Have You Ever Had This Experience? I Bet You Have! :)

Have you ever had this experience? I bet you have!

For a couple minutes, think about when you were in school--whether your school was a public school, or you were homeschooled.

Think about a subject, concept or skill you were taught that just did not connect with you. It was something you learned, but it never had any real meaning for you or to you.

You learned it because you were taught it, and so it became an isolated fact for you that sort of floated around in a sea of other isolated facts or factoids. It had no real connection for you. You really didn’t care about it. It just floated around with all the other disconnected facts.

Then later, maybe a long time later, as you lived your life, you suddenly realized this floating subject, skill or concept was beginning to take on meaning for you. It began to “come alive” for you because of something you had or were living through that began to connect it with other subjects, other skills, or other concepts you knew about, understood fully, and had interest in.

Suddenly this isolated floating concept moved out of your sea of nebulous facts and became not just something you learned but knowledge that you could use and wanted to use.

What were some of those floating facts that became important for you?

I ask you to take this goofy little journey with me because we ALL have this sea of floating nebulous concepts and facts. Some of us have larger seas than others of us. 😊 It depends on how we were taught, how we connected what we were learning.

Another reason for our goofy journey is this:

It’s OK for some concepts to become floaters without real harm to our learning. You probably have the dates of wars floating around. 😊

BUT, it’s very detrimental for some concepts to become floaters! In fact, if some concepts become isolated facts with no connection, then other learning is halted!

Some concepts need to be taught to ALL children in ways that activate and integrate the learning immediately. Some concepts can’t wait for months or years to become a part of our children’s working knowledge.

Phonemic awareness and all phonics concepts are such concepts.

Phonics concepts can be vague and yet it is absolutely important that they are learned in a precise sequential order to ensure true learning at the time they are taught. They must be taught so the concept becomes useable knowledge immediately.

That can sound like a BIG job! 😊
It’s not as big a job as it is a process that needs to be well thought out to ensure their success.

It was one of my students who made me think of sharing this with you.  He was having a very difficult time writing words that contained new phonics concepts IF he was asked to write the word in isolation. To this day, words in isolation hold no meaning for him.

Yet, 😊, when he wrote these same words in sentences, the phonics rules he needed totally made sense to him, and he spelled the words correctly and wrote the entire sentence correctly. The words had meaning and made connections to his prior knowledge.

For ALL children, words must be connected to their prior knowledge for the words to have meaning so they can easily learn to read, write and spell.

Think about how important phonics concepts are and how ALL children need them to be taught in a systematic, sequential, progressive, sensory engaging format for them to be easily learned. Phonics concepts need to be connected to all their previous learning—RIGHT NOW, not later. They cannot join the “floating facts seas”. If one joins the sea of floaters, learning to read becomes instantly difficult.

This is why when you explore Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™, you will find a progressive order that totally engages children in learning every concept. We just can’t have any “phonics floaters”.

Contact me to learn more about how I structured Silent Elephant “e” so every child can easily learn to read, write and spell.

To Her the Words Looked Like They Were Under a Magnifying Glass

Not every dyslexic learner experiences the words and letters moving around. Some do, and in those who do, they don't see it the same. Interesting. 

I’ve shared how Josie and one of my seven-year-old students opened my eyes by sharing what happens to the words and letters when they read. Since this revelation, I’m feeling even more joy in my teaching. (Here are links to the last two emails. Josie. Sweet seven-year-old) 

My meeting each and every student exactly where they are is even more astute, because I’m listening more intently, asking the right questions and teaching them how THEY learn using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.  

I’m continually amazed and very pleased that Silent Elephant “e”™ alone has made such a difference in their lives and that my asking the right questions has sparked a different awareness in me, making me an even better teacher.    

A few days after my little seven-year-old student shared that the letters jump around on the page, I asked one of my ninth-grade dyslexic students to explain what she saw on a page of printed material.

I had been trying many teaching techniques to help Ahva develop smoothness (fluency). When she read aloud, she would physically tense up and her breathing became extremely labored. Her anxiety and tenseness were palpable. It contributed to her choppy reading.

I had her read sentences several times stretching out vowel sounds to give her more time to think about what the ending sound in a word was and more time to contemplate the next word in the sentence.

She unconsciously began bobbing her head slowly with every word. I had her put her hand under her chin so she could feel the bobbing.

When the bobbing subsided, we began working on phraseology. I taught her how to find prepositional phrases in sentences.

As she is in Part 14 now, I had her read the following sentence: “The lanky man in the dark blue suit was hurriedly walking toward the cashier at the counter to deposit money in his savings account.”

We discussed that our brains always strive for meaning. Our brains naturally break sentences into phrases: “The lanky man - in the dark blue suit - hurriedly walked - toward the cashier - at the counter - to deposit money - in his savings account.”

I taught her to focus on the questions her brain would naturally ask as it sought meaning in what she was reading:

• What about the lanky man?

• What is he wearing?

• Where did he walk?

• Where is the cashier?

• Why did he go to the bank?

• Where is he depositing his money?

 She did begin to read with more fluently, smoother, but she couldn’t read a phrase that was longer than three or four words smoothly, even though I encouraged her to try to smoothly combine two short phrases in one breath.

I would have her read each sentence several times to practice. After reading a sentence several times, she ultimately read it smoothly as if in conversation.

However, I was still concerned that she needed multiple repetitions of a sentence to reach conversational fluency.

Thinking of Josie, I asked this awesome, conscientious ninth grader to explain what she saw on a page of printed material.

She explained that she could see a space of about 1.5 to 2 inches clearly and all around that space of clarity everything was distorted and stretched!

I sat stunned!

I asked her, “Is that why you only read three or four words smoothly and then have a long break before the next three or four words, and after practicing the sentence several times you appear to read it smoothly, because you have it memorized?”

She smiled at me a little shyly, and said, “Yes. Now you understand.”
Wow!
Ahva’s brain focuses on printed materials in a hyper focused way, much like a magnifying glass, where the center is super clear, but the periphery is distorted.     

I sat admiring this young woman for her tenacity and positive mindset. I was in awe. I shared with her how Josie and my seven-year old saw print. I could see the relief on her face when she realized I understood and that she wasn’t alone seeing words differently. She was relieved there was help.

Here is Ahva’s story in her own words:  
“Before I first came to tutoring with Linda, I just avoided ever reading on my own or in front of people. If I ever did read, within an hour I would get dizzy and have to stop. It was hard for me.

I would panic if I were called on to read in class. I’d feel sad about it afterwards and think I was just dumb or not trying hard enough.

I would try to read. It felt like the words were always moving depending on where I looked on the page.

Due to that, I would start to read and get two or three words read and get stuck on each group of 3 words that followed.

Now that I’ve been working with Linda, I have improved hugely. I can now get through sentences without freezing. My head hurting when reading has almost completely gone away. I am now willing to read in front of people!

I am VERY happy with where I am now in reading, and I am very thankful for having Linda help me through it! Not to mention she is a very good and kind woman whom I am very happy to call my friend!”
Ahva, 14 years old
This is amazing. I am so proud of her for being able to share her story with us!

Even though I wrote Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ to teach dyslexic learners the way they learn, I’m still happily amazed at how the strategies and activities written into every component of every lesson also takes care of the letters and words moving and shifting. 

Silent Elephant “e”™ does the trick because of continual engagement of every part of their brain, in every SINGLE thing they do throughout EVERY lesson. It’s sort of magic. But really, Silent Elephant “e”™ teaches them the way THEY learn.

If you are questioning whether someone in your life is dyslexic and you’re not sure what to do, feel free to contact us here silentelephante@gmail.com. 

And last, your child (children) may not be struggling to learn to read, but you may know someone who is, please share this blog post. 

Contact us here - silentelephante@gmail.com Linda Smith-Jones 208-859-4406

Phraseology! It's a Game Changer!!! Part 2

Phraseology Is a Game Changer!!! Part 2

How to Teach the Silent Elephant “e” Hands On Approach 

In my last post in this series, I shared how to begin instruction on phraseology. Phraseology is a very important reading strategy that is often overlooked. Our students need us to teach them to focus on how phrases work in our language to improve their comprehension and their fluency.  

After my students have a clear understanding of phraseology in our spoken language and how our brain is always asking questions and searching for meaning, I introduce the following simple technique in their written language.

 “Let’s look at our sentence on paper: The soft, yellow duck will swim to me to get my bread.  

“I’m going to draw curved ‘rainbow lines’ above our words to show us where our phrases begin and end.” (Although I am using the word ‘rainbow’, I just use a regular, black pencil, but I draw bow-shaped lines.)  

“Watch me draw the rainbow lines as we read our sentence. The soft yellow duck…will swim…to me…to get my bread. 

“Let’s read our sentence together as our eyes and voices follow my finger that’s shadowing the rainbow lines.” 

“Notice that at the end of each rainbow line, we naturally make a very tiny pause in our reading by taking a tiny breath. To show that we take that very tiny pause, I will lift my finger quickly. Then just as quickly, I will put my finger back down so we can read the next phrase.  

“Let’s read our sentence together again and notice our very tiny pauses. This time you trace the rainbow lines with your finger making sure you lift your finger quickly at the end of a phrase and quickly put it back on the paper so we can read the next phrase.”  

I watch my students’ happy “ah-ha” moments as they begin using this technique.  

At first, I draw the rainbow lines to ensure that my kiddos truly understand phraseology. When I feel they are ready, I encourage them to draw their own phrasing rainbow lines. (Some children like the rainbow lines under the sentence.) 

I share with them that from this point on in their Silent Elephant “e” sessions, we will be practicing phraseology in everything we read. I also share that THEY will notice their reading getting smoother and faster. Their reading will sound more like conversation and they will understand what they are reading more easily and more quickly.  

Here are a few more sentences you can use for your introduction of phraseology and for practice: 

1.       I slid down the hill on a sled. (Children will notice that the word “I” immediately has meaning and that their brain will want to know more about what “I” is doing.)

2.       A spruce tree sprouted from the rich soil on the mountainside. (They will notice that “A” doesn’t hold meaning alone.)

3.       Three frightening dragons drooled all over me during my scary dream. (They will notice that “three” has meaning but can mean three of anything at this point.)

With my 6th through 12th graders, I teach them to note prepositional phrases, adverbial phrases, phrasal verbs, expressions, conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions, which instantly improves their comprehension and fluency. 

You will notice that the more children practice phraseology, they will naturally begin to combine two or three small phrases into one before taking that tiny breath and they will rely less and less on the rainbow lines. This will automatically increase their smoothness in reading and their fluency and reading rate. Their reading will sound more like conversation. 

As we continue to focus on phraseology, we talk about how their fluency is developing because of connecting the tiny phrases. At this point I stress:

 ·       Reading as if speaking in a conversation

·       Noting end marks at the end of sentences

·       Placing stress on different words within a sentence

·       Listening to me read the sentence or passage and mimicking the way my reading sounds

·       Recording themselves reading sentences and paragraphs

·       Playing their recordings back and analyzing their reading with their parents with this question in mind, “Does this sound like me talking to you?”

·       Re-recording the same sentences and paragraphs while listening and analyzing them again

·       Noticing their improvement

·       Celebrating what an awesome reader they are! 

Teaching phraseology is the best way to increase a reader’s fluency: smoothness, accuracy, proper expression and speed. Phraseology also improves comprehension because their reading flows like conversation and their brain easily finds meaning.   

I do want to add one VERY important last thought.

EVERY child needs instruction in phraseology and EVERY child needs to practice phraseology in their reading to improve comprehension and to develop smoothness and fluency.  

That said, I NEVER recommend timed tests for struggling readers! They will not be successful (at first) with timed tests, and it only makes them question their ability to read, read smoothly and comprehend. Timed test can be a blow to their fragile self-confidence.  

My wish is for you to enjoy teaching phraseology as much as I do and for your kiddos to fluently read with comprehension: to feel THE JOY OF READING in their heart!

If you have further questions about teaching phraseology, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

Phraseology! It's a Game Changer!!! Part 1

Phraseology Is a Game Changer!!!  Part 1

 Here’s How I Teach It 

It is such an exciting time for me as a teacher when I know that one of my students is ready to begin learning phraseology! Understanding how phrases work in our spoken and written communication kicks their reading into a higher gear. 

Phraseology has many definitions. In general, it means the way in which language is used: especially in how words and expressions are chosen and put together to convey meaning. Simply put, phraseology is the study of word groups that have meaning and how we read them to gain greater comprehension of the text.  

When we teach phraseology, we are teaching our students to read as though they are telling a story—to read the passages as though they are sharing them in conversation. 

As we teach phraseology, we teach our children that their brain is always trying to connect words into phrases in its search for meaning and greater understanding.  

I usually begin teaching phraseology to students sometime after they have successfully learned short vowel sounds (Part 3), “h” consonant digraphs (Part 4), beginning and ending consonant blends (Part 5), and are about midway through instruction in Part 6 of Silent Elephant “e”.  

Their first lesson in phraseology might sound something like this: 

“Since you are such a strong reader, I’m going to teach you (and Mom and Dad if they are at tutoring) something new. It’s called phraseology. Phraseology is a BIG word that just means you are going to learn how to read in phrases today. 

“Phrases are two or more words that begin to form meaning in your brain. 

“If I say to you, ‘The’, and that is all I say, can you begin to make a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about? Could you draw a picture of ‘the’?” 

My confused students always answer, “No,” while wondering why I asked such a ridiculous question. 

I continue, “If I say, ‘The soft’, can you begin to make a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about? Could you draw a picture of ‘The soft’?” 

They most likely answer something like, “No, but I’m thinking of something soft like my pillow.” 

“Wonderful! 

“What happens when I say, ‘The soft, yellow’? Can you begin making a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about?” 

This is when their eyes begin to light up as they are getting a hint of what I’m teaching. “Yes!” they say with more certainty. 

“What new picture(s) do you have in your brain? Could you draw something soft and yellow?” 

We share lots of possibilities—real and nonsense. “Could a car be soft and yellow? Why or why not? Could an elephant be soft and yellow? Why or why not? Could pudding be soft and yellow? Why or why not?” 

We take plenty of time playing with the possibilities of soft and yellow before I continue the lesson. 

“Your brain is always trying to find meaning from what you’re listening to and from what you’re reading. 

“As your brain searches for meaning, it will begin asking YOU questions such as, ‘What is one thing that is soft and yellow?’ 

“If I say, ‘The soft, yellow duck’, your brain just received more information and will immediately form a picture or pictures in your mind about the meaning. Can you make a more detailed picture in your mind about what I’m talking about?” 

Now my kiddos are really catching on and enthusiastically answer, “Yes!” 

“Draw a picture(s) to show me exactly what’s in your mind.” 

As they draw, we talk about the picture(s) coming to their mind about ‘The soft, yellow duck’.  

“Your picture is awesome—such a beautiful, soft, yellow duck! Your brain really found meaning when we added that one word. 

“What are you thinking right now?” I ask them. “Does your brain want to know more about the soft, yellow duck?” 

“Yes!” exclaim my excited children. They are into finding meaning.  

“What questions is your brain asking about the soft, yellow duck?”  

Brainstorm with them things they might want to know about the duck: Is the duck somewhere? Is the duck doing something? What’s around the duck? 

Continuing to build a solid foundation in the understanding of why we learn about and use phraseology I explain further, “I just told you a phrase that was 4 words long: ‘The soft, yellow duck’. Some phrases are as short as 2 words, like ‘The cat’; some phrases are longer, like ‘on the old wooden door’. 

“A phrase is made of words that create a picture in your mind because the words make sense. 

“Let me add more words to help you answer the questions in your mind about our duck: ‘The soft, yellow duck will…’ 

“Did the addition of the word ‘will’ help you with your picture? Did adding ‘will’ help you understand where our duck is, where it’s going, or what it’s doing?” 

They may take a minute to think, but will answer, “No, not really.” 

“No, not really. You need more information—more words to finish the phrase. 

“If I say, ‘The soft, yellow duck will swim’, what instantly happens in your brain? What picture instantly begins to come into your mind that shows you know more than you did before? Are you making a more detailed picture in your mind? How will your drawing change?” 

They will be very eager to share how just adding the word “swim” to the phrase creates many pictures in their mind.  

“Draw a picture to show me exactly what you are seeing in your mind and tell me about your drawing. 

“Your picture is amazing! It’s showing me that your brain is finding meaning from phrases.

“Does your brain want to know more? 

“What questions is your brain asking now? Does it want to know even more about our soft, yellow duck? Perhaps it’s asking questions like: When is the duck swimming? Where might the duck swim? Does it have any friends?” 

After taking ample time for my kiddos to absorb how longer phrases create more meaning, I continue explaining phraseology,   

“I’ve just told you two phrases. The first phrase was 4 words long: ‘The soft, yellow duck’. The second phrase was 2 words long: ‘will swim’.  

Do you want to know more?” 

They will always answer, “Yes!”

 “Why do you want to know more?” 

We continue this lesson adding more words one at a time to make the complete sentence: ‘The soft, yellow duck will swim to me to get my bread.’ With each new word we add, we spend time talking about how the new word added meaning or not. 

When we have completed the whole sentence and have drawn a picture sharing its meaning, I have them listen to me read the sentence as they point to the parts of their drawing that indicate the phrase I’m reading.

 I have them listen carefully to how I am saying the sentence in phrases, “The soft, yellow duck…will swim . . .to me…to get my bread.” I have them say the sentence with me while paying attention to the phrasing. We talk about how natural it sounds for us to say the sentence in phrases because it sounds just like we are talking since we naturally talk in phrases.  

In the next post in this series, I will share how Silent Elephant “e” moves the study of phraseology from the spoken word into printed text with a simple tool to help develop both comprehension and fluency in reading.

If you have further questions about teaching phraseology, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Phraseology! Two Fledgling Readers Take Off

 Two Fledgling Readers’ Hearts Soar,

Mom’s Heart Soars and

My Heart Soars! 

I received a beautiful, heartwarming response to my two blog posts on phraseology from a parent educator who is teaching her two young daughters to read with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. Wendy said I could share her email and her daughters’ drawings with you. 

Hi Miss Linda, 

The girls and I enjoyed learning about phraseology. Here are their pictures as they got more words in the phrase.  

FYI the numbers on their pictures represent the number of words they used to explain their picture. For example, when given only “The soft” Zoya added “Panda” and then drew that idea (3 words). When given “the soft yellow” Audrey added “Towel” to explain her picture (4 words).

 Your steps really helped them understand why they wanted more words to give fuller meaning to the phrase given.  

Then we played around with reading the final sentence with different emphasis and different pauses. This was especially helpful for Audrey as she has more of a tendency to read with even voice and level.  

I also wanted to let you know about my oldest daughter’s progress. Last we spoke on the phone, she had just taken the reading test. She took the reading test (STAR 360) in early Jan. and then again mid Feb. (about 6 weeks apart). During those 6 weeks, we focused most of our school time on reading—especially reading a chapter book from the Box Car Children series that was on a topic she enjoys a lot, the ocean. It was around a level 3 on the library AR, which I think loosely correlates to 3rd grade level. It was challenging for her, but she enjoyed it a lot. It took her about 10 min. to read a page when she was really focused.  

After the 6 weeks, her results on the test were so improved! The results said she had improved almost 6 months in 6 weeks!!! It says in Jan. she was testing similar to a 1st grader in the 1st month of the school year. She is in 2nd grade. When she retook the test at the end of Feb., it said she was now reading similar to a 1st grader in the 5th month of the school year!!! 

 I am so thankful for your encouragement and ideas when we spoke in Jan. I continue to see her progress.

 Today she was easily able to read her math instructions without me, understand them, and complete the problems correctly without complaining that the words were too hard for her to read. 

 I’m so glad to see her confidence building--especially with her 1st grade sister testing at a level similar to a 2nd grader in the 7th month of school.

 They both really enjoy writing letters and notes to people while we drive, and they ask me how to spell words. However, they are able to get very close to the correct spelling when I challenge them to sound out words for me.

 I’m so thankful for the solid foundation your program has given them and their continued progress. 

 Thanks again for your encouragement and support. 

Wendy

You can image the joy in my heart as I read Wendy’s email. My heart sings with her daughters’ progress. 

Aren’t their drawings sweet, and very meaningful?  

When you have your children draw a picture that explains a phrase, suddenly the words in the phrase become pictures in their mind and their comprehension grows quickly.

 Add to that, practicing reading as though in a conversation, both their comprehension and fluency flourish together.  

As your children begin using phraseology in their reading, they begin to see and hear a difference, and they begin to feel more confident in their reading and their comprehension.  

They begin to see themselves as a competent reader and a competent learner.

 Watching their progress will make your heart sing.

Keep a song in your heart,

which is easy to do when your children feel so good about themselves.

If you have further questions about teaching phraseology, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson