Davis Reading Program for Young Learners
The Best Start: Young learners deserve the best start we can give them. Strong research evidence suggests that children who are exposed to Davis methods at pre-reading or primary level (age 5-7) benefit in the following ways:
- They are highly unlikely to develop a learning difficulty.
- They are significantly more likely to qualify for gifted program referrals.
- Their basic word recognition will be among the highest levels expected for their age group.
The Davis® Reading Program for Young Learners is an individualized learning enhancement program with a licensed and trained Davis Facilitator. During the program, the Facilitator will work directly with the child, and at the same time provide hands-on training and guidance to a participating parent or other family member.
The program goal is to give children aged 5-7 the best possible start at the outset of their learning career. Its aims are:
- to provide lifelong learning skills to younger children through a partnership between Facilitator, child and parent(s)
- to give one or both of the child’s parents, or a support person, sufficient confidence and skill to continue working with the Davis Young Learner’s Kit after the program
- to provide children with the conceptual skills needed to develop reading fluency and comprehension.
The Davis Reading Program for Young Learners provides important tools to beginning readers. Through the unique partnership philosophy of the program, parents or other family members gain the skills needed to provide the child with ongoing quality support. Learning techniques and activities are keyed to the developmental level of the child, so the child experiences success in a fun and playful setting. Through active participation in the program, the parent gains the knowledge and tools needed to continue supporting the child’s learning at home.
As part of the program, students will always receive the Davis Young Learner Kit for Home Use, to be used at home to follow up with the program. The parent will be provided the instruction manual from the kit at the start of the program.
Typically, the Facilitator will schedule 25-30 hours of time with the student and parent, with daily sessions of no more than three hours. At least half or more of the program time will also include the parent or support person participating in helping the child with the new skills and techniques.
- For more information, Davis Reading Program for Young Learners Program Standards.
This program is currently available online from many Davis Facilitators. For more information, see Online Program Delivery (Pilot Program).
With a Davis Reading Program for Young Learners, you will learn the same strategies that have been successfully used in schools throughout the world with Davis Learning Strategies. For more information about this innovative school program and the research behind it, visit
www.davislearn.com
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My son is 7 turning 8 in a couple months. He is dyslexic. He is homeschooled. I recently read The Gift of Dyslexia and found a facilitator near us. She has recommended the Young Learner’s Program. If I bought the Young Learners Kit could I teach my son effectively at home or is it better to do the program with the Davis facilitator?
The kit is designed to be used by a parent working on their own (without a Facilitator) — but of course, having support from a Davis Facilitator is always better. With the Young Learner’s program, the Facilitator is working with the child while guiding and coaching the parent at the same time, to get you off to the strongest possible start. Since you are already in contact with a Facilitator, one option might be for you to purchase the kit to try it out on your own, with the option to come to the Facilitator if you decide that you need more support. As you homeschool you probably have the advantage of being somewhat flexible with your time.
The children that I assess that have signs of dyslexia cannot be assisted in schools. The only help for them is to do oral assessment but because the numbers in classes are very high they end up not being assisted and eventually drop out of school. How can these children be assisted as even the department has no capacity to assist them. I’m in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa
We have a school-based program called Davis Learning Strategies –you can learn more about this at https://www.davislearn.com/
The individualized Young Learners program described on this page is actually an adaptation of the classroom program. The school program can be implemented by teachers who have attended a 2-day workshop. As you are in South Africa, you can also contact DDA-Africa for more information: https://www.ddaafrica.com/davis-learning-strategies/
My daughter is 7 – turning 8 and is mildly dyslexic. She has issues with sight words and sounding out words. What kit is best?
As your daughter is almost age 8, the Orientation and Symbol Mastery Home Kit would be the better option for you.
Hello My daughter is 8, almost 9, diagnosed last year with mild dyslexia & moderate dysgraphia. I’m new to this method so please forgive if my questions seem too obvious! She reads well enough but with some mistakes. Her main struggle is with the writing. Would this course help her and would you suggest the Mastery rather than young learners due to her age? Thank you!
Yes, because of her age, you would want to explore a Davis Dyslexia Correction program for your daughter. You could meet with a Facilitator for a consultation and program assessment to help determine whether your daughter’s writing difficulties are the type that can be addressed with a Davis program.
Hello,
It looks like the nearest facilitator to me is 8hrs away. Would the Davis orientation and symbol mastery kit help if I was able to work with my 12yr old using this kit?
Thank you.
Yes, that’s a good start. I was successful many years ago working on my own with my son at age 11; he picked up on the orientation tools right away and was very enthusiastic. A lot depends on the level of motivation of the child and the working relationship between parent & child.
What is the cost? My grandson is 8 almost 9. Does he still complete the beginner program.?
A child age 8 or over should be evaluated for the full Davis Dyslexia Correction program — the Young Learner’s program is geared to younger children as a foundation for reading, but is not sufficient to address dyslexia or reading difficulties in older children. Davis Facilitators set their own fees so you need to contact a Facilitator directly to discuss costs. You’ll find listings for facilitators at http://www.davismethod.org
Hi, my child is 7 this year and turning 8 next year. Should i get the young learner kit or Mastery home kit?
Thanks
Young Learner kit, definitely. You don’t want to skip ahead in the age range– it would only lead to frustration for your son.
So start with the kit for his age range now. See how things go. Working with the kit, following the manual, should seem fun and easy for your son. He can progress at whatever pace he is comfortable with. You have the same dictionary and word list to work with that you would have with the kit for an older child, but the Young Learner’s manual gives you a more flexible approach and a lot more ideas of variations on activities, as it is geared to the shorter attention span of younger children. But all the material is there to allow him to end up at the same place.
Hi, my name’s Shawn, I have dyslexia my papa made sure I read newspapers and books the first 5/8 years of my life. I went with my mom and got lost along the way found a couple times but I’m back now with a masterful understanding. One day I’m going to give back to the people who tried to show me lol you’re organization is doing a great job keep up the good work, take care
Hi, currently there’s no licensed facilitator in Singapore. If I were to purchase the Young Learner Kit and teach my 6 years old by my own, would it still be as effective? Is there a step by step explanation in the kit for parents to teach the child at home?
Yes, the Davis Young Learner’s Kit for Home Use comes with a manual that explains how to teach Davis tools such as focus and dial-setting, and includes a large number of suggested activities to accompany the clay modeling of letters and words. It is the same kit and manual that you would be given if there was a facilitator available to guide you throughthe program steps.