• Listening, Speaking, Initial Letter Formation & Penmanship
• "Explicit" Phonetics in Isolation
• Correct Spelling With 47 Rules of Spelling, Plurals & Syllabication
• Composition, Reading & Comprehension
• Vocabulary Development
• Grammar & Syntax
• Analytical & Inferential Thinking
• Cognitive Development in the Auditory, Visual, Verbal and Motor Areas of the Brain

How We Teach:
To address all "learning styles" without risking discrimination, Orton, Spalding and Riggs (mentor to our founder/author Myrna McCulloch) say we must use four pathways to the brain

• Sight
• Sound
• Voice
• Writing

We teach using multi-sensory, classical direct, Socratic instruction and dictation, thus teaching through the stronger avenues while remedying any weaker avenues without the necessity of pre-testing. Direct and Socratic instruction includes presenting the concepts through questioning rather than exclusively telling, illustrating those concepts, helping students to practice the concepts, using teaching charts which are created with the students, then assigning and assessing work to determine mastery. Dictation is prominently featured in this method to build comprehension and the requisite auditory and phonological awareness and processing skills necessary for students to think, spell, and write on their own.

Who Can Teach:
Anyone; By studying our Level I Teacher's Edition--working your way through the lessons as though you were both a teacher and a student--you can learn how to teach it effectively. Begin at the beginning, that's all. You do it, do one lesson at a time and be sure your students understand each of the concepts as you go along, practicing until both you and your student reach mastery. Riggs Institute is a self-supporting, non-profit literacy agency and publisher.