Lesson Preparation Software for Windows^®

Overview

EZ-Prep was created to provide a quick and accurate method for creating structured multi-sensory lesson plans for tutors and teachers using Orton-Gillingham-based teaching methods. Unlike manual lesson preparation, the teacher does not have to keep track of the word segments* that a student has learned when selecting word segments from lists. EZ-Prep keeps track of this for you. More importantly, when selecting words for spelling dictation practice, the tutor no longer has to cull appropriate words from general word lists or think of appropriate words. Instead, EZ-Prep automatically presents lists of words which only contain word segments that the student has learned. The teacher selects words by simply clicking on them with the mouse. Using EZ-Prep, a structured lesson plan can easily be created and printed in five to ten minutes.

Please keep in mind that EZ-Prep is not intended as a tool to teach tutors how to construct multi-sensory lesson plans. EZ-Prep is not a replacement for Orton-Gillingham teacher training or method reference books. Rather, EZ-Prep is purely a productivity tool.

There are two key components in EZ-Prep: student profiles and lesson plans. For each student (or group) that you tutor, you will first create a student profile. Once a student profile is created, you are ready to create lesson plans for that student.

* A word segment is a part of a word such as a phonogram, affix, or root. Although rules are not technically word segments, we have also included rules in the word segment lists for convenience. Word segment lists are ordered by groups (phonograms, rules, prefixes, suffixes, and roots) and then alphabetically within those groups.

Student Profile Entry

The Student Profile window displayed below is where the tutor creates new student profiles and modifies existing profiles. Adding a new student profile is a very simple process. At a minimum, the tutor enters the student's name and indicates all of the word segments that the student has previously studied. Word segments are selected or deselected by a single mouse click. The tutor may also restrict the syllable range of words. In the case below, John Smith is limited to 1, 2, 3, and 4 syllable words for all word lists that are generated in the lesson plans. The default is 1 to 9. Once entered, the profile does not require updating. EZ-Prep automatically adds word segments to the "Previously Studied" list as they are introduced in the lesson plans. However, the tutor may wish to modify profiles occasionally to change the syllable range or to deselect some phonograms after an extended absence from Orton-Gillingham training.

Lesson Plan Entry

One the student profile is entered, the tutor may create lesson plans for that student. In the window shown below, the tutor begins by simply typing in the calendar date for the lesson. (Once saved, the lesson is referenced by the student's name and the lesson date.) The next step is to fill in the various fields for the lesson which is done clicking on the buttons on the left side of the window labeled Auditory, Review, Spelling, New, and Skills. A section for the card pack drill is not needed on the lesson plan window. The student profile is essentially a record of student's card pack and is shown as part of the printed lesson plan.

The window displayed below appears when the tutor clicks on the Auditory button. The list box displays all the word segments that are in the selected student's profile. These are the word segments that have already been introduced to the student. The tutor selects the word segments for the lesson plan simply by clicking on them with the mouse, and clicking the OK button when completed. The tutor may select any number of word segments up to 10 for this section. After clicking OK, control returns to the main lesson plan window, with the selections appearing to the right of the Auditory button.

The window displayed below appears when the tutor clicks on the Review button. This is essentially the same window as the Auditory window above. The tutor may select any number of word segments up to 4 for this section. After clicking OK, control returns to the main lesson plan window, with the selections appearing to the right of the Review button. In addition, to displaying up to four word segments, there is also a word list of up to 40 appropriate words the are automatically generated for each word segment. These words are printed as part of the lesson plan. The words may be previewed and edited by clicking on the ellipsis button (...) to the right of each word segment selection on the main lesson plan window.

The window displayed below appears when the tutor clicks on the Spelling button. This is essentially the same window as the Review window above. The tutor may select any number of word segments up to 15 for this section. After clicking OK, control returns to the main lesson plan window, with the selections appearing to the right of the Spelling button.

Once Spelling Dictation word segments have been selected, the tutor may select up to 4 words for each word segment. Clicking the ellipsis button (...) to the right of the word segment will display the word selection window below. The large box at the bottom is a list of words for the word segment CH that only contain word segments in the student's profile. You simply click on up to 4 words. The selection list is arranged according to the number of syllables and and then alphabetically within these groups. You may also type any word you like manually by clicking on the Type button to the right.

The window displayed below appears when the tutor clicks on the New button. This is essentially the same window as the other word segment selection windows. The tutor may select any number of word segments up to 4 for this section. After clicking OK, control returns to the main lesson plan window, with the selections appearing to the right of the New button. Word lists are generated for this section just as they are for Review word segments above. Once a lesson plan is saved, the New word segments are automatically added to the student's profile for subsequent lesson plans.

When you click the Skills button, EZ-Prep provides a place to enter up to 10 sentences and a reading selection reference for the lesson plan. The tutor must type in this portion of the lesson plan.

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