A Book for Teachers & Parents
Alphabet
Soup
for the Soul
101 Stories of Inspiration — Giving the Spark of Learning Back to the Children
A Letter to Every Teacher Who Still Believes
"Seventeen years ago Scholastic asked me to write a book. I spent a summer pouring my heart into it — and they said no. But the children never said no. So here we are."
What you hold is not a curriculum guide. It is not a pacing calendar. It is not a fidelity manual. It is alphabet soup — warm, nourishing, full of unexpected letters that somehow spell out something meaningful when you stir them together. It is the science of reading married to the soul of a child, held together by the broth of 26 years in classrooms where the stakes were always real.
I was identified dyslexic at age nine. Letters swam on the page. For six years, well-meaning programs tried to "cure" me rather than know me. That shame — the feeling of worthlessness — shaped every decision I ever made as a teacher. I refused to let a child feel invisible inside a reading program. I refused to call it "fidelity" when what I really meant was "forgetting the child in front of me."
When we came back from COVID, close to 70% of my students — high-poverty, high-risk kids — passed the end-of-year state test. The next highest class scored 30%. Some classes were below 20%. The difference was not the curriculum. The difference was the child's heart, soul, and mind.
— Sean David Taylor, M.Ed.The Reading Sage blog has been running for sixteen years. Nearly 3,000 posts. Every one of them free — free fluency drills, free reading passages, free games, free ideas — because I believe teachers deserve what publishers charge thousands for. This book is the distillation of all of that: the stories that kept teachers going at 10 p.m. on a Sunday, the strategies that cracked open a reluctant reader, the moments that made you remember why you started.
Education is living through dark times. The word fidelity has been weaponized. Publishers and politicians have convinced too many leaders that the teacher is the variable to be controlled, not the child. I was pushed into early retirement for asking: what about fidelity to the child? What about fidelity to the parent? What about fidelity to the heart, soul, and mind?
This book is my answer. It is also a practical guide for Arizona parents navigating the new ESA landscape — $7,000–$8,000 per year, over 100,000 students strong — who want to know where to start, how to support a struggling reader, and how to find that rare magical combination: science and soul.
in Comparison Classes
Reading Sage Blog
Reading
Whether you are a veteran teacher needing to remember why you chose this profession, a new teacher drowning in mandated programs, or a parent who just found out Arizona will give you $7,000 to take your child's education into your own hands — this bowl of alphabet soup is for you. Pull up a chair. It's piping hot.
Alphabet Soup for the Soul
A full book for teachers and parents who believe the science of reading and the soul of the child are not opposites — they are ingredients in the same bowl.
The $7,000 Revolution: Understanding Arizona's ESA
Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account is now the largest universal school choice program in the nation. For parents who want to give their child the gift of the science of reading — and the soul of learning — this funding is a genuine opportunity.
What the ESA Is — In Plain Language
Arizona's ESA program deposits public education funds directly into a family-controlled account, managed through the ClassWallet platform. As of the 2025–26 school year, the program serves nearly 100,000 students with projected annual spending exceeding $1 billion. Every K–12 student in Arizona is eligible — regardless of income, zip code, or current school enrollment.
Annual Funding
$7–8KAverage per student, grades 1–12. Kindergarten ~$4,000. Students with documented disabilities may qualify for significantly more.
Students Enrolled
100K+As of the 2025–26 school year — the largest universal ESA program in the United States.
Application Time
30 daysMaximum processing time after a complete application is submitted to the Arizona Department of Education.
Fund Distribution
QuarterlyFunds deposited in equal installments four times per year into your ClassWallet account.
What ESA Funds Can Pay For
Arizona ESA funds are broadly applicable — ideal for building a reading-rich, Reading Boot Camp-style environment at home or in a private/micro-school setting. Approved expenses include:
ESA participation means you are no longer classified as a "homeschooler" under Arizona law — you become a "scholarship student." This means different requirements and real oversight. Go in knowing this. Go in anyway, because the funding is transformative.
— Synthesized from Arizona ESA 2025–26 Parent Handbook & independent researchThe 2025–26 Changes Parents Must Know
The 2025–26 handbook introduced new curriculum documentation requirements. All purchases now route through ADE for approval using a three-point framework. Quarterly expense reports are mandatory — due 45 days after each quarter ends, even if you spent nothing. Late reports can freeze your account. Keep every receipt. Photograph paper receipts immediately. Maintain a simple spending spreadsheet from day one.
For Children Who May Need Special Education
Students with a documented IEP, Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team report, or 504 plan are eligible for additional ESA funding beyond the standard award — amounts vary based on the specific disability category. This additional funding can cover educational therapies, paraprofessionals, evaluations, assistive technology, and specialized reading instruction. If you believe your child may have dyslexia, dysgraphia, or a processing disorder, request a formal evaluation from your local school district — even if your child is enrolled in ESA — as this can unlock significantly more funding.
16 Years of Free Resources — A Starting Guide
The Reading Sage blog (reading-sage.blogspot.com) has nearly 3,000 posts accumulated over 16 years. Everything is free. Below is a curated starting point organized by need — for teachers and parents who want to begin using Reading Boot Camp principles immediately.
π΅ For Building Fluency with Music
- Reading Boot Camp Daily Schedule — the original 2010 post with the full RBC structure, including morning songs, fluency drills, and brain breaks
- Singing songs with displayed lyrics: Edelweiss, Across the Universe, folk songs — all free on YouTube with lyrics
- Readers Theater scripts: dramatized reading that builds fluency through performance (search "Readers Theater" on Reading Sage)
- Fluency drill passages organized by grade level — timed reading with student self-charting
π Vocabulary & Word Work
- The Kung-Fu Vocabulary List: tiered academic words for grades 3–8
- Fry Sight Word Phrases: the 700 most common phrases in English reading
- Tier 1, 2, 3 vocabulary sorting games — printable and free
- Academic Word Game: "Legendary Lands" — student-created, teacher-facilitated
- Kid-friendly sentence frames for vocabulary in context
π§ Comprehension & Critical Thinking
- Socratic Seminar facilitation guides for grades 3–12
- Close reading annotation protocols — free PDF downloads
- Dialectical journal templates for any text
- Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) materials
- Story map templates: character, setting, problem, solution, theme
- Compare & contrast Venn diagrams for paired texts
π For Arizona ESA Families
- ADE ESA Portal: esaportal.azed.gov — create your account here first
- ClassWallet platform: where you manage and spend funds
- Arizona ESA 2025–26 Parent Handbook: azed.gov/esa
- Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Organization: arizonaempowermentscholarship.org
- EdChoice Arizona ESA program overview: edchoice.org
- Navigate School Choice Arizona guide: myschoolchoice.com
π For Struggling Readers & Dyslexia
- Orton-Gillingham overview and practitioner finder: orton-gillingham.com
- Reading Boot Camp overview — the Two Sigma Problem approach
- Free decodable text passages organized by phonics pattern
- IEP advocacy resources: understood.org (free, comprehensive)
- National Center on Improving Literacy: improvingliteracy.org
- The International Dyslexia Association: dyslexiaida.org
The Finnish model of teachers freely sharing great ideas — that is what Reading Sage has always been. If it helps a child read, it belongs to everyone. No paywall. No subscription. No vendor contract. Just good teaching, given freely, because that is what teachers deserve.
— Sean David Taylor, M.Ed., Reading SageA Word on "Free" in a World That Wants to Charge for Everything
In 16 years of writing, the question I have been asked most often is: "Why do you give all of this away?" Because I remember being the child who was told I would never read. Because I remember the teachers who stayed late without being paid extra. Because the best ideas in education have always spread teacher to teacher, not publisher to district. The Reading Sage blog exists because good teaching should not cost $80,000 a year in software subscriptions.
If this book — and the blog behind it — saves one school district from buying one more ineffective program, and puts those resources directly into the hands of teachers and children, then the summer spent writing it all those years ago was not wasted. It was just early.
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