Educators
F.A.S.T. Reading System
Teach Your Students to Read at Grade Level and Beyond
F.A.S.T. Reading System
Students decoding skills increased more than five grade levels with the F.A.S.T. Reading System.
Beginning readers make dramatic, measurable gains in as few as eight weeks
Delivers what other literacy programs cannot, including:
- Lessons that can be taught in as little as 30 minutes, with entire classrooms, smallgroups, or one-on-one.
- Differentiated instruction through multiple entry points, so your students can move easily among skill levels, depending on their needs.
- A hands-on, multi-sensory approach that includes magnetic letters and boards.
- Abundant opportunities for students to transfer their new phonetic skills to immediate practice in reading, writing, and spelling.
- Highly engaging, decodable books that children love to read.
- Ongoing support that extends past your initial training and includes refresher courses and FREE follow-up phone consultations with trainers and developers.
Raises the reading levels of students in the lowest percentiles
Find out more about how teachers across the country are using the F.A.S.T. Reading System to raise the reading levels of their toughest-to-teach students. Call 1-800-325-3278 to set up a consultation with one of our reading experts or to learn more about the F.A.S.T. Reading System and F.A.S.T. Learning’s workshops. Do it today!
First Steps Early Literacy
Teaching Your Youngest Learners to Read
First Steps Early Literacy Program
First Steps, developed specifically for kindergarten and entry-level first grade students, addresses all components of reading, including phonemic awareness, 
phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Your youngest students will be captivated by First Steps’ engaging storybooks and multi-sensory activities as they discover how to listen to sounds and link these sounds to letter symbols. Your students will systematically develop the skills they need to identify, blend, segment, and manipulate sounds in words. They will quickly become confident and motivated readers as they successfully apply their new skills to reading with the First Steps storybooks.
Comprehensive and based on years of classroom testing and research, F.A.S.T. First Steps:
- Provides plenty of opportunities for children to practice their developing phonemic awareness skills and show their understanding of the alphabetic principle.
- Teaches spelling as well as reading.
- Uses think-alouds and an unique Retell Method to develop comprehension skills.
- Develops basic handwriting skills through an innovative approach.
- Instills a lifelong love of reading through rich literature experiences, including structured Read Alouds.
- Addresses common early literacy challenges before they become problems.
Find out how teachers across the country are using F.A.S.T. First Steps to teach their youngest students to read. Call 1-800-325-3278 to set up a consultation with one of our reading experts or to learn more about First Steps and F.A.S.T. Learning’s workshops.
Research and Results
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F.A.S.T. READING SYSTEM SUMMARY OF RESEARCH ON ACHIEVEMENT OUTCOMES (Download PDF) By Jini Puma, M.A. Martin Tombari, Ph.D. University of Denver March 2006 |
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Wyatt-Edison Charter K-8 School (Download PDF) Teacher training in the F.A.S.T. Reading System is proving to be quite an asset at Wyatt-Edison, where the F.A.S.T. pilot began as a tutoring program in February 2004. Students are evaluated every 10 weeks to see if their reading levels have increased. To date, the F.A.S.T. Reading System has boosted student reading scores significantly. |
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Mission Avenue Elementary School (Download PDF) Using the Woodcock-Johnson Reading Assessment, Mission Avenue Elementary has made significant gains in only one semester —in Word Attack, Word Identification, and Passage Comprehension. |
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Manzano Day School (Download PDF) Manzano first implemented the F.A.S.T. Reading System in their K–5 classrooms in the Fall of 2000. Pre- and post- tests over several years show a consistent two grade level improvement in both Word Identification and Word Analysis in as little as one semester. |
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Dakota Valley Elementary School |
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Lois Lenski Elementary School and Littleton High School (Download PDF) Colorado's Littleton 6 District is proof positive that the F.A.S.T. Reading System works for special education students--at any age or grade level. |
See how the F.A.S.T. Reading System aligns to the National Reading Panel’s recommendations for effective reading instruction and with best practices for English language learners.
National Reading Panel Correlation
English Language Learner Correlation
PDF documents require Adobe Reader.
Testimonials
Educator Testimonials
"…I have never encountered a program that I could get behind with as much confidence. F.A.S.T. Reading is a breakthrough program. I have seen my most severe students make slow progress with other programs. Last year, utilizing the F.A.S.T. Reading program, all that learning came together for them and they took off.”
Sandra Schwartz
Farmington Public Schools, Michigan
"The F.A.S.T. training I received was the most comprehensive and valuable training that I have ever had. And I have been teaching for more than 25 years.”
Rebecca Brazil, Reading Specialist
Breckenridge Elementary Summit School District, CO
“The F.A.S.T. Reading System has made a big difference in our school. My team uses it with students in grades 1-5 and in special education. It is a marvellous to see veteran teachers fired up with the F.A.S.T. reading tools.”
Stephen Pino, Principal
Mission Avenue Elementary School
Albuquerque, NM
“The children love playing the games and using the [F.A.S.T.] magnetic boards and letters…even kids with learning challenges do well.”
Joseph Ziegler, Special Education Teacher
Denver Public Schools
"It excites me as students realize their new power over words instead of the words having power over them. The F.A.S.T. Reading System gives non-readers the ability to read quicker then other reading programs."
Jane Taylor
Denver Academy
"I have been teaching reading to a group of students for 3 years, with little progress. The F.A.S.T. Reading Program has given me and the students’ tools for reading success. They have made more progress in 3 months than in 3 years."
Margie Smith
Educator
"The F.A.S.T. Reading System has helped me relate the sounds of language to reading success."
Vicki Fockler
Speech Therapist
Parent Testimonials
“As a family, we will always be indebted to Steve Tattum and F.A.S.T. Learning. Because of Steve, our son’s life will forever be enriched and a whole new world has opened…he now reads and writes.”
Jim and Kristine Mestdagh
Parents
"I started teaching reading to my second grade son, Chris, using the F.A.S.T. Reading Program. HE READ, I CRIED!!"
Helen Freemyer
Mother
"My 7-year-old daughter, Nicole, was struggling with basic reading skills when we began the F.A.S.T. Reading System. After only ten (one hour) sessions with her tutor, her reading ability rose two grade levels."
Lynn Smithpeter
Mother
“Words cannot express how much I appreciate you working with Nathan this week, teaching him to read. Clearly you have the key that unlocked the door inside Nathan’s brain. Even Nathan is amazed at how it all “clicked.”
Kris Davidson
A Parent
“I am totally amazed with the F.A.S.T. Reading System. I have a grandson who is in the fifth grade. He is dyslexic and never mastered the reading programs in public schools. We enrolled him in the F.A.S.T. Reading System program and we are amazed at how fast he is learning to read…This program has been a wonderful discovery for my grandson.”
JoAnn Baker
Grandparent
“F.A.S.T. works…I feel so lucky that I was led to the F.A.S.T. Reading System…”
Bonnie York
Parent