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Overview of Program

Sequence of Exercises

Each level in the program is comprised of a sequence of eight reading exercises.

The wide range of exercises will improve many aspects of reading and will also help in learning and understanding all subjects.

These improvements include:

  • the improvement of reading accurately
  • understanding and comprehension
  • grammar
  • vocabulary
  • spelling and remembering how to spell certain words
  • improving visual memory
  • word recognition
  • fluency
  • accuracy
  • speed as well as improving reading speed by also enhancing peripheral vision

Following, is a concise explanation of each of the eight exercises that each sequence is comprised of:

  1. Word Definition:

The user learns vocabulary words, which will appear in the reading passage.
The Vocabulary Exercise and Word Recall Exercise will test the learner on these definitions at the end of the sequence.

  1. Eye Exercise:

To improve eye movement whilst reading, a certain part of the text in the passage will be highlighted depending on the settings that have been chosen in the Administration System, or calculated by the Calibration Test. By keeping the eyes on the highlighted areas, reading and eye speed will increase gradually and the user will learn to read at a constant pace.

The width of the highlighted area and the speed at which it moves, are calculated from the user’s previous results or the settings that have been chosen in the Administration System.

Four different eye exercise types are deployed:

  • A moving highlight of a phrase (A few consecutive words at a time) moves across the text, while all background text remains visible
  • An entire line across the text box is highlighted while all background text is visible
  • Each phrase is shown moving across the screen individually while the background text is invisible
  • A line across the text box is highlighted while all background text is invisible

In all of the above, the time the text is displayed is determined by the user’s calibration- or previous results.

The eye exercise is set to Dynamic by default, which encompasses all four of the different exercises. The Dynamic setting will change according to advance/demotion criteria. The settings will progress, regress or remain the same in accordance with the user’s results.

The desired exercise type may be manually set to any of the four available exercise types, in the Administration System.

  1. Memory Test:

This exercise will determine if the user can remember the sequence of the passage read. The aim is to improve the user’s recall of chronology.

  1. Timed Passage:

The user will be allowed to read the passage again in this exercise, but this time it will be at their own pace. This is timed and the reading speeds are adjusted accordingly.

  1. Comprehension Exercise:

This will test whether or not the users have understood what they have just read by asking questions related to the story.

  • Level 1-3: Consist of content questions only.
  • Level 4-15: Consist of a combination of content, derivative and linguistic questions.
  1. Word Recognition:

A word is flashed on screen and the user must be able to recognise the word and retype it correctly. The duration of the flash is based on the user’s reading speed.

Note: This exercise is not an outright spelling test, but more difficult words appearing in the passage are repeated here.

  1. Grammar Exercise:

Grammar questions are asked on specific grammar topics. The aim is to develop and broaden the learner’s knowledge of grammar, to test knowledge of language and to practise language skills. This enables the learner to communicate clearly and confidently by using the correct grammatical structure. All the grammar is based on the current school syllabus.

  1. Vocabulary Exercise:

Questions are asked on the vocabulary words learnt in the Word definition.

This Activity will test to see if the learner has understood the meanings and remembered the definitions of the particular words and if he is able to place them in their correct context. Four possible answers are given with each question

System Requirements

In order for the Readers are Leaders software to run smoothly on your computer, please make sure that the following are present to meet the minimum system requirements.
To see what Operating System you are running: Right-click on “My Computer”, click on “Properties” and look under the heading, “System”.
The following Operating Systems are supported:

● Windows 7
● Windows 8
● Windows 10
● Windows 11
● Server 2007
● Server 2008
● Server 2012
● Server 2016
● Server 2019
● Server 2022

* Supports both 32 and 64 bit architechtures

*** Please note: Our software does not work on any Mac, Android or Linux platforms, nor on iPads or Tablets.

What are the Recommended System Requirements?
● Pentium 4, AMD K5 Processor or higher
● 1GB RAM or greater
● 600 MB Hard Drive Space or more
● 1024 X 768 Resolution or better
● Internet Explorer 5 or later

How much Random Access Memory (RAM) do I need?
We recommend 1Gb RAM or higher. Check your RAM by:
● Right clicking “My Computer”
● Click “Properties”
● Click the “General” tab
● You will see your processor type and memory
.
How much Hard Drive space do I need?
You need 600 MB Hard Drive space.
To check your Hard Drive space, double-click “My Computer”, right-click on the C: Drive (or destination drive on which you intend to install the program) and click “Properties”. There you will find how much space has been used and how much free space you still have.

Which version of INTERNET EXPLORER is recommended?
Any version of Windows released after Windows 98 will have Internet Explorer 4.0.1 or later, which is necessary to run the Help System.
The Help System opens when F1 is pressed when the Readers are Leaders program is running.

Editor

Readers are Leaders gives you the freedom to increase the length of stories, add, remove or change questions, content, etc. We’ve done this by adding a content editor. Our researchers use this tool to create all the content found in Readers are Leaders.

Help System

The Help System is available for you to call up at any point within the program by simply pressing the F1 key on your keyboard. This help function is so useful that it will even bring up the help guide on the page relevant to the screen you are currently working on. In this way, there will always be help available, no matter where you might be in the program.

The on-line help for Readers are Leaders will help at any point, providing basic step-by-step instructions.

Readers are Leaders