Great tips re books -- Phinney was important to me but I didn't know she called herself that, pretty cool. :-) Did not know that other book; will seek. :-) Yes I agree as to not overdoing the blending and stuff but when I see kids that just pick any letter in the word and guess (especially at grade two), often not even in context, I think basics of this type are important -- I think they need to know there *is* a system and it's not a mystery. But the experiential side of it and all those other suggestions people gave are a huge part of the program. I think it's Pat Cunningham who says work with *systematic* phonics and don't overdo the time allowed. Example, 'making words' I think it's called in Phonics They Use -- the kids love this (I have a simpler version, don't have the kids use envelopes with pre-made letters), but really, you get the most value out of it in the first fifteen or twenty minutes. Then move on. At two and a half hours for Language Arts (our old-style time allotment), that gives you a lot of time for other approaches.
Linda On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 1:57 PM, Sally Thomas <[email protected]>wrote: > My expertise is in reading/literacy and many years of teaching experience > albeit with "at risk" students often, e.g. basic (below) English classes > high school where up to half my students were RSP (learning disabilities) > and had the inclusion cluster of 7 - 8 children in my 5/6 multiage > classroom. And my last years teaching in a 2/3 class of Native American > children behind in reading. I have only the fuzziest belief in special ed > as a separate category of disabilities but that's another story. Lots of > cross study in special ed with the more progressive line of thinkers there. > > sooo have had many children meeting literacy challenges thru the years. > Two books that were of enormous practical help to me were Reading with the > Troubled Reader by Margaret Phinney and Readers and Writers with a > Difference by Curt Dudley-Marling. Both authors expertise in special > education but both clearly believe in learning as constructivist. Margaret > calls her self a whole language special ed teacher (that was back in the > day! I still claim whole language -- to heck with those who disavowed it.) > anyway, just a thought. > > I have read quite a bit about blending being very hard for some kids and > not at all the approach to use always. > Better to use onset/rhyme. Much more natural to teach by word families > and analogy. bat cat sat/light fright etc. > And I also believe strongly in language experience with kids writing their > own stories with your scaffolding and reading their own writing!!! and > lots and lots of joyful experience reading meaningful texts (at appropriate > levels - just right) but worth reading and rereading. Songs come to mind > too. > > Just some thoughts. > Sally > > > > On Nov 24, 2012, at 12:33 PM, Linda Rightmire wrote: > > > In a volunteer (one-to-one) setting, I was working with three students in > > grade two and three, individually, a half hour each. The one little boy > was > > in clearly a different boat than the others -- they were "behind" (a > > little), while he was clearly *at sea*, completely worried about reading, > > it appeared, and much guessing. Didn't like to read, etc. > > > > I observed both a *lack of directionality* (left to right, that is) and > an > > unawareness/inability with *blending* (or even the notion of that). > > > > These are the suggestions I wrote up to share with the others that worked > > with this little boy (in gr. 2). > > > > Linda Rightmire > > SD #73 Kamloops, BC > > > > > > ================ > > > > Early Reading Confusions > > > > Marie Clay, who developed Reading Recovery (a much researched one-to-one > > early grades reading intervention), liked to call them 'tiny tots with > > tangled knots'. This is what I saw with Austin. > > > > Two major problems -- directionality and blending -- he appears to have > > neither (this as of a few weeks back, the only time I saw him). > > > > DIRECTIONALITY -- children must have an absolutely grounded sense it all > > starts on the left. Austin randomly grabs some letter in the word and > > "guesses". > > > > Simple example, common for people to point to the ending of a word -- > "you > > need a 's' sound here" or some such. Clay teaches, *always* start with > your > > (adult) finger on the left of the word to re-inforce this left-to-right > > directionality (sliding it over while you say the sounds to get to that > > ending). (We also teach chunking -- this was referred to in the workshop > > and would be applicable with longer words.) > > > > Directionality can be reinforced in this gimmick for teaching how to > > remember b and d -- huge issue that lasts for some kids into even grade > > three and four. I found this method to be far better than the classic > > "bed", a visual device many teachers use -- better probably because of > the > > motor and kinesthetic (muscle) involvement in the practice (multi-sensory > > in several ways -- voice, hands, head). > > > > • get the child (you model) to make with EACH hand the shape we sometimes > > make to signal "A-okay" -- the thumb and forefinger touching tips to > make a > > circle, but you must keep the remaining fingers quite rigid and straight > up > > -- stress this because it (a) looks more like a b and d but also (b) > > because of the muscular *effort*, the impact on memory is bigger. > > > > • then you remind the child, "all reading is left to right, right?" and > you > > note how their alphabet on the classroom wall starts with a on the left. > > There is, with your hands, an *imaginary* a on the left of the left hand > > that makes a b, and an *imaginary* c in between the hands (prior to the > d). > > > > • you model and insist the child do all these actions -- head nods down > > toward the 'a' (imaginary) while you say "A", then nods down (touching, > or > > not) to the 'b' and say "B", then nod to the middle and the imaginary 'c' > > and say "C", then nod to the right hand, the 'd' (touching or not) and > say > > "D". Do it slow and even a little exaggerated. (Praise, etc.) > > > > I have insisted kids practice this, frequently would ask them to show > me. I > > observed even kids as late as grade three and four in their reading *and* > > their writing, doing this with their hands down in their laps while they > > tried to remember which was which. Yes be a tyrant about it -- but a fun > > tyrant. :-) > > > > BLENDING > > > > I note that Austin seemed to be completely at sea about this. We teach > > children to start at the left and to HUM the sounds together (but you may > > need to spend time learning what "humming" is! -- many kids don't know > the > > word, assume nothing). Children often haven't been explicitly taught this > > step, from the separated sounds to (slowly) HUMMING them together. > > > > First, though, we work on "saying it fast" and "saying it slow". This is > > done through long nonsense words that we rhyme, first. > > > > "My turn: hamburger, ramburger, famburger... " etc. "Okay *you* pick a > long > > word, what shall we try?" (Maybe the child's name, or something else > > familiar -- "Celista" -- whatever.) "Celista, Melista, Welista" etc. The > > child may need a little or a lot of practices to get the hang of this. > > (Then, "My turn: Christmas, wismas, sismas, fismas" or whatever. Etc.) > It's > > commonplace that the kids needing the extra help are not at all > *flexible* > > with their phonemic awareness (and manipulation) -- (the Anna Banna Bo > > Banna song is a classic and perfect 'game' re this). > > > > Then you are going to work with "saying it slow" -- make it a game, "I'm > > going to try to trick you" -- "ham...... bur...... ger". Of course the > > child knows you are saying 'hamburger'. Pick a few long words to do. > > > > Then you will work on single short words (this is all auditory so you > don't > > need to restrict yourself to CVC words -- consonant-vowel-consonant). You > > pick a word like "made" -- first completely separate the sounds > mmmm..... > > ay.... d.... and then demonstrate how you will BLEND (use that word) > > them together -- but still quite slowly. (I often get kids, my hand on > > their dominant hand, to slide left to right, across the table or even > their > > knee, to add to the kinesthetic factor.) After you use a few simple > words, > > switch it up by using the child's name, school name, child's mom's name, > > etc. Get the child to pick some words to try to trick you by saying them > > slow -- if he can't think of a word you can say, "pick a word from your > > spelling" or "pick a word from the title" etc. > > > > > > WORD FAMILIES > > > > Just to note, through all the phonics "wars" etc. -- word families are > one > > of the few constants that research has supported (forever). You can make > it > > fun by saying, "Okay we need some exercise" and then you are going to > > *jump* to "mad.... sad.... bad.... glad.... had... " The kids will > all > > have worked with word families but some may have trouble bringing > examples > > to mind so you can say, "Okay now we're doing the -at family" -- say a > few > > first (four or five), then "Okay here we go!" Etc. > > _______________________________________________ > > Mosaic mailing list > > [email protected] > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
