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Find Your Reader's Starting Point

These opening lessons set up the course, introduce the decision-making framework, and help parents gather the materials they need before choosing a UFLI lesson.

Assess

Identify

Match

Teach

Monitor

Adjust

Lesson purpose

Orient families to the course and show them that strong reading support begins with a clear roadmap, the right tools, and instruction matched to the child.

Overview

This lesson welcomes parents who are homeschooling, supporting after school, helping a struggling reader catch up, or simply trying to understand how reading works. It explains that parents do not need a teaching degree to support foundational reading growth. They need a process for knowing where to begin, what to teach next, and how to adjust when the child needs something different.

Big idea

Many reading programs provide lessons, but parents still wonder where to start, when to move on, and what to do when a child struggles. This course answers those questions by using the UFLI Foundations scope and sequence as the instructional map and the child's reading data as the guide.

What parents will use

Understand how reading develops.

Assess your child's current reading and spelling skills.

Identify strengths, gaps, and possible starting points.

Match instruction to your child's needs instead of age, grade, or a preset schedule.

Monitor progress and make informed instructional decisions.

Key takeaway

The goal is not to move through lessons as quickly as possible. The goal is to provide the right lesson at the right time based on what your child shows they know and can do.

Reflection

Where have you felt unsure about your child's reading instruction?

What would feel easier if you had a repeatable decision-making process?

What do you hope will feel clearer by the end of the course?

Action step

Begin with the mindset that you are not guessing. You are learning to know the reader, find the need, and teach the right lesson next.

Lesson purpose

Help parents gather the materials, links, tools, and mindset they need before beginning the Right Reader, Right Lesson process.

Overview

Before choosing a lesson, families need a simple setup. This lesson explains which UFLI resources and note-taking tools will support the course. Parents do not need everything perfectly organized or fully understood before they begin. The goal is to gather the map and create one reliable place for observations.

Big idea

UFLI Foundations provides the instructional sequence, but the sequence alone does not make decisions for your child. Your child's reading and spelling behaviors help determine where to begin, when to review, when to move forward, and when to adjust.

What parents will use

UFLI Foundations Teacher Manual.

UFLI Foundations Scope and Sequence.

UFLI lesson materials and student practice resources.

Assessment or placement information.

Decodable texts that match taught skills.

A notebook, folder, binder, or digital document for reading notes.

Key takeaway

This course does not replace the official UFLI materials. It helps parents use those materials with purpose by connecting the scope and sequence, assessment information, and the child's reading behaviors.

Reflection

Where will you keep your child's reading notes?

Which UFLI materials do you already have access to?

What do you still need to gather or bookmark before moving forward?

Action step

Create one Right Reader Folder or UFLI Planning Notes space. Add your materials list, a place for spelling samples, and a page for reading observations.