Nessy

Reading program with decodable books for ages 4-6  

From $13.50 a month.

Begins with Structured Phonics, tricky words, and letter sounds.

Children learn best with an individualized approach.

The evidence to guide the teaching of reading is strong. Good early instruction and intervention that follows the Science of Reading, closes the gap between strong readers and weak readers. ​​​​​​​

 Hairy Reading is game-based and fun. Children can work through it independently because the activities are engaging and motivational.

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It is perfect for children who are not yet ready for the Nessy Reading and Spelling program.

"My son (5) loves this game. It really captures his imagination and helps him learn the phonics. The spelling and letter tracing are particularly useful for the phonics practice."

Lea​​​​​​​

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How does it work?

All the essentials necessary for foundational pre-reading and reading skills are part of the program. It includes instruction in morphology, orthography, high frequency “tricky” words, vocabulary, and reading fluency. The goal of structured literacy instruction is good reading comprehension.

• After logging in children are automatically guided through fun, structured learning lessons in a plan designed just for them!
• The program is streamed online so can be used anywhere with an internet connection.
• Online daily learning teaches pre-reading and reading skills through games
• Includes printable worksheets, flash cards, games and decodable books.
• The lessons progress gradually from simple to complex. They develop phonological sound (phoneme) discrimination before letters are introduced
• Children are assessed by the program three times a year to measure progress.
• Parents can see what each child is learning and monitor how much time is spent on the program.
• Parents receive a weekly email report of activity and progress.
• Hairy Reading works best with touchscreen devices, such as tablets and smart phones, but it also works with computers (Windows, Mac, or Google Chromebooks)​​​​​​​

Features

Decodable phonic books

Letter formation and fine motor development

100s of printable worksheets and games

Help for teachers with training videos and lesson plans

11 games

100 learning journeys designed for daily learning sessions

Develop phonology

Systematic phonics instruction

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Scope and Sequence

Phonics Focus 1
s, a, t, p

i, n, m, d

h, e, r, c, k

g, o, l, f

b, u, j, q

v, w, x, y, z

VC CV

Fluency Focus 1 
CVC a

CVC e

CVC i

CVC o

CVC u

Phonics Focus 2
sh

ch
ck

th
all, ll 
ff, ss, zz 

Fluency Focus 2
CCVC
y as i
Print awareness
Punctuation

Phonics Focus 3 
ee, ea
ay, ai
igh
oa, ow
oo
Compound Words 

Fluency Focus 3
Suffix -s, -es
Suffix -y, -er
Suffix -ing
Suffix -ed

Read the user guide here.

​​​​​​​The importance of phonological skills and phonemic awareness

Children sometimes fail with phonics because they have advanced too rapidly and not had enough time developing fluency. The Hairy Reading program has enough intensity to advance children beyond the blending phase to automaticity. Another reason children sometimes fail with a phonic approach is where foundational phonological skills have not been fully developed - especially phonemic awareness. The Hairy Reading program has been specifically designed to provide a strong foundation in phonology while phonic knowledge is being learned.