It Shouldn’t Take 6 Years for a Child to be Able to Decode 6th Grade Level Reading Words!
I know you are probably thinking to yourself, “Why not? Isn’t that the way it works? A child goes to kindergarten and then 1st through 5th grade, that’s six years of instruction. It makes sense that they would be at a beginning 6th grade reading level when they start 6th grade, doesn’t it?”
The thing is, if a child is taught to read, write and spell the way they learn (whole body/whole brain/whole child), they learn quickly, they transfer that knowledge to prior and future learning easily and they RETAIN their learning.
It all has to do with teaching them the way they learn and that’s what we do with Silent Elephant “e”™. We teach the whole child; we activate their whole brain.
Our data shares the story; Children learning with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ progress on average one full grade level their first 2 months of instruction. This amazing data isn’t based on daily Silent Elephant “e”™ instruction, it’s based on just 1½ to 2 hours instruction per week. Also, this data includes many students with multiple learning differences which makes it even more impressive.
Now add this, our Silent Elephant “e”™ students advanced 4.25 grade levels with 6 months of instruction! That’s advancing over 4 grade levels in just 6 months.
Silent Elephant “e”™ learners experience such rapid growth at first, because Silent Elephant “e”™ Part 1 begins reading instruction where it needs to begin, with phonemic awareness.
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear the individual sounds within words and is the foundation of learning to read for every child.
On average with Silent Elephant “e”™ children master phonemic awareness in only 3 months.
While they are having fun mastering phonemic awareness, you begin teaching them their first phonics lessons in Part 3 – short vowels and the suffix -s. They quickly become excited as they realize they are beginning to know how reading works and are learning to read, write and spell.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many children who were struggling with reading at the end of kindergarten, first grade, second grade or third grade blossomed within only a month of Silent Elephant “e”™ phonemic awareness and phonics instruction.
Both they and their parents expressed their amazement at how fast they were learning, especially if they had been struggling.
A parent of a little boy that struggled through kindergarten and just began tutoring with me on June 20th, 2022, sent me this email last night, “’Marcus’ has made so much progress this summer, and I have learned a lot too!”
A 3rd grader said to me after just 7 times of tutoring, “I know what you’re trying to teach me. There are single, separate sounds in words! I never knew that. I think I’m going to be able to learn to read now!”
A 9th grader said after just 5 times of tutoring, “I never knew what rhyme was! I never heard individual sounds in words before!”
A 1st grader’s parent said to me, “I know my daughter doesn’t belong in special education. She’s truly very intelligent. Can you help her learn to read?”
That little kindergarten boy is now hearing individual sounds in words. He is connecting sounds to letter names and shapes. He is beginning to spell two and three letter words. He is beginning to learn the Fry List of words using the word cards he is making. He is happy, excited and so proud of himself. I hardly recognize him as the little boy I met in June! He’s ready to soar with his classmates this fall!
It took that newly confident 3rd grader 3 months to go from Primer to a 3.2 reading level and a total of 8 months to be at a 6th grade level in comprehension and a 7th grade level in word recognition. She went from being way behind her peers to being far ahead! Now she’s starting college at 16½ years old.
That struggling, scared 9th grader who is now a oh-so confident junior in college majoring in neurology at just 20 years old took 4 months to go from a 5th grade reading level to a 9th grade reading level and another 9 months to reach a college reading level while in 10th grade.
That profoundly dyslexic first grader who began tutoring with me halfway through her 1st grade year was frustrated at a mid-kindergarten reading level. Within 6 months she was at a 1.8 reading level – almost caught up with her peers. Within 11 months, she was decoding words at a 6th grade reading level and within 18 months, she was comprehending at a 4th grade reading level – a grade level above her peers. To put icing on that cake, she was staffed out of special education at that time. She continued with me and within 3½ years was reading at an 11th grade level when she completed 4th grade!
Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ isn’t just for those with learning differences, it’s for ALL learners like the sweet, little girl who began with me in July of 2020. She doesn’t have any learning differences. Her mom asked me to tutor her because she was worried about what her daughter’s kindergarten year would like on-line. This bubbly, bright little girl began tutoring with me twice a week for just 30 minutes as she was so young. She didn’t have phonemic awareness and wasn’t reading on a PrePrimer level. She did know most letter names and sounds. Within 7 months, she was at a 1st grade reading level although she was still in kindergarten. In July of 2021 she was at a 4th grade reading level getting ready to enter 1st grade, and within 2 years, she was decoding words at a 6th grade reading level and comprehending at a 4th grade level. Right now, she’s getting ready for 2nd grade.
So, you see, when we teach children the way that is best for them to learn and the way they love to learn with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™, it DOESN’T take 6 years for them to be
reading at a 6th grade reading level, even if they have learning differences.
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If you have questions and/or want more information about Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™, feel free to contact us.
Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson