Pre-K/K | Adv K | Acc K | Fast-Track | LA 1 | LA 2 | LA 3 | LA 4 | LA 5 | LA 6 | LA 7 | LA 8 | HS 1 | HS 2 | HS 3

All of our Language Arts Programs offer top-notch materials to help you mentor your child toward proficiency in verbal and written language skills. Each program comes with a program guide that is hole-punched to lie directly across the page from your Comprehensive program guide pages, so you can easily see your "week at a glance." The program guide also includes creative writing suggestions, guidance, and teaching tools that coordinate directly with your main comprehensive study.

For instance, if you are studying the American Revolution in your main study, one of your creative writing assignments in a language arts level might be to write a coded message Benedict Arnold might have sent. The integrated study improves student motivation and involvement. In addition, each language arts program comes with one or more sets of readers and guidebook notes that coordinate with your comprehensive study. Be sure to choose the correct item number that will complement your main study.

A Summary of Language Arts
OR, "How Do I Know Where to Place My Student in WP Language Arts?"
We offer Language Arts for students from Pre-K through High School. You'll see below a summary of each program that may help you to know where to place your student in our LA programs.

Another Help for You:
Read the summary of our Language Arts programs below. If you'd like additional help with placement, use our Language Arts Placement Evaluation by clicking here.

Pre-K/K "Basic Phonics" Program
The Basic Phonics program starts with studying one letter a week for 27 weeks. Each week, each letter is introduced with all its letter sounds, i.e. that "a" says three sounds, "g" says two sounds, etc. Most parents are surprised by how quickly students catch on to this methodology. When a parent introduces decoding of the words, they can say, "This word uses the second sound of ‘a.’" For the remaining weeks of this program, students go on to add to their knowledge of the alphabet other 2-letter phonogram sounds. Examples include: er, or, ir, ai, oi, sh and so on. Throughout the year, students have a weekly list of words that they need to decode, starting in Week 10. An additional feature of this program is that letters are introduced in the same week they are used and practiced in the "Animals and Their Worlds" program, fitting hand in glove with this program.

This program offers a lot of flexibility to parents. The phonogram cards and character cards, together with the activity pack, offer a variety of activities that reinforce the learning process in an active way. These resources can help you fill gaps in learning, reinforce skills, and even extend the learning if you want to move more slowly through the program.

Here are some examples of students who will use this program effectively, and how:

• Parents of younger learners, such as a four-year-old who can’t wait to read, could use this program without using the last 9 weeks of more advanced phonograms, but instead, used other learning activities included with the program to continue building reading skills.
• Parents of students who know some of the letter sounds, but not all, usually have great success using the program as it is.
• Parents of students who know almost all of the basic sounds of the alphabet, but have not learned the so-called "long" sounds of the vowels or additional sounds of consonants can also use this program successfully, but may move through it more quickly.

Advanced K "Just Starting to Read" Program
Advanced K begins with a three-week review of the phonograms learned in the "Basic Phonics" program. After that, students begin to decode readers with short three-letter words or less. These readers usually have one short sentence per page. Students also work on word families, building their decoding skills. The program brings the student to the point that he is reading short paragraphs by the end of the year.

Here are some examples of students who will use this program effectively, and how:

• Parents of younger learners, such as a five-year-old who has learned his alphabet and is a motivated student may be able to use this program if the parent is willing to spend more than three weeks on the initial review (using the phonics cards) to really ground the student before moving on.
• Parents of average kindergartners who have fully mastered the alphabet and are ready to decode (or are just now reading) three-letter words will find this program will work perfectly using the program as it is.
• Parents of older students who are not "motivated" readers may find that this is a safe, handleable program for students who haven’t effectively made the leap from decoding simple words to reading. Usually such students reach a certain point where all of a sudden the "key turns" in their heads, and they suddenly make reading progress at an incredibly rapid rate, catching quickly up to their more "motivated" peers. This may mean parents will not be able to use this program for an entire year as their student suddenly "outgrows" the program, and parents may find they need to supplement the program, or move on to the next level. This may seem like an additional expense, however, the step from decoding to rapid reading is a vital part of reading instruction, and cannot be missed.

NOTE: My student seems to be "on-the-fence" between Basic Phonics and Advanced K; how do I know which one to choose?
Both of these programs overlap, thanks to the phonics cards and activity pack. If your student knows most of the alphabetical sounds, you may find yourself torn between these two options. At this point, your choice becomes dependent upon the personality of your student, and your own commitment to "adjusting" the program. If your student isn’t highly motivated as a reader, you may want to choose the "Basic Phonics" program, knowing that at a certain point things may "click" for them, and you’ll need to move on. On the other hand, if your student knows most of the alphabet, but is starting to decode like a house afire, go with the Advanced K and plan to spend more time on review to really ground them. As to your own commitment to adjusting, parents who choose the lower level will find that they may need to double up on some assignments to keep students challenged, while parents who go to the higher level may find that they need to add extra review time and utilize the phonics cards activities to invest in making up for gaps in their students’ learning. Parents may have preferences as to the type of "adjusting" they’d rather do. It’s also a cost issue. If you go lower, and things suddenly click for your student, you’ll need to move on and purchase additional language arts programs or resources.

Accelerated Kindergarten / K+ Advanced K Program
For K Students who demonstrate an eagerness to learn to read early, or have begun to learn, but not mastered, some of the phonetic sounds. 1st grade students who now show readiness to move quickly through the basic letter sounds and into early independent reading. New students switching from another program who need extended review with vertical phonics to be fully prepared for our 1st grade program.

Fast-Track Phonics
For students who are transferring from another phonics program, and need to learn phonics in our vertical method, or for students that would place in the middle of the Advanced K Program. This package should help students who know all their consonants and their short vowels and are already reading simple sentences. This package will help them to complete learning all the vowel sounds and advanced phonograms to bridge the gap between their knowledge and our LA 1 program. In essence, this is the last half of our Adv. K program in an accelerated format.

LA 1 "Reading On My Own" Program
Language Arts 1 starts with students who can read easy paragraphs. Students begin with easy readers, but they only read 2-4 pages per day, with 1-3 paragraphs total on those pages combined. There will be some unfamiliar words that are new to the student. Students also enjoy a reading games resource that helps them to reinforce their decoding and increase reading comprehension and speed. They’ll also use a word dictionary that they’ll add their new words to, aiding them in spelling skills and remembering the words they’re learning. By the end of the year, students will be able to read easy chapter books.

LA 2 "Reading with Confidence" Program
Language Arts 2 allows the student to build increased reading confidence and greater reading comprehension as they work through easy chapter books throughout the year. LA 2 also starts with beginning grammar concepts, introducing students to nouns, verbs, and adjectives, as well as basic punctuation rules. Most books average 60 pages per book.

LA 3 "Tracking Down Good Grammar" Program
LA 3 fully grounds students in grammar instruction. Students learn all of the eight basic parts of speech in detail. They also get to enjoy the computer game resource, "Grammar Rock," which includes 2 games for each part of speech. Students continue with their reading skills, reading books that range in length from 65 pages to 300 pages, but which have a consistent reading level very achievable for this age. Students are required to read about a chapter a day.

LA 4 "Solving the Mysteries of Grammar" Program
LA 4 continues student’s mastery of grammar concepts with the fun, mystery-solving resource, "Grammar Cop." This is also the year that students are introduced to cursive handwriting. Students progress into more formalized creative writing projects and read books that average 150-300 pages in length, about a chapter a day.

LA 5 "Skating through Paragraphs" Program
LA 5 concentrates on student mastery of writing a good paragraph. The creative writing is focused on constructing good paragraphs of various types, from instructive to descriptive and more. Students will also continue with their grammar studies and cursive handwriting.

LA 6 "Painting Word Pictures" Program
LA 6 helps students to add creativity to their writing with more effective use of vocabulary. They will add words to an advanced word dictionary and utilize a spelling dictionary that includes a thematic thesaurus and homonym index. They will sharpen skills such as developing interest-catching stories, using personification and more with their use of words. Students will also enjoy the creative "Comic Strip Grammar" and "Spelling Works" resources that add a dash of fun.

LA 7 "Getting to Know Literature Genres" Program
LA 7 introduces students to various genres of writing, such as process writing, informational essays, personal narratives, fictional and persuasive writing. They will develop an understanding of how to use these types of writing to achieve stated goals. They will also use a fun grammar program that involves the parent in trying to "catch them" in an error.

LA 8 "Developing Your Storywriting" Program
LA 8 focuses on developing the basics of good writing, such as character and plot development, settings, conflict and resolution. Other resources allow students to work on grammar practice and understanding.

High School Programs

These programs do NOT need to be used in order. They are of similar difficulty, and can be used in any order. A couple of the programs are designed to closely coordinate with some of our main programs for high school, and would be most effective if used with those programs, no matter what order the student encountered them.

HS 1 "Intriguing Written Expression" Program
HS 1 involves the student in mastery of the English language, using vocabulary to fully express meaning in their writing. The resource, "Intriguing Word Choices" will teach them how to use words to "flesh out" a description or character, to enrich settings with texture and flavor, and to capture the interest of the reader with key vocabulary choices. They’ll continue to enjoy getting "caught" in their grammar studies.

HS 2 "Creating Captivating Fiction" Program
HS 2 takes students through the process of creating incredible fiction. Students will write their own mystery story throughout the year, using exercises provided in the resource, "Characters, Emotions, and Viewpoints." They’ll also use marvelous, practical suggestions offered by professional mystery writers in the resource, "Writing Mysteries," whose suggestions have practical applications for any type of fictional writing. Students will fully explore how to formulate the essentials of plot and character development. They’ll also continue their grammar practice.

HS 3 "Riveting Tales in British Literature" Program
HS 3 will introduce students to choice works of British literature, and allow them to critique the writing and discover the current events that influenced writers over the centuries. Shakespeare’s works will be highlighted and a couple of them will be studied in-depth. They will have the opportunity for weekly discussion sessions with other students online through our forum, if they choose to participate. Students will also continue grammar instruction and vocabulary development. This program is recommended for use with the high school version of "Royals and Revolution" to be released in future years as the third and final installment of world history.