FAQS

Where’s it from?

hands holding a heart

How long has True North Reading been around?

Based on research and developed specifically for and with parents, True North Reading: The Complete Mastery Reading and Spelling Program™ has been helping teach children and students ages two through adult to read since the mid 1980s—for over 30 years—all across the United States and world…

How was True North Reading developed?

Please see the ABOUT page to learn about how True North Reading came to be!

a kid reading

Who’s it for?

Who is this for?

This is for…

For my preschool child, how does this work?

You get everything you need—including videos, downloadable materials, and exactly what to say and do, to teach your child to read…

Will this work for my older child who is behind and/or struggling, to get my child reading smoothly, with confidence?

Absolutely YES! Does your child show signs of struggling? Students can have struggles in many areas…

My child is already reading pretty well—why should I switch to use True North Reading?

The brain is an amazing thing—able to come up with strategies and ways of learning that start out right— but because the strategy isn’t correct, as time goes on, the method breaks down (and doesn’t work)…

Is this program right for homeschooling families?

YES! Used by homeschooling families since 1996, the program was first designed with homeschooling families in mind…

Does this work for students with dyslexia?

YES! Because of its design—with sound-to-picture teaching and hands-on sensory learning—students with dyslexia can learn to read exceptionally well with True North Reading…

Does this work for students who have other challenges?

YES! Because of its multi-faceted, research-based approach, students with the following situations and challenges have successfully learned to read with True North Reading:

Does this work for students who are gifted?

YES! Students who are gifted can often learn to read “on their own”—but later on, he or she may “hit a snag” with reading or simply need to know “true strategies” for reading in upper-levels of learning—especially in the sciences, history, and reading-heavy, high-level academics…

What’s it like?

a family looking into a box

When I get True North Reading, what do I get, exactly?

You get access to all six levels of the program, including videos for reading every single sound and word in the English language, overview and how-to pages for parents/teachers, hundreds of learning pages and activities for the student, how-to’s for games for reading and spelling, parent helps, and more. The six levels include…

Do I need to supplement this program with other books or materials—or is everything that I need to teach reading and spelling right here?

Everything is included, right here, for your child’s complete teaching of reading and spelling—preschool through middle school. You don’t need any other reading or spelling program, books, or materials…

Is this a time-bound class (in a yearly format), or is this a self-paced program?

True North Reading is laid out in sequential levels* divided into individual lessons that are not bound by a class—but can be used one-on-one, in a small group, or in a large classroom…

Is this easy to follow?

YES! All six levels are clearly marked and laid out for you. The Basic Code 1 and 2 formats have easy-to-follow tabs and a progress timeline on every page. With short how-to videos for each sound and letter (or letter combination), pages to download and games to play, spelling how-to instructions and activities, and more—what you get is complete…

With my preschool child, do I have to “sit down and work together,” or can I simply “put my child in front of the computer to learn”?

True North Reading is a complete, hands-on, activity-based program—full of doing…

Can my elementary children, pre-teens, and teens work through this program “alone”?

YES—and maybe not…

Because it’s online, do I have 24/7-access to the program?

YES! As long as you have Internet access, you can access any and all materials online at anytime.

simblings reading together

What’s different about True North Reading—and why does it work so well?

Why does this work so well?

True North Reading works so well because…

I see you have something called the “Basic Code.” What is the difference between the alphabet and the Basic Code?

The Basic Code is different from the traditional English alphabet. Whereas there are 26 letters in the alphabet, the Basic Code has 28 Sound Pictures, or Alphonemes™…

Why is the Basic Code different?

It’s important to know—the Basic Code is different on purpose! The special way that the Basic Code is designed and arranged helps your child know how English works. All of the differences are critical, to help your reader learn to read faster, without struggles later on…

Why is the Basic Code taught vertically—not horizontally?

We have specific games that help students remember the Basic Code—and learning the code vertically is part of the games. Also, more importantly—

Why are the letters c, k, and ck (and z and s-buzz) Sound Pictures placed next to each other?

Placing the letters next to each other teaches your child how English works…and that’s critical to your student reading well!

Why are there two letters together, for ck and qu?

The two letters next to each other teaches your child how English works…

In the Basic Code, why are there boxes drawn around the “ck” and “qu” letters?

Throughout all of True North Reading, Sound Pictures are marked, and the markings have two purposes:

Why are the two Sound Pictures qu and x at the end of the Basic Code?

The Sound Pictures qu and x are at the end of the Basic Code for a reason. The sounds for qu and x are really two sounds together.

What are “Sound Signs”?

With True North Reading, each sound in English has a Sound Sign™—a unique, simple way of moving the hands, with a special purpose and meaning—movements that help student learn to read. Each sound in our language is assigned a hand movements or hand shape. This shape/movement/Sound Sign is specific and meaningful…

Why do you teach reading beginning with different letters—a, m, s, h, and so on—not in alphabetical order? (Why don’t you “teach the abc’s” and the names and sounds of the letters in “alphabetical order”?)

Here, your child learns sounds and letters in readability order: the easiest order to read, first. That means that overall, learning to read is easier—because the sound characteristics of our language are taken into account, to make reading easier for our child…

Why are there markings on all of the letters in the “upper levels,” too?

Throughout all of True North Reading, Sound Pictures are marked, and all of the Sound Pictures in the top three levels of the program—the Combination Code, Vowel Name Code, and Imposter Code—are marked…

Why are Sound Pictures grouped in “Sound Boxes”—and how did you decide what sounds go into each “Sound Box”?

Memory experts tell us that grouping like-characteristic items together helps us to remember. Breaking learning into memory groups is key—to learn, quickly remember, and use that information. In True North Reading, groups of sounds (and their Sound Pictures) are learned together…

What do I need to know about reading, to teach my child to read?

Woman working

What are the Four Truths of Reading English, and why is this information so important to my child reading well?

There are four (4) Truths of how reading English works. If your student knows these truths, he or she can learn to read with more understanding, more speed, and more accuracy…

What are the specific words that I need to know, to teach my child to read?

There are many words used in the teaching of reading. When you sign up, you’ll receive all you need to understand the following words—so you can be “in the loop,” to communicate, converse, and teach reading well…

What do you mean when you say there are three steps to decoding?

Decoding is the very first skill of reading. Decoding has three steps…

What is visual discrimination, and what does it have to do with reading well?

Visual discrimination is the ability to discriminate between (or “tell the difference between”) letters. One of the many first-step skills of reading is to visually discriminate, in order to assign (and remember) the correct picture with its sound. The problem is, many of the letters in the English language are similar…

What is auditory discrimination, and what does it have to do with reading and spelling well?

Auditory discrimination is the ability to discriminate between (or “tell the difference between”) sounds. One of the many first-step skills of reading is to discriminate sounds, in order to assign (and remember) the correct picture with its sound. The problem is, many of the sounds in the English language are similar.

What do you mean by “reading in and reading through” a word—and why is this so important?

Here at True North Reading, we believe that reading is not simply left to right decoding…

a kid playing with kite

Tell me about signing up… How does it work?

What happens when I sign up?

When you click on the purchase button, you’ll be taken to PayPal for your purchase. Please sign up with the email that you’d like us to use with all of our communications together…

I heard you have a special “deal” with the online curriculum provider Homeschool Connections for a super-low price. How can I get that deal?

True North Reading is a partner with Homeschool Connections, the premier Catholic online curriculum provider with more than 400 online courses in recording (in all subject areas) for middle and high school students. Homeschool Connections also has about 200 LIVE courses in the Fall and Spring Semesters.

What’s the refund policy?

Parents and families have 14 days to try the program and see if it is a perfect fit. A full refund is available in that period. To see the refund policy (and all of our policies), please visit the Policy Page.

What computer or system do I need to make this work?

You will need…

Can I buy this program and then share it with other people?

No. Your access is for your family alone, and we ask you not to “share” it with others. That would be plagiarism, which is against the law. Your program is purchased for your family.

If I get this program and need help—is there a way to get help?

Yes! Simply contact us!

See all testimonials

Ready to get started?