FALL ORDERS OPEN · Pre-K–5th Grade
A real book every week.15–20 minutes a day.The Skilled Readers System.
A week of learning wrapped around every printed book — guided reading, direct skills instruction from phonics to long-word decoding, fluency practice, and a weekly skills check. Mastery you can see, built by the same IRD curriculum team that writes the stories.
National Leaders in Reading Instruction Since 1970
Pre-order today to ensure delivery of your child's books before the start of our Fall Quarter on September 12. Then, start learning online while you wait for your shipment! Just add eBook weeks at checkout.
How the System Works
Every week, one book — worked four ways.
A book alone builds a love of reading. The Skilled Readers System teaches the skills underneath it. Your child reads the week's book with guided support, gets direct instruction in real reading skills, builds fluency, and finishes with a weekly check. The skills are tuned to your child's stage of reading development, aligned with what they're learning at school, and sequenced so each week stacks success on the last — every step built by the same IRD curriculum team, on the science of reading.
The story
The week opens with a guided read of the new book, building real comprehension as your child goes. The printed copy is theirs to keep and enjoy between sessions, with the understanding already built through the guided lesson.
The skills
A focused lesson teaches a real reading skill head-on — phonics through long-word decoding, plus vocabulary and nonfiction from 2nd grade up. Tuned to your child's stage and aligned with what schools teach, so each week builds on the last.
The fluency practice
Mid-week, your child re-reads passages from the same story aloud until the words flow — you'll hear the improvement yourself, more expression and cleaner punctuation week to week.
The weekly check
The week ends with a short skills check, so you see real mastery — and every week is a chance to watch your child grow more confident.
Then your child repeats with the next book — twelve loops in a quarter.
The Books Inside
Built around the Skilled Readers Library.
The Fall Collection: twelve original titles for your reader, one for each week of the quarter, in a carefully built sequence. Pre-K & K are full-color picture books, 1st–2nd are illustrated easy readers written for kids to read themselves, and 3rd–5th are illustrated chapter books. Tap any cover for a closer look.
Every title is an IRD original, written to help kids succeed with the reading skills they need in each grade.
Pre-K & K
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th & 5th
Only $174 per quarter! Every Saturday, get access to online lessons for the next book in the sequence.
A Week Inside
Self-directed, 15–20 minutes a day.
Your child works through the week's book at their own pace, guided by the online lessons — a simple weekly rhythm you can fit into any schedule, about 15–20 minutes a day.
Early in the week
Read, then learn the skill
A guided read of the new book, then a focused lesson on that week's reading skill.
Mid-week
Practice fluency aloud
Passages from the same story, re-read aloud until the words flow.
End of the week
Take the skills check
A short, weekly check on the skill your child just learned. Parents see the result every single week.
About 15–20 minutes a day. Your box of printed books arrives before Saturday, September 12, when the first online lessons of the Fall Quarter open. New lessons for the next book in the sequence drop weekly. Moving through the sequence one book at a time ensures that learning sticks, week after week.
📣 Want a learning jumpstart? You can begin while you wait for the shipment. Just add more weeks of online-only instruction featuring great eBooks at checkout.
The Engineering Under the Fun
A real reading curriculum — that never feels like one.
The skills lessons are the part you don't see on the cover. They teach reading skills directly and in sequence, aligned to the science of reading — and they don't just review. They carry a child forward, one rung at a time.
This is the multi-year arc a skilled reader climbs — the same sequence schools follow. This year, your child works the rungs at their grade, sequenced to align with what they're learning at school right now.
Direct instruction
Every skills lesson names its target and teaches it head-on — "today's skill is ___" — then listen, practice, respond. No guessing, no games standing in for teaching.
Teaching, not review
Your child learns genuinely new reading skills in the lessons — going beyond what a typical classroom covers in a given week, not a lighter echo of it.
Vocabulary & nonfiction
Vocabulary woven through the year, and real nonfiction reading from 2nd grade up — because skilled readers read far more than stories.
And it never feels like school: 15–20 minutes a day, fun activities, and terrific books your child actually wants to read.
Why the Book Comes First
The screen supports the book — never the other way around.
Plenty of apps promise reading practice. The Skilled Readers System is built in the opposite direction: a printed book your child holds and keeps is the center of every week, and the online lessons teach the reading skills that carry your child forward.
- Twelve printed books, theirs to keep. Your box arrives before the Fall Quarter of online instruction begins. You'll get the whole set at once.
- The first week of the Fall Quarter starts on Saturday, September 12. Want to start this week instead? Add eBook weeks at checkout and begin before the printed box arrives.
- About 15–20 minutes a day, self-directed. A rhythm a family can actually keep — and a clear result to show for it every week.
Since 1970
Five decades of teaching children to read.
National leaders in reading instruction since 1970 — the same curriculum team designs the sequence, writes the stories, and builds the lessons.
Built on the science of reading. Each grade's twelve weeks follow a sequenced curriculum spiral — the skill order schools follow, refined across five decades of IRD classes — and every week ends in a skills check, so progress is observed, not assumed.
Get Started
One system, one simple choice.
The Skilled Readers System is the complete at-home path — the printed Library plus the online lessons that teach it. Prefer the books alone? The Library stands on its own.
Both options are billed by the quarter and renew automatically every 12 weeks — cancel any time before your next quarter. If you buy the System, your online lessons for the Fall Quarter will open on Saturday, September 12. Then new lessons unlock each Saturday for the next book. IRD prints in limited batches, so a collection can sell out between runs — enroll while the current one is in stock. Want to start this week? eBook head-start weeks are available at checkout, prorated at your quarterly rate. Ordering for more than one reader? Choose a set for each child at checkout. * eBooks are available in the online portal until subscription is cancelled.
Add a Live Teacher
Want a live teacher? Two ways to add one.
You're already on the self-directed System. Prefer a live IRD teacher? Both live options are built on the same Skilled Readers System — an expert teacher brings each week's book to life, with the System built in.
Real IRD teachers — the ones who bring each week to life
Small Group Live Class
Small Group Reading Programs
Live weekly instruction · includes the System
A live IRD teacher, weekly, in a group of six at most — teaching the critical skills kids need in their grade, with the System built in.
Explore Small Group Programs →One-on-One
1:1 Private Tutoring
Private weekly instruction · includes the System
A private IRD teacher, one student, one plan — the deepest level of instruction, with the System built in.
Explore 1:1 Tutoring →Enroll with confidence
Cancel anytime — no commitment, no fees. Stop any time before your next quarter bills, and the books are your child's to keep. Love it or we'll make it right: anything arrives damaged, defective, or wrong, we replace it free. And because each collection is printed to order for your child, shipped sets are final sale.
"My son had major breakthroughs. His overall confidence has grown so much. He went from avoiding books to asking to read before bed."Rochelle L. · IRD parent
"We searched for a program that could help our daughter, and nothing worked until this. This program is absolutely amazing. I will recommend this to everyone."Matthew R. · IRD parent
"This program has been a lifesaver for my child's confidence. She can read more fluently and has started to comprehend what she's reading so much better."Wendy K. · IRD parent
Questions
Questions, answered.
What is the Skilled Readers System?
The Skilled Readers System is the Institute of Reading Development's complete at-home reading program for Pre-K–5th grade: the Skilled Readers Library (twelve original printed books per quarter, one for each week) plus online lessons that wrap a week of learning around each book — guided reading, direct skills instruction (a systematic phonics-through-decoding ladder, plus vocabulary and nonfiction as readers grow), fluency practice, and a weekly skills check. It is self-directed, takes about 15–20 minutes a day, and is built by the same IRD curriculum team that writes the books. The same System is included inside IRD's live Small Group Reading Programs and 1:1 Private Tutoring.
When do the books arrive?
If you start after 9/12, books typically arrive within two weeks of your order. To learn while you wait, you can add eBook head-start weeks at checkout — prorated at your quarterly rate — and begin those before the box arrives.
What exactly do I get for $174?
All of the Fall Quarter books in our Skilled Readers Library — twelve printed books for your child's grade, one for each week of the quarter — plus corresponding online lessons: guided reading, direct skills instruction (phonics to long-word decoding, with vocabulary and nonfiction as readers grow), fluency practice, and a weekly skills check tied to each book. And, you get eBook editions of every title*. Buying the whole System saves you 10% off.
What do the online lessons actually teach?
Real reading skills, taught directly. Each week's lesson names its target and teaches it head-on — following a systematic ladder that climbs from short vowels and blending through digraphs, vowel teams, and syllables, up to long-word decoding — the same sequence used in school, worked at your child's grade this year. Vocabulary is woven through the year, and nonfiction reading is added from 2nd grade up. It's genuine instruction that carries a child forward, not games standing in for teaching, and it's built on the science of reading.
Is this physical or digital?
It is the best of both worlds! The Library is physical — printed books, shipped to your door. Plus, you get an eBook* version of every title, too, to go with corresponding digital lessons. The fall quarter begins on September 12th, shortly after your box arrives. If you'd like to start learning sooner, you can add eBook head-start weeks at checkout, prorated at your quarterly rate.
How much time does it take each day?
About 15–20 minutes a day, self-directed. The week has a simple rhythm: a guided read-through of the new book early in the week, fluency practice aloud mid-week, and a short, weekly skills check to finish. Your child works at their own pace, on your schedule.
Is this a live class?
No — the Skilled Readers System is self-directed at home. If you want a live IRD teacher, Small Group Reading Programs and 1:1 Private Tutoring both include the same System with live weekly instruction on top. See Small Group Reading Programs or 1:1 Private Tutoring.
How do I know the level is right?
Pick the level that fits your child. Most parents choose their child's current grade, but you know your reader best — you're welcome to size up or down, and each collection is designed for that level. Every collection starts gently and climbs across the twelve weeks, so a reader who begins comfortable will end it stretched — that's by design. The weekly check confirms the fit as you go.
What happens after the quarter?
Your $174 covers a 12-week quarter — twelve books and twelve weeks of online lessons — and the books are your child's to keep. At the end of the quarter, the next set ships automatically and the next quarter begins, billed again. Cancel any time before it renews.
Can I order for more than one child?
Yes. Each reader gets their own set for their own grade and their own online lessons — just add a set per child at checkout.
What is the guarantee and return policy?
Cancel anytime — no commitment, no fees; stop any time before your next quarter bills, and the books are your child's to keep. If anything arrives damaged, defective, or wrong, we replace it free — your set, made right. Because each collection is printed to order for your child, shipped sets are final sale.
Who is the Institute of Reading Development?
The Institute of Reading Development has been a national leader in reading instruction since 1970 and has taught live online classes since 2013. IRD's curriculum team — the same educators who teach its programs — writes and illustrates the books, builds the online lessons, and writes the weekly checks, and the press has covered IRD's work in TIME, Reuters, CBS News, USA Today, and the Associated Press.
Can I start any time?
Yes — you can get a jumpstart on learning with additional eBook weeks right now, while you wait for the Fall Quarter of online instruction to open, and for your books to arrive. Add eBook head-start weeks at checkout, prorated at your quarterly rate. You can also start after 9/12 with 12 books and lessons that begin with your start week — if materials remain available.
Can my child race ahead through all twelve weeks?
No, by design. A new week's lessons unlock each Saturday, one at a time — the steady pace is what makes the skills stick. Your child has all twelve printed books in hand, but the guided lessons and weekly checks release week by week.
* eBooks are available in the online portal until subscription is cancelled.
A quarter from now: twelve books read, twelve skills checks — and you saw every one.
Get the System — $174 →Now open. We print in limited batches — start while the current collection is in stock.