Looking for a Guided Reading Checklist for Teachers?
Funnix Teacher’s Guide, Testing & Placement, and Mastery
Looking for a Guided Reading Checklist for Teachers?
Funnix Teacher’s Guide, Testing & Placement, and Mastery
Teacher’s Guide
Our Teacher’s Guide will help you learn more about using Funnix in the classroom for guided reading sessions, testing and placement, scheduling, adapting the program to small groups, and more.
What follows is the Table of Contents, with links to selected sections.
In the Classroom – Program Components – Funnix Beginning Reading – Funnix 2
Testing and Placing Beginning Readers
Teaching the Five Letter Names – Retesting the Children – Placement Criteria for Groups
Placing Children Who Have Some Reading Skills – 9
Procedures for Mid-Level Placement – Placement Criteria for Readers
Critical Preparation – 12
Critical Exercises for Mid-Level Entry in Funnix Beginning Reading – Critical Preparation
Transition Exercises -14
Transition Exercises for Entry at Funnix Beginning Reading 101 and Beyond
SCHEDULING AND GROUPING THE READING LESSONS -14
Grouping Children for Instruction – Possible Setups – Daily Schedule and Progress Through the Program
Basic Correction Procedures
Start Up-Directing the Presentation of Lessons – Lesson Events
ADAPTING THE PROGRAM TO TEACH SMALL GROUPS – 19
Group Responses – Group Responses After Lesson 88 – Individual Turns – Touching Items on the Screen – Written Work
How Skills are Taught – Scope and Sequence Chart – Funnix Word Lists
Sounds for Consonants – Sounds for Vowels – Sounds for Irregular Letters – Blue-Letter Combinations – Other Combinations
Correcting Sound Identification Mistakes
Correcting Sounding Out Errors
Correcting Sounding Out Errors on
__ Blue-Letter Words
Correcting Whole Word Errors in Word Lists
Correcting Story Reading Errors
Promoting Rate-Accuracy Performance
Workbook Activities – Lined-paper Activities
Passage Reading – Additional Seatwork
Additional Fluency Practice – Funnix 2 Fluency Guidelines
Projections – Show-Off Lessons – Placement Passages – Repeating Instruction – Fluency
ACCELERATING FUNNIX – 35
Acceleration Schedule – Worksheet Acceleration
USES FOR FUNNIX – 36
Funnix as a Supplement – Funnix as Summer School or After-School Programs – Funnix as Programs for Learning-Disabled Children – Funnix as Reinforcement – Funnix for Peer-Tutoring – Funnix as a Program for Midyear Lower Performers in Grades K-2 – Funnix for Paired Practice
Spelling Word List from Funnix Beginning Reading – 40
Alphabetical Reading Word List from Funnix Beginning Reading – 41
Alphabetical Funnix 2 Reading Word List – 44
Funnix Word Lists by Lesson Numbers – 50
APPENDIX A – 53
Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Test and Record
APPENDIX B – 54
Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Passages – 54
__Passage 40 – Passage 60 – Passage 80 –
__Passage 100
Funnix 2 Placement Passages – 57
__Passage 1 – Passage 30 – Passage 57
APPENDIX C – 60
Funnix Placement Record for Children with Reading Skills
APPENDIX D – 61
Funnix Record of Groups
APPENDIX E – 62
Corresponding Lessons for Funnix Beginning Reading and Horizons
APPENDIX F – 63
Corresponding Lessons for Funnix 2, Horizons B and Journeys 2
APPENDIX G – 64
Story Exercises for Funnix Beginning Reading
Testing & Placement
Testing & Placement Resources
Appendix A (Placement Test and Record) [pdf]
Appendix B (Placement Passages) [pdf]
Appendix C (Placement Record for Children with Reading Skills)[pdf]
General Placement
Funnix Beginning Reading was designed with the assumption that the child will be starting with some ability to identify some letters. To determine whether or not a child is ready, have him or her play the Alphabet Game as a placement test.
The Alphabet Game is a great way to teach recognition of the letters that appear early in Funnix.
Placement in the School Setting
These excerpts from the Funnix Teacher’s Guide will help you learn more about the placement and acceleration of children in school.
Testing and Placing Beginning Readers
Use the Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Test and Record (Appendix A) to test all beginning readers. Here’s an example of a completed form for a group of eight children who took the placement test.

Placing Children Who Have Some Reading Skills
Children with some reading skills should start somewhere in the middle of Funnix Beginning Reading or at the beginning or middle of Funnix 2.
- Children who enter the school midyear.
- Children who have completed Funnix Beginning Reading.
- Children who can identify letters, know many sounds and can read some words.
Use this procedure to determine which children qualify for mid-level placement.
Placement Criteria for Readers
Based on reading level, some children will be placed in Funnix Beginning Reading at lesson 10, 40, 60, 80, or 101.
- For children placed at lesson 10, use an accelerated schedule in the program (see pages 35-36, Accelerating Funnix).
- For children placed at lesson 40 or beyond, present critical exercises or transition exercises to prepare them prior to lessons.
Critical Preparation, Transition Exercises,
and Accelerating Funnix
Mastery Tests
Assessment Booklet
We’ve developed an assessment booklet for Funnix Beginning Reading that you should use to assess mastery every 10 lessons. If children have not mastered the material, the booklet also includes remedies you can use to work with the children before proceeding.