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Shalom Chronicle www.shalomranch.org |
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How Children Learn Best |
April 2003 |
Intensive Phonics
the Answer to
Getting Back to GOLD
In
order to establish a solid foundation we must go back and examine the history
behind the current movements in literacy. Our society no longer bases their
decisions on solid fact. As home educators, I believe we must get back to a
solid GOLD
foundation.
In the early
1930's teacher's colleges all over
Noble according
to Strong's Concordance means: 2903 kratistos {krat'-is-tos}
superlative of a derivative of 2904;; adj AV - most excellent 2, most noble
2; 4 1) mightiest, strongest,
noblest, most illustrious, best, most excellent 1a) used in addressing men of
prominent rank or office. Notice
also that Proverbs 31:10 in the NIV uses Noble in describing the type of woman
that no man can find. Only Yahweh God can find a noble woman for a man. Noah
Webster's 1828 dictionary defines noble as: "Ingenuous; candid; of
excellent disposition; ready to receive truth". If we aim to be noble or
virtuous women we need to be like the Bereans - have
a teachable spirit and check things out with something we know is solid:
Scripture and fact based research.
How do you
translate this to education? I suggest that we need to be eager to receive different
teaching methods, but we need to establish some way of checking out what is
said with a solid source. In today's age that can be difficult, but not
impossible.
The main idea
behind this prose is the ability to get back to basics. Our education needs to be based on solid
GOLD.
What do we have
that is solid? Let's look at GOLD. If we use GOLD as an acronym we can see an answer. First, our source must
have a Good name. Then there must
be an Overwhelming amount of
studies done to support the theory. It must be possible to replicate these
studies. Next, we must be Led by the Spirit. And last,
the theory must have Documented proof backing its claims.
Any theory that
we examine must first and foremost line up with Scripture. When I am
researching a theory the first thing I do is pray that the Lord will
"direct my path" Proverbs 3:5-6 and the He would show me great and
mighty things that I do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). As I examine the details I consider the
source. Was this person a devote Christian, a humanist or someone who was just
moral? I also try to find as many sources as possible to back up the
information. I look for sources that are backed up with studies, not mere
opinion.
I believe that it
is starting to become clear that you need to be well researched and that you
need to find people who are well educated in the particular field in which you
are researching. By well educated I mean either formally or self educated.
There have been many great men and women who had no formal training. The point
is to get educate using whatever means you have available.
We can find the
best answers for our child's education. We do need to do our homework first. I
believe that the parent is the best one to decide for their child, when they do
their research. Base you decisions on solid GOLD.
The Dyslexic Mind
What is a
dyslexic? How does a dyslexic think? What is the principle difference from the
way "normal" people think? How does a dyslexic’s mind learn
best? How do all children learn in general? These are vital questions if we are
going to understand what the root of learning is and how best to teach our
children.
First, if we
examine the exact definition of dyslexia, we find something very interesting.
Dyslexia means, "trouble with words". In
that sense, there are many children who would fall within that category. The
dictionary definition is 'a development disorder which can cause learning
difficulty in one or more of the areas of reading, writing and numeracy' (Collins English Dictionary). Dr. G. Reid Lyons reviewed almost 150
papers and discovered that the unanimous root cause of dyslexia is, “an
inability to distinguish and process the sounds that make up
speech”. Fletcher & Lyon
(1998, 52-53) discovered that 40% of school aged children were not reading at grade
level. A percentage can be
attributed to being dyslexic, but a higher percentage is caused by improper
teaching methods. The National
Institutes of Child Health and Human Behavior and the International Dyslexic
Association have current research and articles defining dyslexia and
identifying which types of instruction work best. What we will examine is the solution to
the difficulty that these people experience with learning to read.
Dr. Samuel Torrey Orton did extensive research on how the brain best
learns language. His research is presented in "
"There
remains a group of very considerable size in every school who have shown no evidence of any delay, or abnormality in
either their physical, mental or emotional development until they have reached
school and are confronted with reading, and then they suddenly meet a task
which they cannot accomplish." Dr. Orton writes.
He discovered
that certain children need explicit, multisensory
structured language instruction.
Some methods based on his principles are Orton-Gillingham
Method, Slingerland programs and The Writing Road to
Orton’s
research established that the dyslexic's mind has nothing physiologically wrong
with it. We still need to understand how this mind really works. We turn to
Ronald D. Davis. This man was autistic as a child. I believe he explains the
dyslexic’s thinking process in a very interesting way. In simple terms,
the dyslexic thinks in pictures so that any word that cannot be represented
with a picture can be very confusing. This confusion can cause blurring,
reversing of letters, words or even upside down words. There is a list of
trigger words that can cause many children major difficulty. They are listed at
the end of this newsletter.
What this
person's mind does is examine things from every perspective. This is an amazing
gift and not a disability. I believe that this gift is to be cherished not
gotten rid of. Ronald Davis has devised a method in order for a person not to
examine words in different views. Here is where I must part with Mr. Davis. I
did not want to examine this method in great lengths because I am a dyslexic
and would like to preserve my ability to examine situations from all
viewpoints. Mr. Davis states that
his method enables the dyslexic to switch on and off his ability to examine words
from every viewpoint. I would
invite anyone who is not dyslexic to further examine his methods and present
their findings. His book is entitled, "The Gift of Dyslexia" and can
be found at Amazon among other stores.
The dyslexic
child was in the habit of figuring things out by examining things from
different points of view. Words can only be examined from one view. This child
needs to have the words have meaning for them. This is where Dr. Orton's work
comes in. The indentification
of the basic phonograms or sounds of our language and the technique of
physically writing these letters down as the child learns, gives the child the
mental picture he is so desperately looking for. The physical and visual act of
writing the letters, and saying of the sounds enables the dyslexic child to
give the sounds meaning before they are made into words and can possibly cause
confusion.
There are others
schools of thought that believe that dyslexia is a result of various
dysfunctions within a person’s system. They include: visual processing dysfunction, auditory
processing dysfunction, eye/hand coordination difficulties and/or cross
dominance issues. Further
information can be found on the main page (www.shalomranch.org)
under Literacy Information by the Experts.
Although there are therapies to be done with each of these difficulties,
one must still ask the question, “Which teaching method will work
best?”. Again, our
answer is an explicit, multi-sensory structured method. Being a dyslexic who thinks in pictures,
has visual processing dysfunction, auditory processing dysfunction, hand/eye
coordination difficulties and cross dominance issues, I must say that The
Spalding Method has been a type of therapy for me due to its multi-sensory and
logical progression. Although, I
have gone through other therapy, learning how to read difficult passages and
spelling well was only attained when I started to discover intensive
phonics. I am indebted to the work
that Dr. Orton and Romalda Spalding did and make no
apology for it.
The theories that I have presented, in my opinion, explain the dyslexic's mind in the simplest and most straightforward manner. The reader is invited to do his own research and dare to be a Berean.
Why Intensive Phonics over other Phonics Methods?
There are so many
different phonics programs out there, why would we choose an intensive phonics
program over that of a regular phonics program and what is the difference? Can
children learn how to read using a basic phonics program? These questions will
be answered using Dr. Farnham-Diggory’s work as
referenced from The Writing Road to
One error in modern phonics is that letter-phoneme correspondence should not be taught in isolation because they do not occur in isolation. This relationship has been taught in conjunction with words, so that the student may have an example. For instance, we teach "b" as in boy. Phonemes can change slightly within words and this can cause confusion if the student is not taught the pure sounds. For example, when we teach our children their colors we first teach them a pure blue, red and yellow. We then show them variations of these colors that can still be classified within the name of the color. This is exactly what happens with basic phonemes. We teach the pure sound in isolation and then, our brains are able to make the short leaps to the variations within words.
Another erroneous assumption is that children cannot learn the phonemes in isolation. The problem in not the inability, but that they have never been taught. Studies support that children can identify learned isolated phonemes: Groff, 1977; Hohn & Ehri, 1983; Smith & Tager-Flusberg, 1982; Treiman, 1985; Treiman & Baron, 1983). An example would be learning how to swim. If a child is put into the water and does not know how to swim immediately, can we say that all children are unable to learn how to swim? What is the key? They need to be taught. Like reading, swimming is a learned behavior.
The phonograms
represent the phonemes, not blends. Blends miss the point in that letters are
intended to represent the minimal units of sound. Blends are not natural to our
language and it has been my experience that children have more difficulty with
blends than with phonograms. The orthographic units of English are mastered by
learning phonogram sounds, visual representations (letter(s)), and how these
are written. Dr. Farnham-Diggory states, “If you specify larger units,
you lose the very flexibility and parsimony that the alphabet system
optimizer” (foreword in
Multi-sensory instruction reduces the need for rote memorization. Our brains learn best using the multi-sensory unit study method. Unit study approach to literacy is attained by teaching each task explicitly, logically, individually, yet sequentially. This is realized by using one of the methods based on Dr. Orton's research.
A good example of an Orton-based method is the Spalding Method. A child learns that the following symbol, "a" says three different sounds, at the same time as he learns how to write the letter. In other words, he does not learn the name of the letter, but learns the sound and the formation. He uses his auditory ability to hear the sound, uses his visual ability to see the letter, uses his vocal ability to speak the sound and uses his kinesthetic ability to write the letter. This multi-sensory way of learning pulls everything together and gives the child a mental picture for the symbol. Therefore, when the child sees the letter again, his mind searches and finds the letter with the sound. The child then has a mental picture associated with the letter and subsequently the word. They then do not need to examine the word from different viewpoints. If you tell the child what the letter is called then, that is what he will remember, not the sounds. Confusion can be caused in certain children. One of the major problems is that we do not know which children will have trouble with what parts of speech.
The amazing point about the Orton or Orton derived methods, is that it works with all students. Dr. Orton's work was known to educators in the 1930's. Progressive education that was taught in most teachers’ colleges promoted whole language and eclectic methods, therefore this is what the teachers teach. When I attended teacher's college we were never exposed to theories like that of Dr. Orton's.
An excerpt from
The Writing Road to
"Most elementary education faculty, the ones who teach teachers how to teach reading, have consultation contracts or other connections with the publishers of basal programs (graded readers). It has therefore proved almost impossible to train teachers in The Spalding Method before they leave college. It is after they begin teaching, discover that their pupils aren't learning to read, and discover also that they are accountable for their pupils' failure that teachers begin searching for a system that works. A growing number of Spalding courses are therefore appearing on summer school and in-service rosters."
Unfortunately,
the reasons behind curriculum choice is sales, not what
is best for children. When you add the knowledge of what the progressive
education proposed no one should be surprised that 40% (Fletcher & Lyon,
1998, 52-53) of children are not successful in learning how to read. The
Council for Basic Education has called whole language or the eclectic approach
a "hodge-podge of postponement and readiness, questionable interpretations
of Gestalt psychology, word guessing and unorganized phonics. The method is
broken down into the whole-word method with some phonics sporadically added
over time."(Introduction by Romalda
Spalding in
Most basic phonics program are a combination of these faulty teaching methods and some are basically whole language with a little phonics thrown in. Parents must make up their minds based on the research that is available. There are many roads to higher thinking and intensive phonics is definitely one of the best. Basic phonics and whole language are not, but that does not mean that children will not be successful. They are successful because of the way the children are designed, not because of the program they use to learn how to read. Any program that produces some success and some failure must be re-examined. Intensive phonics works for all.
Current Research On How We Learn to Read
There is current
research being done on how the mind's of good readers and poor readers process words. Researchers are trying to prove that
poor readers use the wrong part of their brains and therefore, need to be
taught to use the proper part like their good reading classmates. The Seattle
Times carried a story on
They believe that children's brains can be rewired. This might be true from a practical viewpoint, but why would someone want to rewire a brain that is simply different, not wrong?
Very interesting that researchers have found that "poor" readers
utilize the Broca's area of the brain. This area is
where words are sliced into smaller units of sound or phonemes. Yet good
readers (as they label them) recruit the angular gyrus
of the brain. What this article does not tell us is that the angular gyrus area of the brain has, as one of its functions, the
storing of the rules of translation from spoken to written word. People who are
strong in this area are naturally gifted in picking up cues from language and assessing
quickly. So basically what we are being told is that poor readers need
intensive phonics and good readers can get away with whole language. This is
partly true. Good readers, according to the way their brain works, depend
heavily on rules and patterns. This gets them as far as basic decoding, then
they run into trouble when they attempt to spell harder words. With
perseverance, any person can determine to memorize long lists of words. Putting
a child through endless lists of words, as opposed to teaching him the tools he
needs to analytically figure out the spelling, does him a great disservice.
Memorizing long lists of words simply trains a child to accept what is there,
and does not lead them to higher thinking.
Even good readers need intensive phonics. If our brains possess both the Broca's area and the angular gyrus and one type of reader depends highly on one area and the other reader depends highly on the other area, would it not stand to reason that both are used and needed to achieve the best reading, spelling, comprehension, grammar and composition abilities possible?!
According to Dr. Sylvia Farnham-Diggory's research this assumption is correct. The first order sub-skills of literacy are the working set of letter-phoneme (phonogram) units. To link this to the previous research, we see that first order skills are what occur in the Broca's area (poor readers). While the second order sub-skills are what occur in the angular gyrus (good readers). Both areas of the brain need to be activated in order for both processes to be accomplished. Why do we need both orders of thinking? To get to the third order - that order which involves learning and thinking processes. If we truly want our children to think for themselves we need to develop their minds and train them in the way they should go.
Poor readers need intensive phonics just to get to the basic decoding. Many good readers are not good spellers. The ability to read is different than the ability to spell. Having a rich vocabulary does a child no good if they cannot transfer that knowledge onto paper. Although good readers can sail by poor readers in the early grades, do they necessarily possess the ability to advance to higher thinking without training their minds to think in a logical fashion?! In addition to Dr. Farnham-Diggory we will also examine Dr. Chall's work for an answer to these questions.
Jeanne Chall's Stages of Reading Development is another
interesting theory to explore. Professor Chall was a
I would like to point out a couple of things. First, letter-sound recognition and advanced decoding must precede comprehension. Next, if advanced decoding is never attained then creating new knowledge is not possible. Since learning to read and spell are processes that need formal training, then utilizing a program that takes the child through Dr. Chall's ordered steps is our goal. Also, if comprehension is stressed as in whole language then confusion can be a result for certain children. Again, we see that higher order thinking is prevented from being attained due to an incorrect path.
If we examine the final stage of synthesizing and creating new knowledge and make this our ultimate goal of a language arts program, then we see that we need a program that teaches logical progression and not memorization. Whole language is a poor example for this goal. Basic phonics does not go far enough in teaching the child spelling and logical assimilation. Basic phonics is just that, basic in that it simply teaches the phonetic sounds of letters and not the most useful phonograms. This method fails for the poor reader in that it does not break down the sounds far enough. Basic phonics also fails the good reader in not teaching enough of the logical spelling rules and the integration of these rules in a logical sequence. Yes, some basic phonics programs do teach some spelling rules, but none that I have examined do so in a logical or exhaustive manner like an intensive phonics program. Nor do they introduce the rules on an as needed basis, therefore, they cause more memorization than learning of a skill. Most programs teach the rule and then the words that go with it, not the other way around. The children are slaves to the rules, not using the rules as tools in learning how to read. This is a very important point, in that again it points to the acquisition of higher learning and subsequently higher thinking.
One intensive-phonics based program, The Spalding Method, teaches a child language arts including principles described by Dr. Diggory's and Dr. Chall's theories. The method includes all the aspects of words as the child is learning and when the child needs to have that knowledge. For example, the child learns feature recognition, letter recognition, orthogragraphic letter-sound correspondence, and spatial placement in a progressive, as needed logical manner. Separating these sub-routines and teaching each separately can also cause confusion and the potential for dyslexia. Spalding teaches an integrated language arts, which does all a great service.
Review of Findings
After all the research and studies that I have reviewed I would strongly recommend that parents pick an intensive phonics program. To review, here are the basic reasons why:
In summary, the dyslexic's and/or poor reader's mind does work differently than that of others. That does not conclude that it is the wrong way to work. Teaching one of these gifted children using a logical intensive phonics program works most every time.
While teaching Intensive Phonics to a good reader will enable that student
to progress to superior spelling and thinking. I invite people to question and
introduce new theories and research pertaining to this subject matter.
Review of Intensive Phonics Programs
The following reviews are done on intensive phonics programs and are by no means exhaustive, but are chosen as particular interest to the home educator.
Writing Road to
Pros:
The
This program has had the widest recognition for intensive phonics
programs. The book is very comprehensive. The program commences by teaching the
student a set of letter-phoneme units that are called phonograms. These are
learnt without naming the letter, but writing and saying all the phonograms
that correspond to that particular letter. For instance, the letter "a"
has three different sounds. The teacher would show the child the letter, say
the three sounds, get the child to repeat the sounds, and then teach the child
how to write the letter. The child repeats the letter while they are writing
it. There are 70 phonograms listed.
The child learns the 29 second-order spelling rules as they need them,
while they are taught the Extended Ayres List of words. The big change between
the fourth and fifth edition, that I really like, is the way in which they
present the Ayres list. The Ayres list is a compilation of the most common
words that we use in our language. Each word has the spelling rule (if any)
beside it and an explanation. The book contains sample dialogues and more of
the Spalding philosophy that can be found on the website.
Two other amiable
features are the scope and sequence at the end of the book and the updated book
list further broken down into grade level. The scope and sequence tells you
what is learnt per grade by providing grade level objectives. Beginning on page
205 there is a chapter on Children's literature recommendations. This list is
updated as to publisher and recommends sound literary books not readers.
"The new edition of the
Concerning the
purposes for the Morrison-McCall Spelling Scale, Dr. North writes:
“Mrs.
Spalding used it for three distinct purposes. The first purpose is to identify
the initial instructional level of individual students. Second, evaluating the
monthly progress and last to gather information to refine instruction. Since
the publisher of that scale used it only for testing purposes, Spalding
Education International (SEI) has published a Spalding Spelling Assessment
Manual which includes explicit procedures for carrying out each
purpose along with the eight tests in larger print. This is one of the new
materials aligned to the fifth edition of The Writing Road to
Mrs. Spalding used the McCall-Harby Test Lessons in
Primary Reading and McCall-Crabbs Standard Test
Lessons in
Books B through E. These guides provide explicit procedures for teaching
students to identify the elements of narrative, informative, and
informative-narrative writing and to teach the five comprehension mental
actions. Sample dialogues are included. All lessons have been analyzed for type
of writing, topic, topic sentence (if any), implied or stated main idea, and
author's point of view. These booklets are used to teach children the elements
of literature and the mental actions on short passages so they can apply those
skills when reading quality literature. After children have been taught these
specific skills, then the remaining lessons are used to test their
comprehension. These books are aligned to the fifth edition and are excellent
practice for standardized tests."
Many
are familiar with the phonogram cards that go with the program and were
included with the previous edition. They have been updated and can be obtained
from Spalding. The phonograms cards in the book are not really cards. There are
7-10 phonograms per page arranged in three columns. For instance, all
phonograms are listed in the left most column with two columns beside it. The
middle column includes how you say the different sounds. The column on the right
has more explanation and the rule(s) that go with each phonogram. The big
difference is that all the information is on one side of the page. The pages
are not cardstock, but regular book paper.
Preparation
to teach this method will take longer than the average home educator has done
in the past. Dr. Mary North
states, “Spalding Education International does not agree that any supplements to the fifth revised edition are
needed. Our experience with home schoolers who have
called us over the last 18 years has shown that the authors of the supplements
do not understand the Spalding philosophy or the research supporting it,
therefore, they make what appear to be quick fixes but actually cause
confusion.”
Spalding
provides support to parents by phone, email and a parent training course. See their website for details. You can also find an email support group
on Yahoo.com.
Retail price:
$21USD www.spalding.org
Spalding
Starter Kit K-Gr.2 $96.00USD includes the following: WRTR, Phonogram and Word Builder Cards,
notebook, Spelling Assessment Manual, McCall-Harby
and McCall-Crabbs Book A and Users Guides, writing
paper, phonogram sounds CD, blue tote bag.
WRTR $15.37USD www.amazon.com
WRTR $23.77CAD www.amazon.ca
Johnny Can Spell &
Johnny Can Read.
By
Nine Enterprises
Pros:
This program
follows most of the theories laid out in this newsletter. Altough, Mrs.
Nine has based her program on the fourth edition of
"Johnny
Can Spell & Johnny Can Write provides daily
practice of phonetics through independent and isolated practice of phonograms
and through word analysis. Students are presented the entire phonetic code of
English during the first twelve weeks of the school year (at a slower pace in
kindergarten): 26 letters, 70 common phonograms, 44 sounds. The information is
presented in frequency order so students are always learning the most common
elements first. Students learn to associate letters of the alphabet either
singly or in multi-letter combinations with the 44 speech sounds. Practices
provide opportunity to focus on the articulation and discrimination of these
sounds. They learn how to use the phonograms to write the words they say and
hear or to read the words they see in print. The design of the direct
instruction is both explicit and systematic. Instructional strategies
incorporate multi-sensory practice, involve daily repetition, and provide for
learning styles. Initial presentation and practice of the phonograms is
strongly linked with penmanship instruction. "
One of the things
that I really like about this program is that it has all the components that
you need to teach your daily lesson, with references to things that you will
use less frequently. For instance, there
are different games and activities for each lesson which are referenced and
located in the back of the lesson plans book. After a person understands the theory
behind the work, the preparation time in minimal.
Cons:
This program is
slightly more expensive then the other intensive phonics programs that have
been reviewed in this newsletter.
The program does not follow the same theories that The Spalding Method
does. Johnny Can Spell uses word
families quite early in the program.
She also introduces the phonograms at a much slower rate.
Retail: Johnny Can Spell Homeschool Basic Kit $122.00USD www.nine-enterprises.com
Student Home Kit $28.00USD for
parents who want to give their public schooled children extra help.
Phonics
for
Pros:
This program is
very comprehensive. Mrs. Dettmer studied under Romalda Spalding. The program is quite close in theory to
The Spalding Method, but misses some of the theory behind the process. Mrs. Dettmer has added some very useful reference charts and has
included the Morrison-McCall Spelling tests. In addition Mrs. Dettmer does recommend using the McCall-Harby
and McCall-Crabbs Standard Test Lessons. Please refer
to the description provided in the
Here is an
excerpt from the Small Ventures website:
“There are also Reference
Charts for reinforcing concepts such as the spelling rules. For example, after
the first twenty-six phonograms are learned, the consonants and vowels are
discussed. Then the Reference Chart of consonants and vowels is introduced as a
flip-chart for younger children or dictated into a note book for older
students.
Gradually, other material is
added, such as writing sentences, adding prefixes and suffixes, and forming
contractions.
Cons:
It does not
contain as much grammar, and virtually no composition and literary teaching,
whereas; the
Retail price: Phonics for
$109CAD at
www.aplusbooks.safeshopper.com/index.htm
Pros:
This supplement
to
There is a second
book that Mr. Patterson has published entitled Grammar Works. It is a complete
grammar program K-8. It integrates itself with Reading Works and the
Cons:
Some might find
the theory and explanation too much information, although this does not
distract from the program itself.
This program is based on the 4th edition of
Retail: $49.95USD
www.grammarworks.com
Teaching Reading at Home by
Wanda Sanseri
Pros:
The author of
this book studied under Romalda Spalding and is an
experienced high school teacher and home educator. This book is a supplementary
book for
Cons:
The text endorses
teaching cursive to kindergarten children; this will be fine for some, but
could possibly be a stumbling block for others. As we can never tell which
children will have difficulty, it is safer to teach manuscript writing
first. It is a supplement to
the 4th edition of
Retail: www.bywayofthefamily.com 19.95USD
Teaching Reading at Home complete set: Teaching Reading at Home Text, The
W.I.S.E. Guide to Spelling, the 70 Basic Phonogram Cards,Spelling
Rule Cards and the 70 Basic Phonogram Cassette Tape. $79.95USD
Spell to Write and Read by Wanda Sanseri.. Mrs. Sanseri has gone
out on her own; she no longer follows the theories
that were laid out in The Spalding Method.
This method can still be classified as intensive phonics and follows the
principles introduced by Dr. Jeanne Chall.
WRTR, 5th edition has changed two phonograms (for the better)
and SWR has retained the original 70.
Some spelling rules are different, while other rules are the same as
WRTR, but numbered differently.
Switching between these two programs would be almost impossible. SWR suggests that you complete a
notebook, like the one that your child would complete, which I find an
excellent idea. I like the
WISE Guide. It contains the words
that children begin to learn to read, and much more. Each word has the marking system, the
corresponding spelling rule (if any), notes on the spelling rules, spelling
enrichment, preliminary information and contextual sentences.
See http://home.mindspring.com/~teachingkids
for information about the program.
The Month by Month Spelling Guide
by Katherine von Duyke
Pros:
This book is also
a supplement to
Cons:
It does not
contain much direction besides the spelling lists guide. For children who
proceed more quickly or more slowly that what Mrs. Von Duyke
has laid out, the book may prove to not be of great
value.
Retail: $10USD www.konosetc.com
$17.95CAD www.morethanbooks.ca
The Noah Plan from Foundations for American Christian Education
Pros:
Excerpt from
their webpage states: "F.A.C.E. is authoring a series of new publications
to make The Noah Plan® even more "do-able." Grade-level handbooks
are being written to provide the teacher with weekly lesson guides in every
subject at each particular grade level. The master teachers who use the Noah
Plan® every day in the classroom are writing this major project. Based upon
the Noah Plan® Curriculum
Guides in English language, reading, history/geography, art,
literature, and mathematics, the handbooks give the teacher and the student
specific weekly plans that include preparation, content, student work, and
accomplishments." This program uses
Cons:
The
complete curriculum is a new step for FACE; they only have the grade one
project finished. They do have each subject curriculum available.
Retail: $75USD Noah Plan lessons: First Grade
www.face.net look under Noah Plan K-12
Riggs Institute
Pros:
An excerpt from
their website:
The Riggs Institute
is a self-supporting not-for-profit literacy agency. We support our literacy
initiatives through the sale of our curriculum materials, teacher training,
small-group instruction, and one-on-one tutorial services. We operate under a
seven-member volunteer board of directors.
Instructional
Method
Our method of instruction is based on Romalda and
Walter Spalding's The Writing Road to Reading (WRTR), which, in turn, is based
on the research of Dr. Samuel T. Orton, a neuropathologist/brain
surgeon who researched the functioning of the human brain in learning language
between 1923 and 1948. Spalding's WRTR represented Dr. Orton's final
conclusions.
The Riggs
Institute has slightly revised the Orton phonograms to bring them into somewhat
closer compliance with modern dictionaries, and has added grammar, syntax,
vocabulary development, and organizational composition skills to make a
complete language arts skills program in one chronologically arranged manual.
I have not personally seen this curriculum, but wanted to include it in the
review.
There are
also many resources on the Riggs Institute website. One of particular interest
to the discussion given of dyslexia in called You Can Prevent or Correct Learning Disorders
by Dr. Hilde Mosse. Anyone
who has a child with a serious learning disability might want to invest in this
book. They also carry Dr. Samuel Orton's research in the book entitled,
Cons:
Home Educators
might find this program a little expensive and complicated. This program seems to be very close to
Retail: Writing and
Training Manual: $13.95USD
Orton-Gillingham
Method
This method is
based on the work that Ann Gillingham did under the
guidance of Dr. Samuel Orton. This method closely resembles The Writing Road to
Pros:
EPS has a
parent/teacher basic course you may take online for $100USD.
Cons:
This method does
not follow all the theories discussed in this volume and may not be viewed as home
educator friendly. The company has not made any provisions for home educators.
Please
see www.geocities.com/loveteachingx2/EPCompChart.html for a comparison chart of The Spalding
Method and the spin offs.
Trigger Words
a about again ago all almost also always an and another
any anyhow anyway are
as at away back be am is was were being been because become became
becoming becomes before between but by can could can't cannot come came
comes coming do did does doing done don't doesn't down each either else even ever
every everything for from front full get gets getting got go goes going gone went
have had has having he he's her hers here him his how I if in into
isn't it its it's just last leave leaving left least less let let's lets letting
like liked likes liking make made makes making many may maybe me mine more most
much my neither never no none nor now of off on one onto or other
others otherwise our ours out over put puts putting run ran running runs same
see saw seen sees she she's shall should so some soon stand standing stands
stood such sure take takes taking took than that that's the their theirs them then
there there's these they they're this those through to too unless until up upon us
very we we're what when where where's whether which while who who's whose
why will with within without won't would yet you your you're yours
All articles written by Marie Filion Sherwood, home educator since 1996, Bsc, BA, MEd (student).
Please direct inquiries to marie@shalomranch.org.