READING PROGRAM    

The Kumon Reading Program is an individualized study program designed to improve the students´ reading comprehension ability in the English language. It is divided into five learning blocks: the word building block, the sentence building block, the paragraph development block, the summary block, and the critical reading block. Each block has an overall learning goal and builds the necessary foundation for the next learning block. The entire program consists of 21 study levels with a total of 3,800 double-sided worksheets.

Though the main focus of the program is the development of reading comprehension skills, grammar lessons are also incorporated. Comprehension questions then follow the reading selections. In order for the students to produce accurate & meaningful answers, they must be equipped with the proper grammar skills. Good writing and speaking skills are fostered as a natural outgrowth of the Kumon Reading curriculum.

The Kumon Reading Program instills confidence from the first day by having students work on materials they are able to complete successfully. By completing work that is not too difficult at the beginning, students improve concentration, study habits, and attention to detail.

Goal of the Kumon Reading Program -  is for students to develop reading comprehension skills. To achieve the goal of improved reading comprehension, the curriculum focuses on the development of summarization skills. When students can quickly, easily and accurately summarize a passage, they tangibly demonstrate reading comprehension.

The Structure of the Kumon Reading Program:
The aim of the Kumon Reading program is to develop students’ reading comprehension abilities to a point where they will easily be able to read, understand, summarize and analyze advanced forms of writing from a diversity of fields.

Through reading comprehension activities, Kumon students are guided through all the important areas of English language learning to develop solid skills which will benefit them in many areas right throughout their lives.

With a desire to develop rich vocabulary at the earliest possible age, the Kumon materials begin with simple pictures and words to repeat and recite. It continues through 18 levels covering topics such as familiar letter combinations, the functions of words, simple and complex sentence analysis, paraphrasing and argument development. Finally, it concludes by teaching skills in analyzing and summarizing complex texts such as Shakespeare and other well-known literary works.

Students start at a level that is comfortable for them and progress at their own pace to reach their own individual goals. The materials have been produced to allow smooth and sequential study for all students. Many supplementary materials, such as CDs and flash cards, are also used for various purposes to complement the content of the worksheets.

The Kumon Reading program aims to develop and foster a love of reading. Students are encouraged to read books from the Kumon Recommended Reading List from which many worksheet excerpts have been selected.

Each level listed below consists of 200 worksheets. The difficulty progresses in a linear fashion with 7A being the easiest level and L the most difficult level. A diagnostic test will determine the student’s starting point.

7A	In the first level of the Kumon Reading Program, beginning readers build a sight word vocabulary through enjoyable "look, listen and repeat" exercises. Large, colorful illustrations help students grasp the connection between spoken and written language. Parents can help motivate children by reading with them every day.
6A	Students continue to build a sight word vocabulary, adding longer phrases and more advanced words. Students begin to recite familiar words from memory in preparation for the transition to phonics study in Level 5A.
5A	Phonics exercises help students learn individual letter sounds and consonant-short vowel combinations. Students increase concentration, improve hand-eye coordination, and develop writing skills.
4A	More sound parts, including consonant clusters, are introduced. Students trace words and begin freehand letter writing by filling in missing letters within words. These exercises, as well as exercises that focus on rhyming words, help develop students' spelling skills.
3A	Students develop greater pencil control by writing properly proportioned and spaced letters within box guidelines. Students develop their ability to read longer words through exercises focusing on syllables. Spelling skills are developed throughout the level, and for the first time, students demonstrate reading comprehension through matching exercises.
2A	Students identify nouns, verbs and adjectives, and use them within sentences. Students learn the singular and plural forms of nouns and verbs, and the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. Spelling skills are reinforced throughout the level.
AI	Level A1 marks the beginning of the Sentence Building Block. Students study the structure of simple sentences and learn expressions which convey attitude or intention, such as "can," "must," "may" and "should." Students learn to write negative sentences, questions, and sentences using the past tense. Punctuation exercises appear for the first time. Students continue to develop their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.
AII	Through reading stories and answering questions, students improve their reading comprehension and writing skills. Technical skills such as punctuation, spelling and capitalization are also solidified. Students develop the ability to recognize a sequence of thoughts developed within a short paragraph.
BI	Students refine their ability to identify subject and predicative in longer sentences containing modifiers such as adjectives and adverbs. Students conjugate irregular verbs, as well as study pronouns, prepositions and irregular plurals of nouns.
BII	Students focus on reading comprehension and vocabulary building. Students develop their ability to define words using context clues in the stories; to identify main ideas that occur within a story to better understand the story as a whole; and to compare and contrast actions, characters and information from a passage.
CI	In Level CI, students further refine their ability to identify subjects, verbs and objects, as well as learn how to conjugate the future, progressive and perfect tenses. Students' punctuation study continues with commas in a series and singular and plural possessives. By the end of the level, students write complete sentences independently.
CII	Level CII is the last level on the Sentence Building Block. Children  continue to develop their reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills. Students develop their ability to construct and respond  to questions using who, what, where, when and how; to interpret information in charts as well as take information from passages and organize it into a chart format; and write answers independently.
DI	Students learn to write compound and complex sentences by combining simple sentences. Then, students learn to extract statements from paragraphs to identify a statement as a single unit of thought. Students also expand their vocabulary by studying selected words from expository passages.
DII	Students continue to build their reading comprehension by identifying the optic and then the main idea. Using their knowledge of main idea of a paragraph students then develop their understanding of how paragraphs flow within a passage. Students also practice expanding their vocabulary by studying selected words from literary and expository passages.
EI	Students learn how clauses can function as nouns, adjective, or adverbs. In addition, the student learns to convert direct speech to indirect speech and vice versa. Diagramming exercises enable the student to visualize information within a passage, which helps develop his or her ability to follow and organize content logically. Students also expand their vocabulary by studying selected words from expository passages.
EII	The student develops a better understanding of a story's sequence of events and imagery. Diagramming exercises help the student visualize a story, and learn how events in a passage affect a certain result or outcome. Reason and logic exercises build the student's ability to compose answers and develop skills of rephrasing. Students also expand their vocabulary by studying selected words from literary and expository passages.
FI	The student understands the links between sentences through referring words; interprets text through restatement, examples and description; and constructs an answer to respond appropriately to the requirements of a question.
FII	This level aims for students to break down and unravel a text for an accurate understanding of all textual information; condense a text by using key words and identifying a core topic and its conclusion; and study focus words to expand their vocabulary.
G	Level G marks the beginning of the Summary Block. Students learn to condense all the important information from a passage into a summary one third of length of the original passage. Students are formally introduced to story elements such as plot, character and setting. Included in the level are excerpts from the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, Louisa M. Alcott, and Oscar Wilde.
H	Students develop greater sensitivity to authors' use of descriptive language. Summation exercises help students focus on specific points within passages. Vocabulary exercises introduce Greek and Latin suffixes, prefixes and roots. Included in the level are excerpts from Jane Eyre, Treasure Island, and The War of the Worlds.
I	Students analyze the persuasive writing style found in speeches, advertisements and political documents. They also learn the components and strategies of the more formal 'argument'. The level concludes with a study of précis, the most complex form of summary. Among the readings included are speeches by Dwight Eisenhower and Albert Einstein, and fiction by General Durrell and Agatha Christie.
J	Exercises which focus on more subtle details of structure, theme and character lead students to a closer reading of text than in previous levels. The reading selections develop students' understanding of how a writer's intentions are reflected in various aspects of the work under review. Students read extensive excerpts from To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
K	Level K continues to develop students’ critical reading and thinking skills through the study of advanced literature. In introductory sets throughout the level, students read non-fiction pieces introducing and explaining various literary terms such as Plot, Setting and Atmosphere, Irony, and Comedy. In subsequent sets, students then read extracts from novels, plays or poems, demonstrating these devices in action. Students read extensive excerpts from classics such as Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Oedipus, as well as from more modern works such as The Spy Came in from the Cold, and The Importance of Being Earnest.
L	Level L gives students a greater ability to understand the meaning of a text beyond the obvious, common meaning of the vocabulary the author uses. Students are exposed to the basic elements that comprise figurative language and the interpretation of it, making them better able to decipher the plot, the values in which the author might believe, and the virtues and vices of the characters involved in the story. Students read from the Norton Introduction to Poetry, as well as from a variety of poetry, short stories, and tragedies (like Macbeth and Death of a Salesman), and conclude the level with an excerpt from the novel, The French Lieutenant's Woman.

Supplementary Materials:

• Alphabet Board - to be familiar with letters and their alphabetical order
• Flash Cards - to facilitate reading and to increase vocabulary
• Compact Disks - to facilitate reading and proper pronunciation
• Recommended Reading Materials - to encourage students to read books and to love reading