• designed to help children learn to communicate in English through a four-skills-based approach
• builds increasing language proficiency through prereading/reading, prewriting/writing, listening, and speaking lessons and activities
• children start out listening to and looking at picture stories and advance in the upper two levels to reading along with stories that have simple text
• children progress from tracing letters in words to writing words
• listening and speaking skills, which are critical for language learning, are developed throughout the program with increasing emphasis in later levels

Four over-arching beliefs

1. Realities of the child’s world must be at the core of the program and the basis for materials chosen.
2. A learner who is engaged will learn better.
3. Each child is unique in personality, interests, and learning styles and will benefit from materials that reflect this.
4. Successful learning only occurs when skills presented build on each other and are reviewed meaningfully.