GENERAL PLACEMENT
Funnix Beginning Reading assumes that the child starts with some knowledge of letter names (not merely the ability to recite the alphabet, but to identify some letters).

If you are not sure if your child is prepared to start Funnix, you can use the Alphabet Game to test your child.

If your child needs work on letter names, use the Alphabet Game to teach the letter names that appear early in Funnix.

PLACEMENT IN THE SCHOOL SETTING
Here are excerpts from the Funnix Teacher's Guide concerning the placement and acceleration of children in school.

Testing and Placing Beginning Readers
Use the Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Test and Record that appears in Appendix A to test all beginning readers. You may reproduce this form.

Here's a filled-out form for a group of 8 children who were given the placement test.

Administering the Test
Individually test each child before starting Funnix Beginning Reading.

1. Write the names of the children who are to be tested on your copy of the test. In the example above, 8 children are being tested.
2. Sit next to the child to be tested. Present an unmarked copy. (Point to the letters in the top row only. Say:) "Let's see if you know the names of any of these letters."
3. (Point to e.)

* "What letter is this?"
* (Repeat for letters f m o and r.)
* (Cross out any letter next to the child's name that the child did not identify.)

In the example above, Claude did not know the letters m and r. They are crossed out.

4. Write the number of correct letter names each child identified.

In the example above, Claude had a score of 3.

5. Circle Y for yes or N for no to indicate which children need practice.

All children who did not correctly identify all five letters need practice and then retesting before joining a reading group.

In the example above, Max and Jamal were the only children who do not need practice and retesting.

Teaching the Five Letter Names
Before starting Funnix Beginning Reading, use the Alphabet Letter Game to teach the five letter names to the children who need practice.
Go to the main menu of the Parent Disc. Click on the Alphabet Game button:

Another option is to access the Alphabet Game from the Funnix.com website.

The five letters on the placement test are taught in a game format. See Grouping Children for Instruction, (page 14), and Adapting the Program to Teaching Small Groups, (page 19), for information about how to seat the children and give them feedback as they play the game.

Present the game for no more than 10 minutes each time you present it. If children are not firm on all letters at the end of the game, present the game again either later in the day or on the following day.

Retesting the Children
When all children do well on the game, retest them with the Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Test. Present the letters in the second row: m, r, e, o and f. Record any missed letters in the column for retest items and write the number correct for each child.

In this example, all children who were retested, except Susie, got all the letter names correct. Susie needs more practice, but the rest of the children are ready to begin lesson 1 of Funnix Beginning Reading.

Placement Criteria for Groups
Begin the lessons when each child in the group knows all five letters.

PLACING CHILDREN WHO HAVE SOME READING SKILLS
Different types of children should not begin on lesson 1 of Funnix Beginning Reading, but somewhere in the middle of the program or at the beginning (or middle) of Funnix 2.

These types include children who enter the school midyear, children who have completed Funnix Beginning Reading, children who can identify letters, know a lot of sounds and can read some words. Test these children with the set of passages that appears in Appendix B. The first placement passage is reproduced below.

Procedure for Mid-Level Placement
You can start testing the child with any passage that you think is close to what the child should be able to read. Direct child to read the selected passage aloud. If the child gets stuck on a word for more than a couple of seconds or made an error, tell the child the word and count it as an error. Then tell the child to continue. Use the reproducible form Funnix Placement Record for Children with Reading Skills, Appendix C, to record the number of errors and the lesson at which the child is to begin instruction.

You will test children and place them at one of the following lessons:

* Beginning Reading, lesson 10
* Beginning Reading, lesson 40
* Beginning Reading, lesson 60
* Beginning Reading, lesson 80
* Beginning Reading, lesson 101
* Level 2, lesson 1
* Level 2, lesson 30
* Level 2, lesson 57

PLACEMENT CRITERIA FOR READERS

* Some children will be placed in Funnix Beginning Reading at lesson 10, 40, 60, 80 or 101.
* For children who place at lesson 10, you will use an accelerated schedule in the program. See pages 35-36, Accelerating Funnix.
* For children who place at lesson 40 or beyond, you will present critical exercises or transition exercises that prepare the children before you present any lessons.

Here's the criteria for placement:

Passage 40 Placement Criteria

* If the child makes between 3 to 5 errors on passage 40, the child will begin on lesson 40 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child makes 2 or fewer errors, present passage 60.
* If the child makes 6 or more errors, the child will begin at lesson 10 and do the subsequent lessons in order using an accelerated schedule.

Passage 60 Placement Criteria

* If the child makes between 3 to 5 errors on passage 60, the child will begin on lesson 60 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child makes 2 or fewer errors, present passage 80.
* If the child has passed the criteria for lesson 40 and makes 6 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 40 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child has not passed criteria for lesson 40 and makes 6 or more errors, present passage 40.

Passage 80 Placement Criteria

* If the child makes between 4 to 8 errors on passage 80, the child will begin on lesson 80 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child makes 3 or fewer errors, present passage 100.
* If the child has passed the criteria for lesson 60 and makes 9 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 60 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child has not passed criteria for lesson 60 and makes 9 or more errors, present passage 60.

Passage 100 Placement Criteria

* If the child makes between 5 to 10 errors on passage 100, the child will begin at lesson 101 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child makes 4 or fewer errors, present passage 1 from Funnix 2.
* If the child has passed the criteria for lesson 80 and makes 11 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 80 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child has not passed criteria for lesson 80 and makes 11 or more errors, present passage 80.

Funnix 2 Passage 1 Placement Criteria

* If the child makes between 5 to 10 errors on passage 1 from Funnix 2, the child will begin at lesson 1 of Funnix 2 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child makes 4 or fewer errors, present passage 30 from Funnix 2.
* If the child has passed the criteria for Funnix Beginning Reading passage 100 and makes 11 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 101 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child has not passed criteria for Funnix Beginning Reading passage 100 and makes 11 or more errors, present Funnix Beginning Reading passage 100.

Funnix 2 Passage 30 Placement Criteria

* If the child makes between 5 to 10 errors on passage 30 from Funnix 2, the child will begin at lesson 30 of Funnix 2 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child makes 4 or fewer errors, present passage 57.
* If the child has passed the criteria for passage 1 and makes 11 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 1 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child has not passed criteria for passage 1 and makes 11 or more errors, present passage 1.

Funnix 2 Passage 57 Placement Criteria

* If the child makes between 0 to 9 errors on passage 57, the child will begin at lesson 57 of Funnix 2 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child has passed the criteria for passage 30 and makes 10 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 30 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
* If the child has not passed criteria for passage 30 and makes 10 or more errors, present passage 30.

CRITICAL PREPARATION

Critical Exercises for Mid-Level Entry in Funnix Beginning Reading

BEFORE PRESENTING MID-LEVEL LESSONS (40, 60, 80) TO NEW STUDENTS, PRESENT THE CRITICAL PREPARATION EXERCISES LISTED BELOW.

Entry at Funnix Beginning Reading Lesson 40, 60, or 80

* If children place at lesson 40, present the critical exercises from Funnix Beginning Reading lessons 15, 17, 18, 33, 35, and 36. (Children will need their workbook.)
* If children place at lesson 60, present the critical exercises from Funnix Beginning Reading lessons 15, 17, 18, 33, 35, 36 45 and 48. (Note: 45 and 48 are from Disc 2.)
* If children place at lesson 80, present the critical exercises from Funnix Beginning Reading lessons 15, 17, 18, 33, 35, 36, 45, 48, 60 and 66.

Here's the list of critical preparation exercises you will present for entry at lesson 40, 60, or 80:

Present these critical exercises in chronological order. You should be able to get through all the critical exercises during a period and possibly begin the lesson on which the child is placed.

TRANSITION EXERCISES

Entry at Funnix Beginning Reading Lesson 101 and Beyond

* If children place at 101 in Funnix Beginning Reading, present the Transition Exercises on the Placement and Review Disc of Funnix 2. Begin instruction on lesson 101.

Entry at Funnix 2 Lesson 1, 30, or 57

* If children place at Funnix 2 lesson 1, 30, or 57, present all five of the Transition Exercises on the Funnix 2 Placement and Review Disc.

These five exercises can be presented in about ten minutes. Go to the main menu on the Funnix 2 Placement and Review Disc. Click on Transition Exercises button. The Transition Exercises menu will appear. Present exercises in sequence. If entry is on or after Beginning Reading 101, present the above five exercises.

ACCELERATING FUNNIX

The section below is from the Funnix Teacher's Guide. The information holds for individual children as well as for groups.

The Funnix Beginning Reading program may go too slowly for a group, possibly during the first ten lessons and again after some words have been introduced. You can tell if a group may be accelerated by responses to the narrator. If the group goes faster than the narrator's timing when the children read words, and if children tend to respond correctly more than 9 times out of 10, you may want to accelerate children in Funnix.

* When you come to a part of the lesson your group is able to do without the narrator, click pause.

* Tell your group to read what's on the screen.

* Fast-forward to the next part of the lesson.
For instance, if you think the children can read all these words without the narrator, hit pause and tell the children, "Read these words." After the children have responded correctly, then fast-forward to the next exercise.

* If children make mistakes when going through items without the narrator's help, correct any mistakes, then have the children read the list again.

If you find that children make more than one mistake per list, you should probably put the acceleration on hold and go back to letting the narrator present the exercises. If you try to accelerate too much, you'll make the reading too difficult. You'll teach more if things tend to be easy for the children.

The part that you may not want to accelerate is the second reading of the story. This part contains fun and comprehension items you don't want to skip.

The Acceleration Schedule below specifies which exercises to present in lessons 1-25. After lesson 25, accelerate by following the procedure described above and by going through parts of the lessons the fast way without skipping parts.

ACCELERATION SCHEDULE

During each session through lesson 25, present six to ten of the exercises listed below. Present them in order. Do not present other parts of the lessons. So during the first session, you would present exercises from lessons 10, 11, and 12.

Worksheet Acceleration
To reduce the amount of time needed for worksheet activities, follow these steps:

1. Click on pause at the beginning of a worksheet part that presents words or sentences.
2. Direct children to identify what's on the screen.
3. If the items ask questions or require matching words with pictures, direct children to say each answer.
4. Do any activities children prefer on the worksheet.
5. Let children finish other worksheet parts later.

Note: All of the acceleration procedures are explained in detail in Accelerating the Program on the Funnix Beginning Reading Parent Disc.