Early Reading Skills Builder (ERSB)

The ERSB Curriculum is the perfect next step for students who have mastered early literacy skills: the conventions of print, beginning stages of phonological awareness, letter-sound correspondence, and sight word vocabulary. These same foundational reading skills are addressed in the Early Literacy Skills Builder curriculum.

 

Research has proven ERSB effective for students with intellectual disability or autism, including those with complex communication needs. Focusing  on phonics, ERSB blends traditional print materials (like books and manipulatives) with software and an iPad app. The software helps learners blend sounds and segment words, regardless of their verbal skills. It also creates an engaging learning environment for students and simplifies progress monitoring and assessment.

 

ERSB has 26 progressive levels with 5 structured lessons each. Lessons follow an 8-step activity sequence, which includes identifying, blending, and segmenting sounds; decoding words; reading sight words and connected text; and answering comprehension questions. In addition, students use Champion Writer Journals to reflect on what they learned.

 

Instruction with print and software follows systematic prompting and feedback procedures that are evidence-based practices for this population. Print, software, and the app follow the same scope and sequence so moving among the formats is easy and effective. Students can progress at their own pace using the software or can participate in small group activities using the print materials.

 

Champion Reader Books included in the curriculum use connected text passages that have students apply the information learned in the level’s activities.

 

The Teacher’s Guide details the scope, objectives and teacher scripts for all 130 lessons—so you know exacting what is being taught in all software and print activities. The guide also provides guidance on how to expand ERSB activities without using the software. Includes a CD with PDFs providing quick access to all student materials and reproducible teacher content like assessment forms.