Homeschool · Early reading and elementary
Actual Reading, by Hannah Ward
Complete, free curricula for teaching young children to read, write and count, from the first letters to reading on their own, plus a phonics course for older learners. Every lesson is a printable PDF, and each one is written so that any parent who can read can teach it.
Where to start
- Ages 2–5: the Pre-Reading Workbook and the Alphabet in 60 Lessons for letters and sounds, or Little House Pre-K for a whole preschool year.
- Ready to read: Teach Your Child to Read in 120 Lessons. Begin when your child knows the letters and shows signs of being ready, not at a set age. Little House Kindergarten is the full kindergarten year.
- Grades 1–3: American Pioneer, Level 1, then on to McGuffey's Readers on this site.
- Older children and adults who struggle to read: Phonics Reading Boot Camp.
- Every day, at every age: read aloud together. Hannah's book lists will keep you going for a long time.
Getting ready · Ages 2–8
Crystal and Shell Pre-Reading Workbook
A themed workbook of letter names and letter sounds, in print and cursive, for children who are getting ready to read. One large PDF.
Get the workbook →Full year · Pre-K · Ages 3–5
Little House Pre-Kindergarten
A full year of open-and-go preschool: 180 daily lessons, each a short math page and an English language arts page, with health, science, social studies and art folded in.
180 lessons →Full year · Kindergarten · Ages 5–6
Little House Kindergarten
The kindergarten year that follows Little House Pre-K: 180 daily lessons, each a math page and an English language arts page, with other subjects woven in.
180 lessons →Letters · Ages 3–9
Teach Your Child the Alphabet in 60 Lessons
Sixty short daily lessons on naming and spotting each letter, built with accommodations for dyslexia, ADHD, autism and vision difficulties. It leads straight into the 120-lesson reading program.
60 lessons →Learning to read · Ages 3–9, when ready
How to Teach Your Child to Read in 120 Lessons
A scripted phonics program that takes a child from not reading to reading on their own in 120 short lessons. The parent reads the bold words aloud; the child sounds out, blends and reads.
120 lessons →Grades 1–3 · Ages 6–9 (grades 1–3)
American Pioneer Curriculum, Level 1 (English)
A literature-rich English course rebuilt from the readers of the one-room schoolhouse, chiefly the Elson Readers, lightly updated for modern spelling. Lessons mix read-aloud poems and stories, talking about pictures, and early reading practice. Six books of 18 lessons.
108 lessons →Older learners · Ages 9 to adult
Phonics Reading Boot Camp
An intensive 30-day phonics course for older children, teens and adults who were taught to guess at words instead of sounding them out. The same short daily format as the 120-lesson program, compressed for older learners.
30 lessons →Read-alouds · Ages All ages
Hannah’s Book Lists
Hannah’s family favorites for reading aloud: her top 100 stand-alone picture books, each one read dozens of times in her home.
See the lists →About Hannah
Hannah Ward is a homeschooling mother and English teacher who has taught from preschool to university level. She is TESOL-certified and holds an M.Ed. in Education Technology and Instructional Design. She gives these curricula away, lesson by lesson, so that families who cannot pay can still teach their children. High-quality bundled PDFs and printed books are for sale at Actual Reading, and buying them is the best way to support her work.