Help Your Struggling Reader Move from Sounding Out to Reading Fluently!

Struggling Readers: Short Vowels Fluency Programme

This is a free sample. Find the full 5-vowel course here:

Can your child sound out words but still struggle to read a simple book fluently?

Many struggling readers can blend short-vowel words in isolation but find it much harder to read them confidently in a book. They need more than another phonics programme introducing new sounds and spelling patterns. They need time to practise, consolidate and become thoroughly familiar with the words they are learning.

The Struggling Readers: Short Vowels Fluency Programme was developed for precisely these children.

I created it for my own struggling dyslexic pupils, including children who had made little progress with other phonics programmes. Through careful, structured and repeated practice, the programme helps children build familiarity with words before meeting them in print, making the step from decoding individual words to reading connected text much easier.

Developed through experience with real children. Refined through teaching. Designed with struggling readers in mind.

What's included?

This free, 10-week programme provides a complete, structured approach to practising short-vowel words and developing reading fluency.

• 10 decodable reading books — each introducing just 10 new words, keeping the reading manageable and reducing cognitive overload.

• 20 video lessons — practical teaching demonstrations to guide you through the programme, whether you are teaching at home or in the classroom.

• 10 matching PowerPoint presentations — visual support for teaching and practice.

• 10 activity packs — containing more than 100 worksheets and games for structured, multisensory practice.

• Teaching instructions — a clear teaching sequence with guidance and supporting resources for each stage. Teachers can adapt the outline to meet their own school's requirements for formal lesson plans and curriculum targets.

How does it work?

Each week, children work towards mastering five words containing a short-vowel sound. The activity pack provides repeated opportunities to practise the words and develop the skills needed for successful reading.

Only after this preparation do children meet the words in their reading book. Because the words are already familiar, they can concentrate on reading the text rather than struggling to work out every word afresh.

For a child who has become accustomed to finding reading difficult, the experience of opening a book and reading it successfully can be a tremendous confidence boost.

The activities also develop important supporting skills, including phonemic awareness, consonant blends, visual tracking, word discrimination and comprehension. Repeated practice helps children consolidate what they have learnt and retrieve it more readily.

Who is this programme for?

The programme is designed for children who can already blend simple short-vowel words but need further practice to read them with greater fluency and confidence.

Its structured, repetitive approach may be particularly helpful for children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties, including children who need additional time and support to master early reading skills. It can be used for individual teaching or with small groups.

After completing the programme, children can progress to Level 1 of the Tom Stories and Jack Stories reading series.

This programme is part of a wider body of work developed to support children who struggle to learn to read. Its carefully graded practice may also benefit children who need additional consolidation before moving on.

Try it for free!

You can try the next lesson free, too. See how the programme works and decide whether its structured approach is right for your child.

Reading progress begins with firm foundations, carefully chosen practice and the opportunity to experience success.