June Orton’s A Guide to Teaching Phonics, affectionately known to many as The Little Yellow Book, uses a scope and sequence written for struggling readers, based on her decades of work with her husband, Dr. Samuel Orton.  Her beginning Phonics Lesson, known as Phonics Lesson 1: Short Vowel a, uses only five single consonant sounds (b, s, f, m, t). 

The featured stories this week are inspired by her first lesson.  Parents, teachers, and caregivers are encouraged to start with the individual words, am, Sam, and the red word I to begin.  From there, encourage the child to read the individual sentences before reading the entire story.