PLA Friends · Volume 1
Early reading, one word family at a time.
PLA Friends is a slow, structured-literacy reading program for children who need more time — including dyslexic learners. They master one word family, like the -at in cat, hat, and sat, before anything new arrives.
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What PLA Friends is
Too many early readers introduce a pile of letters and words at once. PLA Friends does the opposite. It moves at a snail’s pace on purpose, so a child can feel sure before the next step.
It is built on structured literacy principles: children blend sounds into words first, sort those words into families, review every day, and pass a mastery gate — the Glow Check — before they move on. The text they read uses only the sounds they have already been taught.
Six friends walk through every lesson with them. Volume 1, a Family Edition we are using at home first, covers short a and short i word families. A public edition is on the way.
How it works
A daily lesson is short, about 15 to 20 minutes. Shorter is fine. Stop while it still feels good. New learning always follows the same path.
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Step 1
Blend
Jax helps children tap every sound, then slide the sounds together to read the word. No guessing.
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Step 2
Sort
Only after a word is read does Luna sort it into a family house, like -at or -ap. Looking closely is the point.
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Step 3
Review
Every lesson starts with Zova’s Review Deck: every letter and heart word taught so far, for two to three minutes.
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Step 4
Glow Check
Ollie keeps the pace slow. A unit is not done until the child passes a Glow Check on three separate days. If it is not glowing yet, they stay and play.
Meet the Friends
Six friends. Six ways of learning. One team. Each one has a job in the daily lesson.
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The bird
Zova
Brave Encourager
“Mistakes help my brain grow. Let’s try again!”
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The dragon
Mira
Creative Visual Thinker
“When I read, I make a movie in my mind.”
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The fox
Luna
Curious Clue Finder
“Look at every letter. Never guess. Find the clues!”
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The turtle
Ollie
Patient and Steady
“Read it again. It gets smoother every time.”
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The gecko
Jax
Hands-On Explorer
“When my hands help, my brain remembers!”
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The owl
Willow
Thoughtful Story Lover
“Good questions are like lanterns. They light the way.”
A look inside Volume 1
Two pages from the Family Edition we are using at home. Child-facing words are set in Andika, a typeface with single-story a and g.
Coming soon
We are using Volume 1 with our own children first. A public edition is on the way. If you would like to hear when it is ready, join the list. There is nothing to buy today.