Arkansas EFA families: a simple reading and writing plan
If your family uses an Arkansas Education Freedom Account (EFA), curriculum is an approved expense. Here is how I would cover reading and writing without spending much of your account.
My short list
- Reading: the UFLI Foundations teacher manual. About $70 plus shipping from Ventris Learning. Clear, explicit phonics you can teach at home.
- Writing: Writing Our World®. $250 for one student for one year. The full scope and sequence, from the sentence to the multi-paragraph essay, plus a certificate of completion once you teach your student all the way through.
- One book for you: The Writing Rope. If you read one book about how writing works, make it this one.
That is about $320 for reading and writing.
Yes, you can teach writing in 15 minutes a day
I teach this curriculum myself, at a table with my students in East Nashville. If you use it consistently and follow the lessons as written, you will see your student change as a writer. Here is what one lesson looks like at your kitchen table:
- Learn a few new vocabulary words together.
- Take a quick Google Earth trip to the place you are writing about, so your student has something real to say.
- Teach the writing goal. I show you. We try it together.
- Your student does a short free write on their own.
Same routine every day. That is the point. Your student always knows what comes next.
Handwriting a struggle? Here is how I pair handwriting, typing, and voice typing so every student can get ideas on the page.
How to buy it with EFA funds
- Email me at [email protected] with your name and your student's name.
- I send a $250 invoice to your EFA account in ClassWallet.
- The Arkansas EFA team reviews and approves the order.
- Your student's login arrives by email within one business day of approval.
Not sure yet? Start for free and try real lessons first. More for Arkansas families is on our Arkansas page.
Kait Feriante, creator of Writing Our World® by Redwood Literacy
