LanguageThe BestieBeginner
Reading Without Sounding Out course icon

Reading Without Sounding Out

Like Duolingo, but for Reading Without Sounding Out. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.

24 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free during early access · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Sammy the Sight-Snail
Reading Without Sounding Out
with Sammy the Sight-Snail
24
Levels
3
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in Reading Without Sounding Out

  • Nouns represent people, places, or things
  • 'The' and 'a' act as pointers for nouns
  • Pointer words like 'the' come before the thing they describe
  • Descriptive words usually sit between the pointer and the noun
  • 'The' and 'a' are used to introduce nouns
  • Recognizing 'the' and 'a' as signals that a noun is about to appear
  • Since most sentences involve nouns, these pointer words appear constantly
  • Identifying the standard sequence of a pointer word followed by an object
  • The word 'I' is used when you are the one doing the action
  • 'Me' is for the person receiving the action
  • The word 'I' usually appears at the start of the sentence
  • 'I' is for the person acting
  • Distinguishing between being the 'doer' and the 'receiver' in a sentence
  • The word 'I' refers to the person speaking or writing
  • The word 'Me' refers to the person speaking or writing
  • Identifying the specific sight words used to represent oneself in text
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives Reading Without Sounding Out the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

Pointers to People and Things

When you see the word 'the' in a sentence, what is it usually doing?

Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.

Course map

Where Reading Without Sounding Out takes you

Learn to recognize the most common words instantly so you can stop struggling with phonics and start enjoying real stories. Master the 'tricky' words that don't follow the rules.

  1. 1

    Read Your First Sentences

    • Spotting 'The' and 'A' Everywhere
    • Using 'I' and 'Me' to Talk About Yourself
    • Connecting Words with 'And'
    • Finding Action Words Like 'Go' and 'See'
    • Reading Your First Three-Word Sentence
  2. 2

    Spot the Words That Break the Rules

    • Why 'Was' and 'Said' Look Funny
    • Mastering 'You' and 'Are'
    • The Secret Sounds of 'Of' and 'From'
    • Words That Point Like 'This' and 'That'
  3. 3

    Build Speed and Confidence

    • Reading Groups of Words at Once
    • Finding Sight Words in Your Favorite Books
    • How Your Brain Remembers Word Shapes

3 sections · 12 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Bestie

Reading Without Sounding Out is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

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Start free

Start Reading Without Sounding Out today.

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