Teaching Order Suggestions

PrimerPro can suggest a teaching order for graphemes (letters, characters, or symbols) based on a word list or text data. This uses an algorithm to calculate their productivity, ensuring that learners are introduced to the most useful graphemes first.

  • How to Use: Generate the Primer Progression Report, which displays frequency counts and suggested teaching orders.

Word List Filtering

The software provides a list of words that contain any given grapheme from the word list or text data. This feature helps in creating exercises and stories that focus on specific graphemes.

  • How to Use: Use the Grapheme Search feature on the word list, specifying the grapheme of interest.

Graphemes Taught Tracking

PrimerPro can track which graphemes have been taught and update this list as learners progress. This ensures that new lessons only introduce appropriate graphemes.

  • How to Use: Update the Graphemes Taught list under the Tools menu.

Buildable Words List

The application generates a list of words that can be built using only the graphemes that have already been taught. This is useful for creating practice materials that reinforce recently learned graphemes.

  • How to Use: Utilize the Buildable Words Search feature, specifying the graphemes that have been taught.

Usable Phrases for Stories

It provides a list of usable phrases for stories, taken from text data. These phrases are composed of taught graphemes, making them ideal for creating contextual learning materials.

  • How to Use: Use the Usable Phrases Search feature, ensuring it includes only taught graphemes.

Checking for Untaught Residue

PrimerPro can check a primer story for untaught residue—words containing graphemes that have not yet been taught. This ensures that all materials are suitable for the learner’s current level.

  • How to Use: Perform the Untaught Residue Search on your primer stories.

Frequency Counts

The software can give frequency counts for graphemes within the word list or text data, helping educators understand which graphemes are most common.

  • How to Use: Run the Frequency Count Search on your word list or text data.

Advanced Searches

PrimerPro supports a variety of advanced searches based on parts of speech and other features. This allows for detailed analysis and fine-tuning of literacy materials.

  • How to Use: Access the appropriate search options under the Search menu.

Grapheme Inventory

Users can manage a grapheme inventory, including initializing, updating, and verifying it. This feature supports the customization of primers to specific languages.

  • How to Use: On the Tools menu, navigate to Grapheme Inventory, and Initialize Grapheme Inventory. From there you can specify to initialize a grapheme inventory from a word list, text data, or pre-defined graphemes.

Sight Words Management

The software allows users to manage sight words—frequently used words that learners should recognize without decoding. This includes initializing, updating, and saving sight words lists.

  • How to Use: To initialize the current sight words, do the following:
    • On the Tools menu, navigate to Sight Words, and then click Update Sight Words. The Update Sight Words dialog box appears.
    • In the Edit the list box, select all the text, and then press Delete. The box should be empty. Click OK.
    • If desired, you can change the name of sight word file, by Saving Sight Words.
    • The current sight words have been initialized.