1. DELETE THIS SLIDE BEFORE PRESENTING.
This is a sample parent/teacher presentation on the Fast ForWord products.
Some slides require minimal customization for your audience. Scroll through the slides and use the ones you want; delete the rest!
DELETE THIS SLIDE BEFORE PRESENTING.

2. Accelerating Students’ Learning Through Brain Fitness
Name, School
Using Fast ForWord and
Reading Assistant Expanded Edition
Fit Brains Learn Better

3. Students Prepared to Learn
Brain Fitness
Coherent Curriculum
Students Prepared to Learn
Good Teaching
Strategies
As you all know, in order for effective learning to take place, schools need highly qualified teachers (click), proven curriculum (click), and students who are ready to learn (click).  We have great teachers and a strong curriculum but the part we cannot control is ensuring that students come to us prepared to engage and benefit from classroom instruction.  The good news is that we can help students learn more effectively by building Brain Fitness (click).
Scientific Learning applies advances in neuroscience and cognitive research to accelerate learning by building student brain capacity.  The Fast ForWord programs are based on more than 30 years of foundational research on how the brain learns. This unique software can help our students reach their potential in learning by building the foundational cognitive skills needed for learning. 3

4. Fast ForWord Helps Create Fit Brains
SLc’s research confirmed the concept of lifelong brain plasticity – that the brain can reinvent and reconfigure itself throughout life.
Just as exercise promotes fitness, exercising our brain improves brain fitness in the areas of memory, attention, processing and sequencing.
Brain fitness develops a brain to better capture, process and retain proven instruction efficiently and effectively.
Scientific Learning’s work began with foundational work in brain plasticity, which is the concept that a brain can change permanently with repeated, motivating practice.
Through the Fast ForWord product’s individualized, adaptive computer exercises, researchers have seen that actual physical changes occur in childrens’ brains. Fast ForWord has been shown to strengthen the ability to process information quickly and accurately; pay attention despite distractions; recall information that has been learned; and retain knowledge. All of this makes it easier for a student to learn and retain the curriculum you’re teaching every day!

5. How the Brain Learns
To improve these skills, the products focus on the cognitive skills needed for learning.
Memory is about holding information and ideas short- and long-term, it is essential for word recognition, comprehension of complex sentences, and remembering instructions.
Attention is the ability to focus on tasks and ignore distractions.
Processing is the ability to see images and distinguish sounds quickly enough to discern their differences, it is a prerequisite for reading to learn; and
Sequencing is the ability to determine the order of letters within words, words within sentences, sentences within paragraphs and paragraphs within longer chunks of text.

6. Learning Foundations
To develop these skills, they use frequent, adaptive computer exercises that have been designed by scientists to increase the brain chemicals of learning – learners stay highly motivated and can maintain their attention to successfully complete more difficult reading and learning tasks.

7. Fit Brains and Scientific Learning
1-2 years’ gain in as little as 8-12 weeks
Targeted individualized intervention
Accelerated academic performance with proven results
Precise monitoring of performance to create unique learning paths for each student
There is an extensive database of research on the effectiveness of the products proving that children show significant gains in reading ability in a short time. The Scientific Learning website has over 250 examples of school studies and student success stories and there are several longitudinal studies showing that the benefits continue as students continue through school.

8. What Can Teachers Expect?
Increased memory, attention, processing and sequencing skills
Improved reading abilities
Improved listening skills and ability to follow directions
Increased engagement in classroom discussions
A new excitement towards learning
Increased self-esteem
Better academic performance
What can we expect to see in the classroom as students use Fast ForWord products?
First, we should see some improved focus, attention and ability to follow directions.
We might see that students who were struggling to read are now decoding more easily and reading more fluently.
Children on Fast ForWord often discover a love for reading and learning that they previously did not have; we may see that happening.
Often, students have improved self-esteem and overall improved academics.

9. How Does Fast ForWord Do This?
Frequency & Intensity
Adaptivity
Simultaneous Development
Timely Motivation
Neuroscience research tells us these are the elements of a successful
program to create new neural networks and build learning capacity.
So how do the Fast ForWord products build these cognitive skills? All of the exercises include four very important principals of building key connections in the brain:
• Frequency and intensity–the exercises include a rigorous schedule to maximize learning
• Adaptivity–adapts to each click of the mouse
• Simultaneous development–students are building and strengthening multiple skills in each exercise; and
• Timely motivation–immediate feedback and reward of points help reinforce skills and encourage students to continue working
Neuroscience research tells us these are important elements of a successful program designed to build fit brains.

10. Scientific Learning Products
Reading Assistant
Fast ForWord Reading Series
Fast ForWord Language Series
Fast ForWord Literacy Series
[NOTE TO PRESENTER: PRESENT ONLY THE PRODUCTS THAT APPLY TO YOU]
Scientific Learning programs include two main groups – Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant. We’ll begin by looking at Fast ForWord Language v2.

11. Fast ForWord Language v2
Develops the following foundational learning skills:
Listening Accuracy
Auditory Sequencing
Auditory Word Recognition
Listening Comprehension
Students starting on this product are working on the skills that are critical for them to be able to able to process language and then learn to read. The focus is on building a strong oral language and phonemic awareness foundation as students develop their cognitive skills.

12. Fast ForWord Language to Reading v2
Focuses on helping participants make the link between spoken words and reading:
Advanced Listening Accuracy
Advanced Auditory Sequencing
Word Analysis
Listening Comprehension
English Language Conventions
Following Directions
Following Fast ForWord Language v2 is Language to Reading v2. These exercises continue working on the cognitive skills and oral language but now include the written words so students hear and see the words together.

13. Fast ForWord LITERACY
LITERACY - moves middle and high school students toward grade level reading skills, with a focus on listening accuracy, phonological awareness, and language structures.
LITERACY Advanced - strengthens processing efficiency so students can establish a foundation for learning.
For older students, there are two products that do exactly the same thing as the previous two but the graphics are more appealing to those in middle and high school.

14. Fast ForWord READING
Our READING Series products increase processing efficiency and build critical reading skills:
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Decoding
• Vocabulary
Syntax
Grammar
Spelling
For all grade levels, there are six Fast ForWord Reading products that span from beginning to advanced reading levels. These exercises still build those important cognitive skills but do it in a reading context.

15. Demonstration
[NOTE TO PRESENTER: Use Exercise Demos feature to show some exercise examples to staff, as necessary}

16. Schedule [Present sample schedule and directions here].
[NOTE TO PRESENTER: share relevant scheduling information here]

17. What Can Parents Do To Help?
Ensure your child attends school as much as possible during product training
Ask your child about their work on the products
Review reports from the coach or teacher
Celebrate successes!
Now that you’ve seen what your students have the opportunity to do with the programs, let’s look at how you can help. The most important thing is to make sure that your students are at school every day unless they are sick. They cannot make progress if they are not using the programs!
You also want to check on your child’s progress either through reports from the teacher or by asking questions when they come home from school each day. And be sure to celebrate their accomplishments – their brains are working hard to accelerate their learning!

18. What Can Teachers Do To help?
Ensure your students attend their sessions!
Stay involved
Recognize achievements: praise, praise, praise
Share changes with the Fast ForWord Coordinator
Now that you’ve seen what our students have the opportunity to do with the programs, let’s look at how each of us can help. The most important thing is to make sure that your students are attending the training sessions regularly. They cannot make progress if they are not using the programs!
You also want to check on your student’s progress either through reports or by asking questions when they come back to the classroom each day.
As you always do, be sure to celebrate their accomplishments – their brains are working hard to accelerate their learning!
Lastly, share changes or improvements with (me). We will be tracking student pre- and post-testing to make sure our students get as much out of the products as possible.

19. For More Information Visit Scientific Learning’s Web site
Thank You!
We accelerate learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns.
At Scientific Learning, our focus is to increase student achievement as quickly as possible.
Over 200 research studies on all types of learners
Nearly 3,000,000 products used to date
Protected by over 55 patents
Used in over 40 countries around the world
Now you know what Scientific Learning and the products are about - They use proven research on how the brain learns to accelerate learning. I am excited that our students have the opportunity to engage in fun exercises that will ultimately help them to read and learn….Remember, fit brains learn better!
Fit Brains Learn Better
For More Information Visit Scientific Learning’s Web site