Read in French With Ratus the Green Rat, Year 1, Module 3

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This course is a full semester program of twelve or (preferably) sixteen weeks. For convenience in payment and scheduling I have divided it into eight week modules; however to gain full benefit you need to re-register for the following modules for the full semester and for best results, for two semesters / a full school year of at least 32 to 36 weeks.

**This is Module 3 out of 8 modules in Grade 1** Some students may be ready to do Modules 1 and 2 in K; if not they should do Kindergarten/Readiness modules.  Also a Grade 2-3 class follows to complete the program..

I will work with an individual student or, if more students at the same level arrive, in an extremely small group of no more than five, so every student will get extensive individual attention.
**Prerequisite: Students *must* have at least a basic knowledge of French, at a minimum successful completion of French Immersion kindergarten and ability to hold simple conversations in the French language.
*Starting Module 3, students should have a good grasp on the topics covered in Modules 1, and 2, which include the vowels a, e, i, o, u, and é as well as beginning to work with ou and oi; the consonants f, s mastered and other in progress; combining these sounds into syllables of two or three sounds; and about a dozen common function words such as est, un, une, et, pour, de, etc. They should be able to read little stories of two or three sentences, and respond to simple questions.

In the class, we learn French phonics, the 36 French phonemes -- about four or five per module in the first eight modules -- and the most common spellings of each, French syllables, vocabulary, and sentence structure. We read a short humorous story from a textbook, answer oral questions about the content, discuss the topic and the illustration and the silly jokes and cartoons, practice letter formation and writing of words, and do a few workbook exercises covering all of these topics.
The course is developmental, starting with single letters and a few common words, moving up towards fluency in French reading at an age and grade appropriate level by the end of a year's course. 
The course speed is dependent on student needs and will vary highly depending on age, prior education and experience, prior French vocabulary, and any problems such as dyslexia. Exact predictions are impossible, but the average student can finish most of the Ratus text, aiming at approximately 32 to 36 lessons, and be quite independent in reading within one school year at age six or seven. Students who need to take longer can re- register for the same module. 

Knowledge of French phonics and syllables transfers surprisingly quickly to English reading; all that is needed is understanding of a few different vowel and digraph sounds and different silent letter rules. The most effective approach, proven over time, is to concentrate only on the French for the first year or possibly two, and then to introduce English as a separate subject with different vowel rules. Students usually transfer their skills to English within a few months.