Resources & Curriculum - Inner City

Educational Resources - S.A.Y. Yes!

S.A.Y. Yes! Centers for Youth Development®

Addressing a child's intellectual needs is an important component of holistic ministry. Many children attend schools that are not academically excellent, and that are not challenging the children to their full capacity. It is the intention of the S.A.Y. Yes!® model of after-school ministry to not only help the students to complete the "homework" assigned by their teachers, but also to supplement school work wherever needed, in order to help each child become what God has created him/her to be (Psalm 139).

Literacy Assessment Tools

How do you know what each student already knows, and where the educational foundation for each child is weak? These simple assessments will help you know "where to begin" as you develop a personalized tutoring plan for each child.

For personal consultation on developing a literacy tutoring program, email Julie Conlon.

Literacy Assessment Tools 1-6 (pdf)


Literacy Assessment Tool 1 - Phonemic Awareness

Used to determine if learners have the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. If students are weak in this area on the assessment, you should begin with Winning: Books 1 and 2.

Literacy Assessment Tool 1 - Phonemic Awareness (pdf)


Literacy Assessment Tool 2 - Concepts About Print

Used to determine what learners already know about words, sentences, and pages of print. Correlates generally with all 4 Winning Books.

Literacy Assessment Tool 2 - Concepts About Print (pdf)


Literacy Assessment Tool 3 - Letter Names

Allows the instructor to know which letter(s) students are able to recognize in both upper and lower case printing. Also allows instructor to asses if students are able to state what sound is associated with the letter. If students are weak in this area on the assessment, you should begin with Winning: Books 1 & 2.

Literacy Assessment Tool 3 - Letter Names (pdf)


Literacy Assessment Tools 4 - Oral Reading Test

Used to quickly assess a student's general reading level to identify where s/he is able to read independently, the instructional level, and the level at which frustration surfaces. If students are weak (reading well below grade level), you will probably find weaknesses in the other assessments and begin instruction with phonemic awareness (Winning: Book 1) or phonics rules (Winning: Books 2 & 3) before spending time on reading. On the other hand, if a students can read words but lacks comprehension skills, you will want to use Reading Detective.

Literacy Assessment Tool 4 - Oral Reading Test (pdf)


Literacy Assessment Tool 5 - Phonics Test

Used to quickly assess a student's total decoding ability in just a few minutes and to determine student's knowledge of phonics. If students are weak in one or more areas on the assessment, you should begin with Winning: Book 2, 3, or 4. The assessment helps determine which book is needed.

Literacy Assessment Tool 5 - Phonics Assessment Test (pdf)


Literacy Assessment Tool 6 - Phonics Test

Provides more detail from Assessment 5 to isolate particular sounds, steps, and rules taught in Winning: Books 2, 3, and 4.

Literacy Assessment Tool 6 - Phonics Test (pdf)


Reading Detective

Even when students have good decoding skills, they may need additional work to build their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Reading Detective's® standards-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students need for exceptional reading comprehension. The activities are especially effective at helping students understand more challenging reading concepts such as drawing inferences, making conclusions, determining cause-and-effect, and using context clues to define vocabulary.

The grades 3-4 (Beginning) and grades 6-12+ remedial (RX) levels are organized into single-skills units with a concluding mixed-skills unit. The grades 5-6 (A1) and 7-8 (B1) levels include mixed-skills throughout. All levels provide an introductory lesson for each skill.

Reading Detective is available both as Books and Software. Both provide the same engaging stories and critical thinking (comprehension) questions, though the software has a number of additional benefits, including both a learning and test mode for each activity, printable student scores and reports, self-tutoring tools, and fun reward games.

Reading Detective


Vocabulary Cartoons - Elementary Edition

Humorous cartoons and rhymes make learning fun, while mnemonics increase retention. Excellent teaching resource for students off all abilities, particularly visual learners, ESE, ADD, & ESL. Contains 210 words every grammar school student should know presented in an easy to read format. Also includes 21 review quizzes with matching and fill-in-the-blank problems.

Vocabulary Cartoons - Elementary Edition
Vocabulary Cartoons - Elementary Edition CD (PDF Format)


Vocabulary Cartoons - SAT Word Power

Students learn hundreds of SAT level words faster and easier with powerful rhyming and visual mnemonics. In independent school tests, students with Vocabulary Cartoons learned 72% more words than students with traditional rote memory study materials. Contains 290 SAT level words with 29 review quizzes consisting of matching and fill-in-the-blank problems.

Vocabulary Cartoons - SAT Word Power
Vocabulary Cartoons - SAT Word Power CD (PDF Format)


Vocabulary Cartoons II - SAT Word Power

More Vocabulary Cartoons! Due to the success of Vocabulary Cartoons, SAT Word Power, our staff went back to work and cranked out another 290 SAT level words with the same Zany mnemonic cartoons and rhyming words that made the first edition so popular. If you already have the first edition and are craving more vocabulary mnemonics, this book is for you. Contains 29 review quizzes with matching and fill-in-the-blank problems.

Vocabulary Cartoons II - SAT Word Power
Vocabulary Cartoons II - SAT Word Power CD (PDF Format)


The Private Eye

The Private Eye is a program about the drama and wonder of looking closely at the world, thinking by analogy, changing scale and theorizing. Designed to develop higher-order thinking skills, creativity and scientific literacy — across subjects, it's based on a simple set of tools that produce gifted results. A hands-on, investigative learning process, The Private Eye — using everyday objects, a jeweler's loupe, and simple questions — accelerates science, writing, art, math, social studies and more. It builds communication, problem solving, and concentration skills. For K-16 through life, all levels, The Private Eye develops "the interdisciplinary mind."

The Private Eye


Phonemic Awareness

This Phonemic Awareness PDF download is one part of the comprehensive "Teach Children How To Read" program that Cru has put together.

You should request the complete program by requesting the above "Teach Children How to Read" resource.

PHONEMIC AWARENESS EXERCISES improve a child's ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds, or "phonemes" in spoken language. Before a student learns to read, he or she must be familiar with various sounds and understand how they work.

Phonemic Awareness (pdf)


Writing Activities

Along with good reading skills, the ability to express oneself in writing has many practical benefits, giving young people confidence to function competently in his/her world. Students are motivated to write by engaging activities such as interactive games, book-making, an on-line magazine, word puzzles, jokes, a vocabulary-building word bank; they also teach grammar and editing skills.

Critical Writing Activities (pdf)


Math-U-See

Math-U-See is a complete, manipulative based K-12 math curriculum. Many parents and S.A.Y. Yes! staff do not feel adequate to "teach math," especially at levels higher than addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Math-U-See is a kindergarten-through-high school curriculum that teaches math skills, in accordance with national standards for each grade level, via master teacher Steve Demme on DVD.

Math-U-See has placement tests you can download and use to determine the level at which each student's knowledge is weak, and begin building his or her foundation there. Please conduct the appropriate placement tests with each student before requesting this resource so that you can determine which units of Math-U-See your center's needs. For personal consultation on developing a math tutoring program, email Julie Conlon.

Each level listed below is an integral part of a complete and comprehensive curriculum.

  • Primer - A gentle introduction to mathematics.
  • Alpha - Addition & subtraction for single-digit numbers and other topics.
  • Beta - Addition & subtraction for multiple-digit numbers and other topics.
  • Gamma - Multiplication for single and multiple-digit numbers and other topics.
  • Delta - Division for single and multiple-digit numbers and other topics.
  • Epsilon - Fractions and other topics.
  • Zeta - Decimals, percents and other topics.
  • Pre-Algebra - Negative numbers, order of operations, solving for the unknown, and other topic.
  • Algebra 1 - Graphing, simultaneous equations, exponents, polynomials, unit multipliers, and more.
  • Geometry - Points, lines, planes, angles, circles, triangles, quadrilaterals, Pythagorean Theorem, conic sections, proofs and more.
  • Algebra 2 - Factoring polynomials, quadratic formula, graphing conic sections and other algebra 2 topics.
  • Pre-Calculus - Trigonometry, identities, polar equations, logarithms, sequences, limits and other topics to prepare for calculus.
  • Calculus - Derivatives, integrals, calculus applications, differential equations, and more.
  • Stewardship - A biblical approach to personal finance.
  • Counting & Addition Facts Songs - This CD and songbook will help your student learn their skip counting and addition facts.

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