Do we have to stay in the pre-reading levels if everything is mastered?
Answer
As a general guideline, one can continue to work on phonemic awareness on a daily basis throughout the entire year in order to reach mastery—and that’s okay.For example, a student may struggle with rhyming for a long time, and we wouldn’t want rhyming by itself to prevent that student from learning to read. In that case, once the first 17 consonant sounds are relatively solid and secure, you can move on to Level 1, introduce the short vowel “a,” and start putting sounds together to begin reading and spelling. Short segments of time for rhyming practice can continue into the Reading Levels.