Learning Approach of Eye Level English

The primary role of an Eye Level Instructor is to understand your child, closely observing their learning approach and responding to their cues. With a vast array of material, we prioritize ability-driven education over age-based instruction. In selecting work, instructors aim to challenge and stretch students, fostering independence without relying on adult assistance. Our approach focuses on building robust foundations and study skills before systematically and logically introducing new learning blocks.
Over time, children learn to utilize workbooks and one-on-one coaching effectively. While we can and do provide direct instruction, it’s viewed as a last resort rather than the initial step. Our students embody resourcefulness, resilience, and hard work, all underpinned by the understanding that they have our full support. The individualized nature of our approach shapes students in a uniquely transformative way.

Since every child is unique and has a different learning pace, repetition is required to ensure that he/she achieves the necessary understanding, speed and accuracy.

According to the Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve, the more we re-learn a topic, the more data we will retain.

However, repetition of booklets is assigned only when necessary, according to your child’s performance, and Instructor’s observation and understanding of his/her abilities and skills.

While we do assign homework to reinforce new skills and knowledge between classes, we strive to make this experience entirely manageable. We understand that parents want to be involved in supporting their child’s learning journey without necessarily taking on the role of the primary educator—after all, that’s why they’ve chosen us. Anticipate your child spending more time with us and less time negotiating academic tasks at home, ensuring a smoother learning experience for both students and parents.

At Eye Level, our students have the flexibility to attend once or twice a week, a decision left entirely to the parent or student’s preference. The structure ensures that choosing between the two options does not fundamentally impact progress or attainment. While there’s no time fixation in our approach, as we don’t prescribe set class durations or time completion metrics, we prioritize careful observation and one-on-one coaching for effective mastery determination.

A child remains in class until they’ve perfected the day’s work, with completion time varying based on factors such as the child’s age, level, ability, and duration of their Eye Level engagement. On average, once settled, a child might spend around 45 minutes per subject.

All of a child’s activities, whether at home or in class, are meticulously documented in our student dashboard within the Key and Manager application. Monthly, we assess progress against each student’s study projection, a metric diligently tracked by our Eye Level Instructors. Upon completion of each level, students undergo a Level Test. This test serves as a tool to predict and manage the transition to above-curriculum-level work.

Upon enrolment, we provide an estimated timeframe for this achievement and consistently keep you informed about your child’s progress in relation to this milestone. Feel free to request this information at any point during your journey with us.

Enrolling your child in Eye Level is already a significant show of support, and we appreciate your commitment. While we rely on your assistance with the logistics of study and encourage a positive and supportive environment, we don’t expect you to take on teaching, grading, or timekeeping responsibilities. We understand that as parents, your time is valuable and that’s why you’ve turned to us for help. If your child encounters challenges at home, encourage them to refer to the workbook instructions. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, they can either wait for the next class or reach out to the Center Director. We’re here to solve any problems for you. Our goal is for you to enjoy the benefits of Eye Level study without having to deliver the program on our behalf – it’s as simple as that.

Each week, the child will study English booklets and supplemental materials. Based on each child’s individualized study plan, the English booklets will cover concepts concerning phonics, vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, written and oral language conventions, reading comprehension, literary response and analysis, writing strategies and/or writing applications.
In class, the students will spend time completing these booklets. Depending on their level of study, supplemental materials (such as listening exercises, flash cards, writing practice) will also be used to provide several different ways for the student to absorb the material. Time will also be allotted in class for correcting errors and reviewing concepts from the previous week, thus solidifying mastery of the concepts and skills being learned, prior to moving on to new topics.

Reading relies on the acquisition of pre-literacy skills (e.g. alphabetic principle, knowledge of the world, phonemic awareness). Many children are exposed to these at home or in the pre-school environment, but Eye Level also has materials to bolster these pre-literacy skills while simultaneously beginning to instruct the child to learn how to read.

The best approaches to reading combine phonics, sight words and language in context, rather than relying on just one of these approaches. Eye Level takes such a balanced approach.

After learning to recognize, say, and write the alphabet, students begin to identify specific sound-letter correspondence, using simple words. Students begin to decode words (phonics) and
simple sentences. Students also learn to memorize key sight words. Then, the student can begin to read words and sentences that they have not seen before.

Students need frequent, repeated exposure to language and learning-to-read materials before they acquire the ability to read. Eye Level provides such a program.

Every student’s weekly work is individually planned, by reviewing the student’s performance and curriculum guides. Therefore, each assignment has a purpose and is evaluated accordingly. The student’s work is reviewed and graded by the Instructor, and then corrected by the student. Corrections are a big part of the learning process, so this is monitored. We want to ensure that the child has the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

In addition, frequent assessment is built into the program. Each lesson in each main booklet introduces a concept, provides practice and concludes with a review page to ensure the concept is understood. In addition to guiding and evaluating each week’s booklets, there are two types of tests to assess mastery and progress. There is an Achievement Test for every five booklets and a Comprehensive Test every ten booklets.

Raising the starting point or skipping a level will not benefit the child in Reading and Writing. Critical concepts would be missed if levels or booklets were skipped. Every level of English provides eighty distinct lessons. In addition to many different topics being covered in a level, different booklets have a different focus. Some booklets emphasize phonics and vocabulary development, whereas others focus on grammar, parts of speech, sentence structure, reading comprehension, literary analysis, writing strategies, and writing applications.

The English curriculum counts on mastery of concepts from the previous booklets as a foundation for learning new concepts or variations on a concept. Simple sentence structure and conjugation of verbs are taught in Levels 3 and 4 for example; however, a child needs that foundation to learn irregular verbs and more complex sentence structures in Levels 5 and 6. Given how interrelated the concepts are in English, it is important to start with a solid foundation, so that the mastery of skills can continue as difficulty increases. The work the child is doing now will relate to the next/higher levels. In fact, it makes such progress possible.

Even if one lesson is simple for the student to complete, the other three lessons in a booklet may be vital for the student’s development. Additionally, lessons tend to get increasingly more difficult as child progresses through the curriculum. Your child’s instructor knows the curriculum well and considers your child’s individual needs with each assignment.

Your child is doing well and making progress. So, let me explain why there might seem to be more errors in English.

With Math, although the process of solving the problem becomes more important, the higher one studies in the curriculum, there is usually just one answer. Typically, it is either right or wrong, so Math may appear more outcome-oriented.

With English, some exercises are simple, and have right-or-wrong answers. However, most English booklets are not only looking for the correct answers, but the process, so there may be multiple pieces to correct or improve within an exercise. Additionally, a student may make many minor errors in a single problem (e.g. spelling, correct word-usage, handwriting, punctuation). If a child can easily correct the minor errors, then this is not a concern that would hinder progress, but may still appear as more errors than in the math booklets.

In summary, in the English program, we focus on the major concepts being covered and the correction process. We want to be sure that the concepts are understood, knowing that small errors might be made along the way.

There are several things that can be done to improve reading comprehension. One of the biggest reasons the stories are not understood is the vocabulary. Accordingly, consider these ideas:
Before answering the questions about the story, have the child quickly read through the story and circle vocabulary words that he/she does not understand.
Children who are in elementary school can be shown how to use a dictionary or asked to use a dictionary if they know how to do o already.
For younger students, it may be necessary to explain unfamiliar words and then read the story out loud to the child so that they are able to apply these new vocabulary terms to the overall story.
Another tool is to have the child read through the questions before reading the essay. This helps him/her to see key concept of the story while reading through it. Having the child underline sections from the story that he/she thinks might be important is also a great way to show the child how to look for key phrases and information.

Learning to write is part of the program for young learners. Although Eye Level English is not specifically a penmanship program, the program does begin with learning to write letters. As the levels increase, the booklets become more writing intensive, which can improve speed and penmanship. Also, the expected size of letters within written responses gradually decreases, guiding the student to adjust writing size in a manageable fashion.