parents can do it," she said in an interview in 1989. "After all, who helped the children to talk, to feed themselves, and potty-trained them?" She also reassured parents that reading and spelling difficulties are not caused by a lack of intelligence or laziness. Some may be because of hearing or sight problems, poor diet or allergies. Poor self-esteem and lack of confidence were also major factors, said Mrs Andrew. Even after her retirement from classroom teaching, and enduring health problems, Mrs Andrew continued to travel the country giving seminars to teacher groups. Her time at home was spent in the garage packing components of the programme to send to Australian and New Zealand customers. Mrs Andrew died on Sunday [29th October 2006]. She is survived by her husband, David, children Robert, Heather and Don, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Original article written by Phoebe Falconer, New Zealand Herald, 3rd November 2006.

An Article Discussion Exercise Years 7 and 8 are a fun age when students enjoy a good discussion. You can run and article discussion exercise with reading material from other subjects, high-interest topics, current events, or any reading material. What they read doesn't really matter. The important thing for article selection is that it generates discussion and unusual or interesting words. The following programme was run over four days, taking just 15 minutes a day. Copy the reading material so every student has their own copy. Buddy-up poor readers with good ones if you need to. Discuss the article and any interesting words (Challenge Words – usually around 7 words). Discuss possible meanings. Have everyone turn over the article. Students should have a go at spelling each of the spelling words. Get them to repeat the word verbally, then write it down while saying it aloud in syllables. They then reread the word and self-correct it if they want to alter their ‘try’. When the correct spelling is shown, students should tick the parts of the words they got right. They learn the correct spelling ‘on the spot’. Retesting their errors over the next few days will put the word from their short-term memory into their long-term memory. Isolate the patterns in each of the words that is causing them problems. Use the Index of Sounds reference card to find them in the Reading and Spelling Made Simple books. Or use their own knowledge to think of other words that contain the same spelling pattern. Make a list of these words in a ‘Word Families’ notebook. This list should be added to as other words are found with the same pattern. Find the meanings of the 'Challenge Words' in the dictionary. Find out the root words, parts of speech, etc for each of these words. Written Expression Next, have your students explore the concept with written expression. You can allow or encourage different writing styles. For example, see below: The article chosen concerned a man who became enraged over feral cats digging in his garden. He caught his neighbour’s cat in a cage. Then he took it to the local animal shelter, pretending not to know who it belonged to. The police were called by his neighbour. The suggestions for writing were: police report, neighbour’s altercation, the cat’s report about this.

Printable Resources Set #1 What Is Literacy? Literacy is used to describe the skills of communication, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These skills help us to connect with other people and to understand the world around us. Our Customers Include: CAREGIVERS Parents Grandparents Foster Parents TUTORS LDANZ Tutors SPELD Tutors Private Tutors TEACHERS Relief Teachers Literacy Teachers Classroom Teachers SCHOOLS Health Schools Primary Schools Intermediate Schools OTHER Adult Literacy Home Schooling Distance Learning CAREGIVERS Parents Grandparents Foster Parents TUTORS LDANZ Tutors SPELD Tutors Private Tutors TEACHERS Relief Teachers Literacy Teachers Classroom Teachers SCHOOLS Health Schools Primary Schools Intermediate Schools OTHER Adult Literacy Home Schooling Distance Learning 20,000 + SETS SOLD in New Zealand and Australia!

Help and advice for caregivers who work with learners that are struggling with reading and writing. Info for Caregivers Useful Information for Caregivers Below is a collection of information specifically for caregivers. Whether you are a caregiver helping learners after school, or a parent homeschooling your children, here are some handy tips to help you. Let us know if you have any suggestions for future articles or more information. If you have any specific questions, please contact us. A special thank you to all the parents, grandparents, relatives, foster parents, adoptive parents, and mixed families that are bringing up and helping to educate our toddlers, children and teenagers. CONTACT US Revising the Resources 'Reading and Spelling Made Simple', first published in 1986, has proven to be a valuable tool. Darlene Mathieson 1 min read Mary Andrew's Fresh Teaching Method Mary Andrew created a fresh method of teaching literacy to children. Darlene Mathieson 3 min read The 'Reading & Spelling Made Simple' Difference Our programme and materials empower learners to solve their own learning problems by giving them positive, professional help in easy... Darlene Mathieson 2 min read Understanding Reading, Spelling and Writing Becoming literate is a lifelong journey, and there are some distinct stages to be aware of. Becoming literate starts with learning to speak. Barbara Griffith 2 min read The Importance Of Literacy Today As technology becomes so ingrained in our everyday life, some people are questioning the importance of literacy for our youth. With the... Darlene Mathieson 2 min read Weekly Visits To The Library Both you and your child can be benefit greatly from weekly visits to your local library. Take your time in the library. It is very... Barbara Griffith 2 min read 1 2

Pricing of our full range of books, resources and packages that you can order online now. OUR PRICES INDIVIDUAL BOOK PRICES READING & SPELLING MADE SIMPLE: Teaching Guide $29.00 Reading & Spelling Made Simple: Teaching Guide Book One: Steps 1-4 $29.00 Reading & Spelling Made Simple: Book One Book Two: Steps 5-8 $29.00 Reading & Spelling Made Simple: Book Two Book Three: Steps 9-12 $29.00 Reading & Spelling Made Simple: Book Three Index of Sounds Booklet $9.00 A reference guide for the pronunciation, rules, and examples used in the Reading and Spelling Made Simple set of books. OTHER BOOKS: Preschool Literacy Made Simple $29.00 Basic principles, activities, and advice on introducing and practicing literacy to preschoolers. INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT PRICES Lettercase $95.00 = VERY LIMITED STOCK Portable letter case with removable card single letters and blends to make words and play games. Sight Word Cards $45.00 300 individual, double-sided cards with each word by itself on the front. On the back it's used in a sentence, meaning is explained, or grouped with similar words. Printable Resources Set #1 $15.00 (was $20) Print your own resources from PDF’s. Files in full-colour and black and white. Includes testing sheets, teaching resources, and activities for your learner. COMBINED PACKAGE PRICES Preschool Pack $49.00 Preschool Literacy Made Simple Reading & Spelling: Book One, Steps 1-4 Individually priced at $58.00 • Total savings: $9.00 Starter Pack $49.00 Reading & Spelling: Teaching Guide Reading & Spelling: Book One, Steps 1-4 Individually priced at $58.00 • Total savings: $9.00 Basic Pack $77.00 Reading & Spelling: Teaching Guide Reading & Spelling: Book One, Steps 1-4 Reading & Spelling: Book Two, Steps 5-8 Index of Sounds – Reference Card Individually priced at $96.00 • Total savings: $19.00 Book Pack $95.00 Reading & Spelling: Teaching Guide Reading & Spelling: Book One, Steps 1-4 Reading & Spelling: Book Two, Steps 5-8 Reading & Spelling: Book Three, Steps 9-12 Index of Sounds – Reference Card Individually priced at $125.00 • Total savings: $30.00 School Pack $149.00 Reading & Spelling: Teaching Guide Reading & Spelling: Book One, Steps 1-4 Reading & Spelling: Book Two, Steps 5-8 Reading & Spelling: Book Three, Steps 9-12 Index of Sounds – Reference Card Sight Word Cards & Instructions Printable Resources Set #1 Individually priced at $185.00 • Total savings: $36.00 Combo Pack $169.00 Preschool Literacy Made Simple Book Reading & Spelling: Teaching Guide Reading & Spelling: Book One, Steps 1-4 Reading & Spelling: Book Two, Steps 5-8 Reading & Spelling: Book Three, Steps 9-12 Index of Sounds – Reference Card Sight Word Cards & Instructions Printable Resources Set #1 Individually priced at $214.00 • Total savings: $45.00 ORDER NOW! CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE Letter Dice = SOLD OUT (out of stock) A fun and interactive set of coloured dice with different letters and letter blends on each surface.