The first section of Following Directions 100RA emphasizes the interaction of directional concepts. Students follow directions to interpret compass points and to master the concepts of right and left. Many exercises in this program employ the symbols found in the alphabet, numerical symbols, and monetary symbols. Students identify the correct procedure to follow when telephoning in case of fire or danger. They are required to interpret and make simple calculations using money. Students figure ascents and descents on a set of stairs. In the last section of this program, emphasis is placed on the logical sequence of directions for filling out a form, taking a bath, preparing a meal, and using a cleaning product. Students must accurately interpret a table in order to answer questions concerning type size for printing.

In Reference Skills 100RB, the student is shown that everyone has a need for information and that there are many kinds of reference materials. The identification and recognition of standard reference materials as well as other reference aids are the subjects of many exercises. Other exercises teach the student to identify parts of books. Alphabetical order is discussed. Graphs and road maps make up the latter part of the program. The presentation is simple, but no attempt is made to avoid the use of basic subject matter terminology. Such terms are clearly explained.

Historical and actual situations provide the basis for Interpretations I 100RC. Short paragraphs and stories describe realistic situations and require the student to apply basic reading interpretation skills: the identification of word meaning and main idea and author’s purpose. Some more advanced reading skills are described in simple language. Students learn to recognize the logical organization of written material, make inferences, and distinguish fact from opinion and fiction from nonfiction.

Improvement of the basic reading interpretation skills presented in Reading Interpretations I 100RC is the goal of this program. Informative articles, anecdotes, and short stories provide the framework for study. Emphasis is placed on the skill of inferring information from material read. Students learn to differentiate between humorous, informative, and persuasive types of writing. Students also learn to read critically, making distinctions between fact and opinion, and noticing that opinions may be stated as facts. Students are made aware that readers must learn to judge as well as interpret what they read, hear, and see.

In Vocabulary Skills 100RE, students are taught to discover word meanings by: analyzing simple word parts; recognizing synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms; and using direct definition context clues. Students solve a crossword puzzle of synonyms. Two fundamental dictionary skills are practiced: finding words in alphabetical lists and choosing the desired meaning for a word from the multiple listings in a dictionary entry.

Knowing the sounds that letters stand for increases one’s ability to learn new words. Phonic Analysis BLS100RF introduces students to the fundamentals of the English language that determine how words are pronounced. Students learn to identify vowels and consonants. Rhyming words are used to teach the sounds found at the end of words. Patterns for sounds are investigated; for example, students study the silent e and hard and soft c, and the difference between initial, medial, and final vowel sounds. Digraphs are explained along with two- and three-letter blends. Students learn to identify syllables and to recognize where stress is placed in a word. There is also an explanation about r-controlled vowels. Students are alerted to the fact that phonic patterns are not the sole determinant of the pronunciation of words, but that they must be used in combination with clues found in the context of sentences.

After introductory lessons have pointed out the necessity of following instructions precisely, students must follow directions as they work with Roman numerals, execute a simple design, trace a person’s walk through a city, and prepare a rent receipt and a savings withdrawal slip. Students must follow a recipe, work letter games, apply arithmetical operations to a nonarithmetical assignment, and analyze a set of photographs in order to ascertain compliance with, or deviation from, given directions.

Library facilities and services are presented in detail in this program. The student is introduced to the basic types of reference materials and learns how to choose the one most appropriate for a specific need. The program deals with filing systems and the Dewey Decimal Classification System, the card catalog, call numbers, and the placement of books in the stacks. There are also lessons on graphs, map reading, and the practical use of a book index.

In the Interpretations 200RC program, students interpret series of paragraphs relating to science. Facts about earthworms, hiking near the timberline, whales, and the moon are presented in paragraph form. A number of lessons require students to identify facts and then to draw inferences from these facts. Students learn to define unfamiliar terms by making contextual analyses. Identification of main ideas is reviewed by having students select titles and supply the completing sentence for several paragraphs. Students learn to distinguish between fact and fantasy and are encouraged to project their thoughts and describe their feelings in relation to what they read.

General interest descriptions are presented for analysis: a city park, a country scene in summer, a city at night, a personal reaction to a play, and a public speaking experience. Successful interpretation of these passages requires students to examine figures of speech, opinions, and differing points of view. At this level, students must identify accurate paraphrases of information contained in written passages and must complete paragraphs and select titles on the basis of relevance to the contents of a passage. Students study inferences, identify and study the turning point of a story, and learn about the subjective nature of personal expression. Students imagine themselves in certain situations and then evaluate reactions to given situations.

Students make slightly more complex word analyses in this program than they do at the 100 level. Students learn to identify synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and compound words in order to use them to find word meanings. Students learn to read commas as punctuation signals for word meaning and to apply direct definition clues. Students are also taught how to use a dictionary effectively to: determine word pronunciation, spelling, and definition; find synonyms for a word; and learn the different shades of meaning attributed to a word. The program contains two crossword puzzles. One provides practice in using antonyms, the other in building words from a common root.

Structural Analysis of Words introduces students to word parts that have meaning or that change the meaning of words. Students learn to divide words into units of sound and into units of meaning. Compound words are explained, and accents, as guides to the recognition of compound words, are studied. Students study inflectional endings by learning to distinguish between contractions and possessives. A major portion of the program teaches students to determine word meaning by analyzing roots, prefixes, and suffixes. The students learn to construct words using their acquired knowledge of these word parts. Throughout the program, students are encouraged to use dictionaries as guides to word analysis and meaning.

Most of the material in this program is patterned after actual printed forms, instructions, and applications. Introductory lessons teach a few guidelines for following oral and written directions. Then students work through several procedures that point out the logical sequence of directions. Students apply instructions to identify a pattern of stars, interpret and use directional symbols, use a telephone, and do the laundry. Students follow instructions for writing addresses, using zip codes, reading bus schedules, and filling out income tax return forms and bank checks.

The kinds of information available in English dictionaries are presented in carefully sequenced lessons. The student is shown the various ways in which the dictionary can be used most effectively. About half of the program deals with diacritical marks, parts of speech, and irregular verbs. Other lessons concern guide words, syllabication, definitions, homographs, homonyms, synonyms, and antonyms.

This Reading Interpretations program emphasizes the importance of determining meaning by contextual analyses. Students must define words and determine the meaning of sentences as they are used in various contexts. A discussion of progress in the United States, an account of three persons racing up a hill, a detailed description of a person buying a used car, and a review of the facts surrounding the arrival of the first English colonists on the North American coast are all to be interpreted by the student. The language level is more advanced, and the sentence and paragraph structure more complex than in the Level 200 programs. Students must learn to paraphrase dictionary definitions of words, identify key structures in paragraphs, and draw inferences that require careful examination of written material. Students are required to imagine themselves in a given situation in order to determine a fictional character’s probable motive for action. Students are asked to determine authors’ intentions, to make reasonable conjectures based on their interpretations of certain reading material, and to relate effect to cause.

Relevant topics of discussion furnish interesting material for this Reading Interpretations program. Students apply skills learned in Interpretations I 300RC to interpret complex reading material similar to that which they might encounter in their daily activities. The contents of the program include an article describing a reforestation project, an article describing an urban housing project, a personal letter containing advice about job interviews, an article explaining the facts of traffic flow on the streets and highways of the United States, and two letters to the editor that discuss a proposed solar energy program. Students practice identifying word meanings by contextual analyses, identifying key sentences of paragraphs, and making judgments and inferences based on given information. Students learn to use the context of a passage as a clue for determining the intention of an author. Emphasis is placed on the need for reading critically. Students make judgments and study subtle distinctions between fact and opinion. Students must identify opinion stated as fact and be able to recognize facts even when presented in sentences that also express opinions, judgments, and beliefs.

At this level, students practice detailed word analysis by identifying roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and using these to form words. Students practice using word analysis skills by solving a crossword puzzle of words relating to financial matters. The second major portion of the program teaches accurate use of context clues to determine word meaning. Students practice identifying and analyzing key words and phrases, punctuation signals and direct definitions, and synonyms and antonyms. One crossword puzzle is solved with words found on job application forms and savings and checking account forms. Students are required to identify figurative expressions and to determine their meaning in a given context. The final section of this program teaches the students to use dictionaries to identify parts of speech, word derivations, and shades of meaning.

Following Directions 400RA provides students with practice following complex instructions applied to a variety of practical situations. Guidelines are presented for following complex oral and written directions. At this level, students are required to use personal judgment to carry out instructions under changing circumstances. Introductory lessons reemphasize the necessity to read directions carefully and to follow procedures exactly. Students follow instructions in a test situation, decide on the most efficient use of time in a purchasing situation, make accurate use of a 100-year perpetual calendar and its index, and interpret and use map coordinates and symbols and weather symbols. Students learn the vocabulary that is associated with printed forms and practice the skills necessary to fill out job applications, bank forms and applications, and income tax forms. Students also interpret and apply knowledge obtained from newspaper want ads. In the final portion of this program, students must determine the purpose of given sets of instructions so that they can act responsibly in situations for which their original instructions are no longer valid.

This program makes practical application of reference skills taught at lower levels, and explains research techniques. The student is assigned a topic for research and is shown correct procedures for extracting pertinent information from dictionaries, standard encyclopedia and subject encyclopedia, encyclopedia yearbooks, the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, pamphlets, and microfilm and microfiche. The student evaluates facts and information in relation to their relevance to a given topic and is shown the correct procedure to follow in case conflicting information is encountered.

Skills studied at the lower levels are applied to advanced topical material in Interpretations I 400RC. Excerpts from The Sea Around Us by Rachel L. Carson and from Walden by Henry D. Thoreau are bases for lessons on inference, implication, cause and effect, metaphor, and paraphrasing. An advertisement is used to introduce analysis of literature intended to influence. Fact and opinion are examined in relation to persuasive writing. Students are asked to analyze sentences and paragraphs to determine their verifiable content. Students are led to extend their spheres of reference and to recognize the universality of concepts. They examine a poem by Carl Sandburg in terms of structure, symbolic relationships, mood, and concise meaning in poetic expressions.

Material in this program is designed to challenge the student and stimulate an awareness of critical thinking skills. Skills taught at the 300 level (paraphrasing; making inferences; identifying implications, points of view, and organization of material) are applied to advanced contexts. Letters revealing contrasting attitudes toward a home situation provide vehicles for lessons on figurative language, logical deduction, formal versus informal communication, and interpretation of character motive and attitude. Students have occasion to express their opinions based on their conclusions. In an examination of a scientific article about the amazing ability of two brothers, students become familiar with logical organization of factual material, tone and mood, fact versus opinion, and internal evidence for conclusions. The final section of the program introduces the study of propoganda. Students are taught to search out the real message in what they read, hear, or see. Short paragraphs, advertisements, and commercials provide the basis for the study of the most common techniques of persuasion.

In Vocabulary Skills 400, emphasis is placed on the tools for analyzing words and their use. Much information is introduced in each lesson, and there is less review than contained in levels 100, 200, and 300. Students make more subtle analyses of words in context than they do at the 300 level. Several major prefixes, roots, and suffixes are introduced for the students’ information. Students must define words by context clues—words and phrases that surround an unfamiliar word, punctuation, and comparisons and contrasts made within the paragraph. In the final portion of this program, the focus is on word imagery and word usage. Students are required to identify words that fit the tone and mood of a passage. They also analyze the connotative meanings of words and practice identifying words and phrases intended to influence the reader or listener. An advertisement is used to explain the necessity of reading critically to find a purpose that is often hidden behind carefully chosen words.

The content of this program is divided into three parts. The first part is about sentence structure: proper sentence construction, parts of simple sentences, subject-predicate patterns, the identification of subjects and a discussion of types of subjects, and the identification of complete sentences. The second part covers verbs: the identification and use of predicates, distinctions between action verbs and auxiliary verbs, the use of auxiliary verbs, and the identification of simple subjects and simple verbs. The last part explains the identification of the four kinds of sentences.

This program reviews verbs, modifiers, comparative forms, adverbs, and pronouns. Special attention is given to auxiliary verbs and irregular verb forms, the definition and description of adjectives and articles, prepositions and prepositional phrases, and functions of pronouns.

This program gives special attention to: the rules of capitalization; the function of capital letters in sentences; the capitalization of specific places and geographical names; and the capitalization of languages, proper nouns, literary titles, days of the week, months, holidays, historical events, and documents.

In Punctuation 200, the student is led through a review of punctuation -- periods, question marks, and exclamation points. The punctuation of abbreviations, quotations, and titles is studied, and practice with commas and apostrophes is provided.

This program reviews alphabetical order and the sounding out of words. Short and long vowel sounds are covered as well as the letter y as a vowel. Included are lessons on consonant blends and the hard and soft sounds of the letters g and c.

Like the preceding program, 200GA, Sentence Patterns 300 is divided into various parts: (1) sentence patterns; (2) nouns; (3) verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; and (4) active and passive voices.

The subject matter reviewed in this program includes passive verb construction and gerunds, verb tenses (past and present participles, progressive forms, and irregular verbs), number (the formation of plurals for both regular nouns and irregular nouns and the agreement of subject and verb), and case (in relation to pronouns, singular and plural forms, the nominative case, the objective case, and the possessive case).

This program continues, at an advanced level, the work begun in Capitalization 200. Among the topics covered are the rules and conventions for capitalizing: proper nouns; personal titles; days of the week and holidays; historical periods and events; titles of books, stories, and songs; and names of specific places and geographical names. Students are introduced to proofreading as a means of checking capitalization.

In this program, punctuation is treated on an advanced level. Lessons demonstrate the use of punctuation at the end of sentences, in direct and indirect quotations, within quotation marks, in direct address, in parenthetical expressions and appositives, in letter writing and addresses, in word series, and in contractions.

Silent letters, vowel sounds, and consonant sounds are reviewed in this program. Word parts—roots, prefixes, and suffixes—are also reviewed. In addition, there are several lessons with helpful spelling hints to apply to words commonly misspelled due to extra letters, double letters, missing letters, irregular plurals, two-word phrases, and reversal of letters.

The simple addition of whole numbers having up to four digits is covered in the first program of the addition series. Carrying is introduced, and the importance of regrouping is stressed. The last part of the program deals with adding dollars and cents, common fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals.

In this program, students are required to subtract two-, three-, and four-digit numbers and money. Regrouping is introduced. Various difficulties in subtraction are explained in a number of lessons. Basic work with fractions and mixed numbers, with and without simplifying, is reviewed. Decimal fractions are introduced.

This program covers muliplication of one-, two-, and three-digit numbers, as well as problems involving carrying and the numeral zero. The student is introduced to the terms “factor” and “product.” Other work includes multiplying money and decimals.

This program reviews division skills commonly taught at the third- and fourth-grade levels. It includes work that requires dividing by tens and dividing money. Problems with zeros in the dividend and the quotient are also presented.

This program introduces basic mathematic concepts such as the difference between numbers and numerals and an explanation of number sentences, place value, and expanded notation. Also presented are lessons on comparing numbers, the commutative property, fractions, decimals, money, measurements, and graphs. The student is shown a simple procedure for solving one-step story problems and is given practice in applying this procedure.

This program covers addition of two-, three-, and four-digit whole numbers, money, proper and improper fractions, mixed numbers, and decimal fractions (up to hundredths). The work with fractions includes adding three mixed numbers containing like and unlike fractions and carrying. Other lessons require the student to express pairs of unlike fractions as like fractions and to rename fractions in higher terms. Some work with percents and measures is also presented.

This program extends the work begun in Subtraction 100. Students work with numbers having up to four digits. Practice is given in solving problems of like and unlike fractions and mixed numbers. Work with the reduction of fractions to lowest terms, regrouping, and zeros is presented. Decimal fractions (to the thousandths) and percents are introduced. Two-step measurement problems requiring subtraction are reviewed.

This program presents multiplication problems involving numbers of up to four digits and carrying. The program covers difficulties in working with multiple zeros in the multiplicand, as well as multiplication by tens and hundreds. The multiplication of percents, money, and measures is also covered. Practice is given in multiplying fractions and mixed numbers and in expressing mixed numbers as improper fractions. The student works with decimal fractions, multiplying these by both whole numbers and other decimal fractions.

This program contains lessons on even and uneven division, estimated quotients, and division with two- and three-digit quotients. Practice is given in solving problems that require working with zeros and dividing numbers with up to three digits. Examples are given of even and uneven division of whole numbers by fractions and by mixed numbers, and the division of mixed numbers by fractions. Problems with decimal fractions divided by whole numbers and by other decimal fractions are presented, and percents and measures are reviewed.

Place value, fractional parts, names for numbers, comparison of numbers, and mathematical sentences are some of the topics covered in this program. The program also presents lessons on geometry, measures, graphs, Roman numerals, ratios and proportions, and story problems involving more that one step.

This program reviews addition of columns of numbers having up to four digits and addition of money. The addition of like and unlike fractions and of mixed numbers is covered. Also included are lessons on finding the least common denominator of fractions and on dealing with fractions with or without common factors in the denominator. Students work with decimal fractions (to the thousandths) and practice the addition of decimal fractions having various numbers of decimal places. Simple addition with two-step measurement problems is introduced. Also included is a review of percents and measures and a brief introduction to metric measurement.

Problems involving regrouping and the application of these elements to money and three-step measurement problems are presented in this program. Work with fractions and mixed numbers includes using the least common denominator with and without regrouping. Subtraction of decimal fractions and mixed numbers in the minuend and the subtrahend is also reviewed. Lessons are included on subtracting percents and basic measures.

This program covers work with four-digit multipliers and the multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers. Canceling is reviewed, and the student is given practice in working with percents and three-step measurement problems.

This program begins with an extensive review of the division of whole numbers. Special attention is given to problems that have zero in the quotients. The lessons on common fractions and decimal fractions extend the practice given in Division 200. The program concludes with exercises on money, percents, and three-step measurement problems.

This program continues the work of Concepts and Applications 200 and contains lessons on place value, rounded numbers, the distributive property, simple algebraic expressions, exponents, percents, ratios and proportions, geometry, and two- and three-step story problems.

This program covers addition as presented in equations, common fractions and decimal fractions, mixed numbers, percents, two- and three-step measurement problems requiring regrouping, algebraic expressions, and integers.

This program contains complex work with the numeral zero in regrouping and money and three-step measurement problems. Subtraction problems involving advanced work with like and unlike fractions and with related and unrelated fractions are presented. Practice is given in subtracting decimal fractions and percents, and simple algebraic expressions are introduced.

This program reviews multiplication with numbers of up to four digits, with and without zeros in the multiplier. The multiplication of common fractions, decimal fractions, and mixed numbers is also covered, and the student is given practice in expressing mixed numbers as improper fractions. The program concludes with lessons on multiplying percents and measures and work with simple algebraic expressions.

Besides reviewing work with whole numbers, the Level 400 program extends work with common fractions, decimal fractions, remainders, and estimated numbers. Reducing fractions and checking and rounding off quotients are also explained. The work continues with finding ratios, finding a number when a percent of it is known, and finding percents greater than 100. Measures are also reviewed, and simple algebraic expressions are introduced.

This program contains lessons on expanded notation, exponents, square roots, factors, prime numbers, multiples, least common denominators, and comparison of numbers. The commutative, associative, and distributive properties are presented, as well as equations, percents, geometry, and measures.

This Tutorprogram first defines a sentence and its parts; then, it covers the four sentence types—declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative—and the appropriate terminal punctuation for each. It also explains rhetorical and courtesy questions. Next, it defines various types of sentence fragments, including dependent clauses, and shows how such fragments can be attached to an independent clause to create a complete sentence. Finally, the Tutorprogram explains when to use periods after initials and abbreviations.

This Tutorprogram covers commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes. The program stresses correct comma usage—including independent clauses, series, dates, addresses, essential versus nonessential elements, and introductory elements. It also explains how to avoid comma splices and run-ons. In addition, students learn how to use semicolons to separate independent clauses and in specific types of series, when to use colons to separate independent clauses and introduce series, and how to use dashes to set off nonessential items or to indicate a break in thought.

This Tutorprogram not only shows how quotation marks set off direct quotations, exact thoughts, definitions, titles of short works, and quotations within quotations, but it also explains their placement in relation to periods, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, colons, semicolons, and dashes. Students learn when to use parentheses and when to use brackets. The section on underlining (italics) covers which categories get underlined (italicized) and which are put in quotation marks. The next section covers apostrophes in contractions, for possession, and with the plural of certain letters, numbers, and words. Finally, the various ways to use hyphens—in syllable division, in compound words, with compound numbers, and for clarification—is taught.

The contents of this program are divided into six parts. The first part introduces subject-verb agreement and also covers compound subjects. The second part covers subject-verb agreement in special cases: relative clauses, indefinite pronouns, indefinite pronouns that could be singular or plural, collective nouns, numbers, time, money, and “there” as the subject. The third part deals with pronoun reference with unclear, weak, and ambiguous antecedents. The fourth part continues with unclear/weak/ambiguous reference and then goes into pronoun reference with impersonal and indefinite pronouns. The fifth part explains dangling phrases: participial, elliptical, and prepositional-gerund. The last part covers dangling infinitives and then goes into misplaced modifiers.

The contents of this program are divided into three parts. The first part shows how to recognize and create parallel structures and then covers using repetitive elements effectively, using parallel structures following correlative conjunctions, and keeping necessary words in parallel structures. The second part explains unnecessary shifts in person within a sentence or paragraph. (This lesson includes a brief review of pronouns and person.) The third part, after reviewing verb tenses, covers unnecessary shifts in verb tenses.

The contents of this program are divided into five parts. The first part covers a review of clauses and then discusses how to subordinate and coordinate clauses. The second part continues with subordination and then goes into modifying phrases and appositives. The third part discusses simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. The fourth part teaches sentence variety through introductory phrases, compound predicates, appositives, and relative clauses. The final part deals with both concise and wordy writing.

The contents of this program are divided into two parts. The first part defines the sentence, identifies subjects and verbs, and identifies compound subjects and compound verbs. The second part discusses various kinds of nouns and then explains how nouns are used to show possession.

The contents of this program are divided into four parts. The first part introduces the six types of pronouns: personal, relative, interrogative, demonstrative, indefinite, and reflexive. It also introduces antecedents and first, second, and third person. The second part covers possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives and discusses antecedents, especially with indefinite pronouns. The third part explains the subjective and objective cases for personal pronouns. The final part teaches who/whom/whose and reflexive pronouns.

This Tutorprogram defines and explains how and when to use action verbs, helping verbs, and linking verbs. It covers the various verb tenses and illustrates when each should be used. It teaches the difference between active and passive voice and shows students how to identify verbs that are passive and change them to active verbs.