Crossbow Education USA catalog 2023

Does color help you?

Each section on this 2 page spread shows one of our 10 colours in the Visual Stress range. Is one of them more comfortable for you?

What is visual stress?

The term ”Visual stress” describes a range of difficulties that some people experience when viewing text for long periods. It is a problem that is often associated with (although not exclusive to) dyslexia.

Visual stress is thought to result from specific wavelengths in the color spectrum over-stimulating certain parts of the visual cortex, disturbing the perceived image of black text on white background. Changing the colored background to a tint that filters out the disruptive wavelengths can dramatically improve aspects of visual perception involved in reading and writing.

When a person has the right tint, attention span, reading speed, fluency and comprehension can all improve. Research has shown that around 20% of the population suffer to varying degrees from visual stress, and could benefit from reading through - and writing on - color.

Visual Stress Quick Check List

Many sufferers don’t realise that their experience isn’t “normal”. So how do you spot those who are experiencing symptoms of visual stress?

This checklist isn’t exhaustive or infallible, but is a useful tool to help you spot the children who might benefit from coloured resources. Watch out for the ones who

m Experience increased difficulty reading after an initial period of 5-10 minutes.

m Lose their place easily when reading, often skipping words or lines.

m Frequently blink, rub their eyes, and look away from the page.

m Keep moving their head or body restlessly, or move closer to or further away from the page.

m Track with their finger

m Screw up their eyes at a page of text.

m Experience problems copying from the board.

m Avoid reading.

m Read slowly and haltingly

m Yawn or seem to tire quickly while reading.

m Seem particularly sensitive to bright lights, especially fluorescent lighting.

m Experience eye strain/discomfort/pain when reading or doing computer work.

m Regularly suffer headaches and/or migraines.

Magenta

Reading rulers, overlays, or tinted lenses?

Symptoms

Visual stress symptoms vary, but can include:

Ÿ Movement of print (words appearing to “jump” or move on the page)

Ÿ Whole lines of text may appear to move

Ÿ Blurring of print

Ÿ Letters seeming to change size

Ÿ Doubling of letters (example 1 right)

Ÿ Letters fading

Ÿ Patterns appearing

Ÿ Illusions of color blobs moving across the page distracting the reader or obscuring the words

Ÿ White "rivers" appearing to run down the page where the white background, as opposed to the black text, has become the dominant image perceived. (example 2 right)

Ÿ Swirling effects appearing in the text (example 3 right).

For anyone with visual stress, tinted spectacles can offer the best solution. However, assessment and lenses can be expensive, and many children do not want to wear tinted glasses to school. So often the best choice is between reading rulers and overlays.

An extract from 2019 research carried out by psychologists from Birkbeck College University of London, comparing the two solutions on children aged 4-8. The study found that

Ÿ A page overlay increased reading speed by up to 38.34%,

Ÿ A duo reading ruler increased it by up to 31.54%.

Ÿ Children with the most overt signs of visual stress preferred the reading rulers, and after three months more children preferred reading rulers to overlays. The full study can be found on our UK website, www.crossboweducation.com.

3.

1. 2.

Aqua Blue

Overlays

Reading Rulers

Tinted Exercise Books*

Monitor Overlays

Visual Stress Assessment Pack

Green

Do we say visual stress, or visual difficulties?

While we recognise that not all the visual difficulties that can be supported by the use of colored overlays or tinted paper, and that this is particularly important in the area of diagnostic assessment, it remains true that the most commonly encountered visual-perceptual difficulty that affects reading is the hyperexcitation of the visual cortex that scientists have termed “visual stress” and which can be alleviated by use of the appropriate overlay or paper .

Grass

Are visual stress and dyslexia connected?

Visual stress is often called visual dyslexia. However the two difficulties are separate and someone can have visual stress without having dyslexia. The link has probably arisen because the two difficulties often co-occur (about 35% of dyslexics also have visual stress). Therefore, it is important to not only assess individuals who have Dyslexia for visual stress, but anyone who may struggle with reading. See the Visual Stress quick check list on the opposite page for signs to look out for in Visual Stress.

*Crossbow tinted Exercise Books are currently not available in the USA.

Why purchase overlay resources from Crossbow Education?

1) Our colors are carefully and scientifically chosen from research carried out by a professor of visual science at a leading UK university who advised us personally for many years while we developed our visual stress product range. Their selection is based on analysis of the color preferences of thousands of optometry patients who have benefited from tinted vision, and of the colorspace measurements that create the optimum number of useful colors when they are combined.

2) All Crossbow’s award-winning colored reading resources are made from PET, which is recyclable and also clearer than PVC. Most, if not all, of the cheaper overlays and reading rulers that are now available are made from PVC, which cannot be recycled and is scheduled to be completely banned in Europe by 2030.

3) All our overlays and reading rulers also have a scratch-resistant coating as well as a peel-off protective layer. In addition, PET is a harder plastic than PVC. Most surface damage to overlays, especially the softer PVC ones, occurs when they are scraped across desks and tables, which inevitably happens in everyday use. Our products are designed specifically to withstand this.

4) Once an individual has found “their” color, it is usually the only one they need. As specialists we stock packs of overlays and reading rulers in each of our colors to meet everyone’s individual requirement. Because you won’t have to keep throwing away the leftover colors that you don’t need from a cheap assortment pack, you will soon be spending less money, not more. And you’re going to be kinder to the environment as well.

5) You can buy the full assessment kit (see p. 9) for our colors to identify the individual needs of all the children in your school who could benefit from reading through color.

6) We are experts, founded in the UK by an SEN teacher in 1993, and we know about the visual difficulties that often come with dyslexia (and without it too.) We designed the original Eye Level Reading Ruler back in 2004. We don't sell twig lights, pharmaceuticals, plumbing accessories, or seafood tools, which are among the non-educational materials sold by other vendors who just see reading difficulties as another market they can profit from.

Previous winner of the SEN Product of the Year at the Education Resources Awards. Page

Jade

Colored Reading Resources

Reading Rulers

Colored Reading Rulers are a proven, popular and cost-effective way of reading through color. These simple tools help with reading from white pages, perfect for students with Dyslexia and Visual Stress.

Two styles available; Duo Window and Plain Window, both in a handy size that can be stored as bookmark.

Benefits of using a Reading Ruler:

• Increase reading speed and accuracy

• Improve concentration

• Reduce eyestrain and headaches

• And can help individuals to:

• Improve their comprehension

• Read for longer

• Enjoy reading more

All of our Overlays and Reading Rulers are recyclable and PVC Free

Every ruler:

•Has one gloss side and one matt side.

•Comes with a protective film

•Has an individual sleeve

•Made from recyclable, scratch-resistant PET

•Ruler Size: 205mm x 80mm

Why are there 10 colours?

•Each individual has a colour that helps them best. Finding the correct color for the pupil is very important. Our Visual Stress Color Assessment Pack can be used to screen for an individuals preferred color.

•In line with research from Essex University our 10 colors have been scientifically calibrated to be evenly distributed around the color spectrum.

Duo Window Function 1: Track a single line at a time

Has a wide opaque strip which can be used to block out text below the line you are reading.

Duo Window Function 2: Track a paragraph at a time

Plain Window Function 1: Track a single line at a time

Plain Window Function 2: Use as a plain overlay

Duo Window Reading Ruler

Plain Window Reading Ruler

Screen tinting software for your school

Benefits

Ÿ Symptoms of Visual Stress and Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) can reduce.

Ÿ Can improve reading comprehension, accuracy, spelling and retention.

Ÿ Reading speed and accuracy may improve.

Ÿ Users can experience fewer headaches.

Ÿ Can enhance user comfort while working at a computer

How can using a tracking tool help?

Ÿ Helps the individual to keep their place while reading.

Ÿ Focuses the individuals point of reading.

Ÿ Reduces distractions from around the page.

Ÿ Blocks out the text the reader is not reading.

Features

Infinite colours

Ÿ Tints your screen any color

Ÿ Adjust the transparency level Works over any program

Ÿ Internet browsers

Ÿ Bespoke software

Ÿ Emails

Ÿ and many more

Adjustable size

Ÿ Works on any screen size

Ÿ Adapts to multiple monitors

Ÿ Change overlay to any size

Multiple styles

Ÿ Reading ruler with different tracking lines

Ÿ Overlay

Ÿ Word highlighter

Single User: $59.99

(This is a one-off payment, not an annual fee.)

For school and college licenses, please email us with your requirements.

Download

Overlay tints any program you are working on Different tracking lines available that move with your mouse

Colored Monitor Overlays

• Crossbow monitor overlays are so simple - they just lie flat against your screen to reduce the glare.

• All monitor overlays now come with a peel-off protective film, an individually packaged cleaning cloth and six round, transparent sticky patches to help attach the overlay to the screen.

• If needed, the colors can be combined to create deeper or mixed tints.

• Monitor overlays are not recommended for use with touch-screen monitors.

Free accessory pack with every overlay

Screen Size (inches): 17" 19"

Price 1 - 4: $5.99 each $5.99 each

All of our Overlays and Reading Rulers are recyclable and PVC Free

“Easy to install. Removes glare and eye strain. Can physically feel myself relax after placing on screen. Fits well and has not come away.”

Aravis Dyslexia Friendly Font

Dyslexia features include:

• Each letter is unique even if reversed or flipped.

• The spacing is carefully designed using scientific evidence to help all readers from those who read via word shapes to those who read using phoneme and syllables.

• The Visual Stress caused by pattern glare is minimised in comparison to other common fonts when measured by professionals.

• Mid-sized font to make it easy to convert artwork from common fonts. This is very helpful when providing reasonable adjustments for students with Dyslexia.

• Based on algorithms found in nature.

How a school can use a dyslexia friendly font:

• Create inclusive dyslexia friendly worksheets that can be used for all students not just students with dyslexia.

• Have dyslexia friendly leaflets, letters and all other publications printed.

• Make your school website more accessible with font types for websites available.

How Aravis compares to other commonly used fonts:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog (Aravis - 14pt)

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog (Arial - 14pt)

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog (Calibri - 14pt)

Thequickbrownfoxjumpsoverthelazydog (TimesNewRoman-14pt)

This is Aravis Regular

This is Aravis Italic

This is Aravis Bold

This is Aravis Bold Italic

This isAravis Black

This isAravis Light

About Aravis dyslexia-friendly font:

• Amazingly easy on the eye; designed to draw the reader in with minimal brain bandwidth used to enable more focus on the content.

• Our mission has been to create a font that is scientifically designed to be dyslexia friendly while also being attractive and useful.

• Crossbow’s house font, and is being used throughout this catalog, publications and website.

• International font with over 1500 characters with all 72 latinate languages.

• Includes: maths symbols, small capitals, some ‘wingdings’ (ticks, smiley faces etc)

Version 2

• A set of five fonts to create visual support for letter and word shapes.

• A valuable support for spelling activities, cloze passages, modern languages etc. that can be used with any software that accesses your font file.

• Works with any font size

• Includes punctuation and some European accents.

• For children who need strong visual reinforcement for learning words.

• Can be formatted like any other font.

BOXE04 1-3 Machines Licence $24.95

Children love writing in boxes!

Boxes with letters, for spelling clues: Children love writing in boxes!

Empty boxes for writing in: Children love writing in boxes!

Boxes for cursive writing: Children love writing in boxes!

Colored boxes:

Ch writ ildren ! love ing in boxes

Use the different boxes fonts together, for color-coding, spelling clues etc:

Visual Stress Color Assessment Pack

(Part of the Award Winning Visual Stress Collection)

Drawing on 20 years of scientific research, Crossbow’s award-winning Visual Stress Assessment Pack provides anyone involved in detailed assessment of the color overlay needs of individuals with a full battery of information and assessment tools, presented in a clear, easy to follow format that is accessible to professionals and non-professionals alike.

It also includes background information and research references for those new to visual stress interventions, and follow-up material that ensures parents and others can be easily and fully informed of assessment results and recommended further action.

The pack is written and designed for ease of use by non-specialists, and includes everything necessary to carry out a thorough assessment.

VISS01 School Edition

Includes x2 sets of 10 A5 Overlays

$79.00

Full easy to follow assessment instruction manual and information on Visual Stress

The rate of Reading Test:

- testing pages in four different texts

- word counting check sheets

- 8 font sizes

Photocopiable assessment sheet and letter templates

Sturdy D-ring folder to keep everything in one place

Pencil Grippers

Stegosaurus Grip

A fun grip that trains the fingers into the correct grip naturally

• Specific indents for fingers and thumb that encourages the tripod grip

• The sturdy dinosaur spines stop fingers crossing over

• The wider back of the grip supports finger joints that flex too much (hyper extend).

• The child instinctively holds it the right way up and round (head first).

• Left and right handed use

• Fits standard pencils and biros up to 8.2mm diameter

• Contents: 4 grips in a pack.

PENC28 $8.95

Dolphin Grip

• A balanced design with extra support at the back.

• Softer material - can now stretch over bigger pencils and pens than before.

• Helps establish a comfortable tripod grip

• Limited explanation needed for the child as it is clear which way round the grip goes.

• Contents: 5 grips in a pack.

PENC29 $7.95

Write Grip

• Has specific indents for fingers and thumb encouraging the tripod grip

• Left and right handed use.

• Made from a soft silicone non-slip material.

• Fits standard pencils and biros up to 7.6mm diameter

• Contents: 5 grips in a pack.

PENC59 £3.49

Squooshi Grip

• Sparkling silicone grip that is simple to use.

• Has specific indents for fingers and thumb for extra comfort and control.

• Can be used on pens and pencils.

• Left and Right handed use.

• Fits standard pencils and biros up to 8.5mm diameter

• Contents: 5 grips in a pack.

PENC24 $7.45

The spines help to stop fingers from crossing over.

The wide back supports fingers, encouraging a softer grip

Specific indents encourage tripod grip

Comfort Grip

•Simple design for all ages.

•Provides extra comfort on the grip.

•Made from soft foam to relieve pressure on fingers.

•Left and right handed use.

•Fits standard pencils and biros up to 8.2mm diameter.

•Contents: 10 grips in a pack.

PENC12 $3.75

Ridged Comfort Grip

•Simple design for all ages.

•Recommended for those who grip too tightly, or for longer periods of writing.

•Made from soft foam to relieve pressure on fingers.

•Left and right handed use.

•Contents: 10 grips in a pack.

PENC15 $3.75

Soft Triangular Grip

•Easy to use grip for all ages.

•No specific finger indents.

•A thicker grip for extra softness reduces pressure on fingers.

•Made from soft foam.

•Left and right handed use.

•Fits 8.2mm diameter pen/pencil.

•Contents: 10 grips in a pack.

PENC33 $4.25

Large Soft Triangular Grip

•Easy to use grip for all ages.

•No specific finger indents.

•A thicker grip for extra softness reduces pressure on fingers.

•Made from soft foam.

•Left and right handed use.

•Fits 9.2mm diameter pen/pencil.

•Contents: 10 grips in a pack.

PENC47 $4.99

Skittle Grip

• Slight indent to stop fingers slipping down the grip.

• Made from soft foam to relieve pressure on fingers.

•Left and right handed use.

•Contents: 10 grips in a pack.

PENC30 £3.19

Based on Rummy game play

Make silly sentences by completing the lobster

Pot the Lobster

An original Crossbow card game by Bob Hext, re-released with a great new design.

Ÿ Helps learners work on their memory, language, or reading two-syllable words that bristle with consonant clusters.

Ÿ This card game is a hilarious slant on the game of Rummy; collect all the segments of the lobster to make a nonsense sentence.

Ÿ Great fun for anyone from 7 to adult.

POTL01 $7.95

Visual cues for parts of sentence

Vocabulary Sentence Rummy

Ÿ Children extend their vocabulary and develop their understanding of parts of speech as they compete to collect the words that go with the sentence cards that have been turned over

Ÿ Fast, fun, and enriching to play: ideal for any age, with photographic illustrations throughout.

Ÿ All cards are split into four categories of parts of speech: nouns (red), verbs (purple), adjectives (blue) and adverbs (green).

Ÿ There are 16 sentence cards and 4 word cards for every sentence card. Each sentence card has:

Ÿ The title of the part of speech that card belongs to.

Ÿ A sentence with a highlighted generic word for that part of speech.

Ÿ A picture relating to the highlighted generic word. Each word card has alternative words for the highlighted word on the sentence cards, with a matching picture.

VOCS01 $11.99

Add a memory twist on the game

Once a player has a silly sentence they have to turn their cards over and try to remember it while one more round is played - a great opportunity for the other players to try and distract them.

If they successfully remember the sentence they win the game.

Based on UNO game play

Strike!

This classic fast moving card game from Bob Hext sorts the b's from the d's. It plays rather like Uno®, but with CVC words that just have the reversible consonants b, p, d, g, m, and n in their spelling.

Based on traditional card game play - have an extra go, pick up 2 cards, change direction etc. - Strike! only contains CVC words with consonants that can easily be reversed.

Fast and fun for any age and ability, and helpful for anyone who really has to focus on those letters before they turn into something else!

STRI01 $7.95

Talisman Phonics Card Games

These two 10 beautifully illustrated card games offer practice and motivation for catch-up readers. Linked to the popular quest series, these card games will enthuse and delight older, struggling readers as they learn to read. An ideal teaching resource that will re-engage catch-up readers! Use alongside the popular Talisman series, or on their own.

Only available in complete sets of 10.

Set 1, packs 1-10: CVC

DANT05US $85.00

Set 2, packs 11-20 Consonant teams and long vowels

DANT06US $85.00

Synthetic Phonics Beginner Readers

Dandelion Launchers Series

Beginner readers to precede and supplement Dandelion Readers (overleaf).

Units 1-7: 14 books

Ÿ Introducing sounds of the alphabet

Ÿ Unit 1: satim,

Ÿ Unit 2: nop,

Ÿ Unit 3: bcgh

Ÿ Unit 4: defv,

Ÿ Unit 5: klru,

Ÿ Unit 6: jwz,

Ÿ Unit 7: x y ff ll ss zz

Units 8-15: 16 books

Ÿ Introducing adjacent consonants

Ÿ Unit 8: vcc/cvcc,

Ÿ Unit 9: ccvc, L

Ÿ Unit 10: ccvcc

Ÿ Unit 11: ch

Ÿ Unit 12: sh

Ÿ Unit 13: th

Ÿ Unit 14: ck, wh

Ÿ Unit 15: ng, qu

Units 16-20 16 Books

Ÿ Introducing ‘tch’ and ‘ve’ and simple two-syllable words.

Ÿ Stage 16: tch and ve,

Ÿ Stage 17: simple two-syllable words,

Ÿ Stage 18: two-syllable words and words with the suffix -ed

Ÿ Stage 19: two-syllable words and words with the suffix -ing

Ÿ Stage 20: two-syllable words and words with the spelling ‘le’

Ÿ Ages 3-8.

Units 1-7 Extras: 14 books

14 different books with the same cumulative scope and sequence as our Dandelion Launchers, Stages 1-7. This set provides crucial further practice for the sounds of the alphabet at CVC level text. Aimed at children in Pre-K and Kindergarten, each book introduces only a few letter/sounds at a time allowing independent reading from the outset.

Two books in each stage provide practice while offering different stories. Each stage introduces new letters/ sounds while supporting previously taught phonic letters/sounds and high-frequency words, or sight words.

Stage 1: s, a, t, I, m, Stage 2: n, o, p, Stage 3: b, c, g, h, Stage 4: d, e, f, v, Stage 5: k, l, r, u, Stage 6: j, w, z, Stage 7: x, y, ff, ll, ss, zz

Units 1-7 (DANL20US) $45 00

Extras stages 1-7 (DALE01US)................$45.00

Units 8-15 (DANL21US $52 00

Units 16-20 (DANL24US)...................$40.00

Dandelion Launchers Series Activity Books

Ÿ Comprehensive workbooks linked to each series contain activities to reinforce learning.

Ÿ Amixture of blending, segmenting, reading, spelling, comprehension tasks and more.

Ÿ Ideal for use with children who require extra support.

Ÿ Spiral-bound book of photocopiable, multi-sensory activities linked to Dandelion Launchers Units.

Units 1-7 (DANL21US)... $45.00

Units 8-15 (DANL22US)... $45.00

Units 16-20 (DANL25US)... $35.00

Phonic Readers

Dragon Eggs Series

• An exciting quest story for younger readers.

• Designed to support emerging readers who have gaps in their phonics knowledge.

• 10 story books each focussing on a different vowel sound.

• A great resource for children who are not yet fluent readers and need to revisit those tricky vowel digraphs.

• A higher ratio of text to develop reading fluency and build confidence.

• Covers: ae, ee, oe, er, ow & oi, oo, ie, aw, air, ar

DRAG03US $69.00

16 Pages each

New

10 BOOKS

Dandelion Readers VCE Spellings Series

Set of 6 Books

Ce Spellings a-e, e-e, i-e, o-e, u-e

and one for all spellings. This set complements any systematic phonics program and can be used in any sequence.

Dandelion Readers Vowel Spellings

Two sets of twelve fully decodable books covering vowel digraphs.

Set one introduces one spelling for each of the vowel sounds. Set two introduces 2-3 additional spellings for the sounds.

See for details of spellings covered per title. www.crossboweducation.us

2 sets of 12 Books

Moon Dogs Series

• Designed to give the older, struggling reader who does not know the sounds of the alphabet a chance for a fresh start from the very beginning.

• The series is designed around a group of teenage friends who are in a band and offers short humorous stories about their lives.

• Reading skills are developed through step by step progression which allows practice and consolidation at each level.

• The series complements any synthetic phonics teaching programme.

• While the phonic progression is highly structured and the text controlled to words the pupil can now decode, the illustrations and stories are fresh with a contemporary look.

• For absolute beginner readers

Set 1

CVC Level

Code: MOON01US Price: $35.00

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4

s a t iim n o p b c g h d e f v

Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8

k l r u j w z x y ff ll ss zz All initial sounds CVC

Extras (24 books)

CVC Level (same progression as Set 1)

Code: MOON09US Price: $99.00

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4

s a t iim n o p b c g h d e f v

Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8

k l r u j w z x y ff ll ss zz All initial sounds CVC

8 BOOKS

6 Pages each

Catch Up Readers

Introduces adjacent consonant and consonant digraphs

Code: MOON02US Price: $35.00

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 cvc vcc cvcc ccvc ccvcc

Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 ch sh th ng ck nu

Set 3

Vowel Spelling Series

Code: MOON05US Price: $45.00

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4

ai ay ee ea oa ow ur ir

Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8

e ea ow ou oo ue igh ii

Book 9 Book 10 Book 11 Book 12

oo oul or aw oy oi ar a

Book 13 Book 14

air are ear eer

24 BOOKS

Catch up Readers

Magic Belt Series

Ÿ When Zak’s grandfather falls ill Zak must go on a quest to find 10 magical gems to help cure him.

Ÿ This action-packed quest story takes the pupils from CVC and CVCC word level text through to adjacent consonants, consonant digraphs and suffixes, allowing practice and consolidation at each level.

Ÿ It combines clear phonic structure with exciting, engaging quest-like stories and illustrations.

Ÿ 12 synthetic phonics reading books with 12 pages each

Ÿ Interest ages 8-14 years

THEM01US $79.99

Alba Series

Ÿ Aimed at girls and boys, this series has a feisty, resourceful female heroine. Alba steps in to save the day when someone threatens to jeopardise her fathers important scientific work.

Ÿ Starting at CVC level the books progress at a faster pace through adjacent consonants, consonant digraphs and alternative vowel spellings.

Ÿ This series shares the same phonic progression as the Totem Series and can be used in parallel.

Ÿ 12 books with 12 pages

ALBA01US $79.00

Catch up Readers

Totem Series

Ÿ An exciting, fresh start for older, reluctant readers, that builds up their reading skills from CVC level.

Ÿ This highly-stuctured, cumulative series covers the essential phonic foundations that a “catch-up” reader will need.

Ÿ Designed to appeal to older, reluctant readers with exciting and motivating stories and illustrations.

Ÿ 12 synthetic phonics reading books

Ÿ Interest ages 8-14

Ÿ Covers phases 2, 3, 4 and 5 of letters and sounds.

Ÿ Precedes and builds up to the Talisman series.

Readers (TOT01US)...... $79.00 Workbook (TOT02US)... $45.00

That Dog! Series

That Dog Series is a set of 12 beautifully-illustrated decodable books for older, catch-up readers who are able to read CVC words. This series combines an engaging, classic story of a boy and a stray dog that follows him home with step-by-step phonic progression. A fantastic resource for older students that will secure the phonic foundations struggling readers need.

This series is complemented by a comprehensive workbook that offers a wide variety of activities to practice and consolidate reading, comprehension and spelling skills. This series shares the same phonic progression as the Magic Belt Series and can be used in parallel.

Readers (THAT01US)........... $79.00

Workbook (THAT02US)........ $49.00

Totem Series

Talisman Series

Ÿ Zak’s adventures begin when his Grandpa gives him a talisman with special powers. From this day on, Zak’s life is never the same again.

Ÿ Starting with the sound ‘ae’, each of the 10 books in the first series introduces one phoneme and its alternative spellings. Shares the same phonic progression as the Rescue Series and can be used in parallel.

Set 1: DANT1US $69.00 z

Set 2: DANT03US $69.00 z

Titan’s Gauntlet Series

Ÿ A gripping quest story. Finn has been chosen to stop the evil Winged One from destroying the world.

Ÿ With imaginative stories and fantastic illustrations these books will stimulate and engage the older, struggling reader

Ÿ They introduce further alternative vowel and consonant spellings and common Latin suffixes, with increasingly challenging texts for children who are coming to grips with the complex spellings of English.

Ÿ 10 books with 16 pages each

TITG01US $69.00

10

BOOKS

16 Pages each

10 BOOKS

16 Pages each

10 BOOKS

12 Pages each

Series 1 10 books, 12 pages Series 2 10 books, 12 pages

Book 1 ay ai a a-e ea ey u-e ue ew u

Book 2 ee ea y e ie e-e ei u o ou o a ou oa

Book 3 ow oa oe o-e o s ss c ce se sc st

Book 4 er ir ur or ear l ll le il al ol el

Book 5 ow ou & oi oy j g ge dge dj

Book 6 oo ue u-e ew ou u f ff gh ph

Book 7 igh ie i-e iiy -ture

Book 8 or ore a aw awe au ar al ough -tion -ssion -tian -sion -cian

Book 9 air are ear ere eir -cial -tial -tious -cious -ious

Book 10 ar a al au ear -sion

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 Book 9 Book 10 u ue u-e u o ou s ss se c ce l ll le al j g ge f ff ph -ture -tion -cial -tial -sion

Catch up Readers

Island Adventure Series

Ÿ Jack and his little sister, Snub, are visiting Gran and Grandpa on a remote Scottish island where they live. An accident brings them closer together, but a subsequent calamity is the beginning of an exciting quest.

Ÿ Starting with the sound ‘ae’, each of the 10 books introduces a phoneme and its alternative spellings.

Ÿ 10 books with 16 pages each ILSA01US $69.00

10 BOOKS

16 Pages each

Amber Guardians

Ÿ A chance discovery of an ancient necklace in an old bazaar soon leads Finn and his friends on an incredible quest.

Ÿ Bridges the gap between structured and mainstream reading. With a higher ratio of text to illustration, this series allows the reader to make the important step towards understanding meaning purely from text.

Ÿ Each of the 26-page stories is carefully written to motivate older readers and build reading stamina.

Ÿ 10 books with 26 pages each AMBG01US..........$96.00

10 BOOKS

26 Pages each

Readers (THAT01US)........... $79.00

Workbook (THAT02US)........ $49.00

Series Who is it aimed at?

Moon Dogs, Set 1

Moon Dogs Extras

Very early stages of reading. Consolidation of letter/sound correspondences.

Very early stages of reading. Consolidation of letter/sound correspondences.

What does it cover?

Sounds of alphabet at CVC level.

Sounds of alphabet at CVC level.

Moon Dogs, Set 2 Early stages of reading. CVC level and adjacent consonants and consonant digraphs.

Moon Dogs, Set 3 Pupils learning first vowel spellings. Two spellings for a vowel sound.

Magic Belt That Dog

Totem Series Alba Series

Talisman 1 Series Island Adventure

Titans Guantlet

Talisman Series 2

Amber Guardians

Pupils who read simple CVC words. Adjacent consonants, consonant digraphs and suffixes –ed anding.

Pupils able to read text at CVC level who now need support consolidating consonant digraphs and some

A recap of adjacent consonants and consonant digraphs. Introduction to alternative spellings for vowel sounds eg. ai, ay,

Pupils with poor knowledge of vowel spellings.

For pupils needing to learn more complex vowel and consonant spellings and suffixes.

For pupils who need to revise spellings introduced in Titan’s Gauntlets.

For pupils who need to revise spellings introduced in Titan’s Gauntlets.

Recap of alternative vowel spellings covered in Totem and Alba with additional vowel spellings for new vowel sounds.

Alternatives for new vowel and consonant sounds and common Latin suffixes. More text per page.

More alternatives for new vowel and consonant sounds and common Latin suffixes.

Higher ratio of text to illustration, bridges the gap between structured reading series and mainstream reading.

The Activity Books

Each reader set has an attractive activity book with age-appropriate design, created to reinforce the phonic sequence of the reading books

Catch-Up

• Designed to appeal to older pupils who may have already experienced reading failure.

• Age-appropriate illustrations and story lines that engage and encourage the pupil to read on

• Reading practice page which prepares the pupil for reading the text

• Vocabulary page to develop receptive and expressive language

• Multi-syllabic words split on each page

• Reader-friendly layout

Beginner Readers

Dandelion Launchers 1-7

Dandelion Launchers 8-15

Dandelion Launchers 15-20

Dandelion VCE Spellings

Dandelion Vowel Spellings 1

Dandelion Vowel Spellings 2

Dandelion Vowel Spellings 3

Dragon Eggs

DANL02US $45.00

DANL21 US $45.00

DANL24US $35.00

DANV02US $30.00

DANV04US $49.00

DANV06US $49.00

DANV08US $49.00

DRAG02US $50.00

Reading Steps Keyring

Simple steps to reading success:

Ÿ Using the color-coded chart supplied, identify which card to use with the pupil. Each card is matched to one of six text steps – graded by difficulty

Ÿ When listening to a pupil read use double sided mechanical and comprehension skills cards on the keyring as prompts to develop success.

Ÿ Use the photocopiable skills grid supplied in the pack to track pupil progress.

Ÿ Watch confidence grow and outcomes improve as your targeted support develops skills appropriate to individual abilities.

READ18 $21.99

Simply clicks to a lanyard

One side shows Comprehension Skills

Visit

Reading Skills Assessment

Progress tracking grid supplied

One side shows Mechanical Skills

Box Dictations

• Structured phonic dictation exercises, transforming phonic dictation into a fun, accessible challenge.

• Children enjoy writing in boxes.

• The boxes give the child valuable clues as to the shape of the word and the number of letters in each word.

• Each book consists of a series of carefully structured dictation sentences for reinforcing specific phonemes and spelling rules, and a corresponding set of “boxes” pages for the children to write in.

• Best used with a colored overlay or a pouch pocket and a dry-wipe marker so children can experiment with grapheme choices before settling on a spelling.

• Each photocopiable book is approx. 90 pp, and comes with full explanatory introduction.

• Recommended for 1:1, small groups and whole class work.

BOX15 Books 1-3 in one download $12.99

Texts converted to letter shapes. Children love writing in boxes

Use with a colored overlay for a tinted dry-wipe worksheet

How to Write like a Writer

• Bob Hext’s bestselling course that gives reluctant writers the skills to write creatively in accurate, correctly structured sentences.

• Using the techniques of narrative, description, and dialogue, this book starts from first principles and finishes with questions of style and advanced punctuation (colons and semi-colons).

• The course introduces punctuation and parts of speech in an interesting and structured format that encourages students at every stage to review their work, think imaginatively, and produce writing to feel proud of

• Whether it is worked through progressively, or dipped into to teach specific skills, this book will provide reluctant writers - and willing ones - with a refreshing alternative that gives them the keys to producing work that has the hallmarks of being written “by a writer”.

• For older elementary and secondary students.

• Approx 130 pp.

HOWT02.... $7.99

Getting it Right for Dyslexic Learnersthe Complete Teacher’s Toolkit by Beccie Hawes

A comprehensive framework for a graduated response to ensure early identification and intervention. Packed with professional expertise, the Complete Toolkit will leave no learner’s needs unmet. It includes:

ü Issue - initiative - impact models

ü Separate toolkits for all three waves

ü Personalised survival kits

ü Identifying barriers to learning

ü Tips for pre-teaching

ü Tracking and monitoring tools

ü The identification process

ü Phonological awareness check

ü SMART targets

ü Teaching phonics

ü Metacognition skills

ü The “pupil passport”

ü The learning environment

ü Using scaffolds

ü Transferring back to the classroom

ü Recommended resources

...and lots, lots more!

GETT02 $9.95

Populated by friendly alien faces!

Phonics for Young Astronauts

Phonics for Young Astronauts is an exciting and engaging reading program, aimed at preparing struggling young readers for the Phonics Screening Check (or any struggling young reader) through a variety of structured reading activities, assessments and motivating games, delivered in a consistent format.

The programe provides:

• Outer space-themed content to motivate and then inspire the learner

• 50 structured lessons, teaching essential digraphs and trigraphs in a meaningful way and delivered at the child’s pace of learning.

• Over 200 flashcards with pictures, real words and alien words.

• Research-based reading cards to collect and use for practice, in order to improve reading.

• Separate, in-built programme delivery guidance and monitoring checklists for the adult and child.

• Daily visual record of success for the learner to self-assess and monitor personal progress.

• 10 ‘Fly High’ phonics-related games to promote engagement.

• Launchpad and Touchdown assessment checks to measure success.

• Opportunities for the child to collect alien characters and to complete the motivating space poster

It consists of 2 books, with half of the program in each.

PHON14 Book A $7.99

PHON15 Book B $7.99

Readers (THAT01US)........... $79.00

Workbook (THAT02US)........ $49.00

usasales@crossboweducation.com

A comprehensive reading programe designed to help children fly with phonics.

Detailed toolkits for waves one, two and three. Activities and approaches for “busting barriers to learning” in reading, spelling and writing.

Who are we?

Crossbow Education Corp is the US subsidiary of the award-winning UK Company Crossbow Education Ltd, founded in 1993 by SEN teacher

Bob Hext. Bob used to design resources for his dyslexic students because he couldn’t find what he was looking for on the market at the time, and found that other teachers wanted them too. Since then Crossbow has won three national and one international awards for their products and customer service. It remains a family business, which Bob and his wife Anne still run, employing 16 people. The US Corp was founded in 2008, and is a fully fledged American business, holding its own stock in Vienna VA, employing American personnel and paying US taxes.

What is our relationship with Phonic Books and DK?

The founder and the main authors of Phonic Books used to be SEN teachers and were customers of Crossbow before they started on their own publishing journey (and aren’t we all glad they did?). Crossbow was one of their very first distributors, both in the UK and the USA, and Bob and Anne have known them personally for over twenty years. Last year the company Phonic Books was sold to Dorling Kindersley (now part of Penguin Random House), but the same authors and artists still produce their lovely material. Because of the new relationship between Phonic Books and DK, Crossbow now has access to a wide range of publications which we are now gradually adding to our own selection - starting with the fabulous levelled Super Readers.

How did we get into colored overlay resources?

Bob and Anne designed the Eye Level Reading ruler in 2004, when we had the idea of putting an opaque strip (duo ruler) or a tracking line (plain ruler) across a tinted mini-overlay, and it has since spawned many copies - some quite good, some terrible. We started working with one of the leading researchers in the field, Prof Arnold Wilkins of Essex University, soon after that, to ensure that our work was in line with academic research. Our inexpensive little invention has done a lot to increase public awareness of visual stress and how easy it is to change a life by giving a child the right color to read through, and we are proud to be, directly or indirectly, behind so much reading success.

I hope you’ve enjoyed browsing through our US catalog. Check out our website www.crossboweducation.us for full product details. If you need a W9 or you have any questions, please email us. If you’re an old customer, please note that we have moved from Birmingham AL to Vienna VA : our new address is below. Incidentally we’re planning to be at the IDA Conference in Columbus Ohio on Oct 12-14. If you’re going to be there, do come and find our booth!

Bob Hext, founder Crossbow Education

To order

Just email a copy of your order to the address below, or place your order online: if you are a school or school district and you want us to invoice you, just choose the invoice option. We aim to ship orders within 48 hours.

Crossbow Education Corp

344 Maple Ave W #338, Vienna, VA 22180

usasales@crossboweducation.com

Educational Supplier of the Year (Twice winners, three times finalists.) SEN product of the Year (Once winner, once finalists) For visual stress resources.

Education Awards SEN Supplier of the Year

Global Education Supplies and Services (GESS) Education Awards SEN Supplier of the Year Winner.

MEMBER OF

Supporter of the Organisational Member

Bob Hext, founder, Crossbow Education.