Every Child Deserves the Joy and Freedom of Reading - gift for you!

Every Child Deserves the Joy and Freedom of Reading

With all my heart I extend to you this thank you gift! 

I truly appreciate that you are with us on our Silent Elephant “e”™ journey to ensure that EVERY CHILD experiences the JOY and FREEDOM of READING.
 
That is my passion. That is my WHY!
 
EVERY CHILD experiencing the FREEDOM and JOY of READING has been my passion, my why, for as long as I can remember, even before I realized my daughter was dyslexic. That realization just added fuel to the fire inside me.
 
I’ll say it again – EVERY CHILD DESERVES THE FREEDOM OF BEING ABLE TO READ, whether they have learning differences or not. (See my blog post It Shouldn’t Take 6 Years)

As you know, reading opens up every child’s world. It gives them the ability to explore and choose like nothing else can. It provides options. It paves their way.
 
I have had the privilege of watching student after student fly free because of Silent Elephant “e”™.  I am proud of Silent Elephant “e”™. I am even more proud of these confident and happy young people whose lives were completely changed because of Silent Elephant “e”™, such as the young 16-year-old who is starting college early. (More about her later.)
 
Now, back to your thank you gift!
 
I wanted to give you something to show how much I appreciate you for sharing my passion for EVERY CHILD HAVING THE FREEDOM OF READING.
 
My thank you gift is a PDF of Silent Elephant “e”™ ‘s  Lesson 51 - Vowel Digraph “ui” makes a long /oo/” also called Juicy Juicy.
 
I named my Silent Elephant “e”™ lessons with names that strike curiosity and interest in our students and also tells them what they will be learning. This name makes them giggle and it begins their multi-sensory process of learning “ui” and of having that knowledge at the ready for the rest of their lives when they come up against an unknown ”ui” word.
 
Juicy Juicy gives you a clear idea of how Silent Elephant “e”™ teaches a new phonics concept by activating all parts of the brain through fun whole child/whole brain activities. In Juicy Juicy these fun activities stimulate their senses as they learn that “ui” makes a long /oo/ sound.
 
Your gift includes the entire 7-page Juicy Juicy lesson beginning with your directions and their introduction using their sense of sight, smell, and taste. The lesson then continues with learning “ui” words, their meanings and using those words in sentences to develop comprehension. You will also see how we use Silent Elephant “e”™ markings to indicate phonetic concepts. This is another way multi-sensory learning is integrated throughout Silent Elephant “e”™. Each color and symbol has particular meaning which activates the parts of the brain involving symbology and color.
 
Since Juicy Juicy is a 7-page PDF please email Nina at nina.silentelephante@gmail.com to let her know where you would like her to send your thank you gift.
 
Again, THANK YOU so much for being a part of this wonderful EVERY CHILD GETTING TO LEARN TO READ journey with us! We look forward to hearing how you and your kiddos enjoyed Juicy Juicy.
 
As always, we love hearing your thoughts and answering your questions. Contact us at silentelephante@gmail.com or nina.silentelephante@gmail.com, or call me at 208-859-4406 or Nina at 208-860-3125.

At 10 Years Old, Micah Felt Defeated

At 10 Years Old, Micah Felt Defeated

Being a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor is about changing lives – it’s helping someone realize they can achieve their dreams.
 
In my last email I shared that my sweet neighbor had asked me the question, “What do you look for in a Silent Elephant “e”™ tutor?”
 
I shared that first and foremost I look for a person who genuinely cares about people and a person who wants to build a positive relationship with their Silent Elephant “e”™ students. I’m looking for a person who wants to change lives.
 
I shared that a Silent Elephant “e”™ tutor is fortunate to develop a beautiful relationship with a child or another adult while helping him/her learn to read, write and spell. Silent Elephant “e”™ tutors truly change their students’ lives! I’ve experienced this joy over and over. A beautiful example of this joy I’ve experienced as a tutor is the story of Micah, whose life was completely changed by Silent Elephant “e” ™.

Micah is one of my students who recently graduated from me after 5½ years. He walked away from me that day completely different than when he arrived for his first day of tutoring.

I never doubted for a second that I would be able to teach Micah to read, write and spell. I always believed in him. He just needed Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.
 
I won’t pretend it wasn’t difficult for Micah. It was! I also won’t pretend it wasn’t difficult for me because it was. It was difficult to watch him struggle and feel so defeated. I knew I had to stay positive and let Silent Elephant “e”™ do its magic.
 
When Micah walked in my door 5½ years ago, he was a defeated 10-year-old who found every moment in school difficult or undoable.  He was in the fourth grade and was a non-reader. He had multiple learning differences and was staffed in special education for reading, math, speech and occupational therapy at his elementary school.
 
But more than anything, Micah was defeated. Every time he tried to read, he failed.
 
When he began tutoring with me, he would painfully sound out the first word of a sentence, run up the stairs in my home, grab a pillow I had put up there for him and roll on the floor saying the word multiple times.
 
After that he would slowly walk down the stairs, stand by our shared desk to look at his paper, say the word again and painstakingly struggle to sound out the next word in the sentence. Then he would repeat his stress relieving process of running up the stairs, rolling on the floor repeating the word over and over trying to memorize it. Although it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch, I patiently waited. He needed me to give him that time and space. I praised every little effort he made.
 
Little by little with much encouragement and patience, Micah was able to stay in my office. He would just grab a pillow from the love seat, roll on the office floor once or twice, and pop right up to try to read the next word without repeating the last word.
 
It was a long, long process. But Micah never, never gave up; neither did I. He knew he was learning and was beginning to feel a little confidence. His parents saw it. Soon his teachers began commenting on how well he was doing in reading as they saw his progress too!
 
It was such a pleasure to watch him relaxing into knowing he was a reader. His confidence grew and grew. Everything in his life began to show his newfound confidence.
 
After tutoring for three years doing tutoring twice a week for one hour each time, Micah had caught up to his peers and was staffed out of special education. He was in regular 7th grade classes at his middle school! (I must add that he was sick a lot our first year together. I think school was so difficult and stressful for him.)
 
He was proud of himself when he caught up with his peers! His parents and I were extremely proud of him! This is what his mom wrote as a testimonial for me to put on my website:
 
“We found ourselves feeling alone on our journey to find the right help for our son. We tried numerous private, big name tutoring centers. We didn't have any results until we met Linda Jones and started sending our dyslexic son to see her for tutoring. We started noticing improvements in our son’s reading and spelling very quickly. His spirit was higher; he finally had enough confidence to want to try to read. We are grateful to Linda. Her program has made a world of improvement in our lives.”
 
Remember I said that Micah was with me for 5½ years? Well, even though Micah had caught up to his peers, we continued tutoring for 2½ more years but only 1 hour per week. We would work together on reading, writing, math, science and/or social studies assignments that he felt he needed help completing correctly. Micah’s mom said, “You are his life preserver. He needs you.” She said that I gave him the confidence to believe in himself that he could do his schoolwork successfully and achieve excellence.
 
This past Thanksgiving, Micah’s mom called me to tell me what she called “bitter-sweet” news. Micah had talked to his parents the previous week and told them that he felt he could do his schoolwork by himself now and did not need tutoring with me any longer. Mom shared, “He said to tell you that he loves you and will miss you, but he feels confident that he can do his schoolwork and get good grades now thanks to you! So, his last tutoring session will be the week before winter break.”
 
I had to stop for a moment to take in her words. I was deeply sad that I wouldn’t be seeing Micah every week! I love him as I love my grandchildren!
 
But then my sadness turned to pride. Micah was feeling so confident in himself that he knew he no longer needed my support. I was proud of him! He had grown into a highly capable, confident, successful person! Learning to read enabled him to excel in every subject area in school. He could now relax and enjoy learning in ALL aspects of his life.
 
This past Christmas, Micah and his mom came over to my home to give me a gift, and I gave Micah a book – one I knew he’d love and could easily and comfortably read.
 
As we stood at the door after our visit saying our goodbyes, I studied this handsome young man, who now towers over me and is so proud of it – giggles. When he first came to me, he was a ten-year-old boy who used to love to scurry up the tree in my front yard to release his constrained energy that he’d stored up while working so hard during tutoring. Now he is a strong, confident young man. Oh, how I’ll miss him!
 
I asked Micah and his mom to keep in touch with me to let me know all the wonderful things that will come to pass in Micah’s life. They promised they would, and they are doing just that.  I promised I’d be checking up on him from time to time too.

Yes, it was a bitter-sweet time, however, I’m so blessed to have been a part of Micah’s life. What a gift being a tutor is to me! What a gift Silent Elephant “e” ™ was for Micah.
 
A lot of people need help learning to read, write and spell. If you’ve ever considered being a tutor, I’d love for you to consider being a tutor with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.
 
If you consider being a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor, know that you will have our support all the way. I have developed a nine-hour workshop that gets you started with every aspect of your tutoring business. Check it out on our website here. If you can get a group of friends together that would like to take the workshop with you, all of you can share the cost and have lots of fun together becoming a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor!
 
You could be fortunate to develop a beautiful relationship with a child or another adult while helping him/her learn to read, write and spell. You’ll change their life! And you’ll love every moment of it.
 
Being a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor is about changing lives – it’s helping someone realize they can achieve their dreams.

Contact us here with questions about becoming a Silent Elephant “e” ™ tutor.

Knowing What They Know Makes All the Difference!

Knowing What They Know Makes All the Difference!

As a sweet fifth grade girl and I began tutoring this past week on ZOOM, I heard her mom remind her, "Tell Mrs. Jones what ‘Mrs. Hartman’ told you."

 
Carol said, “Oh, yah, Mom!” Then she turned to me. “Do you know what Mrs. Hartman told me yesterday?"
 
“No,” I replied, “but I’m excited to hear!”
 
“She said I improved 69 points in my i-Ready Reading Test since the last time we took it. I made the greatest improvement of anyone in my class! I’m at a fifth grade reading level now! I’m caught up! But now, I even want to get higher!”
 
“Oh, my gosh!” I said. “I’m so, so proud of you! You’ve been working so hard with such a positive attitude! From our last assessment, I knew you’d caught up to fifth grade reading.”
 
I smiled at her. "And, what’s this I hear? You want to get even better in reading? That’s wonderful, let’s go for it!”
 
Carol began tutoring with me 9 months ago at the end of her fourth-grade year. She was struggling in reading, writing and spelling and was beginning to feel more and more defeated and behind.
 
When I assessed her, she didn’t understand phonemic awareness at all and was frustrated at a third grade reading level. Until fourth grade she had appeared to have foundational reading skills but had been memorizing all the words and had finally reached that place where she just couldn't memorize everything being taught.
 
Now she is reading on grade level and is eager to learn more. She has mastered phonemic awareness, the 700 High Frequency Fry Sight Words and has caught up with her classmates! 
 
She is very proud of herself and eager about her future. 

Every time I can help a child learn to read using Silent Elephant “e”, I am thrilled! I’m one step closer to helping ALL children know the joy of reading.
 
I have a concern though. I’m concerned that there are many more children with or without learning differences who for whatever reason did not pick up phonemic awareness when they were younger.
 
These children begin to think that you their parent and their teacher have just memorized the words in the books being read to them. This makes sense to them, because they can memorize short books. They make the assumption as they observe their classmates and siblings read fluently, that reading is about memorization. They try hard to memorize everything.
 
This works for them until, like Carol, they reach that age when there is too much information to memorize. At that point, they begin to realize something isn’t right and become more and more frustrated. You become more and more concerned as you watch them.
 
Even worse, they begin to question themselves as a learner and doubt their own abilities to succeed.
 
Sadly, this frustration occurs because no one realized that they, like Carol, simply do not have phonemic awareness, and do not understand phonics concepts. No one assessed their reading skills.
 
This is why I strongly recommend that there is no time like right now to assess your kiddos to make sure their reading foundations of phonemic awareness and phonics skills are truly solid. This is especially true if your kiddos are struggling or becoming resistant to reading, writing, spelling instruction in any way. Frustration of any kind is a clue that assessments are needed.
 
When you have assessed them, you will KNOW they have the skills they need to succeed, or you will know exactly which skills you need to teach them. You won’t be wondering, hoping or guessing.
 
Of course, Silent Elephant “e”™ has you covered.

• Part 2 provides you with all the assessments you will need pre-k through high school beginning with phonemic awareness.

• Part 1 is the 47 phonemic awareness lessons.

• Part 3 teaches phonics skills through the end of second grade.

At this time, Parts 1-3 are 25% OFF!
In fact, all Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™ program books and videos are 25% OFF!
 
Click here to visit our store, read our blog posts, and learn more about how Silent Elephant “e”™ supports the success of your kiddos and your success as their educator.
 
As always Nina and I love visiting with you, answering your questions about Silent Elephant “e”™, reading writing and spelling and supporting you as you teach your young ones! Please contact us anytime!
 
Linda Katherine Smith-Jones  208-859-4406                Nina Henson  208-860-3125

Silent Elephant “e”™-ing is FUN!

Silent Elephant “e”™-ing is FUN!  

The more I teach with Silent Elephant “e”™ the more I’m beginning to feel like Silent Elephant “e”™ is a verb. 😂

I know that sounds a little crazy, but it’s true, the more I teach with Silent Elephant “e”™, the more I feel like I’m Silent Elephant “e”™-ing. 😂😂
 
Let me give you a little background to where this happy, but little bit goofy, feeling is coming from.
 
“Learn – to learn” is a verb, an action word.
This means learning is an active process.
To learn, action must be happening.

It’s true that part of the activity or action of learning is happening in the brain unseen, but for our brain to engage in the process of learning, our senses must get involved.
 
Let’s look at this.
Obviously, our senses of sight and hearing are a major part of learning to read, write and spell, but actually our other senses of touch, taste and smell all have a part in our learning process. Furthermore, when ALL our senses, and movement, get involved, learning happens faster, is deeper and is more easily transferred into other concepts and subjects.
 
There’s just added power when we involve the whole-child/whole-person, all our senses, in the learning process.

Now, let’s go visit that sweet young man Xander again. (See last email HERE)
 
As you will remember, I shared Xander’s interaction with Silent Elephant “e”™’s Phonemic Awareness Caterpillar Game that uses color and movement to identify sounds in words. There was a moment when Xander had such a firm grasp on identifying individual sounds in spoken words that he transferred his knowledge into a new way of showing his comprehension.
 
Remember how he jumped up and shot off to bring his toy cars in on the learning. He had mentally processed, comprehended, that individual sounds make up our words and that in this game, the sounds could be represented by colored squares, or toy cars, but it didn’t change the individual sounds in the word.
 
Let’s look at what Xander was doing, how he was active and interacting with his knowledge, and how his senses were involved to activate his brain. Xander was:

• using his sense of hearing as he listened intently to each sound his mom said.

• using his sense of sight as he watched his mom’s mouth move as she said each sound.

• using his sense of hearing as he carefully listened to his own voice saying and identifying each sound he heard.

• using his sense of touch, and movement, as he slid his colored squares in place to indicate the sounds he heard, and

• using his senses of sight and hearing to decide that his game board was correct, whether his answers were indicated with colored squares or toy cars.

True, he didn’t use his senses of smell or taste in Silent Elephant “e”™’s Phonemic Awareness Caterpillar Game, but these two senses are also integrated throughout Silent Elephant “e”™. True deep learning that transfers easily and swiftly into other concepts and subjects involves ALL the senses; It involves the whole learner.
 
Now do you see why I giggle to myself when I find myself thinking that I am Silent Elephant “e”™ -ing as I sit down at the computer to meet one of my students? Every one of the lessons in Silent Elephant “e”™ is centered around the whole-child in front of me and how they learn.
 
Furthermore, Silent Elephant ”e”™-ing is just plain FUN!  Cont
 
Gentle reminder - 25% off on Silent Elephant ”e”™ Parts 1-14, click HERE.

Contact us at:

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones 208-859-4406 Nina Henson 208-860-3125

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 

Developing Fluency by Catching a Wave and Spreading Peanut Butter!

Developing Fluency by Catching a Wave and Spreading Peanut Butter! 

I bet that title piqued your interest. 😊 

As you know, fluency is an important component in comprehension. If a reader can’t read words or sentences smoothly enough for their brain to pick up the concepts presented, they are left feeling frustrated and wondering what they’ve read.  

Here are a couple of fun imagery ideas I suggest to my kiddos to use to improve their fluency. These have proven to be very popular with my kids and are very successful in helping them improve fluency and, therefore, comprehension.  

After I teach phraseology (Phraseology in Categories) to my children and have given them time to practice and gain confidence in their newly learned skill, I tell them I have another fun technique to further increase their fluency.  

“Have you ever gone surfboarding or watched someone surfboard?” I inquire.  

I see their eyes spark with interest and curiosity. Playing with their curiosity, we jump on the computer and search surfing to learn about surfing and to try to imagine what surfing would feel like. We talk about how smooth the board is flowing with the wave and how surfers have to quickly gain and keep their balance, or they’ll fall right off their boards.  

“Can you imagine what it would be like to catch a wave, keep your balance while standing on that floating surfboard and ride it smoothly all the way to the shore?” 

They are alive with the fun of our exploration and are wondering what it has to do with their reading.  

“Imagine yourself surfing as you read a sentence. Feel yourself climbing on your board as you look at the capital letter and the first word. Feel how you catch the wave of the words and while keeping your balance, off you go riding it to the end.” 

We take this imagery of smoothly riding a wave a step further by having them actually feel their smoothness when reading a real sentence.  

“Let’s imagine surfing a sentence again. Feel yourself climbing on your board, gaining your balance with the first word, and then catching that wave. Feel yourself balancing tall and steady and riding the word wave right to the end mark.”  

I ask them, “How did that feel?” 

They always have many answers, but all their answers share their relief and fun. They are impressed with how easy it is to ride the word wave when they are balanced at the beginning. It’s a delight to watch them relaxing with their fluency with this fun technique.  

I tell them, “Now that you have the feeling of surfing your sentence smoothly to the end, your reading fluency will just naturally improve. That’s exciting!” 

And now for peanut butter and fluency. 😊 

I start by talking about smooth peanut butter. “Do you like peanut butter? How do you like to eat and enjoy peanut butter?  

We act out spreading peanut butter. “Let’s imagine getting a BIG GLOB of peanut butter on a knife and smoothly spreading it on a delicious slice of bread. Feel how it spreads so easily, so smoothly. 

“Now picture yourself spreading peanut butter as you read a sentence. Imagine putting your BIG GLOB of your favorite smooth peanut butter on the first word and then spreading it smoothly, without stopping, clear to the end mark. 

“Now, let’s read a sentence. Pretend you are putting that BIG GLOB down on the first word and spreading it to the end mark as you read. Feel how smooth you are.” 

This imagery always makes them giggle and say, “YUM!” 

We play with these two fluency techniques for a couple of weeks during which time I ask them if they are thinking up any other fun ways we can imagine, feel and read more smoothly. 

It’s always a pleasure to hear their new ideas.  

And it’s always a pleasure to hear your new ideas. Please pass them on and we will share them.  

My next blog post shares some research on how our brains work to develop fluency. It’s interesting! 

If you have any nagging questions about fluency and comprehension, just contact us.  

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                  Nina Henson 

An Interesting Discovery About Our Brains and Fluency

An Interesting Discovery About Our Brains and Fluency 

After we’ve spent a couple of weeks having fun imagining surfing the word wave through a sentence and/or spreading peanut butter from the capital letter to the end mark to develop fluency, I’m ready to teach them a new concept to even further improve their fluency. 

I share that I discovered something very interesting about how everyone’s brains work. 

“When we begin to read a sentence in a choppy manner, such as: ‘I saw - a big - dog - in - the park’, we send a message to our brain that we will continue to read the rest of the sentence in that same choppy manner. Since our brain received that message, we continue like this: ‘playing - with - a little boy - and girl - with - a frisbee.’ 

“The whole sentence will sound like this: ‘I saw - a big - dog - in - the park - playing - with - a little boy - and girl - with - a frisbee.’” 

I ask them how that sentence sounds when read that way. They always have answers such as, “Not good. It’s too choppy. You sound like a robot, not a real person.” 

We discuss that when we hear or read a sentence in that way, it can be difficult to stay with the meaning of the sentence. In other words, our comprehension of what we are hearing or reading is slowed way down.  

I continue sharing, “It also works the other way around. When we begin to read the first three or four words in a sentence in a smooth manner, we send a message to our brain that we are going to read the rest of the sentence in that same smooth manner. 

“The whole sentence will sound like this: ‘I saw a big dog in the park playing with a little boy and girl with a frisbee.’”

We take a moment to realize and discuss that hearing or reading that sentence in a smooth way makes it easy to understand, to comprehend.  

I continue, “The control we have over how our brain works is amazing! By just reading the first three or four words in a sentence in a smooth manner, we truly send a message to our brain that we are going to read the rest of the sentence in a smooth manner.” 

I tell them, “You are going to be amazed at how much your reading fluency will increase just by sending this message of reading smoothly to your brain every time you begin to read a sentence! 

“Now, let’s practice our newest reading fluency tool together as we read a sentence.  

After they have practiced this new tool with a few sentences I have them reflect, “Did you notice that by just realizing this science fact about how your brain helps you relax into reading the rest of the sentence smoothly, you actually did read smoothly?”  

They are always so pleased to realize how smoothly they read and how well they understood what they read.  

It’s fun to begin this lesson by recording a child who reads in a choppy manner reading a sentence. After you have taught this skill and they are feeling strong with concentrating on just reading the first three or four words smoothly, record them again. 

You and they will be amazed at the improvement! They will love how easy it is to increase their fluency and comprehension. 

You and your students will have fun using this technique on unfamiliar sentences also to prove to yourself and to them that just by initially reading the first three or four words smoothly, their brain will send a message to read the entire sentence smoothly. 

Now one more small and powerful step, as your kids develop this skill and after you have taught them what a verb is, their fluency will increase even further when they concentrate on reaching the verb smoothly, as the rest of the sentence will just flow! 

Have fun with these techniques! Watch how their fluency scores on school tests such as Dibles shoot up. 😊 And, more importantly, enjoy how they are comprehending all they are reading.  

I’d love for you to share your experience with me! 

If you have any questions about fluency and comprehension, please contact us.  

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                  Nina Henson