What's
a Level? Back
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 New
tutors need to be trained as quickly as possible.
That’s
why we split the Barton System into ten levels. That means you
don’t have to learn the entire system before you start.
Click here to watch Susan Barton explain Levels
You only
need to learn one level at a time.
Each level
is shipped in a separate, easy-to-store box.
Each level
contains everything you need to be successful:
•
Tutor Training on DVD
These
tutor training DVDs contain five hours of in-depth instruction.
Susan Barton will demonstrate every lesson you’ll be
teaching in this level – with a real student.
You’ll
stop and practice new skills every ten to fifteen minutes.
She’ll
demonstrate mistakes students may make – and how to correct
them.
This convenient
training comes to you – so you don’t have to attend
seminars to get started.
(If you’d
rather attend a seminar, that option is available. Just click
here to learn more.)
•
Tutor Manual with Complete Lesson Plans
The tutor
manual contains everything you need to teach the lessons in
one well-organized place.
Complete
lesson plans are provided. There is enough material in our lesson
plans to teach a lesson twice – without using the same
words, sentences, or stories.
Each page
in our tutor manual contains a wide column and a narrow column.
The wide column contains full scripting (for those who want
that level of support) while the narrow column contains just
summary information To view a page from our tutor manual, click
here.
Each lesson
contains many steps, starting with the easiest and working up
to the hardest. To view an outline of the steps in a Barton
lesson plan, click
here.
 •
Color-coded Letter Tiles
These color-coded
letters tiles are manufactured specifically for the Barton Reading
& Spelling System. As
you saw in the demo, color makes syllable types obvious, and
it simplifies syllable division.
•
All other manipulatives
Everything
else you need to teach the lessons or play the reinforcement
games is included.
There
are ten levels in the Barton System Back
to Top
 Get
just one level at a time. Spend a Saturday afternoon watching
its Tutor Training DVDs. Then start teaching on Monday.
Only when
your student is near the end of that level would you get the next
level.
Each level
contains from 10 to 15 lessons. (Levels 1 and 2 are a bit shorter.)
If a student
is being tutored twice a week, it will take from 3 to 5 months
to complete a level.
If you’re
with a school or buying these with a grant, you may wish to get
all ten levels at once.
But if you’re
a parent or on a tight budget, you can get just one level at a
time.
|
Sequence
Number |
Name
of Level |
1 |
Phonemic
Awareness |
2 |
Consonants
& Short Vowels |
3 |
Closed
Syllables and Units |
4 |
Syllable
Division & Vowel Teams |
5 |
Prefixes
and Suffixes |
6 |
Six
Reasons for Silent-E |
7 |
Vowel-R
Syllables |
8 |
Advanced
Vowel Teams |
9 |
Influences
of Foreign Languages |
10 |
Greek
Words & Latin Roots |
Our level numbers
do NOT equate to grade level. They simply indicate the sequence
in which the material must be taught.
To learn
why most students, no matter how old they are, must start with
Level 1, click here
Students
who have completed all ten levels will be reading, spelling, and
doing basic writing at the mid-ninth
grade level.
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Scope
and Sequence Back
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To
see what’s taught in every lesson of every level, click
here.
Cost
of the Barton System
We
offer two different versions of the Barton System.
Our Single
Tutor version allows one tutor
to teach many students.
Our Site
License version allows many tutors to teach many
students.
To learn
more about these two versions, and their cost, click
here.
We are the
sole distributor of the Barton System. So if
you are with a school or other governmental agency, you do not
have to request competitive bidding to obtain the Barton System.
In May 2003,
the Barton Reading & Spelling System was approved by the California
Board of Education. These materials have now been added to their
Instructional Materials Approved for Legal Compliance
list. To see the results of searching for Barton Reading & Spelling System on their website, click here.
That means any public school in California may purchase the Barton System
using textbook funds.
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Level
FAQs Back
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 Q:
Does a student have to start at Level 1?
A: Most students need to start at Level 1 –
no matter how old they are.
That’s
because research proves that a lack of phonemic awareness is what
is preventing them from mastering reading. Phonemic awareness
is the ability to hear and manipulate each sound in a word –
in your head, without letters.
In fact,
research shows there are seven
essential phonemic awareness skills a student must have before
letters will start to make sense. We teach all seven of those
skills in Level 1.
So unless
a student has already had extensive Orton-Gillingham-based tutoring,
start the student in Level 1. If it proves to be too easy, we
will exchange it – FREE – for Level 2.
If your student
HAS had prior Orton-Gillingham-based tutoring, or for some other
reason, you think the student has already mastered the skills
taught in our early levels, let
us know. We will then send you the post-test of our first
few levels so you can determine the best place for that student
to start.
Q:
Do you have pre- and post-tests so that I can prove progress on
an IEP?
A: Yes. Each level has a post-test that you can
use as a pre-test to determine whether a new student may have
already mastered those skills and can therefore skip that level
(or can skip a few lessons within a level).
If a student
has not mastered those skills, go ahead and teach
that level. Then give the same test at the end as a post-test
to prove progress and to make sure the student has mastered everything
taught in that level.
Q:
How long does it take to complete all ten levels?
A: Since no two people with dyslexia learn at exactly
the same pace, we can only provide a range.
If a student
has classic, or moderate, dyslexia, and is tutored twice a week
in a one-on-one setting for an hour each time, it will take from
2 to 3 years to complete the entire Barton System. So in just
2 to 3 years, you can take a struggling student to the mid-ninth-grade
level in reading, spelling, and basic writing.
Students
with mild dyslexia will complete the system sooner, while students
with severe dyslexia may need more time.
The only
way a student can make faster progress is to be tutored more often.
If a child can be tutored 3 or 4 times a week, they’ll complete
the Barton System much faster.
For more
details on the frequency and length of tutoring sessions, click
here.
Q:
Why stop at the mid-ninth grade level?
A: There are no more rules to teach. At that point,
the student can read anything – even college textbooks.
In our society
today, adult reading level is ninth-grade level.
Once an adult
can read and spell at the ninth-grade level, they can read well
enough to attend Adult Basic Education courses to prepare for
the G.E.D. or go to college.
Q:
My child is only in third grade. Do I need to get all ten levels?
A: No. But do not stop at Level 3. Our level numbers
do NOT equate to grade levels. Take children as far through the
system as they are able to go.
It’s
wonderful to see a child progress from being the worst speller
in the class in third grade, to being an average speller in fourth
grade, to being a superstar in fifth grade – and be able
to explain to the teacher exactly why a word is spelled that way.
We’ve seen this happen thousands of times.
We’ve
taken many third graders through Level 8. If they’re being
tutored only twice a week, they may be a fifth grader by the time
they complete Level 8.
By that time,
they may have a large enough vocabulary to be able to tackle Levels
9 and 10. If not, work on growing their oral vocabulary and delay
those last two levels until seventh grade.
Level 9,
the Influence of Foreign Languages, and Level 10, Latin
Roots and Greek Words, ideally would be taught before a child
enters high school.
Those two
levels will ensure that the student can read and spell all of
the sophisticated words they’ll encounter in high school
and college science, social studies, and math courses.
Q:
Does the Barton System come with any software?
A: Yes. We have created extra practice games to
reinforce the skills taught in Levels 2, 3, and 4 of the Barton System.
These games
reside on the Internet, so you do not have to
purchase software to access them.
When you
get the Barton System, just go to the Games section of the tutor
manual. It will show you the web address for our games.
Q:
I know the Barton System contains many one-page stories at the
end of every lesson. Are there any stand-alone books that my child
can read while going through your system?
A: Yes. Once children with dyslexia realize that
they CAN read – without guessing or memorizing words –
they’re eager to read books.
But until
they’ve been taught all of the rules in the first 8 levels,
they can’t read most library books – without reverting
to guessing.
So we’ve
hired authors to create stand-alone controlled-text books for
every level of the Barton System.
To download
an order form for these stand-alone books, click
here.
We also search
libraries and other sources for controlled-text books. Books written
by other authors are listed in the Games section of our tutor
manuals.
Q:
I am a Resource Specialist. I cannot tutor one-on-one, but I can
teach small groups of 3 students. How many levels will I need
for a nine-month school year?
A: Unfortunately, progress is much slower when
you teach a small group than when you tutor one-on-one.
You will
need at least Levels 1, 2, and 3.
If you are
teaching older students, you might even be able to reach Level
4.
Q:
If I teach 3 students at the same time, do I need to modify
your system or get extra supplies?
A: One set of color-coded letter tiles is included
with each Barton Level. But it helps students stay actively involved
with the lesson if they each have their own set.
So we recommend you purchase an extra set of tiles for each student.
If you do
not already own the Barton System, we will not
sell you the tiles. But if you already own the system, you can
order extra sets. To download the Extra Tiles Order Form, just
click here.
Q:
Can I teach the Barton System to my entire class?
A: No. The Barton System is not designed
to be a classroom package. So if you are a regular education teacher,
do not purchase the Barton System.
It was designed for intervention, which if possible, should be done one-on-one. The maximum group size allowed with the Barton System is three-on-one.
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