What are Start-to-Finish Books?

by Janis Speck

Using Start-to-Finish Books in High Incidences Programs

By Sandy Cohen and Mary Beth Turanchik

Start-to-Finish
by Don Johnston, Inc.

This literacy series is a set of high interest, low-vocabulary, age-appropriate stories designed for older students ages 9-17. The series has been designed for students who:

• are 2 or more grades behind in reading
• have language disorders
• have dyslexia or other learning disabilities

• cannot hold a book
• are learning English as another language
• have spelling or writing difficulties

3 FORMATS:

1. a “talking” on-screen computer book with word-by-word highlighting, professionally narrated
2. a paperback book with illustrations to support comprehension
3. an audiocassette with professional narrator modeling correct intonation and reading rate to be used in conjunction with the paperback book

2 READING LEVELS:

• equivalent to 2/3 readability level
• book length 5,000 - 7,000 words100 - 150 words per page10 - 12 chapters (average) 18 pt type size
• full-page illustrations

• equivalent to 4/5 readability level
• book length 10,000 - 12,000 words 150 - 200 words per page 10 - 12 chapters (average)14 pt type size
• illustration size and placement varies

Each CD also includes:

Automatic Assessment and Tracking - computer- or paper-based cloze passage comprehension exercise and fluency checks following each chapter.

• assessment tools - computer-based quiz, graded automatically and instantly provides a graph showing percentage correct
• viewable/printable progress reports
• reports detail time on task, data on cloze passage quizzes, and previous trial comparisons

Pre- and Post- Reading Resources - printable blackline masters

• pre-reading activities (unfamiliar words such as idioms, expressions, key words, places and character names
• plot and character development activities
• vocabulary development activities
• cloze passage and multiple-choice quizzes for each chapter

Links to Writing

• story illustrations to import into word processing programs
• Co:Writer 4000 Topic Dictionary for word prediction

There are currently more than 60 titles representing the curriculum areas of literature, sports, biographical history, mysteries, and science and nature.