Proven Steps to Literacy Success
Each level is designed to build on previous lessons, helping students achieve a strong grasp of the basics before tackling more complex ideas.
How Barton Works
Ten Level System
Where to Start?
Timeline & Expectations
Designed for a Quick Start
The Barton System makes it easy to begin tutoring right away.
New tutors don’t need to learn the entire program up front.
The system is divided into ten clear levels, allowing you to learn and teach one level at a time.
Simply focus on the level you’re teaching—watch the Tutor Training videos on a Sunday afternoon, and you’re ready to start working with your student by Monday.
Ten Level System
The Barton Reading & Spelling System is one of seven well-known Orton-Gillingham-based systems. They are all effective, but the Barton System is much stronger on teaching spelling.
In addition, we also teach grammar, basic capitalization and punctuation, morphology (how to determine the meaning of a word by knowing the meaning of the pieces — to grow their vocabulary), prosody (how to read aloud with good phrasing), and improve fluency (reading speed).
Our sequence is not a typical reading sequence. Instead, skills are taught in a logical spelling sequence. We actually teach students how to read by teaching them how to spell (by sounding out, not by trying to memorize lists of words).
Buy each level separately as your student progresses.
What’s a Level?
Our level numbers do NOT equate to grade level. They simply indicate the sequence in which the material must be taught.
Most students, no matter how old they are, must start with Level 1.
Students who have completed all ten levels will be reading, spelling, and doing basic writing at the mid-ninth grade level.
Lessons by Level
Level 1: Phonemic Awareness
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: CV and VC nonsense words
Lesson 2: CVC nonsense words
Lesson 3: VCC nonsense words
Lesson 4: CCV nonsense words
Lesson 5: Rhyming & Real Words
Level 2: Consonants & Short Vowels
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: A, B, F, M, P, S, T
Lesson 2: I, C, G, H, L, N, R
Lesson 3: O, D, J, K, V, Z
Lesson 4: U, W, X, Y, QU
Lesson 5: E, SH, TH, CH, WH, CK
Level 3: Closed Syllables
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: Blends at the End
Lesson 2: Blends at the Beginning
Lesson 3: Blends at Both Ends
Lesson 4: Digraph & 3-Letter Blends
Lesson 5: Spelling Floss
Lesson 6: Spelling Kiss the Cat Rule
Lesson 7: Spelling Milk Truck Rule
Lesson 8: Spelling ING INK Units
Lesson 9: Spelling Catch Lunch Rule
Lesson 10: Spelling Contractions
Lesson 11: Spelling Kind Old Units
Level 4: Syllable Division & Vowel Teams
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: Open Syllables
Lesson 2: Syllable Division Rule #1
Lesson 3: Syllable Division Rule #2
Lesson 4: Spelling /k/ in the middle
Lesson 5: Spelling Double Letters
Lesson 6: Spelling Schwa
Lesson 7: Syllable Division Rule #3
Lesson 8: Syllable Division Rule #4
Lesson 9: Three-Syllable Words
Lesson 10: Spelling The Banana Rule
Lesson 11: Spelling The Confident Rule
Lesson 12: Spelling Long A, E, I at End (Vowel Teams)
Lesson 13: Spelling Long O, U at End (Vowel Teams)
Lesson 14: Spelling Vowel Teams in Middle 3 (Vowel Teams)
Level 5: Prefixes & Suffixes
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: Plurals S versus ES
Lesson 2: Consonant Suffixes
Lesson 3: ED and ING, The Doubling Rule
Lesson 4: Other Sounds of ED
Lesson 5: Vowel Suffixes
Lesson 6: Spelling The Change Rule
Lesson 7: Spelling TION versus SION
Lesson 8: Prefixes: dis, in, un, non
Lesson 9: Prefixes: mis, sub, re, pre
Lesson 10: Prefixes: inter, mid, over, up
Level 6: Six Reasons for Silent-E
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: Silent-E’s in One-Syllable words
Lesson 2: Syllable Division with Silent-E
Lesson 3: C’s and G’s with Silent-E’s
Lesson 4: Spelling V at the End
Lesson 5: Spelling The Huge Bridge Rule
Lesson 6: Spelling The Dropping Rule
Lesson 7: Spelling Tricky Suffixes
Lesson 8: Spelling PH and Medial Y
Lesson 9: Unit TURE
Lesson 10: Spelling TION and SION
Lesson 11: Silent-E Units
Lesson 12: Consonant-LE Syllables
Lesson 13: Spelling The Sprinkle Vehicle Rule
Lesson 14: Spelling ABLE versus IBLE
Level 7: Vowel-R Syllables
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: AR and OR
Lesson 2: ER, IR, and UR
Lesson 3: Vowel-R with Silent-E
Lesson 4: Prefixes & Suffixes with Vowel-R
Lesson 5: Spelling Commodore Sailor Rule
Lesson 6: Bossy W
Lesson 7: Spelling Edward the Lizard Rule
Lesson 8: The Three Sounds of EAR
Lesson 9: AR and ER can say /AIR/
Lesson 10: Word Endings ARY, ERY, and ORY
Lesson 11: Vowel-R Plus R
Level 8: Advanced Vowel Teams
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: Spelling: India Indian Musician
Lesson 2: Spelling: Obvious Spacious Religious
Lesson 3: Spelling: Radio Union Million Region
Lesson 4: Spelling: Industrial Special Dial
Lesson 5: IE: Piece of Pie
Lesson 6: OI, OY, EY: Oil Boy, Turkey
Lesson 7: AU, AW: Audience Saw
Lesson 8: OO: Good Food
Lesson 9: OU, OW: Mouse Group, Slow Down
Lesson 10: EA: Clean Breath is Great
Lesson 11: IGH, AUGH, EIGH, EI
Lesson 12: EU, TU: Feud, Sleuth, Actual
Lesson 13: Split Vowels
Level 9: Influence of Foreign Languages
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: Greek Words
Lesson 2: Silent Letter Pairs
Lesson 3: Words That End in I and INE
Lesson 4: French Words: QUE and CH
Lesson 5: French Words: AGE and 2 Suffixes
Lesson 6: French Words: Silent and Accented E
Lesson 7: French Words: Silent S and T plus EAU
Lesson 8: French Words: OUR
Lesson 9: Spelling: G, GU, and GUE
Level 10: Greek Words & Latin Roots
Lesson Plan:
Lesson 1: Latin: Chameleon Prefix: IN
Lesson 2: Latin: Chameleon Prefix: CON
Lesson 3: Latin: Chameleon Prefixes: OB and SUB
Lesson 4: Latin: Chameleon Prefix: AB
Lesson 5: Latin: Chameleon Prefixes: EX and DIS
Lesson 6: Greek Combining Forms
Lesson 7: Greek Forms in Science
Lesson 8: Greek Forms in Math
Lesson 9: Greek Forms in Medicine
Lesson 10: Greek Forms in Social Studies
How Barton Works
✔ Tutor Training on DVD or Online
Tutor training contains five to six hours of in-depth instruction. Susan Barton will demonstrate every lesson.
She’ll demonstrate mistakes students may make – and how to correct them.
You can watch our tutor training videos online while waiting for a level to be delivered.
✔ Tutor Manual with Complete Lesson Plans
The tutor manual contains everything you need to teach the lessons.
There is enough material in our lesson plans to teach a lesson twice – without using the same words, sentences, or stories.
Each page in our tutor manual contains a wide column and a narrow column. The wide column contains full scripting (for those who want that level of support) while the narrow column contains just summary information To view a page from our tutor manual, click here.
Each lesson contains many steps, starting with the easiest and working up to the hardest. To view an outline of the steps in a Barton lesson plan, click here.
✔ Color-coded Tiles
These color-coded letters tiles are manufactured specifically for the Barton Reading & Spelling System.
If you have an iPad or an Android tablet, you can use our Barton Tiles app instead of the wooden tiles. Learn more about our Barton Tiles app.
NOTE: Tiles are cumulative starting with Level 2.
✔ Tutor Support
We offer tutor support to everyone using the genuine Barton System.
✔ Purchase Levels Separately
Levels can be purchased separately as your student progresses.
Timeline & Expectations
Recommended Minimum: Level 8
While completing all 10 levels is ideal, we recommend taking students through at least Level 8 to ensure they have the essential skills for academic success. Levels 9 and 10 provide advanced vocabulary knowledge particularly valuable for college-bound students.
Final Reading Level
Upon completing all 10 levels, students achieve a mid-ninth grade reading level. This provides them with the literacy skills necessary for high school coursework and prepares them for further academic challenges.
Please Note
The Barton Reading & Spelling System cannot be used simultaneously with other reading improvement programs.
Get Started
The Barton Reading & Spelling System provides a proven path to literacy success.
Available Lessons
Students Helped
Years Experience
Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, Inc.
Publisher of the Barton Reading & Spelling System.
For more information about dyslexia, visit BrightSolutions.us →